- Description
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Children and young people have the right to say what they think should happen when adults are making decisions that affect them and to have their opinion taken into account.
What we do
This service provides two lines of support:
1. The Independent Visitor's (IVs) Service matches volunteers with Looked After Children and Young People.
IVs provide support by visiting and befriending Young People, aged 0 to 18, who have little or no contact with their birth families.
IVs act as long-term befrienders, being matched for up to 2 years with their Young Person.
If you would like to apply to join our Volunteer team of Independent Visitors please copy and paste this link onto a new browser: https://volunteer.barnardos.org.uk/opportunities/85001-independent-visi…
2. Independent Advocacy Service: Independent, confidential advice and support for children to be aware of their rights and entitlements and to have their voice heard.
The Advocacy service is for:
- Looked After Children and Young people aged 0 to 18 years old
- Care Leavers aged 18 to 25 years old
- Children on a Child Protection Plan and children in need (subject to agreement on an individual basis)
- Children aged 16 to 17 that are homeless and need Advocacy
We can help with
Advocacy and participation (children in care)
We provide one-to-one support for children and young people looked-after by their local authority. We also help other young people in need of support, such as those on a child protection plan.
Our mental health advocacy services work with children and young people receiving or wanting mental health support.
Children and young people have a right to be heard and involved in decisions about them, so we support them by explaining their wishes and arguing their case. We also provide activities and training for families and professionals.
Independent visitors
An Independent Visitor is a volunteer who befriends, advises and assists a child or young person who is being looked-after by their local authority.
They become be a consistent presence over a long period and can become a valuable source of support.
We recruit and train the volunteers before matching them with a child or young person in their local area who shares similar interests. We then provide ongoing support to help the relationship grow.
- Phone
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0800 652 4546
- Website
- Date and time
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9am to 5pm
- Referral notes
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Any professional working with children and young people, parents/carers and children and young people directly can refer to the service.
Referrals need to be made via the website.
