THIS week we have been marking Care Leavers’ Week, which offers the opportunity for us to celebrate the achievements of these special young people and to look at new ways in which we and our communities can support them.

But importantly we also look to raise awareness. So who is a care leaver? Children who have spent 13 or more weeks in care since they were 14 years old, including some time after their 16th birthday, and who have now left care are considered care leavers.

These young people have to learn to be independent at a very early age; learning skills such as budgeting, claiming benefits, cooking and running a home as well as becoming masters of their own destiny where further education, training and work is concerned. They also need to learn to cope emotionally with the challenges of living alone.

These can be hard lessons for any young person, but for someone who may not have had the stable upbringing with good role models that so many of us are fortunate to have enjoyed, this can be exceptionally challenging.

As a council we have been very public about our commitment to ensuring that our care leavers are given the best support possible, to enable them to live fulfilling independent lives and to help them reach their potential.

We offer a range of both practical and financial support to our care leavers, including: money to help buy essential items for setting up a home, priority bidding for housing, assistance to access grants and benefits, bursaries for higher education and guaranteed interviews for certain council jobs.

This Care Leavers Week, we have been asking staff across the council what they could do to provide further help or guidance to our care leavers. From mentoring and work experience through to sponsorship and discounts there are many things that our teams are considering that can have a hugely positive impact on the lives of care leavers.

And we would like to encourage community groups and local businesses to also think if there is anything they can do to help these vulnerable and sometimes disadvantaged young people to enjoy a good quality, healthy and prosperous independent life.

Anyone who would like more information about how we look after our care leavers in County Durham can view our Local Offer for Care Leavers at www.durham.gov.uk/careleavers and if you would like to discuss how you may be able to help our care leavers, you can contact us on 03000 26 00 00 and ask for the young people’s service.

Simon Henig is leader of Durham County Council