Learning and employment

We want you to have the support you need to achieve your goals in life. Our learning and careers pages can help you understand your options and the different routes to get the job you want.

The law says we must provide you with expenses linked with employment, education and training. In particular we will:

• give you a higher education (HE) bursary of at least £2,000 if you go to university, for every year of the course

• provide somewhere for you to stay during university holidays (or funding for this if you would prefer to make your own arrangements) if you are in full time HE or full time residential further education and your term time accommodation is not available

Virtual school

We will offer you support and advice from the Virtual School until you finish your post 16 education at College or Sixth Form.

We will offer you a Mentor to help you plan your next steps in education and training.

We will support you to go into higher education by offering you the opportunity from Year 7 to take part in A2U (Aspire to University) and when you are at university the we can offer advice and links to work experience opportunities.

Entrust

Entrust offers a careers information, advice and guidance (CIAG) service to support throughcare social worker or personal assistant responsibilities.

Careers advisers can offer expert, independent and impartial advice and guidance tailored to the needs of individual young people to help them reach their full potential and make the right decisions about their futures. This includes:

• a careers interview with an action plan in Year 10

• a careers interview with an action plan in Year 11

• attendance at a Year 11 Personal Education Plan (PEP) meeting to identify progression needs, or provide a current careers action plan
   
• support to help 16 and 17-year olds secure an offer of education or training in the local authority area, including help with transition. The offer can include:

• • full-time education in school sixth-forms or colleges

  • an apprenticeship or traineeship

  • employment combined with part-time education or training

  • attendance at an initial Post 16 PEP meeting thereafter
     
• careers guidance for 16 to 21 years not in education, employment or training, and up to age 25 for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities.  For over 18’s this will need to be requested by Throughcare
   
• a guidance interview with young people who meet the required criteria and are wanting to return to learning post 21 years of age, as requested by Throughcare

Foundations to employment

The foundations to employment project offer a work placement to young people who are leaving or have left care and are not employed or in education/training when they start their placement.

Open Door Staffordshire

This is an employability programme managed through us within the skills and employability team.

The purpose of the programme is to support job seekers over the age of 18 throughout Staffordshire.

We offer 12 weeks’ structured work experience usually in the area that the candidate is looking for paid employment. Therefore, during the placement the candidate is gaining relevant and up to date skills and experience to add to their CV and increase employability.

Additional information for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC)

If you wish to attend university there are some circumstances, such as not being a British citizen, where you may be classed as an overseas student by the student loans company and therefore unable to get a student loan.

If you wish to attend university, you should discuss this with your allocated worker so that we can help you to work out what you are entitled to and how we can help as this can get quite complicated depending on your situation.