Moving forward after care
All young people who leave care at 16, 17 or 18 are required to be provided with support from their local authority to help them on their path to living independently. This includes help with finding accommodation and any costs of participating in education, training and employment.
A large proportion of young people in care leave their setting poorly prepared for living independently. Without having someone to support and guide them with their next steps, they may not have the confidence to manage their finances effectively and lack vital employability skills to enter the job market.
However, with the right help and information, these young people can develop the transferable skills to fulfil their aspirations and be successful in the world of work.
*Outcomes for children looked after by LAs, 2018
Reaching financial crisis is an all too familiar story for care leavers. That's why Barclays have partnered with the Care Leaver Covenant to provide additional knowledge and opportunities to support care leavers with building the confidence to achieve financial stability.
The aim of the Care Leaver Covenant is to provide additional support for those leaving care. Through the commitment of private, public or voluntary organisations, it gives care leavers access to a different type of support and expertise from that statutorily provided by local authorities.
*Children’s Society, 2016
*Care Leaver Covenant, 2018
LifeSkills have worked directly with young people who have experienced care as well as the adults supporting them, to create twelve activity packs adapted from existing financial education content. These focus on a range of topics, from financial risk and the cost of living independently to borrowing, credit and debt.
If you are working with young people who have experienced care, explore more adapted content by selecting 'care leavers' on our educator lesson page. On the lesson pages, you’ll find a workbook with the necessary worksheets for all twelve activity packs.
Many other LifeSkills lessons are also suitable for use with care leavers to support them on their employability journey. To find out more, select 'Skills for the future workplace' in the category section on our lesson page.
