ARU Final Report

46 Care leavers’ experiences of support during the Covid-19 pandemic by care leavers with children, and the need for specific support to help care leavers manage these challenges. Therefore, the recommendations around support specifically is: To ensure that all care leavers are provided with the same opportunities and level of practical, and emotional support within their local authority that responds to their particular needs and circumstances. To provide additional support to care leavers with children, including providing them with keyworker status to allow their children to attend nursery or school if needed during lockdowns. 5.3 To respect and honour your identity The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged all of us and particularly the ways in which we relate to and interact with the people in our lives. “Wewillvalueandsupport important relationships, and help you manage changing relationships or come to terms with loss, trauma or other significant life events.” Many care leavers who participated in our research cited family, friends, and other care leavers as essential in promoting a sense of connection and protection from loneliness during the pandemic. However, some reported not having friends and family to provide that connection even before the pandemic, highlighting the essential role of Leaving Care Services in promoting connection with others, which has become even more important during the pandemic. Ensuring that all young people have opportunities to connect with others during and beyond the pandemic must be a priority: “Loneliness is massive, especially during a pandemic. If there’s any way that this could be looked at and worked upon.” (Q: Male, 21) Technology and internet access has been fundamental in helping people to stay connected during the pandemic, but this is not always something that care leavers have access to. Support bubbles and being able to meet physically with others also emerged as an important factor in supporting relationships and maintaining connection with others. It would therefore be useful for Leaving Care Services to discuss support bubbles with care leavers – particularly those cut off from their usual support networks, living on their own, or looking after young children – to ensure they have someone they can turn to. Examples of good practice included facilitating access to the internet and technology as well as creative ways of connecting. However, given the previous point about some care leavers not having friends or family to support them, there may be substantial benefits from allowing personal advisors/social workers and support workers from involvement and participation teams to provide face-to-face support to care leavers. “I just feel like we care leavers need to feel a connection with someone to continue responding and thinking positively. The lack of in person meet-ups greatly affected me and I felt very alone even though there was people texting or calling me. it’s the one on one physicality of things that keeps me ticking.” (Q: Female, 18)