Eligibility
The support we give you depends on your leaving care status. If you're not sure, you can ask your personal adviser for help.
Coram Voice also provides information about what services you may be eligible for.
Support
It’s important that we provide you with the best support we can offer. This could be from your personal adviser or other services we provide. Or it might be from other services that offer advocacy and support groups in our area.
Advice and support from your personal adviser
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.
Age 16 to 18
We will allocate a personal adviser to you on your 16th birthday.
Your personal adviser will offer advice and guidance to help you to prepare for living independently. Your carer and social worker will help with this too. You will have a pathway plan, which is a plan to help you make the transition from care to independent life.
Your personal adviser will work alongside your social worker and will visit you least once every twelve weeks. They will work to build a relationship with you, to prepare for when you leave care at 18.
Age 18 to 21
Once you turn 18, in most cases, you will no longer have a social worker. You will still have a personal adviser.
Your personal adviser will make sure that you get the services you need. They will also coordinate your pathway plan and reviews.
They will contact you at least every eight weeks. How they keep in touch will depend on your needs, wishes and feelings. However, they will always try to work with you so that they can visit you regularly. It’s important that we keep in touch, so we understand what support you need. It’s also important that your relationship with your personal adviser remains as positive as possible.
Age 21 to 25
Ordinarily, our support will end on your 21st birthday. However, if you need further support from your personal adviser, we can continue to work with you and support you up to your 25th birthday.
If you stop working with your personal adviser on your 21st birthday.
We will continue to contact you at least once a year, to review your needs and to remind you that we’re here to support you if needed.
You can get in touch with us at any time after your 21st birthday, if you feel that you need further advice, support or guidance from a personal adviser. You do not need to wait until we contact you.
Telephone: 01229 408100
Extra support
Extra support is available for young people in care or leaving care. Our team will work with you to think about what extra support you might need.
There are some examples below of care experienced young people who might need extra help.
Young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
We have published information about all the services, support and facilities for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (or both) in our area. This is information is referred to as our local offer.
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people
Coram Children’s Legal Centre offer one-off email advice to young people as part of their migrant children’s project.
Information and email address for Coram’s migrant children’s project advice.
Coram Children’s Legal Centre also run a website called LawStuff, which provides free legal information to young people.
LawStuff information for young people who are not from the UK.
Young parents
If you’re a young parent, we will support you to do the best for your child or children. If you want childcare, we will help you to arrange this.
Talk to your personal adviser about the different support groups in your area.
Independent support
You have the right to support from an independent advice if you want to challenge decisions about the support we give you.
Independent advocates can inform you about your rights and help you to be heard in meetings. They’re separate from our services and can help care experienced young people up to the age of 25.
Request an independent advocate from the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS).