Barrow Forward Ltd

Project Title: Care Leavers and Children Looked After Memberships

Funding Received: £5693 (Phase 4: 1 April 2022 - 31 March 2023)

Project Outline: To provide ‘Time Limited’ Leisure Memberships at the local authority operated leisure centre in Barrow-in-Furness so that a designated number of Care Leavers and identified Children Looked After (CLA) and their associated Carer/Accompanied Guest can access leisure facilities, activities and events for free.

The need for this project has been identified within the Cumbria Children Looked After Strategy 2019-23 Outcome 2, which states:

We will work with children looked after, foster carers and care leavers to uptake opportunities for sport and physical exercise, recreation, and healthy lifestyles (including food). Increased uptake of leisure passes because of this being in the Care Leaver Offer. Children looked after and care leavers participating in a mixture of targeted and universal activity to improve physical health, fitness, and active leisure.

This project is supported by the Cumbria Corporate Parenting Board, The CCC CLA and Leaving Care Team and Barrow Forward Ltd operating the selected leisure centre. During the development of this project, a cross section of Care Leavers and CLA (25) were surveyed during the Autumn 2021 term. 40% of responders indicated that receiving a free membership pass would help encourage them to access leisure centres.

For a person to be eligible as a Care Leaver and to be able to get the support described in the core offer, their time spent in care must include at least 13 weeks after they turned 14. This could be in a single period or several different periods. They must have also been in care on or after their 16th birthday. Care Leavers can be provided with support up to their 25th Birthday.

There has been a long-standing ambition to create a Leisure Membership Scheme for Care Leavers and this project will provide an opportunity to test and learn the practicalities and attributed benefits through a ‘Time Limited’ Pilot Programme whilst contributing to the Cumbria CLA Strategy outcomes as well as those identified in the Active Cumbria 5 Year Plan and Sport England’s UTM.

The detail of the project comprises of the following:

  • 30 Individuals qualifying as Care Leavers identified by the CCC CLA and Leaving Care Team aged 16-25 years will be offered a Membership pass free of charge
  • 10 Individuals aged 15 & under qualifying as CLA and selected by the CCC CLA and Leaving Care Team as being in ‘real need’ will be offered a Membership pass free of charge
  • All other CLA not selected by the CCC CLA and Leaving Care Team as being in ‘real need’ will be able to access a Membership pass at the normal rate of £14.00 per month
  • Associated Carer/Accompanied Guest can also access leisure facilities, activities, and events for free only at times when accompanying the Care Leaver or CLA

A further and separate CYP Award allocation has been ring-fenced by Active Cumbria as an expansion contingency should the above Memberships be fully allocated during the pilot period as follows:

  • 9 Care Leavers = £1,417.50 over the 9-month Pilot period
  • 3 CLA = £290.25 over the 9-month Pilot period