Education, employment and training

We want to make sure every care-experienced young person in Trafford has support to achieve their goals in life. 

If you have an interest in a particular area of work, education or training, speak to your aftercare worker, who can advise and link you with colleagues in the Virtual School, Connexions and Job Centres. They can also support you in seeking work experience.

Trafford's Virtual School

Trafford’s Virtual School can help you to succeed in your learning. If you are aged 16-17, the Virtual School, alongside your social worker and aftercare worker, will help you with your Personal Education Plan (PEP). 

Further education (16 to 19 years)

As a care-experienced young person, you will get priority for the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund. This offers support to young people in education. Where this does not apply, we will provide you with additional finance linked to your attendance.

If you require additional equipment, books, tools, or transport, we can assist you with these.

Higher education (18 to 25 years)

Alongside our colleagues in the Virtual School, Connexions and colleges, we will help you to choose the right university and course for you. We will also help you apply for student finance to cover your tuition fees, and ensure you have accommodation for 52 weeks a year during your studies. 

Bursaries for higher education

As a care-experienced young person, you will be entitled to receive a £2,000 bursary each year, provided in instalments, towards your accommodation costs. In addition, you will also be entitled to receive a weekly allowance from the Care Experienced service to support with living costs. 

You may also be entitled to a computer and internet access if you do not already have these. 

We will support you financially for a maximum of four years whilst you are at university. Lots of universities also offer bursaries for care leavers; you can see which universities these are on the Become website. 

Other expenses and bursaries

As part of our Care Leaver Offer, we will provide you with assistance for expenses linked with employment, education and training.

We also work closely alongside colleges to ensure that any available bursaries are used to support you during your course. Where access to bursaries is not available, we offer a daily and weekly incentive, depending on whether you are a full-time or part-time student.

Guaranteed interviews

Trafford Council guarantees to offer an interview to any Trafford care-experienced young person who applies for a job with the Council, as long as you meet the person specification for the post.

Volunteer work

If you are interested in volunteer work, we can support you with this. We will offer an incentive so that this can help you on your path to future work.