Government initiative offers work opportunities to care leavers

The Government has teamed up with some of the biggest employers to create work opportunities for care leavers, secretary of state for children Ed Balls said today.

In a letter to all children in care in England, the minister said that companies such as Tesco and 02, as well as government departments, will be offering work opportunities to young people leaving care as part of a new scheme called From Care2Work.

The letter is a response to advice from children in care about how their lives could be improved. It sets out what the Government is doing to address their demands, and reminds children and young people in care of the rights they have to be involved in decisions about their lives. The letter comes a day after the Ministerial Stocktake Conference, an annual event to evaluate the progress of the Care Matters white paper, introduced in 2007.

The letter also says the Government is improving the school support offered to children in care by ensuring that they are given priority for places. It will also ensure that in all schools there is a teacher dedicated helping them get all the support they need to do well.

In addition, the letter highlights a new requirement on local authorities to set up children in care councils to regularly ask children and young people how support to them could be improved.

Robert Tapsfield, chief executive of the Fostering Network, says: "We are delighted that the minister has written directly to children and young people in care and is making a promise that improving the support young people get is extremely important for the Government. Now we want to see an equal commitment to enabling young people to stay on with their foster carers once they reach 18, if that is what they want and need."

Read the full message from the Government