Children in care and care leaver services provide specialist support to children and young people who are cared for by Barnsley Council.

Our aim is to provide stability and security to children in care and make sure they get the same opportunities as their peers.

We provide services, which are identified in our expectations for children in care, to:

• meet their individual needs
• make sure they’re safe and protected
• help them grow up healthily
• help them get a good education
• help them gain and develop the essential life and social skills they need in adulthood
• help them reach their full potential in all aspects of their lives

A number of our teams support children in care and care leavers.

The Assessment Team and Children, Young People and Families Teams are involved when a young person first enters care.

When a young person's plan is to remain in care, the team most likely to be involved is the Children in Care Team. This team is responsible for offering all the social care provision specifically to children in care.

As young people get older, we have a leaving care service from the Future Directions Team.

All our services, employees and elected members must consider the needs of children and young people in our care, but the people who are specifically responsible are the council's Chief Executive, the Cabinet Spokesperson for Children, Young People and Families, and the Executive Director for People, supported by the team below.