Celebrating National Care Leavers Week

“I am so grateful Sarah has been able to guide me and point me in the right direction.” 

At the age of 11, Natalie moved from living with her mother to live with foster carers. While living with foster carers, Natalie was supported by our Children Looked After and Leaving Care service.

Natalie tells us: “I was born and raised in Sutton and went to school in Sutton and now live in a flat in Sutton. I came into care when I was 11 years old. I was living with my mum but it wasn’t the most stable environment for a child and we moved a lot. I was put into foster care which was initially really hard to be separated from my mum and I was so young that it was hard to understand why. My foster carers were brilliant and helped me to understand what was going on and were really there for me. I lived with them for seven years and built a great relationship with them and we still keep in touch a lot.

The support from my foster carers really made such a big difference to me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. Since turning 18 and leaving care, my Personal Advisor from the Council,  Sarah, has been really great to me. She came to visit me at University and see how I was getting on and help me with anything I needed help with. When I left University she even helped me to move into my new flat in Sutton. It has been really nice to know I have her looking out for me and always there if I need her why I continue to become more and more independent. 

Sarah told me about an apprenticeship event taking place at The Shard in London which I went along to and managed to get myself a full time job. I work for a big corporate company and so far I am really enjoying it. It’s a big organisation and so I am keen to move around and learn new skills and areas. It is a great starting point for my career. I am so grateful Sarah has been able to guide me and point me in the right direction.” 

Find out more about our Children Looked After and Leaving Care service, providing a specialist service to children and young people who are under the care of the Council on a long term basis or have left care and need ongoing support.