Rotherham Leaving Care Local Offer

I live with foster carers...

Routine is a big thing for living on your own. Routines of paying bills or making sure you have electricity or gas, routines of cleaning and keeping your home tidy, routines of getting up and going to appointments so we would want your foster carers to help you establish routines.

Being able to manage on not very much money is really important. The basic allowance Government gives young people who are not working or at college is £57.90. This is not a lot of money and being able to make this work is really tough. So we need your foster carers to help you learn about money and budgeting when you live with them.Foster carers will have a savings account for you and will encourage you to save too.

Foster carers will also be encouraged to help you prepare for your future by talking to you about how to help you prepare for the future by thinking about helping pay for bits and pieces for your new home such as a TV, photo frames, pictures, rugs or cushions, bedding and towels. These are all things that will make your room, your home and which you can take with you when you move into your new home.

Foster carers will be really encouraging about your future and what you might want to do in the future. They will encourage you to go to school, make sure you have all the help you need with your homework, they will do all they can to help you find and develop interests.

Foster carers will also help to manage expectations about the future. We want you to be excited about the future but to try and keep you focused that getting the future you want takes time and effort. Foster carers will encourage you to be ambitious but help you learn that getting to your dreams takes some time and lots of effort but there will be people around you to help and keep you focused.

Foster carers will help you keep in touch with your friends and family, but they will also want to keep you safe and will help you make decisions about how you can keep yourself safe. Sometimes friends can be great but sometimes they can take advantage and really upset. We want you to feel happy and safe in your home so foster carers will help you be strong enought to be able to say to your friends and family when they are annoying you or when you want them to leave.
Foster carers will help you move to your new home.

I live in a children's home...

Routine is a big thing for living on your own. Routines of paying bills or making sure you have electricity or gas, routines of cleaning and keeping your home tidy, routines of getting up and going to appointments so your key worker and staff at the home will help you establish routines.

Being able to manage on not very much money is really important. The basic allowance Government gives young people who are not working or at college is £57.90. This is not a lot of money and being able to make this work is really tough. So your key worker and members of staff will help you learn about money and budgeting when you live with them.

The home will have a savings account for you and will encourage you to save too.

Your key worker will be encouraged to help you prepare for your future by talking to you about how to help you prepare for the future by thinking about helping pay for bits and pieces for your new home such as a TV, photo frames, pictures, rugs or cushions, bedding and towels. These are all things that will make your room, your home and which you can take with you when you move into your new home.

Your key worker or staff in the home will be really encouraging about your future and what you might want to do in the future. They will encourage you to go to school, make sure you have all the help you need with your homework, they will do all they can to help you find and develop interests.

Your key worker or staff in the home will also help to manage expectations about the future. We want you to be excited about the future but to try and keep you focused that getting the future you want takes time and effort. The team in the home will encourage you to be ambitious but help you learn that getting to your dreams takes some time and lots of effort but there will be people around you to help and keep you focused.

Your key worker and the team in the home will help you keep in touch with your friends and family, they will also want to meet your friends and get to know them. But they will also want to keep you safe and will help you make decisions about how you can keep yourself safe. Sometimes friends can be great but sometimes they can take advantage and really upset. We want you to feel happy and safe in your home so the team in the home will help you be strong enough to be able to say to your friends and family when they are annoying you, upsetting you or when you want them to leave.

Your keyworker will help you move into your new home.

I live in supported accommodation...

You will have a worker who is there to help you learn about living in your own space and help you adapt slowly to being responsible for your own space.

Your worker will help you establish some routines, they will support you living on £57.90 by helping you budget and getting used to paying things like electricity, gas and water through something called a service charge. This is when they bring gas, electricity and water into one amount and charge you a fee. This could be taken straight from your £57.90.

Your worker will help you prepare meals, keep your space clean and tidy and help you learn about the responsibilities of being a good tenant.

Your worker will help you develop confidence to explain to your friends and family about how it's important to keep the noise down in your home and when coming home and going out.

Your worker will help you move into your new home and may be the person that helps you adjust to your new forever home.

My personal advisor will...

Make sure the people who are caring for you are helping you get ready for the future.

Make sure that you have everything you need to make the move in to your own accommodation.

Make sure that you understand and are ready for the responsibility of having you own place.

Make sure that you will have people around you to help you. This could include members of your family, your friends or your partner.

Make sure you are able to afford your home, make sure you have all the evidence you need to take over a tenancy and that you are as ready as is possible.

Make sure you have all your ID and that you have registered for housing.

Help you adjust and make sure you have all the support and help you need to make your house/flat your home.

But we do need to be able to show that you are ready. Sadly people will not take your or our word that you are able to manage a home, a tenancy and your money. They will need to see proof.

Getting the evidence to show you're ready...

The people who say you can have a flat is the team who work for 'Key Choices'. Key Choices is the team who decide who gets a home, where that home is and whether people can stay in their home.

They are the team who will say whether you will be able to apply for your own home. They also have to press a button that gives you the opportunity to start looking for houses, so until they are satisfied you are ready, they won't press this button which means you won't be able to search for a home.

So to help show them you are ready we have something called 'A Place of you Own'

This is some activities to help you learn and show others that you really are ready for your own place.

The activities are separated into 6 categories called

• Moving on to find a new place to live
• Understanding Tenancy Agreements
• Money and Bills
• Furnishing your home
• Safety and Security
• Health and Hygiene

These are all topics that Key Choices will want reassurance that you understand what the reality is of having your own home.

We know this sounds a bit like school but they have been developed with and tested out by some of our young people partly to make sure that they are giving you useful information and that it is helping you learn and develop the skills you need when you get your own home.

You will be expected to attend the Journey every other Tuesday afternoon to participate in sessions to meet with Michelle.

Michelle will help you work through each category. She will do this at a pace that is right for you.

You can ask your PA to help you in these sessions.

You can pick a category to start with but you will have to complete all 6 before you are able to meet with Housing.

When you have completed each category we will reward you with a £10 voucher. This will be a Love to Shop voucher or something similar.

When you have completed all categories we will celebrate this achievement by offering you £150 vouchers for IKEA. This will help you buy some extra items for your home that you may not be able to afford with your setting up home grant.

When you have completed all the categories you will then meet with representative from Key Choices. Your PA can be there with you. This is what is called a Pre Tenancy Meeting. This is where Key Choices get to meet you. You will be able to show them your certificates from 'A Place of Your Own'

If you have not completed 'A Place of Your Own' you may not be able to apply for your own accommodation through Key Choices.

If you have completed 'A Place of Your Own' this will show Key Choices that you are really ready to take on your own home. They will then press the button which will allow you to start applying for houses.

When Key Choices press this button you can start bidding for your forever home.

Setting up Home grant

All young people who are leaving their care setting will have access to a setting up home grant of £2000.

This amount has to pay for everything you may require for your new home. It is therefore important we are really careful about when we start spending it, how much of it we spend and what we actually spend it on.

Your PA will help you make these decisions.

However we will have to say no if any choices you make are too extravagant or may mean you will not be able to purchase essential items for your home. For example we would limit the amount of money you may want to spend on a television from your grant. You are however more than able to save up and put some of your own money towards a television.

Your PA will also help you identify bargains and negotiate costs to make sure you get value for money from the items you would need for your home.

Your PA, with colleagues from Housing will try to access other sources of money for you to help make your grant stretch further.

Moving in

You will be moving into your new home with suitcases and storage boxes. You will not be expected to move using bin bags or laundry bags.

If you have lots of belongings and they can’t fit in the car we will make sure we rent a van for you to transport your belongings safely.

We will try and help out by purchasing your first food and cleaning hamper for your new home (up to £50).

We will pay for your first TV license.

We will pay for your first years insurance and we will make sure your home is secure by making sure you have the right locks and keys.

We will help you unpack and make your space as you would want.

We will help you learn how to decorate your space and complete basic DIY skills in your home such as putting up shelves or curtain poles.

We will make sure you have all the numbers you need to call if you have any maintenance requests for the landlord.

We will talk you through how to manage your electricity and gas cards/bills so you understand what you need to do if you need to top up your cards/keys.

We will see and speak to you more frequently for the first few days and weeks after you have moved in to see how you are getting on and to make sure you are managing ok.

If you are really worried we will also make sure you have credit on your phone and a number to call if you want to talk to one of the team.

For your first weekend we will also call to check in with you to make sure you are ok and have everything you need.