Being a care leaver

What being a care leaver means.

The legal definition of a care leaver comes from The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 which states a care leaver is someone who has been in the care of the local authority on or after their 16th birthday or was in care immediately before the making of a special guardianship order.

Your rights and entitlements will depend on how long you were in care.

We want to support all our care leavers to thrive, be happy, safe, and live a healthy lifestyle. We want to support you to aim high and have aspirational goals we can support you to achieve.

We want to make sure your journey to becoming an independent adult works for you and you get all the support you need. At 18 you become an adult and your status changes and it’s important you know what your rights and entitlements are so you know how we can and should help you.

We will work with you to prepare you for this and support you after 18, with every care leaver being supported until 21 and up to 25 if you wish.

We know becoming an adult can be hard, we know you may not always get it right first time, that is fine, we will keep supporting you to achieve your goals and become the independent adult we know you can be.

What our care leavers say

Quotes from feedback gathered by Care Leaver Advisory Board - (September 2021), care leavers and Personal Advisor Services:

‘I think it’s helping me become more independent and able to manage things on my own’
‘I faced being homeless because of my mental health and my PA has supported me through it in helping me find a flat’
‘I felt a lack of support moving prior to me being allocated my new PA’
‘Due to the pandemic everyone had struggled, the most support that I have received from care leaver and leaving care were emotionally, mentally and psychologically. I felt alive, strong, ambitious and powerful!’