Our Local Offer to Care Leavers is for young people in Sheffield who are in the process of leaving the care system and becoming independent.
It is designed to provide you with all the information about services and support in one place to help you to achieve your future goals and aspirations.
It also sets out the support you will receive from our Leaving Care Service in the form of a Personal Advisor.
Your Personal Advisor
Sheffield’s Leaving Care Service will allocate a Personal Advisor (PA) to young people in care by the time they reach the age of 16 years and 3 months.
A PA is an experienced support worker who is trained to work with care leavers on a range of issues. Your PA is there to offer you support, advice, guidance and assistance to help you develop your independence. At the very start, they will usually work together with your social worker to make the transition as smooth as possible.
We're here to help
Leaving care can be a difficult and confusing time and we don't stop caring about you just because you are leaving care or have already left care.
Your PA will talk to you about the information in our Local Offer, and if you have any further questions or feel you need something different, you can just ask them. They can help you with finding accommodation, support with finances, engaging in education, training and employment and signposting you to other agencies.
They are also there to listen to your views and help you to manage friendships and relationships, which at times can be tricky.
Your PA will be in contact with you regularly and will see you face to face at least once every three months. Their work with you will formally end when you reach the age of 21, if you would like it to. However, you can always come back to the team until you are 25 for additional advice and guidance when you need it.
Your Pathway Plan
Your Pathway Plan is a written plan that makes sure you have the support you need at the right time to help you achieve your life goals. Just like social workers, Personal Advisors will update your Pathway Plan with you every six months.
As individuals, you will have different needs and different abilities when it comes to managing a budget. Some young people may already have income of their own, such as a training allowance or wages from employment. This means that, for each of you, we will agree the support you need and this will be recorded in your Pathway Plan.
The link below to our Local Care Leavers Offer gives more information about the support that you can receive to help you in your early journey into adulthood.