Sutton Care Leaver Network

Sutton Care Leaver Network

Sutton Virtual School acts as a local authority champion to promote the progress and educational attainment of Children Looked After (CLA). Sutton Virtual School has created the Care Leaver Network and Care Leaver's Charter to support our young people that are no longer looked after but still require support in their education. We recognise that learning is lifelong and we will endeavour to support through the learning journey throughout your life. We will support young people and care experienced adults back into education by finding an appropriate path. We offer support with education, jobs, training, and advice.

The qualified and experienced staff at Sutton Virtual School will be happy to give advice, guidance and support with whatever route you wish to take. Whether you are planning to continue your education, find a job, train for a particular sector or want some general advice even if it is some time after leaving school or college, we are here to help you.

Education Support

We will support with college and University applications. We can offer advice with finding appropriate provision or course. We can give guidance with the application process through UCAS, as well as provide references and assist with Student Finance England

Sutton Virtual School education page on the Cognus website [External link] provides links to local colleges to research courses. We also have a recorded live session from a care experienced young person that attended university sharing her story. Included is also links to a Civil Service Internships currently on offer. Alongside other services that offer support into education; Propel, Become, UCAS, Clearing and The Princes-Trust.

Job Support

For help with finding a job we can offer career advice and work collaboratively with our social care colleagues. We can provide CV writing and job application workshops alongside interview practice.

Cognus website's job section [External link] shares the opportunities available. The National Careers Service will support young people to make the right decision on learning, training, and professional development. We offer a link to look at the Government Apprentices available. We have provided a link to support our care leavers to write a CV which we can support with, draft, read over and support them in giving them out. There are links to job searching sites; Reed, Indeed, Totaljobs and Linkedin. Once you have decided a career route and applied for jobs we can also provide links to charities that can support with interview dressing.

Training Support

We encourage re-engagement in education and will use our expert knowledge to support to find appropriate options. We can approach local businesses to seek work experience. We can look into online training and courses ran locally i.e Princes trust, Power 2 and CAB.

We believe it is incredibly important to set high aspirations for care leavers and to recognise their successes. We understand that identifying a career to progress towards can be difficult – especially as there are so many choices! We have included aspirational career videos and profiles, from individuals sharing their education and career journeys. Even if you have been out of education or work for some time, we can support you by signposting appropriate training options which could get you into the career sector you want.

Advice

Housing

We acknowledge that some care leavers move onto independent living, and this can appear daunting knowing how to account for everything required as a homeowner. On the Cognus website [External link] you can access the local council page detailing information about living in the borough. On this page we have also provided information about foundations that can support with living independently.

Money

We realise that managing finances is an important part of adult life, therefore we have detailed information on the Cognus website [External Link] covering how to open a bank account, information on budgeting and included information on claiming financial support. Being a care leaver you have the opportunity to claim award grants through Buttle UK, Capstone Care Leavers Trust, Lawrence Atwell Charity and The Spark Foundation.

Health

On the Cognus website we have also included a page on health, view the health page here [External link], as we know how this can impact on education. On this page you can find mental health support; mind, off the record, young minds and the local service Sutton Uplift. We recognise that once out of care, some people may not know how to access health and sign up to local practices therefore we have provided information to find local doctors, dentists and advice on sexual health.

Social

Our Care Leaver Network is intended to support you as an individual but also to give you a network of Sutton Care Leavers to connect with. Young people with a similar experience as you are sometimes best placed to offer support and great advice. We can signpost Participation Service activities to meet other care experienced young people with similar experiences.