Corporate and Community Parenting offer

These offers are available for young people who are currently in our care.

View the Corporate and Community Parenting Promise poster

Where you live

When you are 16 or 17, you may still live with your foster carers or in your children’s home. If this is the right place for you, you will continue to be supported there. This includes making sure you have pocket money, a clothing allowance, money to travel on public transport, and support to celebrate your birthday and Christmas.

As you get older, you will be supported to build the skills you need for the future. This may include learning how to manage money, budget for food and travel, look after your belongings, keep your space clean, understand bills, and know who to ask for help when you need it.

Your social worker will talk to you about what support you need and what kind of place might be right for you. When you have a Personal Adviser, they will also get to know you and help you plan for becoming more independent. Your Independent Reviewing Officer will check that the right plans are in place and that your views are being listened to.

Some young people live in supported accommodation when they are 16 or 17. This is a place where you can have more independence, but staff are still there to give you support and advice. They can help you with things like cooking, managing money, getting to appointments, staying safe, and preparing for adult life. In some supported accommodation, you may be given money to manage for things like food or travel. If this happens, you will be given an amount similar to Universal Credit, which is the financial support you may be able to claim when you are 18. You will not have to pay rent while you are 16 or 17 and still in our care.

The Leaving Care Team will help you think about where you might live as you move towards adulthood. This includes helping you find the right place, understand your options, and make your home feel safe and comfortable. Your carers, social worker, Personal Adviser, housing staff and other people who support you will work together so that you have the right help around you. This also means making sure the adults caring for you have the skills, information and resources they need to support you properly.

Health and wellbeing

If you are in our care, you can get a free Lincs Inspire card! This card helps you stay active, try new things, and feel more confident.

With your card, you can use swimming pools, gyms and other health facilities for free.

You can use it at Cleethorpes Leisure Centre, Grimsby Leisure Centre and Immingham Swimming Pool.

If you’re in our care, you can get support from CAMHS.

CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. This team can listen to you, help you understand your feelings, and work with you on things like worries, low mood, anger, or big changes.

They can also talk with your foster carer or residential staff, and other adults who help you (like your social worker and school), so everyone works together to make things feel more settled day to day.

Compass Go is a service that helps young people aged 5 to 19 feel better when things are tough. They can help if you are feeling worried or anxious, feeling low or sad, finding it hard to manage big feelings, or going through changes at home or school.

They can support you in different ways – like one-to-one sessions, group sessions, or assembly and workshop activities in school – and can help you to develop helpful skills you can use every day to improve your wellbeing.

The Designated Nursing Team helps you get the health support you need if you are in care (or a care leaver). This includes helping you access the right services, such as doctors, nurses, dentists and opticians, and making sure you can get support as soon as possible.

The team listens to you and works with the adults who support you so everyone understands what health support you need. The team also tries to make appointments feel safe and supportive, explains what is happening in a clear way, and encourages you to ask questions.

When you come into care, and at different times later on, you will be offered a health check. This helps to understand what is going well and what help might be needed, including your physical health, feelings and worries, sleep, food and exercise, dental and eyesight checks, and any medicines you take.

Lots of children and young people in care can have big feelings or worries. If this happens, you are not alone. The Designated Nursing Team can help you (and the adults around you) to find the right support, and to make sure your views are listened to. If something does not feel right, it is important to tell a trusted adult, such as your carer, social worker, teacher, or nurse.

The aim is for you to get kind, high-quality health care that helps you feel well and do well.

Relationships

If you are in our care, you can get a free ticket to watch Grimsby Town play once a year. This is part of our Foster Friendly arrangement.

Humberside Fire Service has some exciting activities available!

These activities are designed to help you feel more confident, dream big about the future, and feel part of your local community. You might get to try safe, hands-on activities in the drill yard at the fire station, spend time with firefighters and other fire service staff to see what their jobs are like, or join a fun half-day session in the summer holidays (or another time if it can be arranged).

There are different sessions for different ages (5–8, 8–12, and 12–16), so the activities are right for your age and feel enjoyable.

If a child has been playing with fire, the fire service can offer special fire safety help. This support has been checked to make sure it is suitable, and it aims to reduce risk and help everyone stay safer at home.

Home fire safety visits can also be arranged. If you have had a fire at home, the fire service can help and support you to feel safe again.

Buddies is for you if you are aged 6 to 17 and are currently in our care.

A Buddy is a grown-up who spends time with you, gets to know you, and supports you. You and your Buddy meet once a month to do something fun in your local area. You can choose what you do together.

Buddies get training and support but are not part of Children’s Social Care – your Buddy is there just for you.

Support for you

Buddies is for you if you are aged 6 to 17 and are currently in our care.

A Buddy is a grown-up who spends time with you, gets to know you, and supports you. You and your Buddy meet once a month to do something fun in your local area. You can choose what you do together.

Buddies get training and support but are not part of Children’s Social Care – your Buddy is there just for you.

This support is for all children and young people we look after, and for care leavers too. It helps you share what you think, what you want, and how you feel. An advocate is someone who can help you understand your rights, make sure people listen to you, and help you feel confident that decisions are made with what matters to you in mind.

The Virtual School is a team of educational professionals working with schools and settings to ensure we all provide the best education for the children and young people in our care.

This service is part of a bigger team called Inclusion Services. It works with other teams, like SENDIASS, school admissions, educational psychologists, and education welfare, to make sure that support is right. This includes providing advice and training to schools, so children can learn well and feel able to do their best.

If you need one, we can help you get a free bike and a helmet. You can use them to get to school or college, and to clubs or activities near you.

Employment, education and training

The Young People’s Support Service, or YPSS, can help you think about your future and your next steps after Year 11. If you are in our care, a YPSS Careers Adviser can help you understand your options, talk through your interests, and support you with choices about college, training, apprenticeships, work or other opportunities.

Your Careers Adviser can come to education meetings, help with applications, and support you as you move into education, training or work. If you are over 16 and not currently in school, college, training or work, YPSS can still help you look at your options, build confidence and plan your next steps.

YPSS also works with other services, including the Leaving Care Team, to make sure you get the right support at the right time. They also help create opportunities such as work experience, links with local employers and employability programmes.

The aim is to help you feel more prepared for your future, ask questions, make plans and find the support you need, without having to work everything out on your own.

Visit YPSS to find out more.

Humberside Fire Service has some exciting activities available!

There are different sessions for different ages (5–8, 8–12, and 12–16), so the activities are right for your age and feel enjoyable.

Home fire safety visits can also be arranged. If you have had a fire at home, the fire service can help and support you to feel safe again.

If you’re interested in a job in law (like being a solicitor or working in a law firm), Ringrose Law are happy to have a careers talk with you. They would also be able to talk to you about apprenticeships or going to college or university to study law. These talks are usually best for ages 15–16 and would normally be done in a small group.

There are lots of ways we can help you get ready for work and feel supported when you start. Each year there are a few apprenticeship places set aside, and we can also arrange work experience that suits what you need. If you need things like a later start, different hours, or a phased start to help with childcare or other responsibilities, we can agree this with your manager.

There are summer internships for people aged 16–18 and an internship for university students, and if you have an EHCP you may be able to do a supported internship too. Before you begin, you can have a meet-up and a visit to the workplace so you know what to expect, and on your first day the Pathway Lead will be there at the start of your induction to help you feel settled and answer questions. Your induction will also recognise that being care experienced matters and should be respected.

If you ever get stuck, you can come to drop-in sessions for help with online learning or apprenticeship paperwork, and there is a Pathways Toolkit with clear information for you and your manager, including safety and support guidance.

Managers can join training webinars to help them support you well, and we will keep in touch with you, your manager, and your Personal Advisor so you are not on your own. In your first three months, we can also help with practical things like packed lunch vouchers, bus passes, or workwear.

We work closely with other support teams to share opportunities, and if you are 16 or older you can use AcademyNEL to build your CV. We also partner with the Job Centre to create job routes that fit you.

The Family Enterprise Programme is a 12-week programme for young people aged 16 to 25 who are in care or care leavers and not currently in education, employment or training. It is built around your interests, strengths and goals, with ongoing support to help you move into work, training, education, or another next step.

The programme is practical and hands-on – not like school or college. It starts with an assessment so support can be shaped around you. You can take part in group projects, outdoor activities and sport, wellbeing sessions, financial literacy, vocational qualifications, training, and career planning, and you can also access an in-house counsellor and a CPO mentor for one-to-one support.

You will also be connected with businesses, charities and training providers through workplace tours, work experience, career talks and apprenticeship opportunities. Some partners offer priority access, including guaranteed interviews if your CV meets the minimum requirements, and the council is supporting 20 placements with wage contributions. Support is also available if you want to apply for jobs, volunteer, or return to education or training.

While you are on the programme, you will get lunch vouchers for the Centre4 café, travel costs to Centre4 by bus, access to the Centre4 Company Shop and use of the onsite gym for £1 per visit. If your attendance is 95% or higher, you will receive £100 at the end of the programme, and if you complete volunteering, you will receive £20 for each day you take part, for up to 8 weeks.

When you finish, you will get certificates for what you have achieved and continued support with your next steps. The programme is flexible, works around real life and is there to help you move forward without judgement. If you are interested, it is preferred that you attend an open event first so you can meet the staff, look around and decide if it feels right for you.

At the Jobcentre, there are friendly staff who are a regular point of contact for children and young people in our care. At Grimsby Jobcentre, the main contact is Cherie Chamberlain. At Immingham Jobcentre, the main contact is Julie Moseley.

Cherie and Julie can help you think about what you want to do next. They can support you with finding work, trying out work experience, and looking at training, so you can build your confidence and skills.

This support is part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Care Leaver Covenant. It is a tailored offer to help care-experienced young people move into adulthood and independence. This can include help from age 16 to understand and make a Universal Credit claim, extra support to get ready for work, and access to specialist work coaches if you are facing difficult situations like not having somewhere stable to live or struggling with addiction. If money is tight, the Jobcentre can explain what financial help is available, like advance payments, support with budgeting, and flexible ways to receive payments. They can also clearly explain what you need to do for your benefits, and what support is there if you ever run into problems.

There is also something called the Youth Offer for young people aged 16 to 24. It is there to help you get ready for work, improve your chances of getting a job, and connect you with the right support. Depending on what you need, this could include a Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), a traineeship, work experience, or an apprenticeship.

There is also a programme called Stepladder PLUS. If you are aged 15 to 17, and you have been in care for at least 12 months, Stepladder PLUS can help you feel more confident about money and planning for the future. It is a free online programme with six steps that help you learn about managing money and setting goals. As you work through it, you will have support from a mentor. You can also earn money for each step you complete, and this is paid into your Junior ISA or Child Trust Fund.

Ready for the future

Barclays can offer free, relaxed group sessions for you if you are aged 14–18 and in our care. These are designed to help you build everyday money skills for life. You can learn about bank accounts, wages and payslips, how to budget and save, what credit scores are and how debt works, and how to spot scams and fraud so you can stay safe. Most sessions last 1 hour, with the budgeting session lasting 2 hours. Sessions need to be booked and depend on availability.

Participation in society

Our Voice Listen Up is a way for you to tell us what you think and what could be better. We listen to children in our care and care leavers, and we work with you to make things change for the better – your views matter and we want to hear them. There are lots of ways to get involved.

Influencers (ages 9–16) – This group is for you if you want to speak up about what it’s like for you, and help adults make things better for other children and young people.

The Influencers group meets on Tuesday evenings (every other week). Together, you choose a project to work on, like improving a service or creating new opportunities. Projects usually last about three months. The sessions are relaxed and friendly – you can share ideas, talk things through, and agree what should happen next with the adults leading the work.

Creatives – If you’d rather share your views in a creative way, you can get involved in activities like art and craft, singing, drama, creative writing, photography or filmmaking. These sessions run at different times across the year, and you can join in whenever you want.

Bakers – These are food sessions where you can learn to cook, bake cakes, and try new recipes. Best part: you get to taste what you’ve made.

To find out when the next Bake Off is, speak to your Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO). If you want to take part, they can help you join.

Socials – If you want to meet up, have fun, and spend time with other young people, you can come to our socials. We run things like discos, fun days and our yearly YOUnique Awards.

If you live with a foster carer, you can visit the National Fishing Heritage Centre for free. Just show your foster carer’s NELC ID card when you arrive.