Leaving care

Children in Care

On this page you can find out what more about the care system in Newham, what to expect if you become a child in care, what your rights are and what you can expect from us, your carers and your teachers.

Within this section, you can find out:

  • Your rights as a child in care
  • Why you have to go to meetings and what they are for
  • How we look after your personal information
  • What you can do if you are unhappy
  • How you can improve the way we look after children and young people like you.
Who qualifies as a Care Leaver?

To be eligible to receive the support form Newham’s Leaving Care Service you must have been:

  • in care for at least 13 weeks between the ages of 14 and 16 (including your 16th birthday)
  • in care for 13 weeks after your 16th birthday
  • in care prior to becoming subject to a special guardianship order (SGO)
  • privately fostered
What being in care means

Being ‘in care’ means that for some reason you can’t live with your own family and are being cared for by us. 

It could be for a short time while you and your family get some help to cope with a problem or a long time until you reach adulthood, which means you can't go home at all.

Supporting you

We work with you, your family and your carers to do what is best for you.

We will listen to what you say and try to do what you want for your future.

Impact of COVID-19 on Children in Care and Care Leavers in Newham

We are pleased to share our research report into the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children in Care and Care Leavers.

In the wake of the pandemic, we are still unaware of many of the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on some of our most vulnerable in society.

This report is an important step in adapting and refining our services to better meet the needs of our Children in Care and Care Leavers post-pandemic.

Please click here to view the full report, or please click here to view the report summaries we are sharing with our Children in Care, Care Leavers and Foster Carers.

Please get in touch with Sophie Blow Sophie.blow@newham.gov.uk if you have any questions about the report. For any queries regarding support for Children in Care and Care Leavers, please visit our Local Offer site or email our monitored mailbox PersonalAdvisers@newham.gov.uk

Research Report - How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected Children in Care and Care Leavers (PDF)

COVID-19 Research Summary for Children in Care and Care Leavers (PDF)

COVID-19 Research Summary for Foster Carers (PDF)

Glossary of Terms

Our Corporate Parenting Glossary of terms lists key words and acronyms used when talking about Children in Care and Care Leavers. Please click here to view the glossary.

Corporate Parenting Principles and Strategy 2022-2023

Corporate Parenting is the term for the responsibility that the whole of Newham Council has for children and young people who are in care. It means we have the same hopes, wishes and aspirations for you that we would for our own children. We want you to have access to the same opportunities and life chances that any other child or young person in our borough would – being in care should not be a barrier to you fulfilling your potential.

We have a set of principles to frame our relationship with you – principles we return to time and again to ensure that we are doing our very best as your corporate parent. These principles are as follows:

  • To act in your best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and well-being, of all care leavers
  • To encourage every care leaver to express their views, wishes and feelings
  • To take into account the views, wishes and feelings of every care leaver
  • To help care leavers 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 care leavers
  • For care leavers to be safe, with stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work
  • To prepare care leavers for adulthood and independent living

Newham's Corporate Parenting Strategy 2022-2023

We are excited to announce the launch of Newham’s Corporate Parenting Strategy 2022-2023.

Written in jargon-free, accessible language, with feedback from our Children in Care and Care Leavers at the heart of the document and following action plan, we are looking forward to working in partnership with colleagues across Newham to make the commitments we have shared as part of this strategy a reality.

Please take a look at our document to read more about our vision for improving services for Children in Care and Care Leavers over the next two years.

Duties to support care leavers up until the age of 25

If you are a care leaver aged 21-24 and have a current allocated personal adviser you can now request support from the Leaving Care Service up to the age of 25 if there is a need.

If you don’t have a Personal Adviser already you can contact the duty service on 020 3373 3617 or 020 3373 3618. A Personal Adviser will then arrange to meet with you to complete a post 21 assessment of your support needs - this support could be from the Leaving Care Service or you maybe signposted to other services.

This Local Offer sets out what you, as a Care Leaver, can expect from the Leaving Care Service in Newham.

While the Children and Social Work Act 2017 says we have to publish information about the services we provide for you, our published Local Offer goes beyond that legal requirement and is a more comprehensive document; providing a detailed overview of exactly what we offer and how we will deliver it, alongside additional information about services for care leavers provided by other agencies.

We hope our approach will help us to identify and promote what is working well in your life, explore any concerns that you may have and help us to plan together (and in partnership with other professionals) for your future.

Who are we and how can you contact us?

Our Leaving Care Service will be your first point of contact point for many of your needs. You will meet your Personal Adviser or Social Worker from this team before you are 18 and they will continue to work with you after your 18th birthday.

We are committed to ensuring that as a care leaver you are able to make contact with someone at all times.

In addition to this, we have two fixed duty phone lines and one mobile phone line to be used if you are unable to contact your allocated worker. The phone numbers are below:

Leaving care duty numbers

Tel: 020 3373 3617

Tel: 020 3373 3618

Mob: 07970 033967

If your enquiry is urgent and out of hours you may wish to contact the Emergency Duty Team on 0208 430 2000.

If you wish to contact the service by email, please email PersonalAdvisors@newham.gov.uk

Where can you find us?

The Newham Leaving Care Service is split between two council buildings and care leavers are welcome to visit both buildings to meet with their allocated worker:

Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road, London, E16 2QU

Nearest station – Royal Albert DLR

Currently the majority of staff use this building at least some of the week. Care Leavers are welcome to make arrangements to meet with their allocated worker at this building; there is a canteen and coffee shop as well as a spacious atrium.

Beckton Road, 5 Beckton Road, London, E16 4DE

Nearest Station – Canning Town

Two duty staff are based at the Beckton Road office. There are meeting rooms that can be booked at this office and a duty manager is always contactable if required.

How will we keep in touch with you?

Overview

If you’re a Child in Care, by the time you reach the age of 17, the Leaving Care Service will have matched a Personal Adviser or Leaving Care Social Worker to you. Your allocated worker (the lead person responsible for supporting you) remains your Children in Care social worker until you reach adulthood. However, your Personal Adviser will meet with you, so you know who they are.

Contact

The frequency and nature of contact with your allocated worker depends on your age:

Age 16 / 17

  • Visit once a month, or more often if you need additional support
  • Children in Care Reviews
  • Emphasis on Social Worker contacting you to offer support
  • Professionals involved:
    • Social Worker
    • Personal Adviser
    • Foster Carer and their Supervising Social Worker or key worker in your care setting
    • Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO)

Age 18-25

  • Visit once every two months, or more often if you need additional support
  • Greater emphasis on you contacting your Personal Adviser to seek support
  • Professionals involved:
    • Personal Adviser
    • Former foster carer (if you are in a “staying put” arrangement)
    • Support worker (if you are supported accommodation)

These are the minimum standards. If we were worried that you were at risk, or if you needed more support for a period of time, then we’d want to see you more often.

 

Children in Care Reviews and the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO)

You will have been allocated an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) when you first became looked after. This IRO may have changed over time, but you will have IRO involvement until you turn 18.

The IRO’s role is as follows:

  • To chair Children in Care Reviews (more on these below)
  • To check the work being done by all professionals involved with you is good and ensure it all comes together effectively
  • To be an independent person you can turn to when you have worries

A Review is held every six months until you reach the age of 18. The purpose of the Review is:

  • To give you a chance to privately discuss things with the IRO
  • To give the foster carer or a keyworker in your care setting a chance to give feedback on how you are doing
  • To offer an opportunity for the IRO to check all ongoing work with you relating to the key areas in your life (e.g. health, education, preparation for leaving care, etc.)
  • To agree actions between everyone to better or further support you

Your Personal Adviser will attend the last two Children in Care Reviews before you turn 18 and explain the process of you becoming supported by the Leaving Care team; they will also give you their mobile and email, and their manager’s contact details too.

 

Where do we meet up?

Before turning 18, your social worker is most likely to visit you where you are living although they can meet you elsewhere as well. After you are 18, your Personal Adviser will meet you wherever you’re both happy to meet – at your home, in the office (The Cove when it opens), in a café, or elsewhere. It may be that your Personal Adviser wishes to visit your house for a particular reason – perhaps he/she wishes to see how you are managing with living independently, or maybe he/she has safety concerns – and it is expected that you will welcome them into your home unless there is a very good reason not to.

How will we keep in touch?

Your Personal Adviser is required, by law, to see you at least once every two months (unless you expressly refuse to meet up with them). But between visits, we will also keep in touch with you through other means - by text, mobile, email, WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom or a similar application, depending on what works best for you. Social media that can be seen by others is not acceptable.

Related Information

Related Features

Last updated: 28/02/2024

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