Sports field with goal posts and houses in the distanceee

Care Leavers

Greater Manchester Care Leaver Guarantee

Introduction

To be a care leaver, you must be aged between 16 and 25 and have spent at least 13 weeks (continuously or in total since the age of 14) and at least one day following your 16th birthday being cared for by your local authority.

The Greater Manchester Care Leaver Guarantee is all about providing support and opportunities to our young people that have been in care. All 10 Greater Manchester Local Authorities along with a wide range of partners worked together to create a series of entitlements and offers to help care leavers lead happy and healthy lives and to achieve their goals.

Bee Connected app

Care leavers in Greater Manchester are now able to use a new app to help them find and access support, offers and opportunities available to them, all in one place.

The ‘Bee Connected’ app has been developed by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and digital agency Focusgov following feedback from care leavers that support available to them wasn’t always easy to find.

BEEconnected app showing help and advice, what's on and opportunities BEEconnected app showing a menu bar BEEconnected app showing Greater Manchester localities

The app builds on the work of the Greater Manchester Care Leavers Guarantee that was launched in 2019 which has five key priority areas of focus to enable those leaving care to:

  • Be better prepared and supported to live independently
  • Have improved access to education, employment and training
  • Experience stability in their lives and feel safe and secure
  • Receive improved access to health support
  • Achieve financial stability

There are over 4,000 care leavers up to the age of 25 in Greater Manchester and more young people leave care each week. The app will support care leavers and let them know what they are entitled to and what support and opportunities are on offer to them.

These offers, such as free bus passes, free prescriptions, support to access higher education, employment and training and a free digital device and connectivity provide opportunities and remove barriers for care leavers to thrive and succeed in life. 

Get the App now.

Download on the Apple Store Get it on Google Play

Other offers not to be missed include:

Free Bus Travel for Care Leavers (opens in a new tab) Our Pass Exclusives (opens in a new tab)

Further support and getting involved

Alternatively you can always ask your Leaving Care Service, either via your Personal Advisor or Social Worker, for support to access any of these offers.

If you would like to be involved in improving the offer please speak to a member of your Leaving Care Service about the various way to participate such as your local Care Leaver Forum or the GM Participation Network.

 

Bee Smart 

Working with Internet Matters and care levers we have co-produced media literacy support for care leavers in Greater Manchester, which aims to educate care leavers about online harms.

You can access the resources here:

How to use the resources Cyberbullying and trolling topic pack Disinformation and misinformation topic pack Financial harms and scams topic pack Hate crime topic pack Safeguarding note