The Children and Social Work Act 2017 ensures that all local authorities establish a Corporate Parenting Board, and publish a 'local offer for care leavers'. The local offer for care leavers' explains the services on offer from both the local authority and other agencies.
The local authority must publish information about:
- services the local authority offers for care leavers as a result of the Children Act 1989
- other services the local authority offers that may help care leavers in, or in preparing for, adulthood and independent living
- information about services offered by others which the local authority has the power to offer as a result of the Children Act 1989/ 2004
As your corporate parent, it is our responsibility to make sure you know what services are available to you, and what you can expect to receive when you are a care leaver.
Former relevant care leavers are now able to request support and advice between the ages of 21 and 24 and a personal adviser (PA) will be allocated to you either until you reach your twenty-fifth birthday, or until you decide you no longer want this support.
The local offer must be updated from time to time, as appropriate but only after consultation with relevant persons, including care leavers. It must reflect what you tell us you need, and not what we think you need.
The local offer for care leavers should relate to six areas, these are:
- Health and wellbeing and relationships
- Education and training
- Employment
- Accommodation
- Participation in society
Corporate parenting principles
There are seven corporate parenting principles for local authorities to follow to ensure that they are the best corporate parents to children in care and care leavers:
- Act in the best interests of, promote the physical and mental health and wellbeing of care leavers
- Encourage care leavers to express their views, wishes and feelings
- Take in to account the views, wishes and feelings of care leavers
- Help care leavers gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners
- Promote high aspirations, and seek to secure the best outcomes for care leavers
- For care leavers to be safe, and have stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work
- Prepare care leavers for adulthood and independent living
Terminology used by the care leavers' service
If you are a care leaver, you have certain rights and entitlements from Surrey Children's Services. Care Leaver legislation describes the status of care leavers at different ages according to how long they have been looked after by the local authority and this in turn guides the services care leavers are entitled to receive. Whilst we can't avoid this language from the legislation ultimately to us you are an individual and when we work with you this is at the forefront of our minds.
Below is a basic explanation of what these terms mean:
Eligible
An eligible young person is someone who is aged 16 or 17 and is still in care.
Relevant
A relevant young person is someone aged 16 or 17, but has left care on or after their sixteenth birthday.
Former relevant
A former relevant young person is someone aged between 18 and 25 and who was in care on or after their sixteenth birthday.
Qualifying
A qualifying young person is someone aged between 16 and 25 who was looked after for less than 13 weeks after their fourteenth birthday, and for at least one day, after they turned 16 years of age.
Extended support up to 25
Extended support up to 25 means someone under 25 years old who has previously been open to the Care Leavers' Service (CLS) is entitled to request support. Contact the CLS and ask to speak to the duty worker.
For more information about these terms please visit Coram Voice.
