The Grand Campaign: let’s make sure all care leavers get the support they’re entitled to

When you’re leaving care, you are entitled to support from your local authority with the costs of setting up your new home – this is sometimes called the Setting Up Home Allowance or a Leaving Care Grant.

This makes sure you can get all the things you need (like furniture, kitchen goods and things for cooking and cleaning) to make your home safe, stable and secure.

On 1 April 2023, the Government announced an increase for the minimum recommended amount from £2,000 to £3,000 for all care leavers in England. This was great news for young people struggling to afford vital everyday items.

However, we’ve heard from care leavers that not all authorities have increased the grants they are awarding.

That’s why A National Voice is launching The Grand Campaign – so that all care leavers receive the full support they’re entitled to.

What are we calling for?

We want:

  • all local authorities in England to offer all care leavers up to 25 their full £3,000 allowance
  • all local authorities to provide clear and consistent guidelines to care leavers’ entitlements
  • an end to the postcode lottery, where young people in some areas receive more than in others

What we’re doing

We want to get a full picture of what level of grants care leavers are receiving across England. So over the next few months we will:

  • send a Freedom of Information request to every local authority in England, so that they have to tell us what grants they are offering to care leavers
  • create template letters so that children and young people in care and leaving care can set up meetings with local leaders and boards
  • create opportunities for children and young people to discuss their experiences and what needs to change
  • showcase the support of children and young people, local authorities and leaders
  • create a report on our findings to present to local and national leaders

How you can get involved!

Download our campaign pack

Our pack has more details about A National Voice and our campaign and is full of more ways to get involved, ways you can share your support and template letters for you to use.

Download Our Grand Campaign Pack (PDF)

Share your story

Have you received a Leaving Care Grant? Did you receive the full amount? What difference did it make to you? Sharing your experience is vital if we want to make change happen. Fill in our online form – all response will remain anonymous so no one will be able to identify you.

You can also share videos or audio, stories or artwork you have created about your experience.

Share your support online

If you’re happy to speak publically, sharing your story or your experience on social media is a great way of building momentum and helping us reach more supporters and decision makers. Use the hashtag #thegrandcampaign and tag us at @coramvoice

Join an online discussion

Sharing your experience with people who’ve been through the same thing is really important. We’re setting up online meetings for children and young people, and the professionals that work with you.

Children and young people: share your experience

6:00-7:30pm
Wednesday 24 April 2024
Sign up now!

Professionals: lunchtime learning

12:00-1:30pm
Wednesday 27 March 2024
Sign up now!

Contact your local authority

If you are part of a local Children in Care Council in England, you can also contact your local authority yourself. We’ve drafted the following text which you can copy and paste into an email or letter, adding your own names, and send to your local authority leaders. Click on the “+” below to see the full text.

Join us and follow our progress!

Make sure you don’t miss any of the milestones in our campaign and watch out for more ways to get involved and spread the word.