Location: Bristol Salary: Up to £37,290 Per Annum + £1,500 Out of Hours Rota Allowance + £500 Home Working Allowance Closing Date: 17/04/2020 Interview Date: 30/04/2020 Hours: 35 hours per week Full Time - Permanent
Home based TACT, the UK’s largest fostering and adoption charity now has over 500 dedicated carers, who look after over 600 children and young people across the country. Our reputation and growth rests upon our strength in providing successful placements. As a charity, we do not have shareholders who receive profits and we invest all of our surplus income into service, staff, carers, and children’s development. This is an exciting opportunity for a Senior Supervising Social Worker to be part of a national non-profit making organisation at a local level. We are interested in hearing from Senior Supervising Social Workers for whom quality of service is paramount and in those who share our commitment to working in partnership with children and their foster carers in the development of the agency. The overall purpose of the Senior Supervising Social Worker is to recruit, assess, train and support a diverse range of foster carers and placements. As a Senior Supervising Social Worker you will be required to have:
The successful candidate will be office based for the first six months after which the role will revert to a home-based role. The candidate will be required to participate on an out of hours’ rota and will be paid an additional allowance of £1,500 per annum for this duty (once participating in the rota) in addition to this you will receive £500 per annum Home Working Allowance. An enhanced disclosure check is required for the Senior Supervising Social Worker role and will be requested for you by TACT. The Senior Supervising Social Worker will be eligible for TACT's excellent benefits package which includes:
Please see the job information pack for further information. Closing Date: Friday, 17th April 2020 Interviews via Skype: Thursday, 30th April 2020 Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believe that only the people with the right skills and values should work in social work. As part of TACT’s commitment to safeguarding, we properly examine the skills, experience, qualifications and values of potential staff in relation to our work with vulnerable young children. We use rigorous and consistent recruitment approaches to help safeguard TACT’s young people. All our staff are expected to work in line with TACT’s safeguarding policies. TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. TACT reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment Full details and application documents here At home with the family? Our parenting coach Joanna Miskin suggests 37 things you can do with your toddlers (ages 0 to five) at home. 1. Share favourite stories and books. It’s a great way to spend time together and help your children with their reading skills, speech and language. 2. Dig out some old socks and make puppets together. Glue on old buttons for the eyes or draw them on for a fun activity that will encourage their creativity. Once you’ve finished your puppets make yourself a theatre out of an old cardboard box and host your own puppet show. 3. Get the paints out and get painting. But don’t limit yourself to boring old brushes - use your hands and fingers to make pictures. 4. Playing with playdough is not only a fun thing to do but is also great for developing motor skills. You can make your own with flour, water, vegetable oil and salt – add food colouring to make different coloured doughs. 5. If the weather is bad, make an indoor picnic for you and your little ones and enjoy some role play – take it in turns to serve or be the chef. 6. Board game sessions are good for everyone and a good way to show your pre-schooler how to take turns and share. 7. If you’re stuck indoors and can’t get out, singing and dancing are brilliant ways to exercise so put some music on and have a disco. 8. Make your own musical instruments from items you have at home. A box and some string can become a guitar or put some rice in a plastic bottle for a homemade maraca. You can even form a band and put on a show with your new instruments. 9. Baking together is a creative and clever way to introduce maths skills – and everyone can enjoy the end product! 10. Dig out the dressing up box. You don’t need to have expensive shop bought costumes for this. What about Dad’s hat or a scarf from Mum’s wardrobe? 11. Head out into the garden and collect some leaves. Count them together for a quick maths lesson before using paints to make a print with them. 12. Tip pasta, rice or lentils into a tray and encourage your child to make a pattern in it or fill up different sized containers. You can play similar games with cornflour and flour although it’s a bit messier so you’ll need your aprons. 13. Allow your child to choose a theme every day or week and base your planned activities around that. Focus on something you know your child will enjoy from “dinosaur” to “under the sea” or “people who help us”. 14. Run a bath and fill with toys that your child wouldn’t normally play with at bath time. If you’re doing “theme of the week”, a funnel and jug from the kitchen or toys could all be good options to adapt. 15. If you can’t get to an indoor soft play why not create one in your front room from pillows and cushions? It will burn off some energy and help your child’s physical development. 16. Help children to have something to look forward to by creating spring or Easter cards for other members of the family. 17. Create “snowballs” from rolled up bits of newspaper and split into two teams. Use a line of cushions to create a dividing line, set a timer and the team with the least amount of snowballs on their side at the end is declared the winner. 18. Collect old newspapers and magazines to make a collage – using scissors under supervision helps with their motor skills. 19. Help your children learn about different emotions by drawing emotion faces on paper plates. Copy those faces in the mirror together and talk about what they might be feeling. 20. Simple puzzles for toddlers can be a good way to spend time together and help with problem solving. 21. Use this time to plant some seeds or small plants for the garden and you have an activity that can be carried on throughout the spring and into the summer. It’s also a good excuse to be outside. 22. If the weather is good enough take a football for a kick around in the garden to get them moving – count the goals and it becomes a maths lesson too! 23. Warmer weather is also an excuse to wrap up and head outside with a blanket to do some cloud watching. What shapes can you see in the sky? 24. Pretend you’re all heading off on a camping adventure and make a den in the front room with duvets, pillows and cushions. 25. Grab a packet of plain biscuits and some icing sugar and get decorating. Not only does this develop creativity and motor skills, but everyone gets a treat at the end! 26. Collect up all your toy motor vehicles and create a mini car wash in the sink or a bowl. 27. Take it in turns to blow bubbles. When it’s your turn to blow ask your little one to run around and pop them to get them moving as well. 28. Make a touchy-feely box by picking up different textured items from around the house and then asking your child to reach their hand in and describe what they can feel. 29. Depending on your child’s age, play a round of musical chairs or musical cushions for the much younger ones. 30. Blow up some balloons and set a challenge that they’re not allowed to touch the floor during a game of catch. 31. Have a tea party for teddies and dolls. Ask your child to share out food such as breadsticks with all of them, counting as they do so. 32. Practice cutting skills by making shapes out of folded up paper. 33. Become a fashion designer for the day and get them drawing on an old plain t-shirt. 34. Dig out some face paints, or maybe old make up if you like, and get them face painting. Perhaps something that fits with your theme of the week? 35. Come up with a treasure hunt and leave clues around a room for your child to follow. The treasure at the end could be anything from some fruit from the fruit bowl, costume jewellery or a teddy bear. 36. Play a game of Simon Says to get them moving - ask them to do Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes or the Hokey Cokey. 37. For slightly older children in this age group put up a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. If they don’t like being blindfolded then just ask them to close their eyes instead. Source: https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk Here at Team Fostering, we’re aware that it’s a troubling time for everyone, including our children and young people, our foster carers, our staff and our many colleagues in other organisations. We’re conscious that at this moment, when so much is fluctuating in our day to day worlds, any stability we can provide at this time is appreciated. While we're being advised to stay at home, many vulnerable children and young people remain in uncertain, unstable home situations. By becoming a foster carer, you can help improve the lives of the young people we work with. We’re aware that at the moment, although you may be considering becoming a foster carer, you may be unsure if it’s the right thing to progress with at this time – please do get in touch, our expert team are here to chat through any questions and concerns you might have, and help you take the first step on your foster care journey. We will continue to recruit our prospective foster carers on an ongoing basis, and we are adapting our recruitment process using telephone, video calling and other technology to help us progress applications where appropriate. We are also introducing an Online Application Form to simplify the recruitment process further. Team Fostering is committed to providing continuity of service to all our children, carers, staff and others during the Coronavirus outbreak, and we are putting resources in place which will support us to do this. We have now moved to working from home for all of our staff members to support social distancing measures, but we continue to operate as normal – you can still reach us on our central office telephone numbers, and 24/7 cover will remain in place with our Supervisory Social Workers throughout this time. Planning is taking place to consider the best way to undertake important meetings with our carers, using technology and telephone, and we are looking at how we can best facilitate events including fostering panels in other ways. All other processes will proceed as usual, with any necessary adjustments required. We are aware that the current COVID-19 situation is constantly changing, and we will remain adaptable to any updates we receive, while striving to provide a consistent service to those we work with. We wish you good health. Team Fostering is an independent, not-for-profit fostering agency operating across the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands. We have strong, ethical values and behaviours and continually look to welcome new foster carers to the team. Read our eligibility criteria by clicking here. If you're interested in learning more about fostering, you can get in touch in one of the following ways: call us on 0800 292 2003 send an online enquiry by clicking here email us via info@teamfostering.co.uk Source: www.teamfostering.co.uk Team Fostering is a not for profit fostering agency, with an annual turnover of over £9m, based in the North East, Yorkshire & the East Midlands. We have been successfully supporting children & young people living in foster care to achieve positive outcomes since 2001. We are now looking for two Non-Executive Directors, based within this geographical footprint, who have senior-level knowledge, experience & expertise in the foster care sector. We require candidates who can sign up fully to the ethical & not for profit stance which underpins all that we do to make a positive difference to the lives of children & young people. The successful candidate(s) will also provide a creative contribution to the Board via objective criticism and independent judgement on issues of strategy, performance and resourcing of the agency, including involvement in key appointments & standards of conduct. The post holder(s) will be independent of any of the company’s interested parties and bring a degree of objectivity & impartiality to the Board’s deliberations and play a valuable role monitoring executive management. This is a part time role requiring, as a minimum, 30 days work per year and a minimum of 1.5 days worked each month equating to £13,335.75 per annum. Part of this monthly commitment is attendance at a monthly Board meeting which may be held in one of our North Shields, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Sheffield or South Normanton offices. Other responsibilities and pieces of work taken on, at the direction of the Board, are paid at an hourly rate of £59.27. For further information, please ring Alex Cooper, Retained Consultant on 0191 653 1049 To apply, please complete an Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form (available here) and return to hr@teamfostering.co.uk no later than 9am on Friday 1st May. Please note Team Fostering does not accept CVs. All posts are subject to Enhanced DBS Disclosure Closing Date: 9.00 am on Friday 1 May 2020 Interviews will be held on: Wednesday 20 May 2020 at our Middlesbrough office. Please note if you are shortlisted for interview we will contact you via the email you have provided. Please ensure you check your emails regularly. Thank you for your interest in Team Fostering and taking the time to apply for this position. Full details and application documents here Location: Various locations across Norfolk, Peterborough & Cambridgeshire Salary: £24,307 pa, depending on qualifications. Contract Type: 12 Month, Fixed Term Contract / Full Time Closing Date: Thursday 30 April 2020 (Job Reference Number: SCSC3391) We currently have some amazing opportunities open for two enthusiastic and motivated individual’s to join us as Staying Connected Coordinator’s within our Staying Connected Team. These brand new, 12 month, fixed term roles have been created to support our expanding team.
The positions will cover the Norfolk, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire areas. We anticipate that each role will be allocated their own individual geographical areas to cover, in line with the needs of the service. As a Staying Connected Coordinator, you will provide help; emotionally and practically to support young people who are transitioning from care into independence within their local community. This role will also involve, facilitating and coordinating a strengths based, young person led meeting to improve the support network around young people being supported by the Staying Close Team. The ideal candidate will be enthusiastic, creative and motivated with a professional, caring and calm approach. You will need to be able to demonstrate commitment, flexibility and imagination. You will also need to be creative in problem solving and be able to work well using your own initiative and within a team. If you are interested in enriching the lives of the people we support, especially those who are living within the Norfolk, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire areas, please take a look at the Essential Job Information and apply. The ability to work flexibly is essential as the role may include an element of evening and weekend work. Candidates should also hold a full valid driving licence and have regular access to a vehicle for work purposes. Qualifications We pride ourselves on being an inclusive and supportive employer and recognise that working in care, although incredibly rewarding, is not without its challenges. Therefore, we want you to feel appreciated for the life changing work you are doing. You will receive comprehensive training, company pension scheme, have excellent career progression opportunities, and be working in a warm and welcoming work environment – amongst many other things. Essential Information Salary: The current full time salary scale for this position is £24,307 per annum, depending on qualifications. Hours: 38 hours per week Closing Date: Thursday 30th April 2020 To comply with the Immigration Asylum & Nationality Act 2006 and additional amendments, and UK Border Agency (UKBA) requirements, all prospective employees will be asked to supply evidence of eligibility to work in the UK. We will ask to see and take a copy of an appropriate official document as set out in the UKBA guidelines. Do not send anything now, further information will be sent to you should you be invited to interview. We are committed to equality of opportunity. Your current immigration status will not be taken into account when assessing your application against the selection criteria for the post. For more information on this job opportunity, please initially email or call the HR Team via the contact details found on our website. Source: https://break-charity.current-vacancies.com/ Location: Northants Salary: £33,561 pa + £500 Home Working Allowance + £1,500 OOH Allowance (once participating) Closing Date: 20/04/2020 Interview Date: 29/04/2020 Hours: 35 Hours Per Week Established in 1992, TACT is the UK’s largest specialist charity provider of fostering and adoption services. Our core work involves providing high quality and well supported fostering or adoptive families for children and young people in the care of local authorities. Working in partnership with local authorities from our offices across England, Wales and Scotland, we are dedicated to providing creative, effective and outcome-focused services. We also campaign on behalf of children and young people in care, carers and adoptive families and are a leading voice in the sector.
Our vision is to provide better lives for our children and young people. This is an exciting opportunity to be a Senior Supervising Social Worker within a national non-profit making organisation at a local level. We are interested in individuals for whom quality of service is paramount and in those who share our commitment to working in partnership with children and their foster carers in the development of the agency. TACT East Midlands are currently seeking a full time, enthusiastic and committed Senior Supervising Social Worker to recruit, assess, train and support a diverse range of foster carers and placements, mainly working in the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire area initially but with the potential for duties across the TACT East Midlands region. For this post, you will need to have significant post qualifying experience, be DipSW, CSS or CQSW qualified and registered with Social Work England. An Enhanced DBS clearance is also required and is requested for you by TACT. Main responsabilities (please see full Job Description):
TACT's employee benefits includes:
Please see the job information pack for further information. The successful candidate will receive £500 per annum Home Working Allowance. Will be also required to participate on an out of hours’ rota granting an additional allowance of £1,500 per annum for this duty (once participating in the rota). Closing Date: Monday, 20th April 2020 Interviews: Wednesday, 29th April 2020 through Skype Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believe that only the people with the right skills and values should work in social work. As part of TACT’s commitment to safeguarding, we properly examine the skills, experience, qualifications and values of potential staff in relation to our work with vulnerable young children. We use rigorous and consistent recruitment approaches to help safeguard TACT’s young people. All our staff are expected to work in line with TACT’s safeguarding policies. TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. TACT reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Full details and application documents here Circa: £37,000 pro rata (plus £700 pa on call allowance) Department/Division: Scotland Location: Inverness Contract Type: Permanent Part Time Hours: Part time (22 hours - flexible) Closing Date: 15 April 2020 Senior Practitioner (Fostering)
Do you have the values we need? Do you want to be part of a Service that helps young people feel valued and important? … helps them grow and feel stronger? … inspire and help them feel safe? How we work: Action for Children does what's right, does what's needed and does what works for children in the UK. Every year our services change the lives of 390,000 children, young people and families. Gael Og Fostering Service is a specialist fostering service that offers attachment- based therapeutic care to children and young people who cannot be looked after at home. We offer the highest standard of care providing carers with excellent training, supervision and support to achieve the best outcomes for the young people we look after. We have excellent Fostering Inspections and provide good quality of care to young people, always ensuring we listen to our young people every step of the way. Our Service is growing, and as a Senior Practitioner you will be working in our (Fostering Scotland) team based in our Inverness office. How you will make a difference: By bringing you: your experience values and enthusiasm, and being part of a team (Social Workers, Children's Workers and Therapists) to support fostering families to provide stable and loving experiences for young people. You will work with others to inspire, support and keep children and young people safe, to create memories and support connections with young people's families, their brothers and sisters; and you will feel confident and skilled in your role. You will promote the highest standards of care and wellbeing for our young people and guide and deliver training to foster carers and team members with opportunity to really get to know young people and support them on their journey. By thinking therapeutically and creatively (with and for) young people and ensuring best practice, you will make a real and lasting difference. You will be part of a team that values relational based practice where this is the heart of all that we do! What you'll need: A degree in social work or equivalent and experience of safeguarding/ public protection is essential. Experience of family placement and/or PQ training would be an advantage. Registered or willing to be registered with SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council) The rewards When you join Action for Children, you will be joining a collaborative, diverse and supportive team of like-minded-individuals, every one of them as passionate as you are. We want all of our employees to feel valued and well rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts:
Action for Children is committed to safer recruitment practices, designed to protect the welfare of the children and and young people using our services. Apply Now. Please be aware that we may need to conduct initial interviews as a non face to face format due to the current Covid-19 climate. If you have any other questions regarding this role, please contact Lynsey Munro on 07920 428 847 Full details and application documents here A message from St Christopher’s Chief Executive, Jonathan Whalley St Christopher’s has 150 years’ experience looking after children and young people. This expertise is helping us to ensure we provide high quality care and support to young people during the coronavirus outbreak. Throughout this period, young people remain our biggest priority. Our staff are working hard to keep them feeling safe, happy & loved, and are supporting them to understand the situation as it evolves. We are still taking referrals to our children’s homes, 16+ services and foster homes at this time and are working closely with local authorities to consider each young person’s needs. Please get in touch with us today for more information. Our main office is closed but we can still be contacted using the email addresses at the end of this page. We are grateful for the support that our local communities and donors have shown to us during this time, so thank you for everything you have done and are doing to help. Finally, and most importantly, thank you to our amazing staff for persevering through this outbreak and always putting children at the heart of your work. Your kindness, commitment and passion never ceases to amaze me, and I really appreciate everything you are doing. Source: https://www.stchris.org.uk If siblings can’t be placed together, they should have the same rights to have contact with each other as they do with their mothers and fathers, writes Emma Lewell Buck MP. I can say from experience there are few more traumatic experiences for a social worker than having to split up families. Nobody wants to do it. It is the response of last resort. The law protects the rights of children to have contact with their parents, but it makes no such demands to ensure brothers and sisters get to see each other too. The system is overwhelmed. In such circumstances naturally the letter of the law is followed first and everything else comes a distant second. A recent report by the Centre for Social Justice suggests more than 70% of looked-after children with a sibling in care are separated from a brother or sister. For those being cared for in children’s homes that number is a staggering 95%. Too many times I remember sitting by the side of the road in a car with a child who has minutes earlier been removed their family home, telling them that wherever they are going to stay that night it won’t be with their siblings. For many children this feels like the end of all their family relationships. The sense of loss, of bereavement and of sudden isolation is palpable. Lawyers for parents quickly get to work ensuring their contact but without legal insistence those other close family ties are deemed less of a priority. This is where the law needs to change. If siblings can’t be placed together, they should have the same rights to have contact with each other as they do with their mothers and fathers. Separating brothers and sisters can have a devastating effect. In families where there is harm or abuse, brothers and sisters are often the ones who comfort each other, encourage each other, protect each other. The bonds forged in sometimes brutal situations are often even stronger than those made in more stable environments. However terrible the experiences they have shared, it is precisely because they have such nightmares in common that they depend on one another so deeply. Being placed apart can cause extreme anxiety as the children worry about not only their own situation but that of those closest to them. It is important to remember that these young people are the victims, the blameless ones. They have endured a chaotic family life only to have more trauma inflicted upon them by the failure to keep them in touch with each other. So why is this happening? Not only is there no legal enforcement, but also a chronic lack of foster placements available for family groups of children. The average number of sibling foster carers is one per local authority and some have none at all. Again, because there is no legal requirement there aren’t even figures available for how many siblings those few places can take. It’s a vicious circle; with no compulsion to keep children together, there’s less pressure to find places for them, which again, makes it harder to prioritise the issue. Anyone who has tried to help children in these terrible circumstances knows how important it is to them. A recent Ofsted study found that 86% of all children in care said it was important to keep siblings together, while more than three quarters thought councils should help brothers and sisters stay in touch with each other. Nobody is blaming the professionals, in under-resourced environments they do what they have to do first and then try to do what should be done if they can. There is existing guidance that brothers and sisters should be kept together where possible but it doesn’t have the force of primary legislation. Children whose families have been split up for their protection have already suffered a most terrible loss. It cannot be right that we continue to punish them for a tragedy not of their making by keeping them apart from the most important people in their lives, the ones they love and trust the most. Emma Lewell Buck is Labour MP for South Shields. Source: www.politicshome.com Research finds that half of care leavers consider dropping out of university due to a mix of health problems, money worries, high workloads and personal and family issue “I felt totally alone again” explained Joe, a care leaver who’d hoped university would be a transformative experience for him. Shortly after leaving for university however, Joe’s foster parents, with whom he’d been settled and supported since he was 15, separated. This devastated him and increased the sense of alienation he first felt as a child when he was taken into care aged nine. In a new and unfamiliar setting, and struggling to maintain his studies, Joe discussed his anxieties with his personal tutor but says this provided no relief. “He was nice enough but couldn’t relate to my experience. In fact, he told me that he’d never met a student with my background.” He was advised to contact the university’s counselling service, and admits he lost heart. “I had to go on a waiting list and you were offered five or six appointments with a counsellor. After two of these I realised I still felt low and it affected my studies. I would lie in bed and miss lectures and not care. I failed my first set of exams and then I left.” Half of care leavers consider quitting university Joe’s experience is not unique. Recent research highlights the need for enhanced support for students like Joe, who have been in care. It found that 51% had seriously considered dropping out, with the most common difficulties arising from a mix of health problems, money worries, high workloads and personal and family issues. Care leavers face many challenges as they go into adult life and attending university can bring its own set of issues. In 2018-2019, only 6% of care leavers were known to be in higher education, and with half of these considering dropping out, what can universities do to help support, encourage, and improve outcomes for care experienced students? The research, ‘Battling the Odds: Pathways to University from Care’, was funded by The Leverhulme Trust and the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account at the University of Sheffield. It recommends that universities provide a dedicated care leaver champion – who must have specific knowledge of the needs of care experienced students – to help care experienced students navigate the unfamiliarity of university life. Having researched the experiences of 234 care leavers at 29 universities in England and Wales – 80% of whom had been in foster care – research lead Dr Katie Ellis, lecturer in child and family wellbeing at the University of Sheffield, says that while many universities have a care leaver contact students can talk to, this service can be sporadic. “During our research, we rang universities using the contact number they advertised for care leavers and were sometimes directed simply to the university switchboard. We then had to explain to the person on the other end of the line what a ‘care leaver’ was. Imagine doing that as a new student.” “That just isn’t good enough. Universities should provide care leaver champions, who are familiar with these students’ issues and can advocate for them. And while generic counselling services are available at most universities, they generally offer only short term support.” Mental health and university life Of course any student, irrespective of their background, can suffer with their mental health or find university life demanding and difficult, but these issues can prove more acute for care leavers, maintains Ellis. The research found that 68% of these students had experienced mental health problems while studying, but just 44% had received counselling. It also showed that while some students were aware of the availability of counselling, others were worried they’d be stigmatised for seeking support. And although 71% received details of a care leaver contact, for those who hadn’t, university felt large and faceless. Add to this the 28% who arrived on campus bringing only what they could carry on public transport and the 41% no longer in touch with their carers, and it can make for a less than ideal start to university life. “[Care leavers not being in touch with their carers] is often driven by the young person who sees university as a new chapter and a chance to start again. Many had experienced care which was less than ideal, and in those cases, students were keen to close the door and leave their care experience behind them,” adds Ellis. An emotional burden Having been in care remains an emotional burden for many of these students in other ways too. While 70% reported that they found it easy making friends, they were still aware of being different from their peers and reluctant to discuss their care background with them. “In fact, over 50% found it difficult to share their past with fellow students, while 20% wouldn’t even confide in close friends they’d made at university,” says Ellis. “And this shows again why it is important for universities to offer a specialised care leaver contact.” There need to be better lines of communication between local authorities and universities, she insists. “Both need to be much clearer when advising young people about what support is and isn’t available”. Can care leavers expect their local authority to pay their fees? The short answer is no. Ellis explains that students reported receiving very different levels of funding. “While one student had all of her expenses paid, including accommodation and fees, others received next to nothing.” “Council support can be inconsistent and, accordingly, young people don’t know what they are entitled to. While some care leavers have their financial needs met – others don’t.” Indeed, more than 25% of respondents reported that their local authority gave them inconsistent information regarding the financial support available, with some even saying they were denied assistance after initially being promised it. “In one case the social worker told a student that should they achieve the required grades, all the financial support would be put in place,” explains Ellis. “When the student got the grades, the social worker backtracked on what he’d promised. Luckily the foster carer had kept their own copies of all the monthly meetings they had with social workers over the years. They were able to provide a signed copy of meeting notes that confirmed their claim and so the student received financial support.” University culture The study also calls for the option of alcohol-free accommodation, reflecting the recent decline in youth drinking, to make the transition to higher education easier for students who would prefer to live with other non-drinkers. This of course recognises that a drink culture still exists in universities. “This would mean that like-minded students were able to live together without having to deal with behaviour that they find unacceptable,” Ellis says. “One girl explained that on returning to her room, there were piles of rubbish everywhere and sick in the kitchen sink. She had experienced the effects of alcohol abuse before going into care and didn’t feel able to manage living in that kind of environment. She needed a safer place and moved out to live with her boyfriend, which isolated her from the university experience. And this is an issue for 27% of these students.” The study advises that universities register students with care experience early, so they are better placed to access the practical and emotional support they need. “It can’t be right that someone struggles to afford Freshers’ week activities, which are an important introduction to the university environment,” Ellis explains. “These students have overcome significant barriers to fulfil their dreams of pursuing further education, and it’s vital that universities do all they can to make them feel welcomed and supported.” Encouragingly, Joe is considering giving university another go. “I got to thinking that I’d worked so hard to get there and I had no other options. There must be other students who have come from a care background who make a go of it. I’m still nervous at the prospect of returning but it feels like it’s now or never.” Source: www.communitycare.co.uk |
News & JobsNews stories and job vacancies from our member agencies, the fostering sector and the world of child protection and safeguarding as a whole. Browse Categories
All
|