We want to hear from you
We want to hear what you have to say so that we can improve our support and services.
There are several participation groups you can get involved with. All involvement is free and will help boost your CV and give valuable things to speak about at interviews. Additionally, there are other rewards through the various activities and away days
- Lincolnshire Young Voices is a forum for young people and young adults (14-25) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Their motto is ‘together our voices make a difference’. The group is lead by two co-chairs and there is further information and a short video on the page
- Young Inspectors programme where young people plan and inspect services and complete reports to feedback to managers on their findings. They also do lots of engagement work with professionals in the local authority and its partners.
- Voices4Choices is Lincolnshire’s children in care council – a council for young people aged 11 to 18 years, who are in the care of the local authority. It represents children and young people's views to corporate parents and Children’s Services teams and works on projects related to being in care.
- Leaving care participation - there are loads of chances to get involved through things like trips, social events, and cooking sessions – all planned based on what you tell us you’re into. It’s also a space where you can share your ideas, give feedback, and help shape positive changes for care-experienced young people across Lincolnshire.
If you want to get involved, speak with your leaving care worker.
ore information, or call 01522 575955 and ask to speak to a member of the participation team.
How to deal with a problem or make a complaint
If you're not happy with the service you've received from the Lincolnshire leaving care service, you have the right to make a complaint.
If you're comfortable, start by talking to your leaving care worker. If you'd prefer, you can also contact the service directly and ask to speak with the urgent support manager or make a formal complaint.
You can use this website to share your concerns and move forward with your complaint. We're here to listen and make sure your voice is heard.
Getting involved
Your voice really matters. Getting involved in your community
You are not alone, we can support you to feel confident and in control of your life and to feel part of the community you live in and wider society. We will support you with advice and guidance around exploring your identity, culture and help you to maintain your faith and existing or new networks of support.
Your leaving care worker can support you to find clubs, events, places to go and if you want to, meet other care leavers.
We will also celebrate important life events with you, such as:
- your birthday
- religious events
- cultural events
To find out about different activities, look at the Visit Lincoln website. There is information on social media sites such as Facebook too.
Register to vote
Once you turn 18 you are entitled to vote in local and national elections. Voting can make a difference in the way local services are provided and can also be a positive for your credit rating.
To register to vote go to the Government website
Care leavers covenant
The Care leavers covenant have many different ways they can help too
Volunteering
Volunteering is a great way to get out of the house, opens up opportunities of learning and new experiences to people who may not have usually had that chance.
For some young people volunteering can simply be a way of giving back to the community or sharing their own skills and experience onto others.
It can also add to your CV or help you decide what career path you wish to follow.
New skills gained like communication, teamwork and decision-making can make you stand out from the crowd when applying to a college or job or can help you decide what career path you’d like to follow.
To find out about volunteering opportunities, contact your local community and voluntary service:
Another way of getting into volunteering is through the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. You get to experience a range of new activities and challenges, learn new skills and travel to new places with other young people.
Speak to your leaving care worker about this if you would like to apply or get more information.
You tell us what works
As a care experienced young person, you are the expert in your experiences, how we support you, what we could do better and how we shape our services.
We want to develop our offer to care leavers and that’s why we need you to give us your voice and to connect with other young people with similar experiences.
We are setting up a peer network, where young people can share their experiences and offer advice and guidance to others. It will include groups of representatives for their local area and advocates for:
- housing
- education
- LGBT
- different ethnicities
- young parents
We’d love you to be part of this. For more information, speak to your social worker or leaving care worker.