Strengthening Practice. Improving Outcomes. Supporting Care-Experienced Young People.

Personal Advisers play a critical role in the lives of care-experienced young people. They are often the consistent adult, advocate, mentor and guide supporting young people through some of the most important transitions into adulthood.

Yet many Personal Advisers are supporting increasingly complex needs, including trauma, mental health, exploitation, homelessness, criminal justice involvement, substance misuse and social isolation, often while managing significant caseloads and navigating complex systems.

The Beyond Survival Personal Adviser Development Programme has been designed to strengthen confidence, knowledge and practice when working with care-experienced young people and young adults.

Developed through lived experience, professional expertise and extensive work alongside leaving care services, the programme provides practical, trauma-informed learning that supports Personal Advisers to build stronger relationships, improve engagement and achieve better outcomes.

Why This Programme?

Care-experienced young people often face challenges that differ significantly from their peers, including disrupted relationships, trauma, mental health difficulties, homelessness, exploitation, substance misuse and involvement with the criminal justice system.

Many Personal Advisers are supporting young people with increasingly complex needs, yet opportunities for specialist training in areas such as custody, resettlement, rights and entitlements, trauma, identity and belonging remain limited.

This programme has been designed to bridge that gap, providing practical knowledge, confidence and tools that support Personal Advisers to deliver effective, relationship-based support while navigating the realities of leaving care practice.

Specialist Expertise

Care Leavers Cymru has particular expertise in supporting care-experienced young people involved in, or at risk of entering, the criminal justice system.

Drawing on frontline practice, national policy work and collaboration with HMPPS, the Ministry of Justice and local authorities, the programme helps Personal Advisers understand their role in supporting young people through arrest, remand, custody, resettlement and reintegration into their communities.

This includes understanding rights, responsibilities, partnership working, corporate parenting duties and the practical realities faced by care-experienced young people in custody.

Programme Themes

Training can be delivered as individual workshops, team development sessions or as a structured workforce development programme.

Topics include:

• Understanding Care Experience

• Trauma, Identity and Belonging

• Rights, Entitlements and Pathway Planning

• Advocacy and Participation

• Care Leavers in Custody

• Supporting Young People on Remand

• Resettlement and Transition from Custody

• Corporate Parenting Responsibilities

• Homelessness, Exploitation and Vulnerability

• Emotional Wellbeing and Relationships

• Working with Complexity and Multiple Disadvantage

• Effective Multi-Agency Working

Delivery Options

• Face-to-face training

• Online delivery

• Team development programmes

• Bespoke local authority packages

• Conference and network presentations

• Organisational licences

Outcomes

The programme aims to:

• Increase confidence and competence in leaving care practice

• Strengthen understanding of trauma and care experience

• Improve engagement with young people

• Support effective pathway planning

• Increase awareness of rights, entitlements and corporate parenting responsibilities

• Strengthen multi-agency working

• Improve outcomes for care-experienced young people and young adults

Who Is It For?

• Personal Advisers

• Leaving Care Teams

• Team Managers

• Local Authority Workforce Development Teams

• Professionals supporting care-experienced young people

Enquire About the Programme

To discuss workforce development opportunities for your team or organisation, please contact Care Leavers Cymru.