You must have been in care:

• For at least 13 weeks between the ages of 14 and 16 (including your 16th birthday);
• For 13 weeks after your 16th birthday;
• Because you were an Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker who is in the process of seeking leave to remain.

Your Personal Adviser can tell you if you qualify for this support. 

If you are a failed asylum seeker who is ‘Appeal Right Exhausted’ you will not be entitled to this support.

The Children and Social Work Act 2017 says you can have support from your Personal Adviser (PA) up to the age of 25

Your PA can help you prepare to live independently, offer advice and support after you leave care.  They will be involved in discussions about your needs and your Pathway Plan.

What is your Pathway Plan?

This Plan is written by the Local Authority in consultation with you and important people in your life. It sets out your needs, views, future goals and exactly what support you will receive from us.  We will review your Pathway Plan with you regularly so that it is kept up-to-date.

Extra Support?

You might need extra support which your PA will discuss with you, if you:

• Have Special Educational Needs and/or a Disability;
• Are an unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Child (UASC) and your immigration status is unclear;
• Are in or leaving custody, or you have had contact with the criminal justice system;
• Are a young parent;
• Are going through a difficult time in your personal life.

We will encourage you to stay in care until you are age 18.  Most young people live at home with their families at this age. If you choose to leave care before age 18, the law says we must provide you with suitable accommodation.

When moving into different accommodation your PA will make sure that it is somewhere safe for you to live and fits in with your needs that will be found in your Pathway Plan.

We can give you a setting up home grant, to help you buy essentials for your new home, your PA, will help you find out how much you can get.

You should get help with your housing until you are 21, either from the local authority or through the benefits system.  If you are in full time education, you can get help until you are age 25.

If you and your foster carers decide you want to remain with them, we can support you through a ‘Staying Put’ arrangement which can last until you are age 21.  Your PA can help you with this.

When you first move into your own place you are entitled to a setting up home grant of £2000, this will help to get stsarted with furniture and decorating.  Things you require to help to make your house feel like a home. The grant can be used for:

• Halton Housing Trust
• Liverpool Housing Trust (LHT)
• Riverside
• Plus Dane
• Your Housing Group
• Sanctuary

For more information about renting social housing please see the property plus website.

If you are aged over 18, your PA will help you to think about finding suitable accommodation, which might include:

• Lead tenancy – own house/flat, you will have a tenancy agreement which is a contract between you and the landlord of the property, which gives you and your landlord certain rights. You are responsible for paying the rent to your landlord and paying utility bills, such as gas, electric, water, TV license and food.
• Residential care – living in a house with other young people in care, there will be a team of professional staff that work shifts within the house to care and support you.
• Supported accommodation –  this might be if you’re not ready to have your own ‘lead tenancy’, you’d be living in a flat or house with other young people with the support of adults.

If you are a Halton Care Leaver and stay living in Halton you will be exempt from Council Tax until your 25th birthday.

Your PA will help you to claim Housing Benefit/Universal Credit and to get your National Insurance Number.

Easy Read Guides about getting a TV Licence

Shelter

Moving from foster or residential care into independent living is a big change for care leavers

You might feel excited and ready to move, have concerns about how you’ll support yourself,  feel lonely or be worried about managing a household for the first time

You might want to reconnect with family members

You might want to socialise and interact with other care leavers due to a shared understanding of one another and shared experiences. Equally, you might wish to avoid any further association with the care system and will not want to be defined as a care leaver.

During this time, accessing social opportunities, such as sports, groups or volunteering  to meet new people and make friends might help – your Personal Advisor can help you with these things

An advocate is someone who can help you solve any problems you may have and can speak to people on your behalf.

They can help you:

• If you’re not being listened to, need some advice or if you are being bullied
• Feel you are not being treated fairly
• To stay where you want to
• Talk to your social worker or personal adviser for you
• Can come and see you and talk about your life
• When you are sad or need to change things
• Tell them anything you want

Advocates work for NYAS (National Youth Advocacy Service).

• NYAS Leaflet
• NYAS Poster

If you want an Advocate to help you, ask your social worker or personal adviser and they can arrange one for you.

We want to make sure you achieve the best when you leave care and it is important we listen to what you have to say about the services you receive from us.

There are many ways you can get involved, you can join the Children in Care Council or care leavers group

You can contact tell your social worker or PA

Or you can complete a compliment and complaints form

GLOW – Youth Group for LGBTQ aged 13-19 years and  GLOW FB page

Brook sexual health and wellbeing information for under 25s

Get It On – Halton and St Helens

• Relationships Advice
• Sex and Sexual Health
• STI’s
• Pregnancy
• Sexual Health Clinics

TeensHealth – Sexual Health

• CEOP Reporting Centre for staying safe
• Child Exploitation and Online Protection
• Digital Parenting Guide
• Get Safe Online
• Guide to Keeping Safe Online
• Grooming – signs to spot it happening
• Internet Safety for Teens
• Internet Matters
• Keeping Kids Safe Online – O2/NSPCC
• Online Safety Resource Guide
• PACE – Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation and Parent’s Support
• Sexting
• Thinkuknow – CEOP’s
• Underwear Rule
• Parents Protect

• Coram Voice for Young People Getting Heard
• Halton Young Addaction

Halton’s Mersey Interactive

One place for all the publicly available links to career information and resources includes Barclays Lifeskills, Apprenticeship Vacancies, subject related career information and is being further developed to include local labour market information and local employer profiles.

u-explore

Discounted rate to Halton schools, colleges and education providers via [email protected]

Free for young people aged 16 to 18 who are not in education, training or employment – contact a local Career Connect Connexions Adviser or email [email protected] for the access registration code to view resources e.g. job profiles, employer video tours, interviews with employers and lots more to help you decide on your career

National Careers Service

Independent, professional and high quality careers and skills advice, available from age 13+ online or over the telephone.  Adults have additional access to community-based face-to-face advice.

Post 16 Directory

This directory is to support professionals working with young people to move on to Education, Employment or Training

Provides lots of information to help find a job e.g. Becoming an Ap prentice, Help with moving from Benefits to Work

Provides help and advice on moving from benefits to work, work experience/volunteering, starting your own business and support available when you start working, including the

Benefits Calculator

• Princes Trust
• Apprenticeships
• National Minimum Wage
• V-Inspired

When you first move into your own place you are entitled to a setting up home grant of £2000, this will help to get stsarted with furniture and decorating.  Things you require to help to make your house feel like a home. The grant can be used for:

We will try to help you financially, in a similar way to how parents support their own children for things like:

• You will be exempt from paying Council Tax;
• Tell you about money management training;
• How to access your Junior ISA, if you have one (this is a fund of money set aside by the Government and the Council);
• Support to set up a bank account, gain important identification documents e.g. Passport, provisional Driving Locence before your 18th birthday;
• Support to get your National Insurance Number;
• A financial gift on your birthday, christmas or other celebrations.

When you are 18, you will be responsible for paying your own bills, how much you pay depends on whether you are in education, employment or looking for work. These are some organisations that can help advice you:

• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Halton Credit Union (you must live or work in Halton)
• Money Advice Service
• Runcorn Debt Centre 
• Benefits and Welfare Advice
• Access To Work Fund
• Benefits and Council Tax
• Carers Allowance
• Entitled To – are you missing out on benefits?
• (PIP) Personal Independence Payment – What it is and How to claim it
• Universal Credit 
• Welfare Rights Fact Sheet

Easy Read Guides about opening up bank accounts and dealing with money

• MyBNK – financial education for young people
• National Debt Line
• Money Saving Expert
• Turn2us