A successful, independent, secure and safe adult

Bexley young adults leaving care and Positive Journeys Seniors want you to be a successful, independent, secure and safe adult.

Until you are 25 years old we will stay in your life in many ways:

We want to walk alongside you in your first steps into adulthood by:

  • make sure you know who your Personal Adviser is by the time you are 161/2 years old
  • make sure that you know all the people who will help you as you prepare to leave our care. This will include your Social Worker, your Independent Reviewing Officer, your Personal Adviser and your Carer (as well as your family if that is good enough for you)
  • supporting your relationship with a Personal Adviser who will stay in touch, look out for you and be there to plan your future with you until you are 25
  • create a ‘pathway plan’, together with you, which is a clear and aspirational plan for your future
  • making sure you have a safe home in which to live l Supporting you to fulfil your hopes and dreams, and looking at options if they change

We will help you with:

  • a setting up Home Grant of £2000
  • if you are a parent, we will invite you to be a member of our Positive Journeys parents group
  • opening a bank account l Having the right ID for work and or benefit payments, this can include a passport and provisional driving licence
  • travel costs to stay in touch with family and friends
  • getting your national insurance number before you become 18 years old

Looking after your money just before you become 18

We will support you to maximise any benefits that you may be entitled to access.

  • have a space ready for you on our money management course to make sure you know what money you have to spend on yourself, your bills and your home, and how to avoid debt and money worries
  • help you create a budget plan, with your income and outgoings mapped out
  • your Personal Adviser will help you purchase and set up a documents folder so you can keep track of your information - bills, emergency numbers, your tenancy agreement and your pathway plan, all safe and available, should you ever need to access them
  • guide you with a listening ear on how best to keep up to date with your rent and other priority bills

Education, employment and training

We want to help you to achieve your dreams!

  • we will help you with advice on continuing education, training or employment
  • we will make sure that you have a job (including an apprenticeship), still go to school, college or university
  • we will make sure you know how to apply for our academy for Young Adults, which might mean that we sponsor you as an apprentice locally in Bexley
  • we will always aim high for you

Housing

Where you live is almost the most important decision as you become an independent young adult. We will help you:

  • think about you staying with your carers after you become 18 (Staying Put)
  • whether you are ready and want to live in your own flat
  • think about whether you live with some support (sometimes called being semi-independent)
  • whether you return to live with your family or family member if it is safe enough You will not need to pay council tax until your 26th birthday if you have been a looked after child in Bexley

Health passport

We will make sure you move into adulthood with a Health Passport covering your health history which you may need or want in the future.

We will make sure you are registered with a GP (doctor) and understand your own health history and needs.

Studying

We will support you to apply for the Discounted Travel Card if you are over 18 and in full-time education or training. 

Help you to apply for a bursary of £1,200 a year if you stay in full-time education. This is an additional payment to help you stay in college and does not have to be paid back. 

Help you to apply for a Higher Education Bursary of £2000 per academic year. This also does not have to be repaid. We will help you access a student finance package. A typical full-time undergraduate student finance package is made up of two elements:

  • tuition fee loan to cover the cost of your course l Maintenance loan to help cover your living costs
  • we will provide you with somewhere to live in the holidays and if you prefer and it is possible, support you with our ‘staying put’ option

Both loans need to be paid back but only once your income reaches a certain level.

Studying part-time?

We can still help you by supporting your application for a maintenance loan for part time courses on top of the current tuition fee loan.

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships and bursaries come in various shapes and sizes. They might be offered on the basis of what you have achieved so far, they may be means-tested and based on your household income and personal circumstances or perhaps a combination of both. We can help you apply for these if your circumstances fit.