Lawrence
Lawrence felt well supported in his transition out of care. His foster carers, social workers, and personal advisor helped him with practical life skills like applying for jobs and learning to budget. He was clearly informed about the support available to him as a care leaver, which made a big difference. He worked closely with his personal advisor to create a pathway plan, which was updated over time based on his needs and choices. When it was time to leave care, he was able to stay with his foster family, which gave him stability. He felt well prepared overall, though he wishes he had known more about housing and accommodation costs.
Lawrence is a White British man in his mid-twenties who spent most of his childhood in the care system. After completing a degree, he now works full-time.
More about me...
I am now working and enjoying my job, and I’m planning to start my own business in the future. I have connected with a local charity to help turn that plan into a reality, and I am excited about what is ahead. I know that not everyone in care gets the kind of support I did, and I feel very lucky. That is why I want to encourage other care leavers to stay curious, ask questions, and find out what is available to them. There is more support out there than many people realise, and I want others to feel empowered to make the most of it.
Lawrence said pathway planning worked well for him. His personal adviser supported him to reflect on his progress and plan his next steps.
Lawrence said pathway planning worked well for him. His personal adviser supported him to reflect on his progress and plan his next steps.
The pathway planning was good. We did it... I believe it was every six months with my PA, we would have a sit down, talk about what the next steps are, what the... the next project goals were, and how we would go about that. Yeah. I’m going to have like a brief recap of what’s happened in the past six months, and that’ll be updated onto my pathway plan.
OK. And are you happy with how it was looking when you drafted it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, 100 percent, every time it got redrafted, XXXX, ’cause obviously a lot changes in six months. It was... it looked, yeah, it looked well.
Lawrence was supported by a charity that offered group sessions to help him learn life skills.
Lawrence was supported by a charity that offered group sessions to help him learn life skills.
So [organisation] is a local charity in [County]. They kind of, they have an age bracket of kids that enter the care system from the age of 11 up until 25. They offer support groups to go out and do stuff, and socialise, cooking, budgeting, all sorts of trips to, just to kind of settle better into the care system. So obviously I joined [organisation] when I was 11, which was 13 years ago. We did tonnes of stuff with them, but I wouldn’t have settled in [County] if I didn’t join, if I didn’t do anything with them, so I owe quite a lot to [organisation], so, yeah.
Lawrence wanted to start his own business and was exploring ways to begin business studies.
Lawrence wanted to start his own business and was exploring ways to begin business studies.
So, my future at the moment is that I’m looking into setting up my own business. I’ve been looking at business studies in depth, and that’s like kind of the career path I wanna go down now. So, I’m... yeah, I’m in the process of researching what the best routes are. And yeah, that’s my... that’ll be my next steps.
OK. And so are you consulting with anyone about that, or are you doing that on your own?
Yeah. So, I’m part of the [Name of] Trust in the UK. And then also with... in the position that I am with [organisation], I get to have general conversations with like CEOs, and other CEOs and how they went about setting up their own businesses, which is really valuable information to myself.
After struggling at university and dropping out, Lawrence was able to return to his staying put home, where he felt supported and settled again.
After struggling at university and dropping out, Lawrence was able to return to his staying put home, where he felt supported and settled again.
I went to study at university, so I kind of left home, but I was still set up on like the Staying Put, that kind of scheme. Then did a year at university, didn’t like it, didn’t like where I was, outside of [County], came back home, took full-time employment while still living at home, Staying Put. Yeah, took full-time employment, then Covid hit, so then I was still employed for... on furlough for about... oh, I think it was about six months or something. Then later on in the 2020, I decided to do what I... carry on my... what I kind of earned in my first year at university, I could carry that over to another university, which allowed me to join on to a second year, on the course, if that makes sense? And then continued my last two years down in [County] at a local university, while still employed.
So, with the Staying Put programme, did you feel like that was a good move for the local authority to have you be a part of?
Yes, a hundred percent in terms of, yeah, how it worked for me, it was great, I had tonnes of support. I know down in [County], we lack foster parents, so to allow a young person to stay put is quite uncommon. A lot of time they go down the supported accommodation route, which is difficult for them because it’s quite traumatic and you feel like you’ve got... Speaking to people I know quite well, you feel like the rug’s been swept from underneath your feet and your life’s been just turned upside down. So yeah, it’s a difficult one.
Lawrence received support with budgeting, prioritising costs, and looking for a job.
Lawrence received support with budgeting, prioritising costs, and looking for a job.
So, from 16 to 18, I had a social worker and a PA, a personal advisor, and then from 18 plus up to the age of, well, when I finished my degree, 22, I had a personal advisor who was helping me through the stages. So, helping me budget, prioritise costs, where I spend my money, and help me if I was looking for another job, I could pull out a CV, help me do all those bits and bobs. So, my transition into the independent side of things was I had a lot of support around me, which was great.
Lawrence received financial support which helped him buy essentials and travel to attend university open days so he could decide where he wanted to study.
Lawrence received financial support which helped him buy essentials and travel to attend university open days so he could decide where he wanted to study.
Yeah, they supported me very well. They took me to do the like essential shops, bedding, pots and pans, utensils, and they helped me sort out travel and took me to and from different universities to look at which ones would be the most beneficial to myself. So yeah, in terms of support, they were very supportive.