The level of state support young people receive depends on their status as care leavers. Definitions of status and terminology vary to some extent across the four countries of the UK and a summary of these is provided here, with links to relevant legislation.
| Country | Definitions & links |
| England | The main purpose of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 is to help young people who have been looked after by a local authority move from care into living independently in as stable a fashion as possible. To do this it amends the Children Act (c.41) to place a duty on local authorities to assess and meet need. The responsible local authority is to be under a duty to assess and meet the care and support needs of eligible and relevant children and young people and to assist former relevant children, in particular in respect of their employment, education and training. Key definitions are: Eligible child – a child aged 16 and 17 who has been looked after for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and who is being looked after. Relevant child – a child aged 16 and 17 who has been looked after for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and who has left care. This also includes young people who were detained (e.g. in a youth offending institution or hospital) when they turned 16, but immediately before that were looked after. Former relevant child – a young person over 18 who was previously ‘eligible’ or ‘relevant’. Local authorities support this group at least until age 25 (NB: the Children & Social Work Act 2017 removed the requirement to be in education or training beyond age 21). Persons qualifying for advice and assistance – any young person under 21 (or 24 if in education or training) who ceases to be looked after or accommodated in a variety of other settings, or privately fostered, after the age of 16. This also includes young people who are under a special guardianship order. Young people who return home – a young person’s status as a care leaver can change if they leave care and return home to live with their birth family. A 16 or 17-year-old who has lived for a continuous period of six months with a parent or someone with parental responsibility will not be a relevant child, even if they fit the criteria above. However, if this arrangement breaks down before they turn 18 and the young person ceases to live with the person concerned, they would again become a relevant child. |
| Scotland | The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (as amended) sets out that local authorities have a legal duty to: prepare young people for leaving care or ceasing to be looked after; provide advice and assistance to young people who have ceased to be looked after on or after their 16th birthday. Local authorities are legally required to provide aftercare support until the care leaver turns 19, and to assess any eligible needs for aftercare support until they turn 26 (or beyond for access to the Care-Experienced Bursary for further and higher education students where the upper age limit of 26 was removed in 2020). These duties are set out in the Support and Assistance of Young People Leaving Care (Scotland) Regulations 2003. The Scottish Government published guidance on services for young people leaving care in March 2004. This was adjusted by The Support and Assistance of Young People Leaving Care (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2015 and also the Aftercare (Eligible Needs) (Scotland) Order 2015. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 sets out the legal requirement for public bodies – including colleges and universities who are defined as ‘corporate parents' – to support care experienced students in higher education. |
| Wales | As well as the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, Sections 105-115 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 place duties on a local authority to provide support for children and young people who it has looked after when they cease to be looked after (care leavers). The support provided is intended to be equivalent to that which a child who has not been looked after might reasonably expect from his or her parents. The purpose of this provision is intended to assist young persons who have been looked after to move from being looked after to living independently. The advice and support that care leavers receive depends upon their age and care leaving status. In order to receive support from a local authority as a care leaver, the young person must have been looked after by a local authority for the prescribed period of time within the prescribed age range (Regulation 47 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015 currently sets the criteria at a requirement to be looked after by a local authority for a period of 13 weeks between the ages of 14 and 16 years). Section 104 of the 2014 Act restates the different categories of young people who are or who were being looked after by a local authority for the purposes of the Act. Each category is entitled to differing types or levels of support. Section 104(2) contains a description of the six different categories, as follows: category 1 (eligible child); category 2 (relevant child); category 3 (former relevant child); category 4 (persons who qualify for further assistance to pursue education or training); category 5 (a young person who is 16 but not yet 21 in respect of whom a special guardianship order is in force (or if the person is 18 or over, an order was in force when he or she reached 18); category 6 (a young person who has not yet attained the age of 21; is residing in Wales; and who, whilst not currently being looked after, accommodated or fostered, has been looked after, accommodated or fostered for a period when they were between the ages of 16 and 18). |
| Northern Ireland | The provision of aftercare services for people leaving care is set out in The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, the Children (Leaving Care) Act (Northern Ireland) 2002, and The Children (Leaving Care) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005. The level of support young people receive from Leaving Care teams depends on their status as Care Leavers. |
This term refers to anyone who has been, or is currently, in care in the UK. This care may have been provided in many different settings, including living with foster carers; living in a residential children's home; being looked after at home under a supervision order; living with friends or relatives in kinship care. This is NNECL’s preferred definition.
Any student who is care experienced and/or estranged.
Estranged students are young people under the age of 25 studying without the support and approval of a family network. Young people in this position often have no contact at all with their family and may have removed themselves from a dysfunctional situation. Individuals may be estranged and living independently before entering higher education or may become estranged during their studies.
