The Islington Plan for Looked After Children and ... - Islington Council

university. A financial policy sets out clearly entitlements for eligible young
people and has been recently reviewed.
b. 72 care leavers are at university.
c. A corporate scheme, Career Start, has offered work experience and
employment opportunities to eligible looked after children and care
leavers. 154 young people have successfully engaged in Career Start
over the past 5 years. 84% of Career Start service users continued on to
education, training or employment.
d. A higher proportion of Islington care leavers aged nineteen were in
employment education or training as at March 2010 compared to the
national and statistical neighbour averages.
e. The proportion of care leavers aged 19 living in suitable accommodation
has increased between 2007 and 2010 from 83.6% to 93.3%.The 10/11
performance is 91.8%.
f. 63 % of young people aged 18 who left care were housed within Islington.
(as at March 2010)
5.5.3 Challenges
a. In relation to accomodation and support for young people, a greater clarity
of roles and better co-ordination of support is required between Children’s
Social Care and Supported Housing providers within the borough.
b. Finding suitable emergency accommodation for sixteen and seventeen
year old young people presenting as homeless has been challenging
despite a strong partnership between Children’s Social Care and Housing.
A proportion of young people have been difficult to place or to maintain in
their accommodation due to anti-social behaviour.
c. There are currently pathways in place into adult social care for Fair
Access to Care Services (FACS) eligible young people however there
would appear to be a lack of provision and funding for co-coordinated
transition support and pathways for vulnerable young people that are not
eligible for adult social care. Particularly in relation to those with Autism or
with more mild needs and those who require adult mental health services.
A number of the issues in relation to transition into adulthood are outside
of the direct control of the Council making it a challenge for the Council to
exercise its corporate parenting responsibilities.
d. Young people leaving care need consistent support to manage their
money effectively, which includes ensuring they are in receipt of the
correct benefits and allowances and that they are engaging in activities
along a pathway to employment. We must also encourage care leavers to
maximise their savings and assist them to develop realistic plans for their
financial futures.
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