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Your commitments to us

So that we can have the best relationship together through these commitments, we ask that you try your very best to:

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  • treat us with respect, even when you don’t agree with suggestions we are making
  • keep in touch with us as much as you can or feel comfortable with
  • listen to and think about our advice andn guidance, even if you don’t always follow it
  • let us know if you feel we are treating you unfairly or if we have made a mistake. We would like a chance to make things right
  • accept our support and let us know when you don’t want or need our help
  • understand that we have to make decisions about your safety when the law says we must or when you are in danger
  • apologise and take responsibility for your actions when you make mistakes
  • keep working hard on your goals, dreams and ambitions to the best of your ability
  • be open and honest with us as much as possible
  • tell us what your views, wishes and feelings are on anything we do to help
  • let us know if you are in trouble or making decisions that are not good for you
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What should I expect?

You can expect the following support:

Your PA will listen to you and help you with decisions that will affect your future - you will be provided with the information and support required to help you make decisions about where you are going to live, what you are going to do and how we are going to support you to look after yourself. This means:

  1. you will have a PA by the time you are 16 years old and you will have decided with them and your social worker how they will support you on your journey to young adulthood and beyond
  2. we will, together with you, develop an individual Pathway Plan from the age of 16 years which clearly sets out what you need, your aspirations, goals, including where you will live, study and work
  3. provide you with somewhere safe to live and help you make it your home
  4. offer you a clear financial plan setting out the money you will have to spend on everything, including rent, bills, travel, food and your well-being
  5. support you with education, training and employment opportunities
  6. help you to be healthy
  7. provide you with a ‘health summary’ which will include your health history and health needs
  8. ensure you have a passport, national insurance number and birth certificate prior to your 18th birthday
  9. ensure we listen to you and share with you clearly what you can do if you are not happy about something
  10. we will help you with contact with your family if you want this and it is safe for this to happen. Obviously as an adult, you are free to make your own choices, but we will help you to think about what will work or not

Who will support you?

Bexley’s Leaving Care Service is here to help support you as you learn to live more independently. Your PA will help to make positive and ambitious plans for your future.

As a young adult leaving our care you will have an allocated PA (PA) from the Leaving Care Team from the age of 16 years. Your Social Worker, your Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) and your PA will start to talk with you about a new plan for your future, called ‘a pathway plan’. This plan willn set out the things you need as you prepare to live your life independently when you are 18 years old. Your pathway plan must be an important part of your journey to leaving our care and we will help you write it so that you understand the support you have as you make decisions about where you will live, the job you do or the education and training you want to continue.

Your social worker and Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) who know you well, will remain responsible, with you, for your pathway plan until you are 18. In the two years whilst we support you to prepare for your 18th birthday, we really hope that a new and important relationship will develop with your PA. They will become an important adult in your life until you are 25 years old. Please do think of your pathway plan as being so important as a guide for you, that you have a shorter copy on your fridge or somewhere you can see it regularly so that you stay hopeful about your future!

How will I be involved?

For your Pathway Plan to be effective it will be based on your current needs, setting out the support that will be offered to you to achieve your aspirations.

As already mentioned, you will be fully involved in the development of the Plan and you will be offered support from your PA, your Social Worker and your IRO to express your wishes and views for your pathway plan review meetings as well.

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What will be included in my pathway plan?

  • relationships and support
  • accommodation arrangements
  • education, training and employment
  • health and development
  • independent living skills
  • family and social networks

Your PA will help you to develop and work with a support network which may include family, friends, cultural or religious organisations, and other support services or professionals. Your PA will visit you as frequently as you need to give you the maximum amount of support.

In Bexley, PAs are asked to visit you every month when you are 18 years old. However, you can request to see your PA more or less frequently.

Contact telephone numbers;

Duty Personal Advisor Team – 0203 0455048

Your pathway plan is important for you and for us so that we can agree goals that support your future needs and aspirations. We have high ambitions for you; therefore, it is important that you are involved in the writing of your plan. 

When writing your plan, we will focus on what is working well, what you may be worried about, and what practical things need to happen to make your plan work for you. We must check what is working with your plan at least every 6 months, but life changes happen so often that it would usually be more regular. Remember, your plan belongs to you. 

If you want us to look at it at any time and make changes, please ask. This is your life, you are in control of much of it, and we are here to make it a happy and safe one.

Birthdays, festivals and other significant moments in life

All young adults leaving our care will receive a birthday card from their PA, a good luck phone call ahead of exams, and communication on the first day of a new job.

What if I need immigration support?

You may be a young adult leaving our care who had or has an application with the Home Office which is under consideration for asylum and refugee status. Sometimes, these applications can take a long time, sometimes years, to process during which time you will not have permanent status in the UK nor be able to work or receive regular benefits. However, you will be entitled to support from the Leaving Care Service including funding for housing, subsistence, healthcare and prescriptions.

It will be important that these considerations are planned with you as much in advance as possible before you reach 18 years of age. You can ask your PA for further information on what support you are entitled to and how to appeal decisions. 

If your leave to remain status is approved, this will normally last for five years and be subject to review. It will also grant you the right to work and possibly claim benefits during this period. Further discretionary periods of leave to remain can also be granted and you will be assisted to make an application for further leave to remain by making sure you contact your solicitor. 

As part of your pathway plan, it will be important to talk about what happens if your application for leave to remain in the UK is denied. 

Your solicitor will explore the appeals routes as well as what happens if you are facing removal from the UK and how this may need to be planned.

If your appeal rights are exhausted, we will continue to support you up until the Human Rights Assessment outcome. The important to thing to remember is that we will not abandon you and make sure that an alternative organisation, such as NASS, supports you if the local authority is not able to do this!