Disability leaving care pathways
Improving leaving care pathways for young people with disabilities
This project focuses on improving leaving care pathways for young people with disabilities. It brings together partners across Norfolk and Cambridgeshire and young people with lived experience to develop, test and refine solutions to the challenges they face.
Why this matters
Young people who move out of our disability children’s homes face complex challenges. Appropriate move-on options can be limited and aren’t always age-appropriate, care-responsive or trauma-informed. They can also be away from the young person’s family and support services, leaving them without their support network.
What we're doing
Through this project, we are working in partnership to develop a disability leaving care pathway that is tailored, flexible and care-responsive, which builds in social activities and promotes independence.
Our ambition is that the learning from this project, alongside our Routes to Roofs project, will help ensure the roll-out of Staying Close is as inclusive and successful as possible, accompanying the legislation change and improving the journey from care to greater independence for care leavers nationally.
What's going to happen when?
November 2025 – March 2026
During this time, we mapped out project partners and established our co-production approach
March – July 2026
We are establishing expert working groups with project partners and young people; this group will develop a shortlist of potential new approaches
July – October 2026
We will consider the feasibility of each idea and choose which ones to take forward
October – December 2026
We will create project plans and decide how they will be evaluated
December 2026 – April 2028
We will deliver project plans and evaluate their effectiveness and impact
May 2028
We will hold a learning summit event and start planning what’s next
Get in touch
If you'd like to learn more about the project or are interested in getting involved, please get in touch with Steve Hulme at stephen.hulme@break-charity.org.