Care Leavers Local Offer

Your rights and advocacy

As a child or young person in care, you have a right to

• a social worker
• an independent reviewing officer
• understand why decisions are made about you and be involved in those decisions
• access to independent advocacy
• request access to your social care record.

Practical and emotional support

We may be able to offer you additional practical and emotional support. This is on top of the support you get from an allocated social worker or the leaving Care Service. For example:

• Provide you with a mentor/peer mentor/independent visitor
• Support to reconnect with family where this is in your best interests. This includes support with the cost of travel to have contact family members in the UK.
• Support you to access the Red Cross Family Tracing Service if your family live overseas.

Harrow’s pledge for children in care

We pledge to work together to provide you the best possible care and support. This is to help you be the best you can be in your life – now and in the future. To do this we will:

• Provide you with assistance and guidance to obtain a safe and secure home.
• Provide you with the support you need to do well in education.
• Listen to you about things in your own life and about the care that you receive from us.
• Be honest with you about things that have happened in your life and the decisions that are made about your care.
• Help you to develop good relationships with the people that you care for. And the people in your life that are most important to you.
• Provide you with support and opportunities to enjoy your life and have interests and hobbies of your own.
• Provide you with the support you need when you leave care to become independent and be the best you can be in adult life.
• We make this pledge to you and will do our best to always fulfil each one. Many teams are involved to make this happen, from children’s services to housing and health.
• We will make sure that we work together to do this.

We're legally required to support you as your “corporate parent” in the following 7 areas:

1. To act in the best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and well-being, of those children and young people
2. To encourage those children and young people to express their views, wishes and feelings
3. To take into account the views, wishes and feelings of those children and young people
4. To help those children and young people gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners
5. To promote high aspirations, and seek to secure the best outcomes, for those children and young people
6. For those children and young people to be safe, and for stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work; and
7. To prepare those children and young people for adulthood and independent living.

Help to understand your history or accessing your social care file

We will help you understand your rights and advocate on your behalf. We'll help you access information about you and provide support if you need to make a complaint.

Children’s Services has to keep written case records of your care history. These records must be kept for 75 years.

You can request your records any time after you become 18 years old.

You do not have to read through the information on your own. It can be upsetting or confusing. We recommend that you bring your Personal Adviser or a friend.

How to request access

You need to request to see your records in writing.

Children’s Services will write back to you with a timescale. It must happen within 40 days.

You may find that some of the information is not available for you to read. This is because some of the information in your records may identify other people, known as third parties. If there is information that may seriously harm your physical or mental health it might not be given to you.