Leaving care (Local Offer for Care Leavers)

If you are leaving care in South Tyneside, we will give you support until you are 25.

These pages tell you about the support and services you are entitled to.

This is known as our Local Offer for Care Leavers.

You can also read the Local Offer for Care Leaver Guide, which has help and advice for young people leaving care in South Tyneside.

We want to support you, so that you have opportunities both now and in the future.

How to access the help available

We will provide you with a personal adviser shortly after your 16^th birthday.

They will support you to make sure you have access to the different levels of support at a time that is right for you.

View a list of our personal advisers.

Drop-in sessions

We hold fortnightly drop-in session at the MarketPlace, offering specialist housing advice for emergency housing and longer-term plans for adulthood.

[googlemap location="MarketPlace, South Shields NE33 1JF, UK" expand title="MarketPlace"]

Improving our local offer for care leavers

We promise to develop and improve our offer to you, and we want your help to decide what to include.

Tell us what you think - this is your Local Offer and we want it to include the things that are most important to you.

To get involved and have your say, contact Mark Benson on mark.benson@southtyneside.gov.uk or 0191 424 7757.

Eligibility

To get the support and services explained in these pages (known as our 'local offer' for care leavers), you must have been in care for at least 13 weeks since you reached age 14, including some time after you turn 16.

Your rights

We will:

• Provide you with a personal adviser shortly after you turn 16
• Give you the support of a personal adviser, until you are age 25, unless you tell us otherwise
• Support you up to age 25
• Review your Pathway Plan and support you to plan for the future
• Help you with money for your work, education or training
• Provide or pay for accommodation during college or university holidays if you are studying away from home
• Contribute towards living expenses near to your job, education or training
• Provide you with financial support if you are in higher education
• Provide you with other financial support where needed
• Keep in touch with you
• Visit you regularly

Access to records

You have the right to see the information we hold about you.

It's free, and your personal adviser can provide support to help you do this.

For more information, see Children and young people in care and care leavers: Accessing information we hold about you.

Register to vote

It's now UK law that you have to show photo ID when voting at a polling station in some elections.

You can register to vote at gov.uk/register-to-vote.

For more information, visit the Electoral Commission's website or phone their helpline 0800 328 0280.

One of the most important decisions we will support you with as a young adult leaving our care, is where you are going to live.

It is very important that wherever you live, it is safe and feels like your home.

Your social worker and personal adviser will help you with this, working through the options and support available, and helping you to decide what will be best for you.

All plans for where you live will need to be included in your Pathway Plan and agreed at your reviews.

Accommodation options

• Semi / supported accommodation
  These are independent housing providers who can provide 24 / 7 support to young people up to the age of 25 years of age. This is to help build the required self care / budgeting skills that you will need to manage and maintain your own accommodation.
• Community flats
  As part of your move on plans they also have outreach / dispersed properties in the community, which you can transition to once you have built / demonstrated that you have certain skills required to live independently in the community. Staff will continue to offer outreach support tailored to your needs and make home visits to you, to make sure that you are managing the day to day running of your tenancy.
• Trainer flats
  These tenancies are provided in partnership with South Tyneside Homes and Leaving Care Service. The tenancy will be in the name of the Leaving Care Service so that a joint responsibility can be agreed with the tenant (you will become the tenant when you move in). Appropriate support will be offered for an agreed period of time, to ensure a smooth transition to full independence.
• Staying put
  Remaining with your foster carer post 21. This should be agreed / discussed prior to you turning 18 years old with yourself, carers, social worker, personal advisor and fostering officer, and a written agreement put in place. It gives you the option to keep living with your foster carers until you feel ready to live independently or somewhere else. Your carer will also receive a weekly allowance, which will be paid up to your 18^th Birthday.
• Social housing (Council)
  This is your own tenancy with South Tyneside Council, or with another council who you have a local connection with. This can be applied for through the council website of the area you are looking at.
• Private tenancy 
  This is through a private landlord.
• Living with freinds or family

How we will support you

• Support to live independently
  Help with budgeting, cooking and renting a home.
• Practical support
  Practical support with moving into a rented home, and furnishing your home.
• Support to remain living independently in your own home
  We can give support to alllow you to continue living independently in your own home, depending on your needs.

Financial support

There is a range of financial support to help you with the costs of moving into a new home.

See financial help for accomodation.

We know how important making friends and developing relationships is to your overall wellbeing.

Young people who have experienced care tell us that, above all else, relationships matter most.

As well as support from a social worker or personal adviser, we may be able to offer you practical and emotional support, including:

• Support from the team
  You can get support 5 days per week from the Leaving Care team and personal advisors if you need help or feel worried. On an evening and weekends you can contact our Out of Hours team on 0191 456 2093.
• Keeping in touch with people who are special to you
  We can help you to keep in contact, or get back in touch with people special to you. This could be people who cared for you in the past, like former foster carers, social workers and Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs).
• Groups and activities
  We will give you information about regular groups where you can meet other care leavers and young people.
• LGBTQ+
  Find out more about our upcoming LGBTQ+ support group, as well as local and national LGBTQ+ services.
• Peer mentors
  Peer mentors are young people who have experienced care. They understand what it is like going into and leaving care, and the issues you may be facing. We can link you in with a peer mentor, so you have someone to talk to who understands what you are experiencing, and to make sure you don't feel isolated or lonely.
• Bringing someone with you to events
  We know that you may not wish to attend celebration events, social evenings and leisure activities on your own. You can bring a friend, carer, family member to any event that is marked as 'Plus One'.

We will support you to look after your physical and mental health, including:

Emotional and mental wellbeing 
We can speak with a dedicated mental health professional so that we can give you advice to make sure you get access to the right support, at the right time. 

Physical health
You can continue to see a looked after nurse for advice, if this is something you want to continue after you reach age 18. 

Sexual health
There will be upcoming drop-in sessions you can attend at the MarketPlace for sexual health advice and treatment from a specialist nurse. We will also soon be running one-to-one and group sexual health sessions with a dedicated outreach worker.

LGBTQ+
Find out more about our LGBTQ+ support group, as well as local and national LGBTQ+ services.

Free gym, swim and fitness classes
You can get free gym, swim and fitness classes at South Tyneside leisure centres. See finance and support: activities.

Online counselling and advice
You can get online emotional support, advice and guidance on the Kooth website.

Monthly drop-in sessions at the MarketPlace
We run monthly drop-in sessions at the MarketPlace where you can relax, take part in events, activities and training, and get advice and guidance. It is a chance to catch up with your personal adviser and other professionals, depending on what you need. 

We want the MarketPlace to be somewhere you are happy to visit, and the drop-in activities are designed to make you feel welcome. These sessions are also an opportunity for you to tell us what we can do to improve the services we offer to you. Details of events and activities taking place will be available soon.

We want to support you to succeed, and we know that this starts with helping you to feel confident to access education, training or employment.

There are different routes that you may prefer, depending on your individual goals and needs.

Support available

Job Club
This is a weekly drop-in held on a Tuesday morning at the MarketPlace. You can discuss options, and get help with applying for employment, education and training, and CV writing. It is run by a member of the Leaving Care Team, and is supported by an adviser from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and a sessional worker (see below). Breakfast buns and a cuppa are also included! 

Work placements and shadowing opportunities
We have a specialist role within the Leaving Care Team, known as the 'opportunities broker', who is dedicated to making stronger links with local employers and training providers. They will support you to access to work placements and shadowing opportunities. Our opportunities broker is called Alex Simpson and can be contacted on alex.simpson@southtyneside.gov.uk.

One-to-one support
One-to-one support is provided by the opportunities broker (see above), and from your personal adviser. A peer mentor can also help you to access and prepare for education, employment and training opportunities.

Sessional work opportunities
If you have received a leaving care service, you could become a care experienced sessional worker at the Council. This provides a range of opportunities for paid work.

Links with employers
We have links with external organisations to help support you into employment opportunities by taking short training courses. Our links with South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust offer routes to work as healthcare assistants, porters, catering assistants, cleaners and more. We also work with Barnardos to support with warehouse assistant jobs at Amazon. If you are interested in exploring these opportunities, speak to your PA or contact Alex directly.

Career Coach
On the Career Coach website you can complete a careers assessment which matches careers to your interests, skills and personality. See Career Coach.

Financial support

There is a range of financial support to help you with education, training and employment.

See financial help for education, training and employment.

We know that doing things that interested you, trying new things and feeling good at a special talent can make you feel happier and more confident.

That's why we want to offer different ways to support you to do positive activities. Our help includes:

Care leavers' celebration event
Our Care Leavers Celebration Event is the highlight of our calendar. It gives us the opportunity to see so many of you all in the same place. You are welcome to bring along a plus one (friend, family member, personal adviser, foster carer) to enjoy a 3 course meal. Our 2023 event had a raffle with prizes ranging from Greggs gift vouchers, to airfryers and the room was full. Get in touch with your personal adviser for more information on signing up. 

Events and activities
Recent activities at the MarketPlace have included informal drop-ins, pizza and pamper night, movie night, Sunday lunches and themed groups.

Care Leavers' Council
The Care Leavers Council meets once a month. It is for young people aged 16 years and over who want to make changes and improve services for care leavers in South Tyneside.

Celebration events
We are really proud of everything our young people achieve and we want to take opportunities to remind you of this on a regular basis. We also think it is important to mark successes and achievements in a more formal way. Celebration events can vary, from private and low-key, to a bigger celebration event. Each November we host a Celebration Event for care leavers and their 'plus 1s' - ask your Personal Adviser for more details.

Annual Lake District Residential Trip
Each summer we head off to Thurston Outdoor Education Centre in the Lake District for a residential trip. The trip is usually held in August, from Friday to Sunday, and includes activities like ghyl scrambling, canoeing, abseiling, and paddle-boarding. Ask your Personal Adviser for more details.

Financial support

There is a range of financial support to help you to take part in positive activities.

See financial help for activities.

There is a range of financial help available to support you when you leave care.

Accommodation and moving home

• Council Tax
  If you are a care leaver you do not have to pay Council Tax if you are under the age of 25. See Council Tax: Leaving care discount. If you don't live in South Tyneside, we will make sure that you do not have to pay Council Tax where you live. Ask your personal adviser for more information.
• Setting up home allowance
  We may provide you with goods up to the value of £3000 towards the cost of setting up your home. This allowance is not paid as a cash lump sum. You can get the allowance up to the age of 25, or later in certain circumstances.
  • Starter pack
    When you move into your own accommodation for the first time you will be given a 'starter pack', including £50 towards food and cleaning materials, and £50 for gas and electricity.
  • Personal luggage
    We will make sure you have at least two items of suitable personal luggage up to a cost of £40.
  • TV licence
    We will pay for your first TV licence.
  • Home insurance
    We will give you up to £110 towards home insurance when you move into your first own home.
  • Removal and transport costs
    We will give you up to £100 towards removal and transport costs when you move into your first own home.
  • Cooker and washer connection costs
    We will pay £110 towards cooker and washer connection costs when you move into your first own home.
• Financial help
  As well as your setting up home allowance, we also offer financial help with:
  • Personal luggage
    We will make sure you have at least two items of suitable personal luggage up to a cost of £40.
  • Heating your home
    You may get help towards the cost of heating your home. This is a known as a Winter Fuel Payment. You will get the payment from November until March, paid at the end of each month.
• Cost of Living
  If you are struggling with the cost of living you can speak to your personal advisor for more information and advice. You can also find helpful advice at cost of Living and welcoming places. This includes information on the financial support you can get from the council and government, as well as helpful information on benefits, debt support, food banks and welcoming places.

Education, training and employment

• Bills
  You may get a payment of up to £70 a month if you are in training or employment for more than 25 hours a week, and you are responsible for paying rent, gas, electricity and water bills. If you are in training or employment for fewer than 25 hours a week you may be entitled to a reduced amount. You will need to show that you have at least 90% attendance in your employment or training.
• Travel
  • You may be entitled to a free Nexus POP Smartcard travel pass. This pass provides unlimited travel on buses, Tyne and Wear metro, the South Shields Ferry, and Northern rail services between Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead and Blaydon. Passes expire on your 25th birthday. Get in touch with your personal advisor to find out more. 
  • If you have to travel far to attend training or employment, we may provide you with extra help for your travel costs. If you are starting a job, we can help with travel costs to and from work until you get your first wage.
• Driving lessons
  If you are 17 to 25, we may pay for one provisional driving licence, one theory test, one practical test and the cost of 5 (1 hour) motor car driving lessons to introduce you to driving. To be eligible for this offer, you must:
  • be in work or learning for at least 3 months
  • not have any driving convictions
  • be able to pay for 5 lessons yourself

Meeting the eligibility criteria above will allow you to have to have 10 trial lessons.

• Education bonus (£25)
  If you are eligible and have left care, you will get an education bonus of £25 when you complete a year of full-time equivalent study towards a recognised course of further / higher education.
• Higher education
  If you are in higher education, you may get financial support up to £6000 per year towards accommodation costs. 
• Apprenticeship grant
  If you are in higher education, you may get financial support up to £6000 per year towards accommodation costs.

Activities

• Free gym, swim and fitness classes (Leisure Card)
  You can get free access to gym, swim, fitness classes, and sauna and steam rooms at Council leisure centres if you are aged 14 to 17 and in care, or aged up to 25 and are a care leaver. You can also get free entry for a carer, family member or friend who goes with you. If you do not live in South Tyneside, we will try and find a similar offer where you live. Contact your social worker or personal adviser for more information.
• Tickets
  Concessionary tickets to South Tyneside events and Customs House events, and free theatre tickets.
• Events
  We may give you up to £100 to support you to attend a major cultural or social activity once a year. We may also give you up to £100 towards membership of a hobby or leisure club, and / or towards the cost of equipment or special clothing.

In 2023, South Tyneside Council and the Leaving Care team received funding from the Department for Education to develop a project to provide extra support for young people leaving care.

The Staying Close, Staying Connected project will offer extra support to people who have recently left care or who may need additional support if things go wrong along the way.

The funding will be used to extend support we can offer our care experienced young people and help them prepare for independence. It will also offer continued support to young people to ensure their journey to independence is as successful as it can be.

Who can benefit from the project

Support is available to young people aged 16 to 25.

When necessary, support will be offered to people over 25 years old.

It targets young people who are planning and preparing for the move out of care, on route to more independence.

Aims of the project

• To provide suitable, secure accommodation and maintained tenancies.
• To create innovative approaches to meeting young people's accommodation needs and develop improved accommodation options for care leavers.
• To provide individualised and targeted support to help develop the skills and confidence needed to live independently.
• To improve the emotional health and wellbeing of our care leavers.
• To provide opportunities to connect with care experienced young people.
• To improve and encourage engagement between our care leavers and education, employment, and training providers.

As part of the project, we have expanded our Leaving Care team. It now includes a:

• Care Experienced Personal Advisor
  This post will help ensure all improvements are shaped by care experienced young people to achieve lasting change.
• Housing Options Officer
  This post will work with individuals to identify and secure suitable accommodation and ensure support is available to sustain tenancies over a long period of time.
• Health and Wellbeing Counsellor
  This role will provide responsive emotional and psychosocial support.
• Peer Mentors Programme
  Our trained Peer Mentors can be matched to other care experienced young people to provide a range of practical support to promote confidence and opportunities for positive social relationships.

How to take part in the project

Please contact your Social Worker or Personal Advisor if you are eligible for the support.

If you have received a leaving care service, you could become a care experienced sessional worker at the Council.

Sessional workers are employed on casual contracts.

This provides a range of opportunities for paid work.

The roles are excellent opportunities to gain work experience with South Tyneside Council.

How it works

Once employed as a sessional worker, opportunities are emailed out to you.

You can then express an interest in the role you want to take part in.

Depending on the role, there might be an informal interview or chat, or you might be given the role straight away.

You will be supervised by the manager of the team you are working in.

You can also keep in touch with the leaving care opportunities broker.

Where you will be based

Sessional workers are based in areas such as:

• leaving care
• connected carers
• participation
• SENDIASS
• commissioning

New opportunities are coming all the time, so there is something for everyone.

We are looking at areas where our sessional workers want to work, so that we can match opportunities to your skills, experience and interests.

Staff interviews

As a sessional worker, you can take part in staff interviews when new workers are being hired within social care.

A panel of sessional workers get together and ask applicants questions from a care experienced young person's view.

You will be able to offer your thoughts about who:

• made the best impression
• you think would be best to work with care experienced young people

Next steps

Being a sessional worker is excellent for your CV and job applications.

It provides lots of opportunities to learn new skills and gain new experiences.

Our current and previous sessional workers have a good record of progressing into further employment opportunities by doing sessional work.

Benefits 

Being a sessional worker helps to improve the service that we are able to offer our young people.

This is because you are able to share your own views with staff in leaving care services, and other Council teams and services. 

Being a sessional worker helps to raise the profile of care leavers across the Council and in the borough.

If you're interested in becoming a sessional worker

We usually hire new sessional workers once a year.

Ask your personal adviser if we are hiring, or you can get in touch with Alex Simpson, Opportunities Broker, at alex.simpson@southtyneside.gov.uk.

As part of the sessional worker programme, we employ five care experienced young people as peer mentors.

If you are care experienced and aged 16 to 25, you can ask to access our peer mentoring programme.

Our peer mentors are all qualified to Level Two in mentoring.

What our peer mentors do

Our peer mentors are available to:

• offer one to one support to our care experienced young people
• support with group activities

Peer mentors use their:

• own experiences from growing up in and leaving care
• mentoring training to support you

Our mentors will be matched to you for 3 months, with regular updates and check-ins on achieving your goals.

What help is available

Peer mentors:

• have experienced care
• understand what it is like going into and leaving care
• understand the issues you might be facing

Our mentors can support with issues around:

• your accommodation/home
• accessing education/employment/training
• health and wellbeing
• finance and advice
• positive activities
• relationships

Peer mentors are there for you to talk to as someone who understands what you are experiencing, and to make sure you don't feel isolated or lonely.

How to get support from a peer mentor

If you would like support from a peer mentor, you can ask your social worker or personal adviser for a referral form.

You can also email Alex Simpson, Leaving Care Opportunities Broker, at alex.simpson@sotuhtyneside.gov.uk.

Benefits

Being a sessional worker helps to improve the service that we are able to offer our young people.

This is because you are able to share your own views with staff in leaving care services, and other Council teams and services. 

Being a sessional worker helps to raise the profile of care leavers across the Council and in the borough.

If you're interested in becoming a peer mentor

To become a peer mentor, you have to be employed as a sessional worker.

You will need to complete a level two training programme with a local training provider. 

We usually hire new sessional workers once a year.

Ask your personal adviser if we are hiring, or you can get in touch with Alex Simpson, Opportunities Broker, at alex.simpson@southtyneside.gov.uk.

We want you to feel proud of your own identity and accept who you are.

We understand this is not always easy and we want you to feel supported:

• LGBTQ+ support group
  We are developing an LGBTQ+ support group, co-produced and ran by other care-experienced young people, who identify as LGBTQ+. This will provide a safe place to make friends, get support, have fun, and help other LGBTQ+ care leavers. For more information or if you want to get involved, get in touch with your PA or email participation@southtyneside.gov.uk.
• LGBTQ+ Youth in Care Network
  We have joined the LGBTQ+ Youth in Care Network. This means we strive to make our services fully inclusive, and "believe all children and young people who identify as LGBTQ+ should be able to access the same care and resources as everyone else, in a safe way without prejudice or feelings of rejection." You can join the network yourself.
• Humankind: LGBTQ+ North East
  LGBT+ North East are the local LGBTQ+ support service offering friendly and practical support such as: one-to-one support sessions, sexual health guidance, fun activities, support accessing clinical gender identity services and more.
• National LGBTQ+ services
  Here is a list of national services available online: LGBTQ+ Youth in Care: Links to resources.

For more information on access to records, see Accessing information we hold about you.

At South Tyneside we are always here to support our young people, both when you leave care and after you turn 25. 

Our leaving care service operates on an 'opt out' rather than 'opt in' basis.

This means we are regularly in contact with almost all of our young people after their 18^th birthday.

We also make sure we are available for young people after they turn 25 years old.

Here are some examples of how our service continues beyond age 25:

• We offer an 'open door' policy that allows young people to return to use the Wi-Fi, phones or printers.
• Our opportunities broker helps young people write their CV and supports with employment issues. 
• We offer places at engagement events and activities where possible. For example, we have welcomed young people aged 25 years old to Sunday lunch club, Christmas dinner, and cooking sessions.
• Our annual celebration event includes those who have passed 25 years old. 
• We offer places on our care leaver residential trip to the Lake District to those who are over 25 years old. 
• Our care experienced sessional pool provides employment and engagement opportunities to those up to and over 25 years old. 

In addition, our personal advisers regularly stay in touch with young people after their 25^th birthday, including visiting those with limited support or facing difficulties.