Southwark Council is aiming to reduce the number of care leavers not in education, employment, or training (NEET) by 25% through a new employability pathway. The initiative was discussed at the Corporate Parenting Committee meeting on 16 July 2025, where a report outlined the programme's key components and goals.
The Care Leavers Employability Pathway is designed to support care leavers in accessing education, employment, and training. The council aims to tackle the significant barriers these young people face, as only 27% of 19- to 21-year-old care leavers nationally are in education, training, or employment, compared to 87% of all young people in that age group.
The pathway is designed to be progressive, ensuring young people are fully supported at each stage to meet the criteria for the next phase, with consistent support throughout their journey. The council aims to ensure the design and implementation of the pathway is led by young people to meet their expectations and aspirations.
The pathway includes:
- Skills workshops and career conversations
- Work experience placements
- Supported internships
- Ring-fenced apprenticeships
- Ring-fenced entry-level positions
These work experience placements are not limited to the customer contact centre, but also include opportunities in:
- Highway designs and development
- Local economy
- Homeownership services
- Recruitment resourcing
The corporate management team has agreed to implement the pathway within the council, including a training module for managers and teams on supporting care experienced young people. The training module, delivered in partnership between the Organisational Development Team and Leaving Care Service, will build locally on the Care Leaver Covenant 'Inclusive Employment Toolkit'. Each department will also appoint a care experienced young person's champion. The effectiveness of the pathway will be evaluated by self-reporting from care leavers regarding positive changes in their support, their confidence in sustaining education, employment and training, and EET providers reporting greater confidence and skills in supporting care leavers access.
The council's customer contact centre was highlighted as an example of good practice, creating employment opportunities and targeted support for care leavers. However, the report also noted challenges in accommodating part-time education alongside employment. The report on the Care Leavers Employability Pathway suggests that There is an opportunity for the organisation as a whole to think creatively about how we could adapt some working policies and arrangements to meet broader positive opportunity needs of individual care experienced young people.
The impact of the pathway will be evaluated against several measures, including a 25% reduction in NEET care leavers, a reduction in the number of children transitioning from care becoming NEET, and an increase in ring-fenced opportunities.
Data included in the report indicated that there are 104 care leavers aged 19-21 who are not in education, employment or training and a further 50 young people aged 22-25 who are receiving continuing support from our service and are also not in education, employment training. The report also noted that Black Caribbean and white British care leavers are more likely to be NEET compared to the overall group of care leavers and that a significant proportion of NEET care leavers have mental health and wellbeing concerns. The report on the Care Leavers Employability Pathway emphasizes the need to build supportive structures and planned pathways into employment and education for these young people. The Draft Annual Health Report for Looked After Children also mentions dedicated mental health clinicians for care leavers and initiatives to improve mental health access and outcomes.
