Standalone Placements

Where a young person has moved on to independence but it has been assessed that they would benefit from further support, LCS is able to offer time-limited floating support to help the young person settle in and be equipped for independent living.

Support

Support will be provided in the young person’s home, and will be available between 8am – 8pm. We work flexibly to ensure support is available when the young person needs it and to fit around their other commitments (e.g. college, work), so sessions will also be delivered at weekends, as required.

In addition to support in the home, we are also able to accompany the young person when out in the community, where required to help them achieve their goals/outcomes. Examples include support to attend an appointment or building the young person’s confidence using public transport, so that as support is gradually reduced they can attend subsequent appointments unaccompanied and become independent.

Needs Led Approach

Floating support will be specifically targeted to the young person’s needs and areas where they require further skills development to enable them to live independently. This could include:

How to manage their own finances

Including budgeting skills, saving, paying bills and researching best value deals, opening a bank account (including online banking), accessing their entitled benefits and assistance with application/claim forms.

Maintaining a home

Including doing laundry, household cleaning, basic household maintenance (e.g. changing a fuse or lightbulb), managing unexpected events (e.g. plumbing leak or utility disruption), gardening and maintaining the outside space.

Self-care and healthy lifestyles

Including registering with and accessing health services (e.g. GP, dentist, optician), making and attending appointments, how to purchase medicines or order prescriptions, personal hygiene, mental health, accessing local leisure/social activities, and providing information about healthy lifestyles (e.g. drugs and alcohol, sexual health, smoking, healthy eating and exercise) to enable young people to make informed choices.

Cooking skills

Including food shopping on a budget, choosing a healthy recipe, preparing and cooking a meal, food hygiene, and maintaining a balanced diet.

Employment, education and training

Including accessing the Jobcentre and employment searching, completing applications, writing a CV, preparing for interviews, understanding education and training options, and accessing National Insurance number and birth certificates.

Independent tenancy options and tenancy ready

Applying for housing, understanding and maintaining a tenancy, and being a good neighbour.

Time-limited

Floating support is time-limited and will have clear plans in place for reducing/gradually withdrawing the support at an appropriate pace (as agreed with the Social Worker/Personal Advisor and young person). This avoids the young person becoming dependent on the support and enables them to manage independent living tasks by themselves.

Shared Living

We have a robust matching process so that young people can live safely and happily as a group. Young people in our shared houses are provided with a minimum of 5 hours support each week to achieve independence and support is adjusted according to the changing needs of the young person.

Individual Supported Living

Each young person will receive a minimum of 5 hours support per week, with additional hours provided where an assessment of the young person’s needs requires this (agreed in conjunction with the Social Worker/Personal Advisor). A support helpline and emergency call out service are available 7 days a week, 365 days per year.

Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers

A specialised support package is put in place based on the individual needs of the young person. This can be as simple as improving health and wellbeing, working on the young person’s stability and building up their supportive network by engaging the young person in GP services.