21Plus Service - Support for care leavers aged over 21 years

As a 21Plus care leaver you have entitlement to our Local Offer for Care Leavers including any of our specialist offers in relation to being a parent (or parent-to-be), a child or young person seeking asylum, or if you are preparing to leave or have recently left custody. You also have access to our Achievement Offer in relation to any employment, education and training support.

To access our other specific Local Offers for care leavers then please visit www.nottshelpyourself.org.uk or contact the 21Plus Service on 0115 804 4154 or email 21Plus@nottscc.gov.uk

Under our Local Offer for Care Leavers in Nottinghamshire, you can apply to any of the seven districts or boroughs for housing, depending on where you would like to live. If you obtain a tenancy, you will be required to maintain the property and will be responsible for all the bills.

We know that situations can change, so if you are having any difficulties with your housing or would like some advice, please contact us directly. Our dedicated homelessness prevention personal adviser can help advocate on your behalf and work with you to explore your options, which might include looking at other affordable accommodation choices.

If you get into any financial difficulties with payments linked to your housing, then it is important that you contact someone for help.

We can support you to contact your landlord, housing provider or debtors to explore your arrears and arrange payment plans. We can also provide financial advice to help prevent this from happening again in the future

We do not want anyone to be at fear or risk of homelessness, so if you need support with this, then we can work alongside our district councils to try and prevent homelessness or explore emergency accommodation if needed.

It is important that you look after both your physical and mental health and as you get older, you still need to be safe, healthy and happy. We can support you around general health and wellbeing, accessing primary health care, being registered with a doctor, dentist and optician, and ensuring that you are accessing any medical treatments and services you require. If you have a disability or involvement from Adult Social Care services then with your permission, we can speak with them and see what additional support needs you may have and where we can help meet that need.

If you have concerns around feeling sad, lonely, or relating to your mental health and wellbeing, then we can help explore support for you to access someone to talk to including our wellbeing workers. Or you might want to apply for the You Know Your Mind fund to get some funding to assist with activities or items that can help improve your emotional health and wellbeing. Speak with the 21Plus Service for more information.

We support young people with a variety of additional needs. You may have a health diagnosis that means that we must adapt the support we offer. We will work with you to understand how best to support you to ensure you can access everything you need; at the time you need it.

You may have a neurodiverse condition or suspect that you might have some additional support needs around this and its impact on your life. If so, then we can adapt information, the way we present it, and the way we communicate with you and advocate for you with other professionals who might need to do the same to meet those needs. Please talk with the 21Plus Service about how best we can support you around this.

There are many ways people define their gender, identity and sexuality. You might identify yourself as being included in the LGBTQIA+ community and want to explore how this might impact on you and the support you require. If you want to access information or support around this then please speak with the 21Plus Service or you can get more information on what’s available in Nottinghamshire at http://www.nottslgbt.com.

We want you to be the best you can be and so our aim is to help you to aspire and achieve in whatever career path you choose to take. Whether that’s through education and studying in college, going to university, doing an apprenticeship, on-the-job training or succeeding in the world of work.

Our Achievement Service is committed to helping you make the most of every opportunity and can offer you support, advice and guidance. That means we can work with the 21Plus Service and lots of other professionals to help you plan your journey in employment, education and/or training, be part of your Pathway Plan review or complete an Employability Assessment so together we can explore what opportunities are out there and how we can help with the support you might need.

Also, if you are in higher education, such as university and you have further plans, past your 25th birthday we can also look at what support we can offer you.

For more information about employment, education and training support then check our Achievement Offer at www.nottshelpyourself.org.uk or you can email the Achievement Service at achievement@nottscc.gov.uk

It can sometimes be difficult managing money and being independent, and we all need a bit of extra support at times. This is nothing to be embarrassed about. If you need some advice and support around your finances, budgeting, debt management or planning your financial future then you can contact us, and we will see what support we can offer. Sometimes, this might mean completing a financial assessment with us so we can fully understand what is happening for you and how we can best support you.

If you are currently in receipt of Universal Credit then, with your consent, we can speak on your behalf with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), to resolve any issues. We can also explore other benefits that you might be entitled to.

We can also help you with:

• Accessing any remaining Home Establishment Grant you may have to help you set up your home
• Exploring any issues around debts or money worries and look at ways these can be resolved
• Occasional supermarket vouchers or temporary financial support after assessing your needs
• Applying for grants and funding to reduce historical/current debts if this is preventing you from accessing housing or being able to make positive changes in your life
• Specialist equipment for educational courses or specifically for your employment
• Accessing funding and grants for higher education pathways (including a bursary and help towards accommodation costs)
• Purchasing suitable clothing for job interviews, transport to and from interviews, or assisting you with childcare provision if you are a parent.

If you were a child seeking asylum and looked after by Nottinghamshire, often identified as an unaccompanied asylum seeking child (UASC) and you turn 21 years, then we will continue to support you if you have leave to remain in the UK, or are still pending a decision on your asylum application or appeal to the Home Office.

Sometimes, your leave status will not allow you to access support from the 21Plus Service and so if that happens, we will explain what this means to you, and make sure that you have access to some legal advice. If you are refused leave to remain and are no longer allowed to appeal this decision, current UK law stops the support we give you as a care leaver. If this happens, we will do an assessment with you to decide whether removing our support would breach your human rights and leave you without any accommodation or fi nancial support.

If you are allowed to apply for British Citizenship, then we can look at supporting you to fund your application and will help you with any study materials or books you need to prepare for your ‘Life in the UK’ test.

For more information about UASC (children and young people seeking asylum then visit www.nottshelpyourself.org.uk or contact the 21Plus Service at 21Plus@nottscc.gov.uk

'Coffee and cake’ monthly drop-in

We love hearing about what is happening in you and your child/children’s lives, and we might be able to o er some advice or support, or maybe just celebrate your achievements, and so what better way is there than having a catch-up with a personal adviser over some *coffee and cake!

You could chat to us about:

• Employment and training
• Education plans
• Housing 
• Financial matters
• General catch-up
• Health and leisure.

These will be held at various venues across Nottinghamshire every month between 10am–12pm or 2pm–4pm.

So if you want to arrange to meet up with your previous personal adviser/ achievement adviser, or maybe pop in for five minutes or stay the full two hours… it is totally up to you.

This is a FREE drop-in session and if you want to attend then bus fares and travel costs can be refunded.

For more information about dates, times and venues please check the Notts Next Steps app or visit www.nottshelpyourself.org.uk, alternatively you can contact your current personal adviser, or the 21Plus Service at 21Plus@nottscc.gov.uk.

*Other refreshments will be available

If you are in custody prior to your 21st birthday, then the 21Plus Service will arrange a joint visit with your personal adviser to come to see you and introduce you to our service so that you know how to access our continuing support until your 25th birthday.

• The 21Plus Service will keep in touch with you by visiting you face-to-face in custody, or by a video link at least every three months if you want them to
• The 21Plus Service will keep in touch every month through email or letter communication if you want them to
• Six months before you leave custody, a 21Plus personal adviser will work with you, the Probation Service and prison resettlement staff to formulate your Resettlement Plan ready for your release. If you would like us to review your Pathway Plan, then we can also do this with you. We refer to this as a 21Plus Pathway
• Your 21Plus personal adviser will help to ensure there is a detailed practical plan in place so that on the day of your release from custody, you know where you are going, what accommodation you have in place and how you will get there
• Upon your release from custody, the 21Plus Service (including our homelessness prevention personal adviser(s) (if appropriate)) can work with you and other professionals including Probation, to support your successful transition back into your community
• You will be allocated a named 21Plus personal adviser who will remain your main contact to support you for the fi rst six months after your release. After that time, if you are settled and everything is going well, then you can continue to access support, advice and guidance generally from the 21Plus Service until your 25th birthday
• Upon your release, your personal adviser will identify what fi nancial support you may need from us for things like keeping in touch with those people important to you, or items you may need in relation to your identity or physical care
• On your release from prison, we will provide you with a basic mobile phone and an initial £20 worth of credit so that we can contact you, and that you are able to contact those people important to you and help maintain any appointments with the DWP and/or Probation
• If you need to claim for benefi ts upon your release, then we will also look at providing short-term personal allowance (equivalent to Universal Credit rates) until your benefi ts claim is processed. There is an expectation that you will work with all agencies involved including the DWP so that your claim can be processed swiftly
• As part of the support from 21Plus Service we will explore your future accommodation plans, where you want to live and use the Local Offer for Care Leavers to access housing in Nottinghamshire. If you wish to live outside of Nottinghamshire, then your personal adviser alongside our homelessness prevention personal adviser(s) can help identify your options
• As part of the support from 21Plus we will discuss your options around employment, education and training and link you with an achievement adviser. Our Achievement Offer identifi es many opportunities for you within education and in the world of work. You may experience some barriers around employment opportunities, but we can help identify these with you and navigate them to look for alternative options to best support your future achievements

Should your release from custody be after your 25th birthday then we will still offer you some advice and guidance if you contact us upon your release as part of being ‘always here’ for you. This may be signposting you to support agencies or helping you to make any appointments with agencies such as the DWP or housing. We will also consider any fi nancial support we are able to offer you for purchasing things for your accommodation if you have any Home Establishment Grant remaining.

We love to hear from you and aim to seek your views at every point of contact, so that you have an influence over the 21Plus Service and what we do.

When you are approaching your 21st birthday, your personal adviser will offer to introduce you to a 21Plus worker. We then hold monthly drop-ins at various venues throughout Nottinghamshire, so you can give us your feedback or just say ‘hi’. You will also be sent a feedback form as you approach your 25th birthday.

As part of our 21Plus Service, we will offer you our bi-monthly e-newsletter so that you know all the latest news about our support, services and our Local Offers. The e-newsletter is also another way that you can provide feedback.

In 2023, you told us that you would like competitions, a fitness tracker and an example budget planner/bill tracker. We listened to this, and so produced a cook book with delicious and simple ‘go to’ recipes, which you also contributed to.

We have also offered you the opportunity to get free technology, access to the You Know Your Mind Fund and we also offered discounts or free tickets to local events (such as tickets to see a Christmas Panto). So keep sending us your feedback, thoughts and views.

You can also email us your views at 21Plus@nottscc.gov.uk

If you are over 21 years old, then you can contact the 21Plus Service at: 0115 804 4154 or 21Plus@nottscc.gov.uk.

The 21Plus Service can be contacted on 0115 804 4154 at set times throughout weekdays. If you contact this number and cannot get through to a personal adviser then please leave a voice message and someone will call you back, often this is the same or next working day. Alternatively, you can email the team at 21Plus@nottscc.gov.uk.

If there is an emergency and you need to speak to someone during the night, weekend, or other times outside of offce hours, then you can contact Nottinghamshire Social Care’s Emergency Duty Team on 0300 456 4546.

If you would like to speak with our Achievement Service, then you can either speak with your personal adviser or you can email them at achievement@nottscc.gov.uk.

Our Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) Team support looked after children seeking asylum and care leavers until their 21st birthday. You can contact them at uasc@nottscc.gov.uk

For information about our Local Offer for Care Leavers or to see our specialist offers for the Achievement Service, young people seeking asylum (UASC), parents and parents-to-be, and those in or leaving custody, then visit www.nottshelpyourself.org.uk

You can also access all the information in the Local Offer for Care Leavers through various apps on your phone or smart devices.

This information can be provided in alternative formats and languages. If you would like this, then please contact us at the above details.