Aftercare - The Next Step

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Aftercare - The Next Step's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Aftercare - The Next Step is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP

aftercare-tns.org

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

36 | AFTERCARE - THE NEXT STEP

Director and Owner

RuthRobinson

Our management team

Aftercare – The Next Step focus on providing a range

of flexible, targeted services for looked-after young

people aged 16 to 21, in particular those who have

suffered sexual exploitation. They aim to ease the transition

from local authority care to independent living. To help the

development of each young person they work with, they assign

each individual a personal education and employability mentor.

Director and Owner Ruth Robinson tells

The Parliamentary

Review

about the structure of their service and highlights

the difficulties that young people face when trying to secure

atenancy.

Based in Liverpool, and working throughout the northwest region, we are a

privately owned care provider. Our primary aim is to support the transition

of young people over the age of 16 from the care of a local authority into

independent living.

We commit our time, resources and expertise to each young person. We employ

personalised and flexible services, combined with a strong support model and

highly trained staff. We strive to help each young person through every step

of their journey, to ensure their potential is maximised and that they are able

to achieve their educational and independence objectives, thereby minimising

socialexclusion.

We specialise in the support and rehabilitation of those who have been victims

of child sexual exploitation. Two of our directors are qualified child exploitation

FACTS ABOUT

AFTERCARE - THE NEXT STEP

»Director and Owner:

RuthRobinson

»Established in 2009

»Based in Liverpool

»Services: Youth support

»No. of employees: 19

»No. of users: 12

»aftercare-tns.org

Aftercare -

The Next Step

37AFTERCARE - THE NEXT STEP |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

practitioners and work closely with

young victims, social workers and the

police. This has led to many cases

where we have successfully identified

and brought perpetrators to justice.

Recognising warning signs

Due to the vulnerability of those

placed with us, it is important that

all young people with whom we

interact are made aware of any risks or

warning signs of sexual exploitation.

Staff are trained to recognise the key

indicators and incorporate objectives

from policies in areas such as sex

and relationships, anti-bullying, child

protection, and e-safety into individual

and group sessions.

Our key worker sessions include

targeted prevention work, designed for

those known to be more vulnerable to

exploitation. Within these, we:

»Ensure young people are able to

identify risks and warning signs

»Reduce vulnerability and strengthen

resilience

»Aid the development of the skills and

knowledge required to make healthy

choices

»Raise awareness of the law and

identify who to turn to for advice

and support

With limited budgets, we endeavour to

provide the best accommodation and

facilities to provide young people with

the freedom to experiment safely and

to accumulate skills for independent

living. We provide floating support,

independent accommodation and

group living.

Our services are provided on the clear

understanding that the welfare of the

young person remains paramount,

conforming to all safeguarding

legislation, Child Protection Acts, and

national and local guidelines.

Presently, services for those leaving

care do not require registration

with Ofsted or the CQC. We are

registered, however, with Placements

North West, who rigorously inspect

and vet us on behalf of the regional

local authorities. The last regional

tender saw our company ranked

as one of the highest-scoring

independent providers within the

northwest.

Often, young people are seen as the

perpetrators of their situations, when

in reality they are victims. We are

passionate about improving the lives

and prospects for our care leavers,

as they constitute one of the most

vulnerable groups in society. We,

the government and wider society

have a moral obligation to give them

the support necessary as they make

thistransition.

We believe that young people can

make successful, seamless transitions

from care to independence if

the process is built upon a firm

foundation of positive experiences.

We endeavour to provide appropriate

opportunities to ensure the

transformation of the outcomes of

each young person. This can include

the chance to partake in hobbies,

sports and leisure activities or the

encouragement to obtain employment

or further education.

The Aftercare directors

We are

passionate

about improving

the lives and

prospects for

our care leavers,

as they

constitute one

of the most

vulnerable

groups in

society

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

38 | AFTERCARE - THE NEXT STEP

Providing opportunities for

employment

The initial assessment of a young

person includes identifying their

experiences of any training, education

and volunteering, alongside their

aspirations. This also identifies any

strengths or weaknesses, contributing

to their tailored independent living

template and an action plan designed

to prevent them becoming NEET.

We achieve this through targeting a

successful transition into learning or

employment. The process is focused

on the individual and involves them at

all stages, motivating them to engage

with the SMART targets in their action

plan. We encourage our young people

to take control of their own destinies,

increasing their resilience and self-

reliance, thereby improving their

lifechances.

Each young person is offered a

referral to a personal education and

employability mentor, who provides

them with motivational support,

impartial careers advice, creative arts

and financial assistance.

Success in one area of a young

person’s life ensures success in

others. Therefore, we recognise that

young care leavers need continuing

access to a range of professional

and informal support services.

Furthermore, they must be involved as

key partners throughout the transition

period and beyond, alongside their

careers or significant others. We

work collaboratively with local

agencies to help to secure habitable

accommodation in safe locations.

The difficulties of tenancy

applications

One of the greatest difficulties facing

those leaving care is securing their own

tenancies, as, combined with a deficit

of available social housing, landlords

are reluctant to offer tenancies to

18-year-olds. This is exacerbated

for care leavers, who have often

experienced breakdowns in family

relationships, making them reliant on

local authorities or professional support.

We find that despite having to leave the

care system at 18, many young people

are not ready to live independently.

Leaving their stable home environments

is often a further trauma, creating

further emotional and mental health

setbacks. There is a substantial lack of

mental health services for those aged

16-18, with increasingly large waiting

lists. The greatest issue raised by our care

leavers is that their 18th birthday is not a

day of celebration but instead associated

with the uncertainty of their future.

The Government Care Leaver

Strategy 2013, and the introduction

of the Staying Put duty in 2014, is

already helping outcomes for many

care leavers. We believe that not

only should care leavers have the

opportunity to continue living in their

former foster care beyond 18 but also

that certain cases should be allowed to

remain within the care system – with

the chance to stay in stable, supportive

placements such as ours. The benefits

of such are evidential, with greater

successes and outcomes for those who

have remained within our service for

4-6 months following turning 18.

We encourage

our young

people to take

control of their

own destinies,

increasing their

resilience and

self-reliance,

thereby

improving their

life chances.

“

Specialising in Personalised,

Tailored Support Packages and oering:

Intense 1:1 support for Young People,

who are victims of CSE, Drugs and Crime

• Group Living Semi Independent

Accommodation

Solo Placements

Floating Support

• Drop in Services

• Access to suitable Education,

Training and Employment

• Development in Independent Living Skills

Providing a range of exible,

targeted services for

Looked After Young People,

aged 16 to 21

Leaving Care and Semi-Independent

Support Specialists

...the next step

Aftercare

Aftercare the Next Step Ltd

Units 2b, Wavertree Boulevard, Liverpool. L7 9PF.

Email: aftercare@aftercare-tns.org

Tel: 0151 228 1633

Providing a range of

flexible, targeted services

for looked-after young

people, aged 16 to 21

aftercare-tns.org

This article was sponsored by Aftercare - The Next Step. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from The Rt Hon Theresa May MP.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

This foreword from the then Prime Minister appeared in the 2018/19 Parliamentary Review.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister