Your Personal Adviser is usually your social worker until you are 18, and after that your Leaving Care Worker. In Somerset, our Leaving Care Workers start to work with young people by the time they are 17½, at the latest. But, in some circumstances, this could be as young as 16.
Your Personal Adviser will be there to help you with all the things you are going to need help with, like – managing money and learning to save – finding the right education, training or job.
The way we are going to help will be written in your Pathway Plan.
Your Personal Adviser will give you help, advice and guidance as you leave care, up to the age of 25 if you need it. The amount of support you get from your Personal Adviser depends on what you need, and your circumstances.
We know everybody’s situation is different, and you can talk about the support you need in more detail with your Personal Adviser.
Your Personal Adviser will discuss with you what extra support you may need.
These are just some of the things you might need extra support with.
- You might have special educational needs or a disability
- You might be an Unaccompanied Young Person Seeking Asylum (UASC) and your immigration status is unclear
- You might be in or leaving custody, or you have had contact with the criminal justice system
- You might be a young parent. or
- You might be going through a difficult time in your personal life.
Your Personal Adviser will
- be there to help you
- meet with you regularly
- write your first Pathway Plan with you
- make sure you get the chance to update your plan, at least once every 6 months or more often, if you need to or, if there is a change in your circumstances
We will try to help you keep the same Personal Adviser, although sometimes this is not possible.
Learn more about how Personal Advisers can support you
The Children and Social Work Act 2017 introduced a new duty on local authorities, to provide Personal Adviser support to all care leavers up to age 25, if they want this support.
This means that you can ask for this support up to the age of 25, whether you are in education or training, or not.
Full document – Extending Personal Adviser support to age 25 – published 26 February 2018
Area Team Leaders (with their individual lead responsibility)
Dan Knott (Leaving Care TL, South Somerset) – Mental Health and Young Parents
Amy Sutton (Senior Leaving Care Worker South Somerset)
Emma Hix (Leaving Care TL, Mendip) – UASC, Staying Put and NLCBF
Kim Moore (Senior Leaving Care Worker Mendip)
Dan Batchelor (Leaving Care TL, Taunton) – Participation and Local Offer
Claire Haskins(Senior Leaving Care Worker Taunton)
Louise Ward (Leaving Care TL, Sedgemoor) – Health, Corporate Parenting Health sub-group, Benefits and ETE
Pam Walters (Senior Leaving Care Worker Sedgemoor)
James Court (Leaving Care TL, Accommodation) – Accommodation and Volunteers