Mixed success of scheme to offer work experience, shadowing and training opportunities to young care leavers
NHS England has provided an update on is Universal Family programme to help young care leavers find work. While many who have taken part in the scheme are enthusiastic about its benefits, progress has not been as fast as anticipated.
Photo by Patty Brito / Unsplash
First, why is such a scheme needed?
It’s widely recognised that those who spend their formative years in care have less good outcomes in later life than their non care-experienced peers. Unfortunately, this disparity affects a lot of people: according to latest government figures (2022-23), there are more than 48,000 care leavers in England.
In 2018, the government established the Care Leaver Covenant, where organisations in the private, public and voluntary sectors pledge to support care-experienced young people aged 16-25 so that are better equipped to live independently. The NHS committed to joining the scheme in late 2022.
To achieve its pledge, the NHS Universal Family programme was set up to partner NHS bodies with voluntary sector organisations, local councils and the Department of Work and Pensions, who can refer care leavers to the scheme. Care leavers can also make contact directly with the programme.
Those who take part are offered work experience, shadowing and training. CV-writing tips and interview practice also help them gain the skills and confidence needed to advance their careers.
Originally, the programme had ambitious plans: to find employment for 250 care leavers across 10 integrated care boards (ICBs) by the end of the financial year 2023-24, for a further 500 carer leaves across 42 ICBs in the year 2024-25, and for 1,000 care leavers each year after that.
Overall, the NHS Universal Family programme has been in contact with more than 2,700 care-experienced individuals. But to date the scheme has helped 169 – ‘almost 200’ says NHS England optimistically – to find jobs, including those outside the NHS.
If the numbers aren’t yet where they should be, those who’ve taken part are enthusiastic. The scheme helped Lily, a 21 year-old care leaver, get an apprenticeship as a trainee therapy assistant at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
Lily says: ‘I want to create a solid foundation to build my future career on and I feel that this apprenticeship is a really good way to do so as I will be getting work experience and a qualification at the same time. I feel so lucky to have been presented with this opportunity, and it has really made me feel seen and heard as a care leaver, which is a privilege.
‘I have found working in the NHS so enjoyable and fulfilling. The support network is absolutely incredible, and everybody is so understanding and encouraging. The work can be difficult, but I love the challenge that it provides. I feel as though I am not only bettering my professional skills, but my life skills, too.
‘I don’t think people are aware of how many opportunities actually lie within the NHS, whether it be for clinical roles, admin roles or domestics roles and I feel I have really found my place.’
Charis Davey, Inpatient Therapies Clinical Services Manager, adds: ‘Lily is just the most enthusiastic person. When I first met her, she couldn’t believe that people had thought of targeting something she had been through to give her that opportunity, but she has given just as much back if not more into her role. She’s got drive and anything that you give her she will run with, and she has the potential to go as far as she wants to go.
‘As a department we wanted to tap into the experience of care leavers who perhaps don’t have the opportunities that the rest of us have but have the lived experiences that mean they can relate to patients from many different backgrounds. We decided to create an apprenticeship role because we recognise that because care leavers don’t necessarily have access to the levels of education that they need to get the experience or qualifications to apply for these sorts of roles through traditional routes.’
Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, says: ‘Many care leavers experience disruption in their lives which can affect their further education and impact on job opportunities in the future. Care leavers have a unique set of life experiences that can bring a different perspective to the NHS. They have a huge amount to offer a career in healthcare.
‘I’m delighted to see that Lily is thriving in her new role and it’s wonderful that her inspiration for joining the NHS was hearing her grandmother talking about her time as a nurse. Her story is a great example of how this programme can empower young people to reach their potential and lead a successful career. And it’s why we want to ramp this up, with 350 different careers available in the health service, there is huge potential to help more young people in care to step on the NHS career ladder.’
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