21 Nov 2025
Some people still go round to their folks’ house on Sundays for a roast, others rely on their mum or dad to help them make it through to payday, put up a shelf or advise them which lawnmower to buy.
But what if you spent your childhood in care homes and with foster families? How different is the experience of those who can’t rely on their birth parents for support, or choose not to have anything to do with them?
As part of National Care Leavers Month the St Albans Times has investigated the battles faced by local young adults who grew up in the care system but have now moved on.
Dan Jones is the chief executive of Settle, a charity that supports care-experienced young people.
He explained: “Young people leaving the care system face the same challenges as anyone leaving home – rent, bills, shopping and cooking for yourself, juggling work or study. But they can’t call on the family support networks that most of us rely on – and all too often, the professional support they had from children’s social care drops away too, as soon as they turn 18.
“Young people are left to cope on their own, without help, advice or anything to fall back on, at the exact moment that everything in their life changes.”
A child in the UK may be placed into the care of their local authority if it is decided that they are at risk of – or experiencing –significant harm.
This is decided by social services, usually after a period of assessment, but it can happen suddenly if the situation requires. Police can make an emergency order called a Police Protection Order which gives them the power to temporarily remove a child from their parent or carer for 72 hours to make sure they are safe.
Anything more than that requires a family court decision. If a child is under the care of the local authority permanently then Herts county council becomes legally responsible for them into adulthood. Depending on circumstances, young people will be classed as care leavers from the age of 16 or 18.
We spoke to a 29-year-old St Albans woman who grew up in care and is now living independently, to find out what her experiences had been both in and out of the system. To protect her identity we will call her Emma.
“Social Services first got involved in the mid-2000s, when I was about eight, due to severe neglect and abuse. I remember being made to clean the whole house and told to lie when social workers visited – which I did. The case was closed, but the maltreatment continued.
“I went back and forth between my parents before running away and sofa surfing. Social Services still tried to keep me at home, but there came a point where I ended up sleeping on the doorstep because my parent had gone away while I was at school. The next morning, I was placed in emergency foster care.
“Because of my age, I had fewer placements than some. I stayed much longer than expected with my emergency foster carer, who completely changed my outlook on life. At first, I didn’t want to engage, but she went above and beyond to build a relationship with me – bringing tea and a sweet treat into my room, starting neutral conversations until I opened up. She was the first person who made me feel safe at home, and she’s helped many children over the years. We still keep in touch.
“When my emergency foster care went on a pre-booked holiday, I stayed briefly with another carer. She wasn’t particularly welcoming or present so we didn’t build a connection.
“When my emergency placement ended, I was placed with a couple who had multiple foster children. It was a difficult environment – the other children would go through my belongings and there was a clear divide between the family and the foster children, even in small things like the food we ate.
“After that, I moved into semi-independent accommodation. It was a big adjustment and a lot of responsibility for a 16-year-old to manage alone, especially without the life skills or guidance to do so, and while studying for GCSEs. The setting also felt very clinical, almost like living in a hospital.
“I then moved into a shared house with a live-in carer, which I much preferred. Although it brought challenges as people came and went, I made good friends there. I stayed until I turned 18 – I would have stayed longer if I could, but the rules didn’t allow anyone over that age. You literally move out on, or just before, your birthday.
“After that, I was placed in basic temporary accommodation while waiting for a council property. The rent was high, and I didn’t yet have my setting-up-home allowance so I had to furnish a studio flat overnight, finding free items wherever I could.
“Finally, I received a one-time offer for a small one-bedroom property in a rural village. It had few amenities, limited job opportunities and poor public transport. The property was unfurnished, so I had to wait quite a long time for funding to be approved and basic appliances to arrive.”
Emma said that once she had moved into the council property, her contact with Social Services stopped almost completely. She said that she didn’t engage with them much at the time, but that she thinks they could have done more to ensure her welfare up until she was 25: “Too many care leavers are left without the stability, guidance, and resources
they need to build a secure future.
“I was given a setting-up-home allowance when I turned 18. When I returned to education, I was given a laptop, a higher education bursary, and consistent support through the Virtual School. That made a real difference – but that level of help isn’t available to everyone.”
Emma said she feels young people need more support after leaving care and cited a range of things she feels would be helpful such as financial and legal literacy and practical life skills, an increase to the setting-up- home allowance, providing WiFi and laptops, and help with loneliness and isolation, especially at Christmas.
St Albans resident and qualified social worker Shelley Hayles, who is also CEO of LeeAnna’s Wish CIC in Cottonmill, grew up in the care system herself.
She said: “I am a care leaver and since moving to independent living I have spent much of my life fighting as an advocate for those experiencing, and who have experienced, living in care.
“I have worked for Hertfordshire County Council as a senior social worker, as well as for the Youth Justice Board and the Ministry of Justice.
“Some of my most impactful work has been in the formation of legislation. In 1998, I presented evidence in the House of Commons on the unacceptable educational outcomes for children living in local authority care; and I single-handedly promoted what became the amendment to Section 24 of the Children Act 1989, which extended the state’s duty of care from the age of 18 to 24. I was also part of the steering group that shaped the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 as it emerged as legislation.
“The sensitive nature of this work, combined with my personal background and experience has meant that my efforts have often come at a personal cost, although I believe that I have always spoken from a viewpoint of necessity rather than one of controversy.
“Perhaps inevitably due to the subject matter, my advocacy has often been dismissed as causing upset, but the reality is that I have always felt that I need to make my voice heard because children in care rarely have anyone to speak for them. This process has often been frustrating as I see systems continuing to fail those that they should exist to protect.
“I will never settle for less than real, measurable and accountable changes, changes that will lead to children being caught, who might otherwise have fallen through the gaps. All children are vulnerable, but none more so than a child who has no parent to whom they can turn and who relies entirely on the state for their safety, sustenance and care.
“I speak as someone who has survived the system and someone who refuses to sit by and allow the next generation to be failed as many in the past have been.”
Rachel Century, chief executive of charity Live Unlimited, which provides opportunities and support to looked-after children and young care leavers, said that care leavers are disadvantaged in terms of education and housing.
“One in three becomes homeless within two years of leaving care, and they are 38 per cent more likely to be not in education, employment or training compared to their peers. Despite making up just one per cent of the population, they represent around 25 per cent of the prison population.
“These statistics show why charities like ours are essential – to provide the support, opportunities, and sense of belonging that every young person deserves.”
Just 19 per cent of children in care pass English and Maths GCSE (2022/23), compared to 65 per cent of all pupils.
Herts county council helps care experienced young people gain employment. It runs a number of events throughout the year to provide employment opportunities – for example, a care leavers careers event in May, attended by 47 care leavers, who were able to discuss employment opportunities with a range of local employers, education and careers advice.
The council also has a local employment collaboration with John Lewis, through the ‘Building Happier Futures’ scheme which started in Hertfordshire last year and provides care leavers with work experience, support with CVs, guaranteed interviews and mentoring.
The DfE reports that in Hertfordshire last year there were 135 care leavers aged 17-21 in emergency accommodation, 42 in foyers (supported accommodation for young people at risk of homelessness), and 25 who were homeless. This is out of 800 young people in total meaning approximately one in four were homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Herts Young Homeless support young people up until the age of 25 across the county. Their spokesperson said: “When young people leave care, it can be a really daunting time. They suddenly have to manage so much on their own – finding somewhere safe to live, setting up a home, sorting bills,
budgeting, and understanding their tenancy. Many also move to a completely new area, so they need help building support networks, finding local services, and registering with a GP or dentist.
“At HYH, we’re there to guide them through all of that. Our outreach service supports young people for up to six months, and our intensive outreach service can work with them for up to a year – helping them build confidence and stability as they take those first steps into independence.
“There’s some great support for care leavers in Hertfordshire. The biggest challenge is making sure young people know what’s out there and how to get the help they need. It’s often the wider services, like mental health support, that are really struggling to keep up with growing demand.”
Leaving care personal advisers are allocated to young people at the age of 17 and they work in collaboration with Children Looked After colleagues to support a smooth transition to adulthood. Care leaver teams continue to support young people from 18 until 25. Herts Ccounty council told us that their advisor maintains regular contact and visit young people, offering them support advice and guidance across all areas of their life.
They also said: “Through our fostering programmes, young people in our care can benefit from ‘staying put’, ‘staying close’ and ‘supported lodgings’ to help provide support through the transition into adulthood.”
However, we were not able to speak to any young people who could tell us what they thought of the help provided by the local authority or from Herts Young Homeless though we did ask both organisations to help facilitate that and were understanding of the need for anonymity.
Another support offered by Herts county council is Ohana which gives support to care experienced people who are now parents themselves. They have regular meet-ups in St Albans and provide the opportunity to meet other parents, who support each other and hear from guest speakers as well as hosting activities for children.
Additionally there is a St Albans Care Leavers Fund where grants of up to £500 are available for individuals aged 16-25 who have previously been in care in the district.
Applications are completed from someone supporting the young person in a professional capacity and receipts have to be provided. They might pay for a household item or fund driving lessons. It is far more structured and limited than the help given to many young adults by their parents.
Settle’s Dan Jones added: “Some of the young people we work with in London have been told they have to move into flats with bare floors or no locks on the doors. Young people who’ve made it to university come back to the place they grew up in the holidays, only to find they don’t have anywhere to live because they’re deemed to have moved away and their flat has been let to someone else. That’s why Settle is calling for every young person leaving care to have stable, securing housing, enough money to live on, and a network of relationships and support to help them flourish.”
Dan has been extremely helpful and supportive of our research for this article and was prompt, clear and seems genuinely passionate about his work.
Despite being the CEO of the charity and obviously busy yet took the time to work with us when his charity does not even cover our area.
Rachel of Live Unlimited was the same. Her charity covers Barnet yet she worked hard to try and find a case study in our area.
But we were both surprised and disappointed that the most knowledgeable and dynamic care leaver organisationswe engaged with are not the ones on our doorstep. It is unusual to go out of the area for comments as we like to keep things very local and relevant. However, the amount of digging around and waiting for responses we had to do locally led us to question how easy it is for young people to access information and help they require.
Organisations are happy to tell us that they are very supportive but why are there no young people ready to sing their praises if they are so good? I am a research savvy adult with skills, experience and training, as well as a home.
What must it be like for a vulnerable young person who might be in their teens and looking for financial, emotional or housing support trying to navigate their way forward? I shudder to think…
