Education, employment and training

Southampton City Council provides a financial package of support for care leavers going on to university. We will help support you with accommodation in the university holidays, and act as the guarantor for your university accommodation. We will provide you with a Higher Education bursary of £2,000 and assistance to access other financial and welfare support through the university.

Also, your Personal Advisor will support you throughout your course, such as providing you with a bus pass to travel to training, college or university and help fund travel back to the City once a term so that you can connect with the people who are important to you.

We will ensure that you have a smart outfit to wear for any interviews and will purchase your first work uniform if you need one or contribute to the cost of ‘tools for the trade’.

We know that your physical, mental and emotional health needs are really important to become a successful and happy adult. Therefore, we want to ensure that your Pathway Plan looks at these needs with you and plans to address any areas where you may need relevant support.

Your allocated worker will help you to register with a doctor and a dentist and will also be able to give you advice about healthy diets and healthy lifestyles. We will provide you with information, advice, and guidance on a wide range of health and wellbeing issues relevant to you.

With the help of our health colleagues, we will ensure that you have a copy of your health passport which provides you with your health history. We will also provide you with information about local counselling and mental health services locally, and help you to access these.

Managing your money is important as you become more independent. Budgeting can be difficult and stressful, and we are here to help you. Your Personal Advisor will support you with this as part of your Pathway Plan.

Whilst you may receive some financial support, and many of these financial supports are shown in this offer, you will be expected to manage your own finances and live within your income. This income will come from your employment, or educational grants/student loans or, if eligible, any benefits. We will help you to ensure these are in place.

We will work with you to ensure that you have identification that enables you to open important things like bank accounts. This will include helping you to apply for a passport, birth certificate and provisional driving licence as well as other ID documents such as your National Insurance Number.

When you become a parent, we want you to be the best mum or dad you can be. We understand that becoming a parent can be a magical but daunting time, particularly for young parents who may not always have had the best experience of being parented themselves.

We will help you to attend midwifery and antenatal appointments, make referrals to the family nurse partnership so that they can work with you to help prepare you for the birth of your child. We will help ensure that you have supportive networks that you can turn to if you need help and advice.

We want all young people and adults leaving our care to feel able to participate in society. This means being able to take part in the wider world and not feel isolated and alone.

We will give you information about groups and activities in your area. This includes inviting you to be part of Southampton Voices Unite care leavers forum and all the events and activities organised by them. We will support you to access local leisure and gym activities and to take part in other activities that you’ve got an interest in.