Helping young people to live independently – ASDAN launches pilot for new course

Moving On is a new course from ASDAN that will equip young people aged 16+ with the knowledge and skills they need to ‘move on’ to living independently. The course has been developed in partnership with practitioners to meet the needs of young people preparing to live independently for the first time, including young people who are leaving care.

Designed with care leavers in mind but equally beneficial to those preparing to leave the family home or move away to university, Moving On will help facilitate the conversations young people need to have with a trusted adult when getting ready to move on.

The course is structured around the key aspects of what it means to live independently as a young adult, containing key information and practical activities to develop the knowledge and skills to achieve this. These five areas closely link to the key areas of care leaver pathway plans.

Following the success of an initial trial for Moving On, ASDAN is rolling out a larger scale pilot prior to the full launch in 2024. This process will ensure that the course content, resources, training and delivery systems are fit for purpose, providing young people with the best opportunity to live independently.

The Moving On pilot is running between May and December 2023 and registration has now officially closed.

Participation in the pilot is open to existing ASDAN centres or non-members, but you will need at least a programmes membership to deliver this course.

Moving On is based on the five following modules:

Building a home – tenancy, home maintenance, laundry, cleaning and home safety
Being healthy – physical health, emotional wellbeing, healthy eating and healthy living habits
Starting your career – further and higher education, training, exploring job opportunities, applying for jobs and being an employee
Managing money – budgeting, borrowing, saving and spending
Relating to people – identity, healthy relationships, boundaries, support and being part of a community

Throughout the course, young people will work with a trusted adult to identify which journals to complete based on their individual circumstances – this trusted adult could be a support worker, personal adviser, tutor, foster carer, special guardian or parent.

The vibrant and engaging journals have been designed to help facilitate the conversations that young people have with their trusted adult while preparing to live independently and include useful information, practical activities, recording templates and all-important space for reflection.

Each Moving On module finishes with a reflective reference, where the trusted adult should reflect on the knowledge and skills that the young person has gained to ‘move on’ in that aspect of living independently. Achievement can be regularly rewarded with free PDF certificates on completion of each module and a printed ASDAN certificate is available to young people who complete all five modules.

Practitioners delivering Moving On will have access to module delivery guidance and supporting user notes, which can be shared with the trusted adults involved in working with young people.

Our Design and Development Manager Jemma Davies details the rationale and progression behind Moving On:

“ASDAN’s mission is to engage, elevate and empower young people in greatest need and it’s hard to find a group of young people in greater need than children in care, who often face intersectional disadvantages throughout their lifetime,” says Jemma.

“While working on this project, we’ve been informed by a panel of stakeholders that includes ASDAN members working in local authorities, virtual schools and care settings across the country. It’s been such a privilege to learn from these dedicated, insightful and hard-working professionals who care so deeply for the young people they serve,” says Jemma. “They’ve given us useful learning points when we’ve missed the mark, genuine praise when we’ve hit the mark and a real sense of what young people need.

The journals have been great fun to work on – they’re jam-packed with useful information so that young people can keep hold of them and refer back to them in the future,” says Jemma.

I’m so excited to be working collaboratively with ASDAN members to create resources that will support them in their vital work with young people.”

Amy Sutton is a senior leaving care worker for Somerset County Council. After delivering Moving On in its initial trial phase, she is enthusiastic about how the course can empower young people preparing to leave care:

“Our young people, because of their past, are very driven for their future.

They like to know what they will get out of this. How is this going to help them? Are they wasting their time doing it? We can show them this will be a resource, this will be a tool that will help them with accommodation.

Children in care have a real survival instinct – they know they need to look after themselves. Moving On meets that need.”

The Moving On pilot closed when the programme was fully launched in April 2024. You can now view full details and sign up to deliver the course from the Moving On course page.