What are ‘care leavers’ entitled to in Scotland?
Did you know? A ‘care leaver’ is a young person who left care on or at any time after, their sixteenth birthday.
If you are a care leaver, you are entitled to aftercare to support your eligible needs.
Age 16 to 19
If you are aged between 16 and 19 your local council should carry out an assessment of your eligible needs and you can work together with your aftercare worker to develop a plan for what support and advice you need and who will provide this. This is called a Pathway Plan.
If you don’t have a Pathway Plan and you need support you should contact your local council.
Age 19 to 26
If you are aged 19 to 25, and not already receiving aftercare, you are entitled to request that your local council carry out an assessment of your eligible needs.
You should apply to your local council to ask them and find out more.
Eligible Needs Assessment
An eligible needs assessment helps make sure that any identified needs are identified, and your local council should provide the advice, guidance and assistance it considers necessary to meet these needs.
Continuing Care
If you are ‘looked after’ and still being cared for by foster carers, kinship carers or living in a residential home, you may be eligible to remain where you live until you turn 21 under Continuing Care arrangements.
Information on continuing care can be found on CELCIS website, STAF’s Real Toolkit and Scottish Government website.
Local Services for Care Experienced Young People
There is currently no legal definition for ‘care experience’ in Scotland.
It is generally understood to mean a person who has been ‘looked after’ by their local authority for example, that they have been ‘in care’, at some stage of their life, for any length of time, no matter how short.
Care Experienced young people who require support should in the first instance contact their local council.
Local councils and their partners decide how their services and supports are arranged. They can assist you with things like learning to live independently, making decisions, managing your money, and managing relationships and employment. This can include practical assistance in an emergency such as:
- Urgent help with money, food, or fuel
- Money or vouchers for food or fuel
- Clothes or household items
Contact your local council to find out what support they can offer if you are in need of urgent or emergency support.
Other organisations can also help and support you to make that contact and understand what support you can get such as Who Cares? Scotland and Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum (Staf).
Find out more about these organisations below.
Support for Care Experienced People
Who Cares? Scotland
- Who Cares? Scotland has a Helpline which supports Care Experienced people of all ages by providing lifelong advocacy throughout Scotland. Who Cares? Scotland can support, signpost, and offer choice in relation to issues such as finances, housing, and connection.
- The Helpline is open 12 noon to 4pm Monday to Friday, and is also open to parents, carers, family members and other professionals who support you.
- Call the Helpline on 0330 107 7540 or email here.
- Who Cares? Scotland also has advocates who can provide information about your rights, support you to express your views or speak on your behalf, help you to prepare or take part in meetings, Children’s Hearings, and reviews, support you to share a concern or make a complaint, or help you access other services. You can request advocacy support via the website, email or call the national office on 0141 226 4441.
Staf
- Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum (Staf) is Scotland’s national membership organisation for all of those involved in the lives of young people leaving care. Staf have a webpage that provides information and contact details to help you find out more on the support you can receive from your local council.
Support with Mental Health
For information and support about how to look after your emotional wellbeing and mental health go to the AyeFeel section of our site.
Support for Care Experienced Students
Help To Apply For College or University
Most colleges and universities can help you to apply for a place. Find out about the support they can give at Propel into Education.
If you have experience of care, Scottish universities guarantee a place if you meet the minimum entry requirements. This will usually be your first choice course but they will work with you to find a suitable alternative if that’s not available. Find out more about admissions for students with experience of care at Student Awards Agency Scotland.
Further Education: Care Experienced Bursary
You can apply for up to £9,000 per year to pay some of your living costs if you’re studying:
- full time at a Further Education (FE) college
- for a Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) qualification between Level 1 and Level 6
You can check the level of your course on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.
Your college can help you apply for the bursary or you can find more information on the Scottish Funding Council website.
You can find out more about how a bursary might affect social security benefits from the Child Poverty Action Group.
Higher Education: Care Experienced Bursary and Other Funding
You can apply for up to £9,000 per year to pay some of your living costs if you’re studying:
- full time at a college or university
- for a Higher National Certificate (HNC), a Higher National Diploma (HND) or a degree
You can also apply for a:
- Summer Accommodation Grant of between £650 and £1330 depending on where you live
- Special Support Loan of £2400
You can get more information at Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).
You can find out more about how a bursary might affect social security benefits from the Child Poverty Action Group.
Other Support with Studying
Most colleges and universities can help care-experienced students with:
- their accommodation
- financial advice and assistance
- their career development
The Wee Campus is an online community where students with experience of care support each other while at college or university.
The Hub for Success is a partnership supporting students at colleges and the universities in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
Support for Care Experienced Young Parents
Early Learning and Childcare
If your child is 3 or 4 years old, you can access up to 1140 hours of funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) a year (around 30 hours a week in term time).
If you as a parent have experience of care, your 2 year old can also access funded Early Learning and Childcare. If you think you qualify or want more information, contact your local council.
Funded Early Learning and Childcare is available for 2 year olds who have experience of care.
This includes children who either:
Find out more about Early Learning and Childcare on the Parent Club website.
Five Family Payments
Scottish Child Payment is delivered by Social Security Scotland and provides financial support to low-income households with children under 16. Further information, including eligibility criteria and how to apply, is available online.
The three Best Start Grants provide support at three key transition points in a child’s early years. Best Start Foods provides families with a pregnant woman or a child under the age of three with financial support via a payment card to purchase healthy foods. Parents and carers who receive certain benefits and tax credits are eligible to apply. Parents who are under 18 and, in some circumstances, those who are 18 or 19, do not need to receive any benefits to be eligible for the Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods.
Support with Housing and Heating Your Home
Council Tax Exemption
Did you know? Care Leavers up to the age of 26 are exempt from paying Council Tax.
Guidance is provided by the Scottish Care Leavers Covenant.
Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP)
DHPs are administered by your local council. They consider the circumstances of each individual case when dealing with applications.
- DHPs support tenants struggling with their housing costs where Universal Credit or Housing Benefit does not cover the cost of their rent.
- Those in receipt of Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who require further financial assistance to meet housing costs are eligible to apply.
- An application can be made to your local authority for a DHP. Further information on how to do this can be found on your local council’s website.
Help with Fuel Costs
If you are struggling to afford heating your home the Scottish Government Cost of Living website provides information on help with energy bills.
Priority Services Register
The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a free UK wide service which provides extra help during power cuts or when there’s an interruption to your electricity, gas or water supply. Joining the PSR helps your energy/utility companies to provide support and additional services at this time. All the services are free. There may be a number of reasons why you might need this support and especially over the winter.
Their website will support you to sign up for the register or put you in touch with friendly and helpful staff that can answer your questions about whether you are eligible for the service and what support might be on offer.
Other Financial Support
Scottish Welfare Fund
The Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) provides support to people in crisis and helps with independent living. It’s also delivered by your local authority where there is two types of grants you can apply for.
- Crisis Grants to help meet immediate short-term needs arising from exceptional circumstances. For example, where an individual is facing a disaster or emergency situation, and where there is an immediate threat to the health or safety of that individual or their family. They are usually for things like food, gas or electricity but where a disaster has happened.
- Community Care Grants to help eligible people establish or maintain a home. For example, individuals who are leaving prison, hospital, residential care, or another institution, or those who are homeless or otherwise facing ‘exceptional pressure’ besides financial pressure. They are normally provided in the form of goods such as cookers, beds, furniture and removal costs.
As they are grants, you don’t have to pay them back.
The fund is for those on a low income, who are 16 and over, who are resident or about to become resident in the local authority, or homeless.
You can learn more about the Scottish Welfare Fund and how to apply on the MyGovScot website.
Job Start Payment
Job Start Payment is designed to help young people meet the costs of starting a new job.
Care leavers aged under 26 who are not in work and on a low income benefit on the date you receive your job offer can apply. You can spend the payment in a way that suits you. The payment could be used to cover costs such as transport, clothing or equipment.
Read more about the Job Start Payment.
You can apply:
- online at socialsecurity.gov.scot
- by phone free on 0800 182 222
- If you’re a British Sign Language user, you can use the Contact Scotland app to contact Social Security Scotland by video relay.
- By post by filling in a paper form.
Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund
Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund can provide immediate relief to families with care-experienced children under the age of 26 who are suffering extreme hardship, including those who are struggling to provide food, heating, and clothing for their children.
Applications to the fund must be made by a professional sponsor, such as a teacher, social worker, healthcare professional or charity worker.
Find out more about the Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund.
Find out more about all of the different benefits available in Scotland.