Advice and support

You will be allocated a Personal Adviser from the leaving care team from the age of 17 years and 6 months.

Your Personal Adviser is there to help you to prepare to live independently and to offer advice and support after you leave care. They should talk to you about what support you need and record this information in your pathway plan.

They will consider with you what extra support you may need. You might, for example, need extra support because -

• you have special educational needs or a disability
• you are an unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Child/young person, and your immigration status is unclear
• you are in or leaving custody or you have had contact with the criminal justice system
• you are a young parent
• you are going through a difficult time in your personal life

We will try to enable you to keep the same worker, though this will not always be possible. The amount of support that you receive from your worker will depend on what you want and your circumstances.

Personal Adviser support to 25 years

Following recent changes in the Law, you will be able to ask for support from a Personal Adviser within the leaving care service up to the age of 25, whether you are in education or training or not.

This will depend on your personal circumstances. Your needs will be assessed to make sure you have the right support to enable you to make the transition to adulthood positively, and to return to us for advice and support if you come into difficulty.