Introducing the Local Offer
All local authorities like Hull City Council have a legal duty to support young people making the transition from care to adulthood and make sure that care leavers know about all of the services and support that is available to them.
The Local Offer is where you will find all the information you will need to access and make the best use of the support available from Hull City Council and anywhere else you can get additional support.
The Children and Social Work Act 2017 requires local authorities to publish a Local Offer for its care leavers. The Local Offer includes information about their statutory entitlements as well as any discretionary support that a local authority chooses to provide.
The act requires also that local authorities have regard to 7 corporate parenting principles -
- to act in the best interest of young people and promote their
- physical
- mental health
- wellbeing
- to encourage young people to express their
- views
- wishes
- feelings
- to take into account young people’s
- views
- wishes
- feelings
- to help young people to gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and the organisation it works with
- to have high aspirations for young people and help them to achieve the best outcomes they can
- for young people to be safe, and to have stability in their
- home lives
- relationships
- education
- work
- financially
- to prepare young people for adulthood and independent living
The Local Offer includes details of the services and support that may assist care leavers in, or moving to, adulthood and independent living that the local authority provides in relation to -
- health and wellbeing – including services that teach about, support and enable good health and wellbeing
- relationships – including services and support available to help develop and maintain positive social networks
- education, employment and training – including support to help care leavers access appropriate education or training to enable them to fulfil their goals
- employment – including information about general employment support and links to the employment and youth hubs
- accommodation – including support to access appropriate and suitable employment
- participation in society – including links to and information about activities, events or volunteering opportunities available in the local area
The Local Offer includes both statutory entitlement and additional support services and opportunities that will inform packages of tailored support to meet the individual needs of each young person.
Just because you are leaving care, or have already left care, we haven’t stopped caring about you. We want to make sure that you feel safe and supported and know where and who to go to for advice and support.
We will continue to listen to your views to make sure the services we offer are what you need.
To be able to get the support set out in the Local Offer, you must have been in care for a period of at least 13 weeks (or periods amounting to 13 weeks) which began after age 14 and included some time after your 16 birthday. If you are not sure whether you qualify for support, ask your personal advisor.
Corporate parenting
We have a unique responsibility for all of the children that we look after and our care leavers. This is often called being a ‘Corporate Parent’ and we should consider you just like we would our own children. We want to provide the best possible care and support that any good parent would provide. We have worked with young people to put together a list of promises that makes clear what young people should expect from us as your corporate parents and how all the services and departments in the council should act when thinking about you.
View our top 10 Local Offer for care leavers below -
Advice and support from a personal advisor
You will be allocated a personal advisor from the leaving care team from the age of 17 years and 6 months. Your personal advisor 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.
Your personal advisor 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 (UASC) 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 advisor support to 25 years
Following recent changes in the law, you will be able to ask for support from your personal advisor up to the age of 25, whether you are in education or training or not. This will depend on your personal circumstances and 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.
From the age of 21 to 25 you can continue to receive support according to your needs. If you don’t feel you need any support from the Leaving Care Service for a while but later decide you need some help you can return to the Leaving Care Service and you will be allocated a worker to help. This may involve a short assessment of your needs so we know how best to help you. We will work with other services to make sure that you get the help you need. This can include -
- liaising with other services
- advice
- help to access accommodation services
- help to access employment services
Care leavers in Hull up to age 25 also receive extra support with opportunities to access work experience, apprenticeships and training through the council. We will write to you every year to make sure you know that help is still available.
If you are under 25 years and feel that you need support, you should contact the Leaving Care Service on 01482 615 650 to arrange for an appointment to complete an assessment of your needs.
Pathway planning
Your social worker will start a Pathway Needs Assessment with you at age 15 and 9 months and make sure you have a Pathway Plan by the time you are 16 and 3 months. When you move to the Leaving Care Service your personal advisor will review your pathway plan with you including any other important people in your life. It sets out your needs, views and future goals, and identifies exactly what support you will receive from us including education support and accommodation. We will review your pathway plan with you at least every 6 months so that it is kept up-to-date.
The Leaving Care Service
Services and support for care leavers in Hull are provided by the Leaving Care Service. There are two Leaving care Teams and a Refugee and Unaccompanied Asylum seeker Team which also support former UASC as Care Leavers. The service is based at -
Kenworthy House
98-104 George Street
Hull
HU1 3DT
Telephone: 01482 615 650
The Leaving Care Service has a duty service based at Kenworthy House. If you need support in an emergency you should first contact your personal advisor. If you cannot contact your personal advisor you should contact the Leaving Care Service on 01482 615 650 or attend Kenworthy House and ask to speak to a duty worker.
Monday to Thursday 9.30am to 4.30pm
Friday - 9.30 am to 4pm
Leaving care before turning 18
We will encourage you to stay in care until you are 18. Most young people still 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.
Support to engage in education, employment or training
We want to make sure every young person leaving care has the support to achieve their goals in life. The law says we must provide you with assistance with expenses linked with employment, education and training. In particular -
- we will provide you with a Higher Education (HE) bursary of at least £2,000 if you go to University
- we will provide somewhere for you to stay during university holidays (or funding for this if you would prefer to make your own arrangements) if you are in full time HE or full time residential further education and your term time accommodation is not available.
Staying put with your foster carer
If this is what you and your foster carer(s) want, we will support you to remain with your foster carers under what is called a 'Staying Put' arrangement. This can last until you are aged 21.