Barnet Care Leavers Local Offer Consultation

Overview

Leaving home and setting out on a life path is daunting enough for any young person. For young people who have been in care, there is the extra stress and pressure of feeling that they do not have the family support that their peers who have not been in care often have. Barnet Council is committed to, and ambitious for, our care leavers and wants to ensure that our looked after children and care leavers receive priority in our services. To make sure our care leavers have all the information they need, we are creating a Barnet Care Leavers Local Offer. This document is a guide detailing all the services available for our care leavers (aged 16 - 25 years old).

The purpose of the Local Offer is to give care leavers local information about:

• advice and support groups
• financial and welfare support
• accommodation and housing
• employment, learning and career advice
• staying healthy and leisure activities
• participation in society
• useful contacts.

We want our care leavers, in addition to the professionals and service providers working with them, to be at the centre of the development of our Local Offer. We are therefore currently seeking their views on our draft Local Offer. The feedback we receive will help inform the final document prior to publishing.

Give us your views

The consultation is open to all Barnet care leavers, including those who live outside the borough, and the organisations, professionals and carers that support them. Invitations have already been sent out to care leavers and the professionals and services that support them (including foster carers) asking them to complete the questionnaire. However, if you feel this consultation is relevant to you but have not received an email or letter we want to hear your views too. Just look through the options below and access the questionnaire through the links:

• Our draft Care Leavers Local Offer can be viewed here.
• If you are a Barnet care leaver or currently looked after by the council, please complete the following questionnaire by clicking here.
• If you are a carer or work with care leavers or looked after children, please complete the following questionnaire by clicking here.

Printed copies of the questionnaire are also available from the Onwards and Upwards team by calling 020 8359 6220.

For any further information, or to request a questionnaire in an alternative format, please email diana.huzar@barnet.gov.uk or telephone 020 8359 3547. Alternatively, you can write to us at:

Family Services, Care Leavers Local Offer Consultation, c/o Diana Huzar, London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London, N11 1NP.