You may be a Qualifying (for advice and assistance only) care leaver if you are: 

  • aged 16 to 21 years of age
  • have been in care at some point after turning 16 for less than 13 weeks since the age of 14
  • have been privately fostered at any time after reaching the age of 16, but before reaching the age of 18
  • have been in the care of the local authority immediately prior to becoming subject to a Special Guardianship Order (SGO)

If you are a Qualifying Care Leaver, the good news is that we are still able and happy to give you advice. You will not automatically have a named Personal Adviser. We will try to contact you to keep in touch with you at least once a year so that you know that we are still able to support you. 

If you need support from the team, you can request an assessment by speaking to our duty Personal Adviser on 01305 225809 or 18to25duty@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk. Depending upon your needs, you might then work with a Personal Adviser for a short period of time. We may signpost you to partner agencies and services if we think they would be better able to offer you the right support. 

Entitlements as a qualifying care leaver 

As a qualifying care leaver you could be entitled to: 

  • Dorset Council will guarantee to offer an interview to any Dorset Care Leaver who applies for an apprenticeship with the council as long as they meet the person specification for the advertised post 
  • if you are living independently & receiving an apprenticeship wage which is LESS than the national living wage, we can give you an Apprenticeship Bursary of £200 per month towards your living costs and a contribution of up to £100 per month towards travel costs for the 1st year of apprenticeship 
  • access to the Pathway to employment scheme, work experience, voluntary work
  • incentive payment of up to £30 per week if you are participating in 12 hours a week or more work experience or volunteering
  • if you are studying at University, we can give you a Higher Education Bursary of £2000 paid over the duration of your course (£3000 when living in London). This is paid to you by your Personal Adviser in annual instalments  
  • in the summer vacation in between each year of your University course, we can give you up to 12 weeks support of up to £100 per week towards securing vacation accommodation
  • if you are studying an Open University course, you could receive a pro rate payment of up to £2000. The amount of bursary you receive will depend upon the credits being studied
  • when you graduate from University we want to celebrate with you and will give you a graduation gift of £50 
  • up to £300 towards a lap top or IT equipment if you are studying full (12 hours or more per week)

As a Dorset Care Leaver living in Dorset (but not in the BCP authority) and on your own you are exempt from paying council tax until you are 25 years old. If you live in Dorset with someone else then your council tax bill will be reduced by 25%.