Our Leaving Care team supports young people from 16-25 years who are eligible to receive leaving care support.

The team also supports unaccompanied asylum seeking children who present to the local authority and are subsequently accepted to be a minor (aged under 18 years). In Reading, we do this as part of Reading Borough Council.

Shelter provides a comprehensive guide to the eligibility criteria for leaving care support, which you can read here.

Pathway plans

When a child looked after (CLA) reaches the age of 16, their care plan is replaced by a pathway plan and we stop calling them a CLA and replace this with ‘care leaver’. The pathway plan is reviewed every six months by an independent reviewing officer (IRO) and the young person is involved at every stage.

The pathway plan is always updated when there is a significant change in circumstances.

The pathway plan outlines the practical and financial support we offer to help a care experienced young person in their transition to adulthood.

Care leavers have an allocated social worker until the age of 18 years and, after that, an allocated leaving care advisor.

You can contact the Leaving Care team on 0118 937 3641 Option 4.