Support for care leavers: Resource pack for councillors

Venturing into independence for the first time is both exciting and challenging for any young person. This transition can be especially tough for care leavers, who often lack support from their families that other young people rely on.

While many care leavers lead fulfilling lives, as a group they face significant challenges and poorer outcomes compared to their peers. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care (May 2022) highlighted these disparities. For example, care leavers are disproportionately affected by homelessness, are more likely to not be in training, education or employment (NEET), and struggle to meet basic living expenses.

All councillors and council officers, including those in District Councils, are “corporate parents” to children in care and care leavers. This means all councillors have a duty to act in the best interests of care leavers, and act towards those young people as a parent would for their own child. As corporate parents, every councillor should know how care leavers in their area are being supported, and take a proactive role in improving that support – to ensure every young person is surrounded by loving relationships and has the practical support to successfully transition to adulthood.

This guide provides an overview of councils' responsibilities towards care leavers and showcases best practice examples of how councils across the country are providing excellent and innovative support. It also offers practical questions and actions, to help all councillors better understand young people’s needs and play their role in improving support. 

‘Must knows’  and key actions for councillors are summarised below:

Listening to care leavers

Listening to care leavers and acting on what they say, is at the heart of getting things right for young people. The council should have a variety of methods for receiving feedback from older children in care and care leavers, including a Children In Care and Care Leaver Council, collating information from care leavers’ personal advisers, and reviewing any complaints made by care leavers. Think also about how you hear from care leavers whose voices might not be so easily heard, such as those living out of area, former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children or those in custody. National organisations that represent people with care experience, such as the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum (NLCBF), are also a good source of information on national issues care leavers face and best practice local solutions. 

Action: As good corporate parents, all councillors should find out what their local care leavers are saying– where the council is getting things right and what changes young people want to see – and work to act on this. 

A whole-council approach

No single service operating alone can meet the needs of children in care and care leavers. Strong political leadership and a whole-council approach, working closely with partners, is vital to ensuring every care leaver gets the best start in life. Every council service should understand and be working to respond to care leavers’ needs. The council, and councillors, should also work with partners in the public, private and voluntary sectors to leverage better support and opportunities. 

Councils can do this in a number of ways, including directly creating ringfenced job and training opportunities for care leavers within the council; revising the Social Value Policy so that opportunities for care leavers are a standard part of procurement practices and contracts; and working with local businesses to secure offers for care leavers – from free and discounted services, to mentoring and job opportunities. 

Action: Check if your council has signed up to the Care Leaver Covenant, and how many elements of the Covenant’s “whole-council strategy” your council has implemented. 

Councils’ responsibilities

Councils have a legal responsibility to provide a range of support for care leavers, which is coordinated by a personal adviser. Support should be tailored to each young person’s needs and aspirations, including help with accommodation, financial support, life skills, health needs, and education and employment goals. 

Statutory support is just the start of fulfilling councils' role as corporate parents. Local discretionary support from the council, and help from other partners and local businesses, plays a vital role in easing the financial pressures care leavers face, as well as ensuring they have access to the best opportunities and experiences life can offer – whether that’s the big things, like pursuing their career ambitions, or everyday experiences like socialising with friends or taking up hobbies. 

Many councils are taking ambitious action to support their care leavers and continually improve support. This guide includes some excellent examples of the work taking place, from setting up Care Leaver Hubs, to providing council tax exemptions, to working with businesses and health partners to secure free public transport, prescriptions and digital access. 

Action: All councillors should look at how your local offer measures up against other comparable local authorities, and how it could be improved. Think how you could play a role in improving support. For example, when speaking with local businesses and employers, councillors could ask what more they could do to support care leavers – could they provide mentoring or a paid internship for a care leaver?

Striking out into the world on your own for the first time is exciting and daunting for all of us. The opportunity to carve your own path and the newfound independence is a huge draw. On the other hand, learning to budget to keep on top of the bills, remembering to put a wash on in time so you have clean clothes for work on Monday morning, and managing to keep the fridge stocked, let alone keeping yourself healthy – it’s a huge learning curve for any young person.

It’s even more difficult for those without supportive families to fall back on, or for those who can’t stay at home for other reasons. Those who have grown up, or spent time, in care don’t always have the luxury of a family home to return to if something goes wrong, or a parent to phone when they aren’t sure how to fix a problem. Although many care leavers go on to lead happy and fulfilling lives, unfortunately as a group they still experience worse outcomes than their peers.

While some of the levers to improve outcomes for care leavers sit outside of local government, as corporate parents councils play a fundamental role in improving support for care leavers and relentlessly working to ensure they have access to every possible advantage in life. There is much that councils can do at the local level, both as direct providers of services and conveners of partners, to ensure every young person leaving care has the best start in life.

As corporate parents to care leavers, it’s our job to make sure that these young people are ready for what’s next, know they’re supported as they take those first steps into independence, and to help them access the same opportunities as their peers have – without worrying that if they make a mistake, they won’t get another chance.

We need to give them the practical, social and emotional support that any good parent gives their child. From help to find the right accommodation, to guiding them through job applications and interviews, to making sure they know where to turn if they’re having trouble. 

We also need to make sure we’re listening. If we can really hear what care leavers are telling us about their needs, dreams and ambitions, we can make sure we’re giving the right support to help them get there. 

Many councils have been doing much of this work for some time, and the ‘case studies section of our website includes some excellent examples of the good work already taking place. Much of the good practice doesn’t take a lot of money to implement – it’s more about making sure we have the right culture, and understanding what’s best for the care leavers in our areas so that we can shape our services, and work with our partners, appropriately.

Our responsibilities don’t end when a child leaves care, and getting them right is the best way of making sure we set young people on the right path to a settled, successful and happy adulthood.

Councillor Arooj Shah 

Chair, LGA Children and Young People Board

What is a ‘care leaver’?

As defined in The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, a care leaver is a young person aged 16-25 who has been looked after for at least 13 weeks in total since the age of 14 and has left local authority care. Around 12,000 young people become care leavers every year. 

Children and young people over 16 who are in care or leave care that fall within the one of the following categories, which determines the type of support they must be provided with:

• Eligible child: children who are 16 and 17, have been looked after by children’s services for a period of 13 weeks since the age of 14, and are currently looked after by the local authority.
• Relevant child: children aged 16 or 17, who have been looked after by children’s services for a period of 13 weeks since the age of 14 including at least some time after turning 16, and are no longer looked after. 
• Former relevant child: A young person aged between 18 and 25 who was previously an eligible child or a relevant child 
• Qualifying care leaver: A young person aged between 16 and 25, who was looked after by children’s services on or after their 16^th birthday, and is no longer looked after. However, they have spent less than 13 weeks in care since their 14^th birthday and do not meet the full criteria for a relevant or eligible child.

Some young people leaving care will return home rather than remaining with foster carers or moving on to independent living, but the council still has responsibilities towards them as care leavers.

Key challenges care leavers face

While many care leavers go on to live happy and successful lives, as a group they are more likely than their peers to experience poorer outcomes. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care (May 2022) concluded that ‘the disadvantage faced by our care experienced community should be the civil rights issue of our time.’ It is estimated that:

• 26 per cent of the homeless population have care experience
• 24 per cent of the prison population in England have spent time in care
• 38 per cent of 19-21 year old care leavers are not in education, employment or training (NEET) compared to 12 per cent of all other young people in the same age group

A survey by the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum in 2022  found that 83 per cent of care experienced young people said they were struggling to afford food some or all of the time, while 31 per cent said they were at risk of homelessness. 

The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care (‘the Care Review’) proposed actions in five areas that government, councils, and other partners should work towards to achieve dramatic change for those with care experience: relationships, education, employment, housing, and health.

Following the Care Review, the Government increased the ‘Setting Up Home Grant’ and the care leavers' apprenticeship bursary. In September 2023, they subsequently published the strategy for social care reform, ‘Stable homes, built on love’ which committed to improving the experience of being in care and outcomes for care leavers across key areas.  

The strategy set out a range of reforms, including following Scotland’s lead and extending corporate parenting responsibilities to the national government and a range of other public bodies by mid-2025 to reflect the role that schools, universities, health and other partners have in supporting children in care and those with care experience. It also set out various reforms to address challenges in the social care workforce and ensure all care leavers have access to stable and quality support from the same social worker. The Government has also committed to improve the consistency of homelessness support by strengthening guidance to remove the use of intentionally homeless decisions for care leavers. 

Corporate parenting

When a child comes into the care of a local authority or is a former relevant child the authority becomes their corporate parent. 

Councils’ statutory responsibilities towards care leavers are set out in the Children Act 1989, including through amendments made by the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 and the Children and Families Act 2014. The general aim of leaving care duties is to ensure that young people get the same support and guidance that people growing up with their families would receive. Statutory guidance for councils on how to support care leavers is primarily set out in the Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations: planning transition to adulthood for care leavers. 

The Children and Social Work Act 2017 made additional provisions for care leavers, and outlined in law for the first time what it means for a local authority to be a good corporate parent. The principles are:

• to act in the best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and wellbeing, of children in care and care leavers  
  • to encourage them to express their views, wishes and feelings, and to take these into account
  • to help children in care and care leavers to gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners
  • to promote high aspirations, and seek to secure the best outcomes for children in care and care leavers
  • for children in care and care leavers to be safe, and to have stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work
  • to prepare children and young people for adulthood and independent living.

All councillors and officers are corporate parents, including those in district councils. Therefore every councillor is responsible for making sure that the council is meeting these duties towards children in care and care leavers.

Every councillor and officer within a council is responsible for acting towards those children and young people as a parent would for their own child. It means that when any service is being reviewed that could impact care leavers, or when receiving feedback from the care leavers’ council, you ask,

What if this were my child?

What can we do to put this right?

The corporate parenting principles aim is to provide leadership, challenge and accountability at every level and asking probing questions to ensure that care leavers are well supported. A corporate parenting strategy helps to provide a framework within which corporate parenting pledges can be defined and applied across all council services, with robust governance and accountability mechanisms. The Corporate Parenting Panel and Children’s Scrutiny Committee have particular roles in monitoring how the principles are being applied, what the barriers are, and how the local offer for care leavers can be improved. 

No one single service operating alone can meet the needs of children in care and care leavers. A whole council, partnership approach is vital for all services to understand the wide-ranging needs of care leavers and provide wrap-around support. All elected members and council officers should know what is important to care leavers and utilise this to shape and continually improve services and support. It is good practice for all council services to be trauma-informed in their expectations of, and their support for, care leavers.

More information on corporate parenting can be found in our ‘Corporate parenting’ resource pack.

Partnership Working

Close partnership working, including with public sector partners, the private and voluntary and community sector is vital to provide care leavers with the best support and opportunities. 

Elected members play a critical leadership role in building and strengthening these partnerships, and particularly in working with partners to broker additional discretionary support for care leavers. 

Pathway Plans 

Before they leave care, every young person should have a pathway plan in place that sets out the route to achieve their goals and the support they need to get there. The process is led by the social worker, who will carry out an assessment of the young person’s needs to inform the plan, in consultation with the young person and key people in their life including their carer, teachers or tutors, health professionals, their Personal Adviser (if already appointed), and the young person’s IRO or advocate. It is good practice for the needs assessment and plan process to begin well in advance of a young person turning 16. This will make sure that if a young person is considering leaving care at 16, they know what support is available to them, know what their future options are, and have a plan to help them move on to independence successfully. 

Every young person should be actively involved in creating plans for their own future, and the pathway plan should be led by their needs, goals, and aspirations after they leave care. The pathway plan should assess their needs and clearly set out all the support that will be provided in key areas,   including :

• accommodation 
• education and training 
• financial support 
• support to develop relationships 
• life skills and employability
• access to support for health needs, including mental health
• contingency plans for support if independent living breaks down.

Councils have a duty to maintain a pathway plan and keep it under review for all care leavers until they turn 21.  For those over 21, councils have a duty to assess care leavers’ needs and develop/ maintain a pathway plan if the young person wants this support to continue.  

As a ‘living document,’ the plan should be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure it reflects any changes in the young person’s circumstances or needs for support. At a minimum, the plan must be reviewed every six months and at key intervals, for example, after any changes in the young person’s accommodation. 
 

Personal advisers 

Once a young person leaves care or turns 18, they must be appointed with a personal advisor (PA). After leaving care, the PA is the designated professional for providing and/ or coordinating the support that a young person needs. As a trusted adult, PAs also play a vital role in providing care leavers with practical advice and emotional support to help them navigate adult life and deal with any challenges.

Since April 2018, councils have a duty to offer support from a PA to all care leavers up to the age of 25. Previously, PA support was only available to care leavers over the age of 21 who were in a programme of education or training. 

Councils have a duty to monitor progress on the pathway plan, proactively stay in touch, and meet regularly with care leavers up to the age of 21. PAs must visit care leavers at least every two months and whenever they move into new accommodation, as well as stay in touch between visits to stay updated about their wellbeing and progress. 

While councils’ duty to proactively stay in touch with care leavers does not apply to those between 21-25, as corporate parents, it is good practice for the leaving care team to try and stay in touch with all care leavers up until the age of 25 so they know what support is available. In some cases, care leavers may decline the support of the council. While this should be respected, the leaving care team must continue to make periodic (at least every year) attempts to remain in contact until they turn 25 and advise that PA support is available. If a young person’s situation changes, they need to know that support is still available, and refusing support once doesn’t mean that it won’t be available in the future.

Councils can also decide to provide ongoing support beyond 25. Some councils – such as North Yorkshire –  have introduced an “always here” approach for any care leaver beyond the age of 25 who wants to get in touch with the leaving care team, whether that’s for information, advice or guidance, or simply to have a chat. 

Financial support

Care leavers typically start living independently earlier than their peers, and unlike other young people they don’t have family and the ‘bank of mum and dad’ to fall back on. It is vital that councils ensure they have access to the full range of financial support to meet their needs, live well, and prevent them from falling into hardship.

Relevant children (16 and 17 year old care leavers) are usually not eligible for Universal Credit and other working-age benefits, and the local authority will typically be their primary source of income until they turn 18. Local authorities must financially support this group of care leavers with all their living expenses, including paying for any expenses to support them in employment, education or training, and suitable accommodation.

Care leavers aged 18 and over can typically access Universal Credit and other national working-age benefits to support them with housing and living costs, unless they are students in higher education. While councils are typically not care leavers' primary source of financial support when they turn 18, they have a duty to provide the following financial assistance:

• Assistance with expenses associated with the young person living near the place they work, or receive education or training. 
• Meeting expenses that enable the young person to pursue education or training. This can include helping with the costs of work clothes, transport, digital devices, exam fees, equipment, books and activities, and anything else they may need.
• To the extent that the young person’s welfare requires it, 'other assistance' must be provided which may be in kind or, in exceptional circumstances, in cash.

Care leavers are entitled to this support until they turn 21, or, if they are receiving education or training, the duty extends until the programme of education ends. Care leavers who decide to start a course of education or training after the age of 21 are entitled to take up this support at any point until the age of 25. 

The legislation reflects the expectation that care leavers will gradually need less support as they get older and become more independent. However, every young person will have different needs and circumstances. While the duty means that local authorities do not necessarily have to provide the same level of support to care leavers over 21 years old, it allows for councils to respond positively to requests for practical, emotional, and financial support up to the age of 25.

It's good practice for councils to provide enhanced support to all care leavers through their discretionary local offer. Research has shown care leavers are more financially vulnerable than their peers and a significant number live at or near the poverty line. Any additional support that councils provide can therefore make a real difference to care leavers’ lives, whether that’s council tax exemptions, free digital connections, free public transport or prescriptions.

More information on care experienced young people’s top priorities for support are outlined later in, “A Local Offer for care leavers: what does good look like?”

Support with further education and training 

Councils have specific duties to financially support care leavers who are pursuing or intend to pursue education or training, up to the age of 25. They must assess the young person’s needs, prepare a pathway plan and provide financial assistance ‘to the extent that their training needs require it.’ 

For those attending University, councils have a duty to provide care leavers with a bursary of at least £2000 over the duration of their course. They also have to provide ‘vacation support’ during the summer holidays, as students are often unable to live in halls over the summer and student loans do not cover living costs for a whole year. Care experienced students can also apply for various additional bursaries, scholarships, and grants, which are available from many Universities and charities. 

Care leavers aged 16-19 that stay in full-time education are entitled to a £1200 bursary each year through the 16-19 Bursary Fund scheme.

Those who start an apprenticeship are entitled to a £3000 bursary which is paid in instalments over the first year of the apprenticeship. 

Councils should also look to enhance support beyond the statutory offer to remove financial and practical barriers to education wherever possible. Some examples of existing good practice include: 

• Topping up apprentices’ salaries: Greenwich has made a commitment that every care leaver doing an apprenticeship will be £20 a month better off than on benefits.
• Providing a more generous bursary for University students to help with living costs: Kensington and Chelsea pays a ‘parental contribution’ of up to £6000 each year. 
• Providing a financial ‘graduation bonus’ to help with the transition after leaving University
• Paying for students graduation costs 
• Practical support, such as paying for young people to visit universities before applying, help to move in and out of university accommodation, and providing a mentor to help write applications and advise on post-university options, like in Leeds.  

Accommodation

Care leavers must be provided with appropriate accommodation that meets their needs. This should be discussed as part of the pathway plan well before the young person is due to leave care. 

When a care leaver moves to new accommodation, their PA must see them at that accommodation within seven days of the move and again after 28 days. After the first subsequent review of the pathway plan, they must visit the care leaver at no less than two-monthly intervals.

Councils should avoid moving and disrupting young people who are settled, offer a choice of accommodation (where practicable) and provide a support package to go with the accommodation. There should also be a contingency plan in case accommodation arrangements break down.

Any care leaver under 21 who spent at least one night in care when they were 16 or 17 is automatically considered to be in ‘priority need’, if they become homeless or are at risk of homelessness. From the age of 21, they may also be in priority need if they are vulnerable because they were previously looked after – for example, if they haven’t had a stable home since leaving care. The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 also stipulated that a young homeless care leaver should be treated as having a connection to the area that they were looked after. This will make it easier for them to get support in the area in which they feel most at home. 

In April 2018, councils were given new and strengthened powers to offer advice and assistance to homeless people, including care leavers, in their area. 

Staying put

‘Staying put’ is an arrangement that allows a looked after child to continue to live with their foster carer – whether a local authority carer or an independent fostering agency (IFA) carer – after their 18^th birthday, when they cease to be ‘looked after’ by the local authority. This can take place where both the young person and the carer want to enter a staying put arrangement. 

Young people living with IFA carers should also be able to stay put. It’s important to make sure that commissioning arrangements with IFAs allow for this possibility; staying put is not a fostering placement, so arrangements will need to be separately negotiated.

The council has a responsibility to monitor the arrangement and provide advice and support (including financial) to the foster parent, and the young person to facilitate the arrangement until the young person reaches 21.

Nationally, 31 percent of former looked after children were still living with their foster carer at age 19 and 20 in 2023. It is important to consider what proportion of young people are ‘Staying put’ in your area – if numbers are low, do foster carers and young people have access to all the information they need, and do you know the reasons for ‘Staying Put’ arrangements ending?

Staying close

Staying Close is a model for supporting young people leaving residential care, where councils provide a bespoke package of support and move-on accommodation. 

Initially, Staying Close was piloted in five local authority areas and an additional 15 councils were funded to introduce the offer in 2022-23. Independent evaluations have shown that where young people have been provided with Staying Close support it has had positive outcomes, including reducing the likelihood of eviction, improving wellbeing and increasing engagement in education, employment or training (EET).

The DfE has made funding available from 2023-25 to support councils that are not already delivering Staying Close to introduce an offer. The government has also committed to bringing forward legislation to make Staying Close a national entitlement to support young people up until the age of 23. 

Local offer

The Children and Social Work Act 2017 requires local authorities to publish a local offer for care leavers, with guidance recommending this be reviewed every two to three years. This should include all services offered by the council that can support care leavers in, or in preparing for, adulthood and independent living. This includes both those that the authority is legally obligated to provide, such as ‘staying put’ and housing support, universal services such as careers advice or public health services, local discretionary support and services provided by other organisations. Care leavers should be consulted before the offer is published. 

Care Leaver Covenant 

The Care Leaver Covenant is a programme developed under the Department for Education’s Keep on Caring policy. The overarching aim of the covenant is to encourage the public, private and voluntary sectors to step up and improve support for care leavers.

A wide range of public bodies – including councils – businesses and charities across England have signed up to make offers of support, which include:

• Training and employment opportunities
• discounts
• financial support
• exemptions
• personal development
• workshops

Care leavers and those working with care leavers, including Personal Advisers, Independent Fostering Agencies and charities, can download the Covenant app and sign up online to stay informed about what the covenant has to offer. Personal Advisers should make sure those leaving care know about the Covenant and can take advantage of the support offered. 

Care experience as a protected characteristic 

Those with care experience continue to face negative judgements and discrimination as a result of their care experience. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care therefore recommended that the Government amend equalities legislation to recognise care experience as a legally protected characteristic, giving people who have been in care the same legal protection as the ten other characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.  

Many councils have now passed motions to consider care experience as a protected characteristic in all situations where the Equality Act 2010 is relevant. This aims to ensure that people with care experience are considered in every decision and that every service is working to support them. 

The Children’s Commissioner is currently running a survey asking care-experienced individuals to share their views on whether care experience should be made a protected characteristic. The results are due to be published later this year. 

Creating a consistent care leaver offer

Establishing a consistent offer for care leavers is a key challenge. The support that is available to care leavers can vary between Children’s Services authorities, and even within those areas. Within two-tier authority areas, care leavers being supported by the same Children’s Services Authority might be eligible for different levels of council tax support or support with housing, depending on the District area they live in. Moreover, the support provided by wider partners may also differ – for example, between Integrated Care System areas. 

Action to create a more consistent offer of support can be taken at the regional and local level. The Pan-London Care Leavers Compact is working to address these issues in London, and provides a framework for developing a consistent, broad and high-quality support offer for care leavers across all partners.

Access to Information

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, care leavers have a right to access their care records, which can be an important part of understanding their personal history. Councils must facilitate any request made and have a transparent policy in place to allow care leavers to access documents smoothly and effectively. They should also work with partners who may hold relevant information. Councils should keep these records for a minimum of 75 years from the date of birth of the adult care leaver and consider suitable retention and storage processes.

The Chief Archivists in Local Government Group has created best practice guidance for record-keepers and care professionals’ for the creation, management and access of records of care-experienced people. 

Some of the information that adult care leavers may read about their history in care or the way in which they came into care may be traumatic and there should be support available throughout this process. The Rees Foundation provides a range of learning and development opportunities for practitioners, designed to help care experienced people when accessing their care records.​

Local discretionary support from the council, and help from other partners and local businesses, plays a significant role in easing the financial pressures care leavers face, as well as ensuring they have access to the best opportunities and experiences life can offer - whether that’s the big things, like pursuing their career ambitions, or everyday experiences like socialising with friends or going to the gym. 

A council’s local offer should be co-produced with local care leavers and designed to meet their needs. It should also be led by the corporate parenting principles – do care leavers have all the support they need to have the best start to adult life? Councillors and officers should ask, “would this be good enough for my child?”

The website ‘Care Leaver Local Offer’ collates every council’s offer in one place. How does your local offer measure up against other comparable local authorities, and how it could be improved? 

The type of support that care leavers say makes the most difference to them as part of a local offer includes:

Council tax exemptions: Exempting care leavers up to the age of 25 from council tax is one of the most direct and effective ways to prevent care leavers from falling into financial hardship when they are starting out. Councils also provide exemptions for care leavers who live out of the council area, so they don’t miss out on this support.

Housing support: In addition to their statutory responsibilities, councils can provide a range of discretionary support to ensure care leavers have access to quality housing, and are supported to thrive at home. This includes:

• Guarantor schemes to help care leavers secure tenancies in the private rented sector. 
• Paying the first month’s rent upfront and covering the cost of the deposit
• Handyman services provided by the Housing team
• Fuel vouchers

Support with transport costs – For many care leavers the cost of travel can be prohibitively expensive. In many places bus passes can cost up to £20 a week, amounting to around a third of some care leavers’ overall incomes for living expenses (based on the Universal Credit Standard allowance for under 25s). Without access to transport, care leavers can become socially isolated and have difficulty getting to work, education or training, attending medical appointments, and seeing friends and family.

There’s a range of support that can be provided to help care leavers with transport, including free or discounted public transport schemes, such as in Cornwall and London, cycle and e-bike schemes, or covering the cost of driving lessons and tests.

A digital connection: Access to WiFi, data and digital devices is vital to fully participate in society – whether that’s applying for jobs, doing school or university work, keeping in touch with friends and family, or simply watching TV. To prevent care leavers from becoming digitally excluded, many councils, such as Greater Manchester, provide care leavers with a digital offer including devices, digital skills training and free data connectivity.

Leisure: Leisure opportunities, whether that’s a gym membership or having the opportunity to experience going to the theatre, are the extra things that make life enjoyable – but they can often be outside a care leaver’s budget. Free leisure passes, gym memberships and free or discounted access to cultural activities can make a big difference. 

Health: Free prescriptions, access to an NHS dentist and help with covering the cost of eye tests and glasses all can help to ensure care leavers can stay healthy and properly manage their health. Sandwell Metropolitan Council, Greater Manchester and all London Boroughs have secured free prescriptions for care leavers, funded by local integrated health partnerships.  

Employment, education and training: In addition to local universal skills and employment offers, councils can ringfence apprenticeships for care leavers within the council (the ‘family firm’), guarantee applicants with care experience an interview for roles where they meet the minimum criteria, and provide opportunities to be mentored by or shadow the councils’ senior leadership team or other professionals. For example, Cheshire West and Chester Council have a yearly ‘take-over day’ where care leavers are given the opportunity to shadow and work aside senior leadership in an area of their choice. 

Post 25 Support: Keeping the door open and continuing to provide support to care leavers after they turn 25 can help to avert a ‘cliff-edge’ in support. Some councils – such as North Yorkshire –  have introduced an “always here” approach for any care leaver beyond the age of 25 who wants to get in touch with the leaving care team.

What do we know about our care leavers – both existing, and coming up?

It’s important that the council knows as much as possible about care leavers and their needs, so that plans can be made to meet those needs.  

Care leavers are statistically more likely to have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and are more likely to suffer from mental health problems. They are also at higher risk of interacting with the criminal justice system, with more than 52 percent of children in care and care leavers having a criminal conviction by the age of 24, compared to 13 percent of those who have not been in care. Care leavers are also more likely to become young parents. 

Nationally those who identify as LGBTQ+ and those from ethnic minority groups are overrepresented in the care leaver population. And in recent years, there have also been a growing number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking (UAS) children entering the care system. In 2022-23 26 per cent of care leavers aged 19-21 in England were formerly UAS children. 

Like any good parent, councils should consider the specific needs of individual young people and aim to provide  tailored support. Sufficient provision must be available for all care leavers, including those who might need additional or specialised support This can include support such as:

• Specific offers for young parents, like Hertfordshire’s ‘Ohana’ project that provides young care experienced parents with a supportive community, Warwickshire’s Baby Box scheme
• Dedicated support offers for unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people
• LGBTQ+ support groups

What are care leavers telling us?

The council should have a variety of methods for obtaining feedback from older children in care and care leavers, including a Children In Care and Care Leaver Council, collating information from PAs and reviewing any complaints made by care leavers. 

Regular reports on this information to the corporate parenting panel should  help to identify and address any issues early, with the voices of care leavers considered in all relevant decision-making. In particular, the council should assure itself that care leavers feel safe, understand that they have someone they can talk to if they have any problems, and that they feel supported and listened to. 

The proportion of care leavers that the leaving care service is still in touch with should also be monitored. Councils should be striving to maintain contact with all care leavers up to the age of 25.

How are we supporting care leavers to develop loving relationships and strong support networks?

As well as being crucial for healthy development and young people’s wellbeing, building positive relationships with a trusted adult has been shown to support a number of improved outcomes, including reducing the risk of homelessness by 10 percent. 

The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care states, ‘it’s loving relationships that hold the solutions for children and families overcoming adversity’ and proposed the ambition that no young person should leave care without at least two loving relationships, by 2027.

The work to surround young people with supportive and loving relationships starts before they leave care. When a child can no longer be looked after by their parents, wherever possible, they should supported to be cared for by a friend or relative. Councils should do everything they can to ensure that children’s placements – whether in residential care or foster care – are stable and avoid unnecessary disruption to the young person’s life. Wherever possible, placements should be close to the child or young person’s home and school, to allow them to maintain relationships with their family network and friends. More information on placements can be found in our ‘Placements (children in care)’ resource pack.

Children in care and care leavers must be supported to stay in touch and maintain strong relationships with their family networks while in care and after they leave. In 2022-23 49 per cent of 17-year-old care leavers went back to live with parents or family after leaving care. While for care leavers 18-21, 11 per cent were living with family or relatives. Careful planning and a whole-family approach to support can make a significant difference in whether the return home is successful.  Check if your area has a reunification policy or strategy, and what family reunification support is provided if young people wish to return home or build relationships with other family members.

Every effort should also be made to ensure children and young people have a stable relationship with their social worker and PA. To minimise disruption in the event of staff changes, it can be helpful for care leavers to work with several members of the leaving care team to make sure they’ve always got someone they can talk to, who knows them well enough to provide the right kind of support. 

Care leavers should be supported to build relationships with others with care experience. Meeting people who have gone through similar experiences and ‘get it’ can help young people to feel less isolated and make meaningful and lasting friendships. Having a dedicated Care Leaver Hub is a great way to provide care leavers with a safe place that belongs to them, where they can socialise, have fun and meet other care experienced young people. The Young People’s Benchmarking Forum, a national forum of care experienced young people within the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum run by Catch 22, is calling for young people in every area to have access to a Care Leaver Hub in recognition of the huge difference these spaces can make to young people’s lives.

Mentoring schemes that match care leavers with a volunteer mentor are also beneficial for young people to build positive friendships, get support and guidance, and access new experiences. Check if the council runs any mentoring schemes for care leavers in your area. 

How are we preparing care leavers for independent living?

Supporting care leavers to prepare for independent living is vital to ensure they have the skills and confidence to navigate adult life and feel ready to leave care. Practical support to develop life skills will significantly ease the transition for care leavers and set them up to thrive, not just survive.

Despite its importance, Ofsted research in 2022 found that only two fifths of care leavers reported receiving help to work out what bills and payments they needed to pay. Knowing how to manage money is vital to every aspect of life and can prevent care leavers from falling into hardship and debt. 

Children in care also need to be taught other crucial skills, like learning to cook nutritious meals and how to clean a home, which will help them to look after themselves later on. Encouraging young people to help with household tasks and take on weekend jobs can all help to develop important skills and make the move to independent living less daunting.

An assessment of a young person’s practical and money skills, and the support they will need to develop the skills to live independently, should be included in their pathway plan, As well as receiving informal support from trained foster carers, residential staff and their PA, young people should also be provided with more formal opportunities, including:

• taking structured and accredited programmes, such as on pre-tenancy awareness, independent life skills and financial literacy
• Accessing peer mentoring programmes, which can help care leavers learn from each other’s experiences
• Stays in ‘taster flats’ to experience independent living and develop life skills, with support on hand

Do we have a suitable range of accommodation options for care leavers, and how are we supporting to achieve a stable and happy home? 

A lack of access to safe, affordable housing is consistently one of the top issues that care leavers raise. Having a stable home where they feel safe and happy is key to giving care leavers the best start to their adult life. It also provides the foundation for success in other areas of their life, such as education, training and employment. 

Councils have a duty to make arrangements for care leavers’ accommodation in the pathway plan and assess the suitability of the accommodation. In 2022- 2023, nationally 8 per cent of 17 year old  care leavers, 3 per cent of 18 year old and 6 per cent of 19-21 year old care leavers were recorded as living in unsuitable accommodation. How many care leavers are living in unsuitable accommodation in your area and what are the reasons for this? Also, check what care leavers are feeding back about the quality of accommodation they are living in, what support they are receiving, and, importantly, if they feel safe.

Different care leavers will have different needs, so there should be a range of accommodation options available, including independent living and options for care leavers who are not ready to live independently straight away. While some young people may be able to take on a flat with minimal support from the council, others may need 24/7 access to support. 

Different living arrangements can include:

• Independent living: Where a care leaver lives on their own in a rented property and has their own tenancy agreement, either in social housing or the private rented sector.
• Supported accommodation: Where a care leaver lives in shared accommodation with access to support from specialist floating or visiting support workers 
• Supported lodgings: If a care leaver isn’t ready to live independently straight away they can move into supported lodgings, where they live in the home of a trained host family. Supported lodgings have a focus on the young person learning practical skills to prepare them to live independently. 
• Specialist accommodation: For young people who may have a disability or need support with mental health problems. 

Bed and breakfast accommodation is not suitable for those leaving care. 

Joint housing protocols

In May 2024, the Government amended the Homelessness code of guidance to place an expectation on all children’s authorities and housing authorities to have a joint housing protocol and procedures for care leavers, to take a strategic approach to meeting their accommodation needs and prevent homelessness.  

Government guidance, Joint housing protocols for care leavers: good practice advice, sets out key issues that a local protocol should consider, including:

• Transition planning for care leavers before they leave care
• Helping care leavers to prepare for independent living 
• The availability and suitability of accommodation and support options for care leavers
• Joint contingency planning to set out how children’s services, housing authorities and other key partners should work together to support care leavers facing emergencies, including the loss of accommodation
• Plans for care leavers leaving custody
• How the local authority will accommodate and support care leavers who are living outside the children’s authority area
• joint arrangements for robust scrutiny when intentional homelessness decisions for care leavers are being considered

How are we supporting care leavers to sustain their tenancy?

As they move into independent living care leavers should have access to flexible ongoing support to sustain their tenancy and early support if they start to face any difficulties. Support can include:

• Providing young people with floating or visiting support services, particularly at the start of a tenancy to help the young person settle in, and to be on hand to assist through any crises;
• “Handyman” services to help with home repairs;
• Providing the landlord with contact details for the Personal Adviser, with a care leaver’s consent, so any issues including rent arrears can be addressed early;
• Providing mediation support where a tenancy, placement or return to a family home is at risk of breaking down;
• Setting up Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs) to enable the housing costs component of Universal Credit to be paid direct to the landlord where appropriate;
• A placement panel to track and review care leavers placed in supported accommodation, particularly those at high risk of eviction, involving local providers of housing support.

A gradual transition with flexible, ongoing support has been proven to deliver better outcomes for young people. For example, the National House Project supports councils to set up local programmes which provide care leavers with wrap-around support as they move from care and supported housing into independent living. There are currently 16 House Projects across England and Scotland and nationally, this approach has delivered improved outcomes for care leavers with no tenancy breakdowns or evictions to date. Care leavers involved in the programme report improved emotional, physical and mental health, and have less contact with criminal justice services than their peers.

How are we supporting care leavers who go on to rent in the private rented sector? 

Care leavers report challenges with securing safe and secure housing in the private rented sector (PRS), both due to affordability and discrimination because of their status as a care leaver or as a benefit recipient. In particular, not having access to a guarantor can be a barrier for care leavers renting in the PRS.

There’s a variety of ways that councils can mitigate these challenges, including by:

• Having a guarantor scheme where the council acts as a guarantor for care leavers. Approximately 40 percent of councils now have a guarantor scheme for care leavers.
• Paying care leavers’ first month’s rent in advance and covering the cost of the deposit. 

Housing authorities can also work with private landlords to secure quality properties for care leavers and set the young person’s tenancy up for success, by: 

• Proactively engaging landlords about providing homes for care leavers
• Training landlords on the needs of care leavers
• Robustly checking the standards of PRS properties before they are offered to care leavers
• Placing expectations on landlords to update, with the consent of the young person, a named contact or a service where there is a risk of tenancy breakdown including where rent arrears are accumulating or there are concerns around anti-social behaviour.
• Having a tenancy surrender scheme to allow care leavers who might otherwise be evicted, to surrender their tenancy and return to a more supported environment.

Care leavers under 25 are exempt from the Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR), which limits the level of housing costs available through housing benefit or universal credit to the cost of a room in a shared house. It should be considered how care leavers can be supported to transition from the higher rate of Universal Credit or Housing Benefit to the lower SAR before they reach 25. 

Contingency planning 

Having a fall-back option – an emergency place to stay if things go wrong – can be a big comfort to care leavers. Most of us know that if something goes wrong, we’ve got somewhere to go, and someone who can work through problems with us even if it’s not the first time. Good contingency planning reduces the pressure on them, and is part of being a good corporate parent. Importantly, effective planning avoids being reliant on placing care leavers in unsuitable accommodation options in an emergency, such as bed and breakfasts and inappropriate shared accommodation. It is particularly important to have strong plans in place for care leavers who have been identified to be at risk of homelessness, with a history of placement breakdown or those with additional needs. 

How are we preventing care leavers from being unnecessarily criminalised?

Young people who have been in care and those leaving care are more likely to come into contact with the justice system than those who have not. All agencies including the local authority, care providers, the police, health services, Youth Justice Services and partners in the justice system should follow the national protocol on reducing unnecessary criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers (2018) and have their own local protocol in place. The national protocol sets out best practice to keep care experienced young people out of the criminal justice system, through using restorative and diversionary approaches.

How are we supporting our care leavers who leave custody?

There will be particular partnership considerations for young people who are in custody or are leaving custody. Continuing leaving care support must be made available to care leavers if they are convicted and sentenced to a community sentence, or imprisonment.  This group are at greater risk of becoming homeless, and are likely to have a range of specific needs for support including with employment, training, or mental health. There should be strong joint working relationships and protocols between the leaving care service, the Youth Offending Service and the probation service to provide carefully planned and well-focussed support. All agencies should start making plans well ahead of a young person’s release and the young person’s voice and needs must be at the forefront of planning.

How are we supporting care leavers who are formerly unaccompanied asylum-seeking children?

Care leavers who are formerly unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (those who qualify as a former relevant person), are entitled to the same support from the council as any other care leaver if they have been granted leave to remain or have an outstanding asylum or other human rights claim or appeal. If a care leaver is denied leave to remain, the local authority must carry out a human rights assessment in order to determine whether removing their leaving care support would breach their human rights.

Councils can claim up £270 per week (£14,040 per year) per UASC care leaver until the young person reaches 21, or until 25 if they are in education or training. This funding is subject to the young person having eligible immigration status (for example, they have indefinite leave to remain, refugee status or they have an outstanding asylum claim). 

Care leavers who do not have leave to remain by the time they are 18 are not entitled to working-age national welfare benefits and their access to legal aid can also be impacted. It’s therefore important that UAS children are provided with timely access to expert legal support to resolve their immigration status as soon as possible.

Pathway planning 

It is important that pathway planning for unaccompanied children takes into account a young person’s immigration status. While most unaccompanied children are granted refugee status, humanitarian protection or another form of leave to remain, the decision-making process can be lengthy, leaving the young person in a difficult position to plan ahead. Engagement with the Home Office on asylum claims should be timely. Furthermore, work on the pathway plan should plan for all possible outcomes of child’s immigration or asylum case: 

• Preparing a young person for a potential future in the UK if they receive leave to remain
• Preparing the young person to leave the UK and resume life in their home country if they have their claim rejected and exhaust all right to appeal
• Support for the young person if they have been refused leave to remain in the UK but have not been removed.  

Those awaiting a decision on an asylum claim are not allowed to work. Pathway plans should be clear on the support available to the young person, and to safeguard against potential risks; for example informal work in poor conditions, or modern slavery. The risk of the young person going missing should also be considered when agreeing how often they will be in contact with their personal adviser. 

Access to specialist support

Care leavers, who were UAS children, are a particularly vulnerable group; they are separated from their family, they have recently arrived in the UK and may speak little English. Many faced abuse, mistreatment and unsafe conditions in their country of origin or on the journey to the UK, which can result in significant trauma and psychological distress. Some may be victims of modern slavery or people trafficking. 

They have very specific needs that must be catered for to help them prepare for and adjust to independent living, whether in the UK or in their home country, and to fulfil their potential. Similarly, your council may be looking after foreign-national children who are not necessarily asylum-seekers, but may have immigration issues and links to other countries. Given the need for specialist support, it’s important to consider what arrangements are in place to help care leavers who were formerly UAS children settle into life in the UK and set them up for adult life in a new country. How easily can they access specialist mental health support services, specialist support groups or programmes to learn English? 

Illegal Migration Act 2023

Under the Illegal Migration Act 2023, there will be a duty to remove most UAS children from the UK when they turn 18. When this comes into force, there is a risk that this will drive changing behaviours for example children going missing shortly before their 18^th birthday to avoid removal. The LGA is working with the Government to ensure that these risks are fully understood and opportunities for mitigation identified.

Are there particular considerations for other children in care with immigration issues?

Some children in care may have immigration issues but have not applied for asylum. For example, these children can be foreign-nationals who were removed from their families due to neglect or abuse, or who came to the UK with their families and were abandoned here. In some cases, the child might be stateless, or might be eligible for British citizenship but their citizenship application has not been made. As with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, it is important that the child’s immigration status is considered in any care plan, assessment, and pathway planning. Support, including legal advice, should also be provided so that the child can have the most secure status possible in accordance with their plans. 

How are we making sure care leavers have access to services they need to stay mentally and physically well?

As corporate parents, councils and the NHS should must ensure care leavers can access the services they need to stay well and manage their mental and physical health and wellbeing, including considering their specific needs when planning and commissioning services. 

Councillors can influence the design and funding of local NHS services through their role in Integrated Health Partnerships (ICP’s) – a joint committee between NHS Integrated Care Boards, upper-tier councils and other partners – which are responsible for developing an integrated care strategy for the area to improve health outcomes and commission services for all patients in their footprint.

All upper-tier local authorities also have Health and Wellbeing Boards, which have a responsibility to identify the health needs of the local population and prepare joint local health and wellbeing strategies to meet those needs. Health and Wellbeing boards should also consider how partners will work together to support care leavers to maintain and improve their mental and physical health. Delivery of joint local health and wellbeing strategies are monitored by the health and wellbeing board. 

Particular issues to look out for include:

• mental health services – care leavers are more likely to have a mental health difficulty than the general population.
• sexual health and family planning services – young people who grew up in the care system are around 2.5 times more likely to become teenage parents. 
• drug and alcohol prevention services – a third of young people leaving care report problems with drugs or alcohol within a year.

Do children and young people have good access to services to support with these, and other health issues? How long are they typically waiting for support? Seek feedback from the care leavers to understand their experience of accessing services and whether they are adequate. Have services been co-produced with children and young people, or care leavers? Has your local area developed a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for Children in Care and Care Leavers, such as in Hull? Health scrutiny committees also provide further opportunities to look at whether health services for care leavers are sufficient and inclusive. 

Councils should also consider working with their Integrated Care Boards to secure free prescriptions for care leavers, like in Sandwell, London and Manchester, which can make a real difference to their ability to manage their health. 

Improving mental health support

NHS child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and after 18, Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS) provide specialist support with more serious mental health conditions. Issues that do not meet the CAMHS threshold, for example, depression and anxiety, are likely to be treated through public health interventions such as online support, or through provision from GPs. 

Care leavers report facing various barriers to accessing mental health support from specialist NHS services, including not meeting the threshold for support and long waiting times. If they can access services, care leavers are often only offered time limited interventions like CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) which can be unsuitable.

While there is guidance to support smooth transitions between CAMHS and AMHS, young people consistently report difficulties with the transition. This can include disruptions in care, having to recount trauma repeatedly to new professionals, not being ready for adult services, or having care stopped altogether due to not meeting the thresholds for AMHS. The majority of CAMHS in England provide support up to the age of 18; while some stop at 16 and others, such as Liverpool, have created an integrated CAMHS until 25. The NHS Long Term Plan committed to moving to a 0-25 years CAMHS by 2028. 

Working with the NHS, through Integrated Care Boards, councils can put a variety of measures in place to ensure care leavers get access to the mental health support they need, including:

• Having a dedicated CAMHS for children in care that extends support for care leavers up to 25
• Fast tracking referrals for children in care and care leavers to CAMHS and AMHS; 
• Paying for private counselling;
• Dedicated mental health workers or teams for care leavers;
• Wider provisions for wellbeing, such as arts-based mental health support groups and wellbeing workshops 
• Providing PA’s with mental health training and training in trauma-informed practice.

For example, Barking and Dagenham has a full-time “emotional wellbeing and mental health practitioner” within the leaving care team, who offers therapeutic support and can refer care leavers to specialist NHS services where needed. Surrey has links with New Leaf, a regional service run by the NHS and the voluntary sector, which offers therapeutic support – some practitioners work only with care leavers and others support PAs. 

How do we help care leavers access, and remain in, employment or further education and training?

While the majority of care leavers aged 19-21 are in education, employment or training, a significant minority, 38 per cent, are not – this is around 3 times higher than for all young people.  

Councils have a key role to play in making sure that care leavers have a clear path to follow when they leave compulsory education and tailored support to achieve their goals. Personal advisers should support young people as they develop their pathway plans and provide support to apply for university places or find and apply for traineeships, T-Levels, apprenticeships and jobs.

Local careers and employment services, and partners like Job Centre Plus, should also be involved in supporting care leavers to consider what they want to do after compulsory education, and help with job searching, CV writing and interview skills. While the PA is responsible for coordinating support for each young person leaving care to move into employment, education or training, effective partnership working between the leaving care team, local skills and employment service, and the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for care leavers within every Job Centre Plus to provide joined up support and maximise opportunities for care leavers. For example, Blackpool Council has a dedicated careers advisor for care leavers, co-located within the wider employment team, to whom PAs can refer young people for ongoing support. The advisor works closely with the Virtual School Head, local colleges, Adult Learning services, training providers, local employers and other partners to provide wrap-around support.

Bear in mind potential barriers to opportunities – care leavers might worry about where they will stay during university holidays, how they will get to a job outside their town, or whether they can support themselves through an apprenticeship. Check that it’s easy to find out about financial and practical support available, and that these are discussed with care leavers well in advance of key decision points.

For those moving into work or vocational training, good preparation and tailored ongoing support is important so that care leavers know what to expect and develop the skills to succeed. Lincolnshire County Council’s Care Leavers Apprenticeship Scheme, delivered by Barnardo’s, provides young people with a two-stage Work Preparation Programme, consisting of a two-day course covering interview techniques and the skills needed for work, followed by a supervised 13-week work placement matched to the young person’s interests. Those that progress onto an apprenticeship are provided with wrap-around support, including having access to ‘on-call’ staff for advice or emotional support, and practical help – like having someone to go with them to buy work clothes. 

Have we signed up to the Care Leaver Covenant and how are we promoting it? Are we taking a whole-council approach to support care leavers by creating ringfenced training and employment opportunities? 

The Care Leaver Covenant encourages councils to take a ‘whole-council approach’ to supporting care leavers, recognising that all council services are corporate parents and should be relentlessly working to ensure care leavers have access to the best opportunities – as any good parent would. The Covenant’s ‘A Whole-council approach strategy,’  sets out various actions that councils can take to improve care leavers’ access to education, employment and training, including:

• offering ring-fenced. apprenticeships, internships or work experience opportunities for care leavers 
• Revising the Social Value Policy to ensure that apprenticeships, internships and work experience specifically for care leavers are a standard part of procurement practices and are written into contracts over a certain value
• Working with local businesses, employer groups and other partners to increase the number, range and take up of education, employment and training (EET) opportunities for care leavers. 

As major employers within their area, creating ringfenced opportunities within the council is a simple and direct way to support care leavers to gain work experience and give them a route into quality training and work. 

When running schemes, it should be considered how any financial and practical barriers to taking up roles can be removed, and once in the role, how care leavers will be supported to thrive. The Care Leaver Covenant recommends that internships and apprenticeships meet the following criteria:

• They are paid at or above the ‘living wage’ for the area;
• provide built-in support , such as a mentor, or workplace coach or ‘buddy’, and training for staff who will line-manage the care leaver;
• They are certified, so that the care leaver gets certification for the skills they gain;
• Care leavers have the opportunity to progress into further training or a permanent job, for example by having a guaranteed interview. 

To improve care leavers access to permanent roles within the council, councils can ring-fence entry-level roles for care leavers, offer Job Interview schemes for those with care experience (where anyone who has spent time in the care system is provided with a guaranteed interview if they meet the minimum criteria for a role) and provide additional support throughout the recruitment process and constructive interview feedback. Removing qualification requirements for entry-level roles can also help to remove barriers for care leavers who may have left school without qualifications.

Check what’s already being provided in your area or whether similar schemes could be introduced.

Government Guidance

• The Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations, Volume 3: planning transition to adulthood for care leavers (October 2010) 
• Department for Education, Applying corporate parenting principles to looked-after children and care leavers (February 2018) 
• Department for Education, Promoting the education of looked after children and previously looked after children: Statutory guidance for local authorities (February 2018) 
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Homelessness code of guidance from local authorities (February 2018)
• Department for Education and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Joint housing protocols for care leavers: good practice advice, (October 2020)
• Department for Education, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, National protocol on reducing the criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers, (November 2018) 

Local Government Association Guides 

• Local Government Association, Youth justice resource pack, (April 2018)  
• Local Government Association, Placements Resource Pack 
• Local Government Association, Corporate Parenting Resource Pack 

Resources from external partners 

• Care Leaver Covenant, ‘whole council approach’ strategy
• Coram Voice, Sorted and Supported, a guide to care leavers rights and entitlements
• TACT, Language that cares (March 2019)
• Youth Justice Legal Centre, Dare to Care: Representing Care Experienced Young People 
• Coram Children’s Legal Centre, Leaving Care Support 
• Chief Archivists In Local Government Group (CALGG) of the Archives and Records Association, The records of adopted and care-experienced people – developing guidance for record-keepers and care professionals, (February 2024)