Our Local Offer

You can access support from the Leaving Care service until your 25th birthday.

We will try to make sure that you keep the same personal adviser, but this isn’t always possible

A personal advisor is allocated based upon your individual needs following a post 21 assessment.

Access to the drop-in service and advice line will remain available until 25 for support, advice and guidance.

A pathway assessment 

Your Social Worker will complete this and this will take place no later than 3 months after your 16th birthday or 3 months after you become looked after.

You can access the service for help and support from 21 to 25 and we will undertake an assessment with you to establish how best we can provide you with the support that you need.

Your pathway plan - we will prepare a pathway plan with you that sets out how we will help you to achieve the things you want to. We will review the plan at least every 6 months with you and we will always involve you in developing your plan.

We will encourage you to actively participate in your plan so that we are able to support you with your hopes and aspirations.

You will receive a copy of the of the pathway plan and of each reviewed pathway plans thereafter.

If you are still allocated a personal adviser post 21 a pathway plan will be completed alongside you based upon your individual need.

The Leaving Care service will support and offer advice where appropriate.

Support and guidance in accessing other forms of support and specialist advice

Your personal advisor will help you to make contact with other community-based resources and activities

Regular visits to see you and keep in touch

We will have face to face contact with you every 8 weeks. This can be more frequent if needed.

We will use other forms of communication in between our visits, such as telephone calls, emails and instant messages. 

Once you turn 21 if you are not allocated to a PA you can access the service through our regular drop-ins and advice line.

If you are not in touch with us, we will write to you every year to remind you that you can still contact us if you need to.

If you are under 25 and would like to utilise our offer of support, you can contact the Leaving Care team directly.

We will provide you with a Higher Education (HE) bursary.

University – a bursary is available to care experienced young people attending university. 

Other higher education routes – your PA will discuss with you the support on offer.

Ensure that you can access careers guidance.

This will be through referrals and appointments to Connexions or the adult careers service. We would also encourage you to access careers guidance in your school, college or university.

We will also refer you to our Employment and Skills Hub to support your journey into employment, education or training. 

You may have other services and professionals supporting you and we will work closely with them to ensure that your aspirations and needs are being met. This could be social workers, teachers, college tutors or training providers.

Additional financial support to cover travel costs, IT costs, book allowance, set up costs and material costs.

Access to DCC apprenticeships, work placements and traineeships. 

We will support you in terms of accessing a bursary if you are in training or at college. If the provider does not operate a bursary we will pay an equivalent amount. 

The amount will of bursary we will pay will be the same as the national amount of up to £1200 per year.

You will be expected to attend regularly and behave responsibly.

We can help to provide you with support so that you can obtain the necessary employment skills.

We would expect that you would participate positively in these sessions

We will celebrate your achievements. This is both through incentives and a celebration event.

You can expect some financial rewards and recognition from us for your achievements. 

We will be aspirational for you with regards to your education, training or employment plans. Encouraging you to apply to university, apprenticeships and employment

In our conversations with you, we will try to encourage you to think ambitiously and support you to access the relevant options available. We will work in partnership with all relevant services and agencies with your consent to support you with your aspirations.

Support you with accessing taster sessions and open days to our local universities and colleges

Once you have left care, we will continue to ensure that you have suitable accommodation available to you.

As a care experienced young person, you will receive an ‘additional corporate need’ on Derby Homefinder as well as other needs depending on your current housing-related circumstances.    

Derby City Council exempts care leavers from Council Tax wherever you live in the country – speak to your personal advisor about this for more information.

This is used to support you in setting up your first home. We will provide up to £3000 to set up your new home. This will either be directly to you, or we will make purchases on your behalf. This will be discussed and reviewed in your pathway plan.

After your first year in your own tenancy, we will support you to set up the most suitable method to start paying the licence yourself.

Tenancy and independence training
for care experienced young people.

We will support you to access support and training around living independently.

A health history document outlining your known health history.

You will receive this as you turn 18 years of age and it is a summary of your health information including any immunisations you may have had and is an important document for you to keep.

We will support you to understand the contents of this document if you would find this helpful.

Help you to register with health services.

We will support you to ensure that this happens and that you are registered with all health services, such as GP, dentist and opticians.

Help you to manage your emotional well-being. This may include Children and Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and then the transition to adult mental health services.

Support to access mental health and wellbeing services and support to access mentors.

We will discuss this with you as part of your pathway plan and ensure that we listen to you so that you can access the right support from the right service.

We will ensure that you are able to attend your health appointments through public transport. 

Provide help and support to you if you are a young parent. Support you to access groups, peers and activities in your local area.

We will make sure that alongside yourself we will get you the support you need.

Support and advice in accessing specialist services. For example, drug and alcohol services, domestic abuse support, sexual health services.

Your PA will discuss this with you before making referrals to other agencies.

We will support you to be able to access appointments in a way that is suitable for your needs.

Access to leisure and cultural activities.

Your PA will support you in identifying suitable activities to assist in your physical and emotional wellbeing.

Please discuss this with your PA and raise this in your pathway plan.

Provide a Health Offer for all local services available to Derby city care experienced young people.

Your PA can support you to understand and access support on offer.

Setting up home grant

University – a bursary is available to care experienced young people attending university. 

Other higher education routes – your PA will discuss with you the support on offer.

Maintenance allowance

Equivalent to benefit rate

We will provide you with finances to meet your day to day needs equivalent to Universal Credit if you are 16 or 17 living in supported accommodation (relevant).

Birthday and festival allowance

We will celebrate your birthday and special festivals and provide you with money to celebrate. 

Financial advice

We will refer you with consent to relevant agencies that will be able to provide you with support around your finances.

Communication allowance

We will provide you with a monthly amount to ensure that you can remain in contact with those around you. This is for all Derby City Council care experienced young people.

We believe that any care experienced young person should have a minimum income equivalent to the basic benefit rate plus £30 after housing costs, Council Tax and transport to work or training has been deducted. 

If this applies to you, please talk to your PA so we can consider adding this to your pathway plan. 

Council Tax exemption for all Derby City Council care experienced young people.

We will fund council tax for all Derby City Council care experienced young people up to the age of 25 regardless of where you live in the UK.

Should you require additional financial support, then please talk to your PA to see how we can support.

We will support you to maintain relationships with your family and those that are important to you and arrangements will be made with your PA and agreed within your pathway plan.

Support to participate in leisure activities and hobbies.

We will actively encourage you to participate in activities that interest you.

This could be help with membership of clubs, sports equipment, music clubs.

Financial support may be offered to support you in accessing relevant activities. This needs to be discussed with your PA and recorded in your pathway plan.

Support for independent travel.

We support those who are eager to learn to drive as we know this increases opportunities for young people. Once you have paid for 5 hours of driving lessons, we will pay for 10 hours for you. 

Financial support in your area.

We understand that some of our care experienced young people do not live within Derby city. Therefore, we will support you to access grants and support in your local area. 

We will actively support you to maintain and develop healthy and positive relationships with important and significant people in your life wherever appropriate.

This might include providing support to enable you to spend time with your family, developing social networks and knowing where to go for  advice / guidance.

Arrangements should be made with your personal advisor (PA) and agreed upon within your pathway plan.

The finances available will be assessed on an individual basis.

We have a Care Experience Parental Offer which details support you can gain through accessing our local Family Hubs if you are a care experience parent.

We will maintain our corporate parenting duties to you and corporate grandparenting duties to your children.

We will ensure that you have your own passport. We will ensure that you have a national insurance number, copies of birth certificates if required.

It's important that you have the essential ID as you make the transition into adulthood.

As an adult, you will be expected to take care of these very important items.

If you were an unaccompanied asylum seeking child under 18, we will support you as your claim is being processed. This will include financial support until your decision has been made.

You would be expected to keep your personal advisor (PA) informed of your asylum claim progress.

You would be expected to work with your PA to make sure that you have a bank account set up and in place by the time you reach 18.

Provision of a communication allowance so that young people can maintain a mobile contact number and email address.

This helps to enable you to keep in contact with the service and also aims to reduce isolation.

You are expected to provide your PA with an up to date telephone number and also email address if you have one.

We will provide you with information about activities, events or volunteering opportunities available in your local area that you can get involved in.

To help with this we have Local Area Coordinators in Derby who can help you to feel a part of the community where you live.

Your PA will also discuss these with you within your pathway plan.

You may be introduced to a Local Area Coordinator. This is voluntary, but they may be able to provide additional advice and support.

Heritage Pledge

We will continue to support you under the values of our Heritage Pledge. 

Participation

We will provide you with a yearly planner of all Care Experienced forums and events that we encourage you to attend.

We will provide suggestions of services that you can access to address social isolation. 

You have the right to be involved in all decisions about yourself when you leave care.

We will make sure that you can let us know what you think of and how you feel about the services you receive.

We will ask you individually how you feel about the services you are receiving or this might be by a questionnaire, consultation or event.

It’s important you are able to participate so that you can help to shape the service and suggest changes.

You have the right to an advocate at any time including if you want to challenge decisions about the care and support you are provided with by the local authority.

Your personal advisor (PA) will support you to access relevant advocacy.

You have the right to see the information your local authority has about you, including the files kept about you when you were in care.

Your PA will provide help and support with your rights to ask about the information held about you.

You can contact the Leaving Care Service, who will support you in who to contact about this.

Your right to vote.

We will support you in understanding your right to vote in local and general elections and how your contribution to this process is valued.

You have the right to complain about the service you have received.

We would want you to have already raised your concerns with your social worker, PA or their managers initially.

Further information can be found on the care experienced young people's complaints page

Care Experienced forum - a place to join together with other care experienced young people and discuss issues that affect you and contribute to improving the service you have received.

The forum will be promoted to you by your PA and you will be encouraged to participate or make a contribution in a way that suits you.

The service wants to be able to offer care experienced young people a regular number of activities that they can attend which will help us to keep in touch, participate in an activity and receive feedback about the service. This might be, for example, trips out, sports activities or arts and crafts.

To take part simply ask your PA about the time, date and venue of the next Care Experienced forum or call 01332 643907 or email LeavingCare.Duty@derby.gov.uk.