Using this site

In England, an estimated 10,000 young people aged between 16 and 18 leave care each year, and over 27,000 children are involved in the criminal justice system. If you work with children and young people, whether in health, education, social care or business, you are very likely to encounter individuals with experience of the care or custody systems. These young people are likely to have experienced trauma early in their lives, and in order to provide the best support and opportunities possible, this needs to be recognised in the approach used. Informing Futures offers resources, information and guidance to support you in reviewing and / or developing that approach.

Many young people have positive experiences of care and make the transition to independent adulthood successfully. However, research suggests that as a group, those who have experienced care and/or custody will be disadvantaged across a range of measures, including mental and physical health, educational attainment, and future earning potential. (Sources: DofE, 2015, YJB, 2019) The indications are that a different approach is needed to level the playing field if these young people are to have the same chances of success in life enjoyed by those who live with their families for the duration of their childhood.

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Future 4 me 

The learning shared in Informing Futures has been gathered from the Future 4 Me (F4M) project, an innovative service from 1625 Independent People, funded by TNCLF, which worked directly with 16-25 year olds with experience of care and custody over a 7 year period. You can read more about the Future 4 Me project here.

Although our work was targeted at those with experience of care and / or custody, there are many young people outside of these systems who have also experienced childhood trauma, and may benefit from the trauma informed resources and approaches offered here.

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Toolkit Sections

Psychologically Informed Environments

An introduction to 1625 Independent People’s (1625IP) approach to delivering a psychologically informed environment (PIE), the approach which underpins our way of working and all the content in Informing Futures, with resources to help you develop and expand your own PIE.

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Co-Produced Resources

What young people who are care and custody experience want you to know before you work with them: A suite of training and assessment resources for professionals co-created with young people.

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Supporting Positive Mental Health

Much has been done to reduce the stigma associated with mental health challenges in recent years. However, for young people coming through the care and custody systems, evidence suggests there is still a great deal to be done. This section provides information and case studies to illustrate our approach to addressing this, showing how we integrated mental health specialisms into our services.

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Trauma Informed Working

This section offers an introduction to trauma informed approaches, the Trauma Recovery Model, and their application in support and accommodation services, illustrated through our pilot of the Trauma Recovering Model with care leavers.

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Integrated working

This section reflects on the power and potential of collaboration, including sections on corporate/charity partnership working and multi-disciplinary team approaches.

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About 1625 independent people

Our services support young people to achieve their goals and aspirations through using positive trusting relationships as the primary tool for change in their lives.

1625 Independent People (1625ip) have been supporting vulnerable young people for over 30 years across the West of England. We are the South West’s largest provider of accommodation, advice and support to vulnerable young people who are leaving care, have been or are at risk of becoming homeless, are in trouble with the law or are young parents. Our specialist support ranges from preventative services through to supported housing, EET support and specialist support for young people leaving custody, care leavers and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children.

Our Vision:

“A world where all young people have a safe place and trusted adults to turn to and can access the opportunities they need”

Our Mission:

“To prevent homelessness, keep young people safe and support them to be the best they can be”.

Our overarching objective is to keep young people at the heart of what we do. We are tireless in our partnership work across sectors to make sure young people have a voice and get the support and opportunities they need and deserve.

We don’t reboot young people’s lives…
we help young people to reboot their own lives

Young people take the lead in their own lives by working with their keyworker in the design of their own support, by co-designing, delivering and evaluating our projects and by influencing policy and practice.

Many of the young people we support have experienced trauma and disrupted attachments, and as a result often struggle to trust, manage behaviours and regulate emotions. All services are underpinned by 1625ip’s Organisational Framework for Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE). Our PIE framework supports young people to move away from the effects of damaging events, so they can realise their potential. Colleagues and volunteers use trusting relationships as the primary tool for change, providing a “secure base” from which YP can develop, integrating strengths-based psychological approaches.

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