Next Chapter is the leaving care service for Bury.
We provide support to young people in care from the age of 16 and to care leavers usually until their 21st birthday or until you are 25, if you request. If you are a care leaver and not open to Next Chapter, you can ask for advice and support anytime in the future, whatever your age.
Just because you are leaving care, or have already left care, we haven't stopped caring about you. We want to make sure that you feel safe and supported and know where and who to go to for advice and help.
Bury has made being a care leaver a protected characteristic. This means that we will make sure you are not discriminated against and treated fairly when accessing services and support.
To be able to get the support set out on this website, you must have been in care for a period of at least 13 weeks (or periods amounting to 13 weeks) which began after age 14 and included some time after your 16th birthday.
If you are not sure whether you qualify for support, then ask your Personal Adviser.
When working with the Next Chapter Team, you will have a Personal Advisor (from the age of 15 3/4).
Next Chapter offers a duty service between 9.30am and 5pm Monday to Friday in the Hub. The Hub is a place for care leavers to meet their Personal Advisor, ask for support and access local services.
What can Next Chapter support you with?
- Providing safe and suitable accommodation
- Helping you into education, employment and training opportunities
- Accessing health services to keep healthy or if you need extra support
- Arranging financial support and help with how to managing your money
- Developing your independence living skills
- Supporting you to do what you love to do
- Managing relationships, including with your family and friends.
Contact us
Address: Next Chapter, 6 Knowsley Place, Angouleme Way, Bury, BL9 0EL.
Call: 0161 253 6666
Service manager: Rob Neild
Team managers: Kelly Catherall and Chris Davies
Bury's emergency out of hour's number: 0161 253 6606
Scan the QR code below to download the Bee Connected App where you can find our Hub timetable of activities, workshops and drop ins and lots of other information about the support we can offer you.
The support we must give you by law
Following changes introduced through the Children & Social Work Act 2017, you will be able to ask for support from your Personal Advisor up to the age of 25, whether you are in education or training or not.
Your Personal Advisor is there to help you to prepare to live independently and to offer advice and support after you leave care. Personal Advisors should talk to you about what support you need and record this information in your pathway plan.
Your pathway plan is written by the local authority after consultation with you and important people in your life. It sets out your needs, views and future goals, and identifies exactly what support you will receive from us. We will review your pathway plan with you regularly so that it is kept up to date.
We will try to enable you to keep the same Personal Advisor, though this will not always be possible. The amount of support that you receive from your Personal Advisor will depend on what you want and your circumstances.
The Next Chapter team will consider with you what extra support you may need. You might, for example, need extra support because:
- You have special educational needs or a disability.
- You are an unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Child (UASC) and your immigration status is unclear.
- You are in or leaving custody or you have had contact with the criminal justice system.
- You are a young parent; or
- You are going through a difficult time in your personal life.
You have a right to be involved in all decisions about your plans for leaving care. You have a right to support from an independent advocate if you want to challenge decisions about the support we give you.
Independent advocates can inform you about your rights and help you to be heard in meetings. They are separate from Bury Children’s Services and only share information with your permission or if you or someone else is in danger.
- Advocacy Service – a national advocacy service
- Become - a charity for care leavers with a helpline and information
- Care Leavers Association – volunteer led support to help you thrive
- Children in Care Council Bury – your voice on your care
- Children’s Commissioner – promoting and protecting your rights
- Help at Hand – free support and advice for children in care and care leavers
- Citizens Advice Bureau – free advice for any problems you face
- Coram Voice – national charity championing the rights of care leavers
- National Leaving Care Benchmark Forum – getting your voice heard
- Youth Offending Team – support for those in the criminal justice system
- Youth Support (Connexions, Youth Service, Youth Participation Service)
LGBTQ+? – we have specific support for you
- Advice and Support – a guide to what support there is for you
- Mind Out – mental health support for LGBTQ+ young people
Bury Children’s Rights Team can support and advocate for you, call them on 0161 253 6339.
You have a right to see the information we keep about you, including the files and records written about you when you were in care.
We will encourage you to stay in care until you are 18. Most young people still live at home with their families at this age.
If you choose to leave care before age 18, the law says we must provide you with suitable accommodation.
We want to make sure every young person leaving care has the support to achieve their goals in life.
The law says we must provide you with assistance with expenses linked with employment, education and training. In particular:
- we will provide you with a Higher Education (HE) bursary of at least £2,000 if you go to university.
- we will provide somewhere for you to stay during university holidays (or funding for this if you would prefer to make your own arrangements) if you are in full time HE or full time residential further education and your term time accommodation is not available.
If this is what you and your foster carer(s) want, we will support you to remain with your foster carers under what is called a ‘Staying Put’ arrangement. This can last until you are age 21.
Support we offer
Our Care Leaver Hub is open Monday- Friday. You can see your Personal Advisor there and access our timetable of support in Bury. There is always a Personal Advisor in the Hub for you, if you have an emergency or have questions you need answering. The Hub is a warm and friendly place, designed by our young people. We have a kitchen, showers and facilities to make hot food and wash and dry your clothes if you need.
Where to find us:
Next Chapter Team – The Hub
6 Knowsley Place
Angouleme Way
Bury, BL9 0EL
We are open from 9:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Call us on 0161 253 6666, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.
If outside of these hours, call our Emergency Duty Team on 0161 253 6606.
Download the Bee Connected App where you can find our Hub timetable of activities, workshops and drop ins and lots of other information about the support we can offer you.
If you are aged over 18, your Personal Advisor will help you to find suitable accommodation. This might involve:
- Working with Housing Services and Adult Social Care to come up with suitable housing options for you, including supported accommodation if you are not ready or don’t want to have your own tenancy.
- Support to access different independent housing options including social housing (this is accommodation managed by us or a housing association).
- Advice about holding down a tenancy, including avoiding rent or Council Tax arrears, paying bills and budgeting. We know it can be very hard having your own place for the first time. We will do whatever we can to ease the pressures on you.
- Bury Care Leavers are exempt from paying Council until age 25.
- Helping you to claim housing benefit/universal credit.
- Practical support with moving into and furnishing your new home.
- Bury Council will never make care leavers intentionally homeless.
- Supporting you to apply for Housing outside of Bury.
- Supporting you if you have a housing crisis, including helping if you are threatened with homelessness or losing a tenancy.
We want you to succeed in your education, training and employment. We will ask you how you are doing and be ready to celebrate your achievements with you.
The Bee Connected App has jobs, apprenticeships and other opportunities posted in both Bury and Greater Manchester for you look at and apply for. If you need any support in applying or need to know more, speak to your Personal Advisor.
We will offer you:
- Careers information and advice, such as help to develop your CV, advice about job interviews, including what you might wear.
- A bursary for you, while you are at college.
- Support to apply for free Greater Manchester travel pass.
- Support to buy tools, equipment, essential clothing, and books.
- Support if you choose to go to university, such as helping you obtain tuition fees and maintenance loans, travel costs at the start and end of term, and making sure you have somewhere to live during the holidays. We will help you choose the right course and university that matches your talents and interests.
- Opportunities for work experience, apprenticeships and employment within the council.
- The chance to attend and help organise celebration events when young people achieve education, training and employment milestones.
Below are some of the ways our care leaving team and your Personal Advisor can support you to stay healthy and look after your physical and mental health. We can:
- Give you information on healthy living. Explore more: Thriving in Bury Padlet and Care Leaver Health Padlet
- Provide you with free prescriptions until you are 25
- Support you to register with a GP
- Support you to move from CAMHS to adult services
- Give you information about counselling services that are available locally
- Give you help with transport costs when attending health appointments
- If you are a young parent, we will support you to do the best for them. We will help you arrange childcare, if this is what you want.
- Offer free access to the leisure centres we run
- Give you information about health drop-in centres
- Work with you to develop a ‘health passport’ containing key information from your childhood (for example, when and if you have had immunisations) and your current health needs.
We will try to help you financially, including:
- Providing a leaving care grant to help you buy essential things when moving into your own home. This is worth up to £3499.50.
- Providing or telling you about relevant money management courses.
- Information on how to access your Junior ISA or Child Trust Fund.
- Support to open a bank account.
- Support to gain important identification documents, such as a passport and/or provisional driving licence, before your eighteenth birthday.
- Support to get your National Insurance number.
- Exceptional financial support in emergencies.
- Providing a financial gift at birthdays and Christmas or other celebrations.
As well as support from a Personal Adviser, we may be able to offer you additional practical and emotional support, such as through:
- Providing you with a mentor/peer mentor.
- Help to maintain or regain contact with people special to you or who cared for you in the past, like former foster carers, Independent Visitors or social workers.
- Support to re-connect with family where it is in your best interests.
We want our care leavers to be active members of your community, and to have all the chances in life that other young adults have. We can help you in the following ways:
- Providing information on groups and clubs you may wish to join
- Informing you about relevant awards, schemes and competitions you can enter, in line with your talents and interests
- Encouraging and helping you to enrol on the Electoral Register, so you can vote in elections
- Offering work experience within Bury council.
- Informing you about voluntary work that we think you may be interested in
- Informing and possibly helping with the cost of leisure activities
- Giving you advice and helping you to challenge any discrimination you face as a care leaver.
Who can help?
- Your personal advisor – 0161 253 6666
- Next Chapter team – 0161 253 6666
- Bury adult social care – 0161 253 5151
- Bury housing advice – 0161 253 5251
- Designated nurse – Sam Heaton – 0161 206 0298
- Education, employment or training support – Connexions – 0161 253 7733
- Local authority leadership
- Director of Children’s Services – Jeanette Richards - j.richards@bury.gov.uk
- Lead Member – Lucy Smith - lucy.smith@bury.gov.uk
- Care leavers’ forum – Nicola Pinder – 0161 253 6666
Download the Bee Connected App where you can find our Hub timetable of activities, workshops and drop ins and lots of other information about the support we can offer you.
- Kings Trust - get free support to develop the skills and confidence you need to find a job or start a business
- The Rees Foundation exists to provide life-long help and support to those with care experience. They work to make a difference, to help care experienced people thrive.
Your health and wellbeing
- How to register with a dentist
- How to register with a GP/doctor
- List of all NHS services available
- NHS health advice – 111
- Stopping Smoking Advice
- Walk in centre Bury - 0161 447 9820
Early Break - 0161 723 3880
Early Break offer a number of services to support emotional health and wellbeing for young people, such as mindfulness sessions, holistic therapies, bereavement & loss counselling, emotional health and wellbeing groups.
- Bereavement Support
- Calm (counselling service) - 0800 585 858
- Counselling and emotional support (42nd Street)
- Bury Leisure Centres (gyms and classes)
- Bury Life Well Service are there to offer support and inspiration so that you can own your health and wellbeing and choose a healthy, active and fulfilling life.
- Drug and alcohol advice
- Achieve (Drug and Alcohol Support) – 0161 271 0020
- Online support for eating disorders
- CAMHS (Bury) offer specialist services to children and young people who are experiencing mental health difficulties. Some of the difficulties and conditions that CAMHS can help with include anxiety, depression, eating disorders, psychosis, PTSD, self-harm, ADHD and autism.
- Bury Community Mental Health Team – 0161 253 7997
- Bury Access Team (Mental Health) – 0161 716 1080
- Mental health advice for young people (Rethink)
- Sexual Health advice and information (Brook)
- Virgin Care Sexual Health Advice - 0161 762 1588
Your finance and jobs
- Bury JobCentre Plus – 0845 604 3719
- Prestwich JobCentre Plus – 0800 169 0190 or 0845 608 8551
- Universal credit – 0800 328 5644
DWP Protocol - cared for children and care experienced young people [527Kb]
Energy companies may be able to help those on a prepay meter or smart meter, with some companies sending out pre-loaded smart cards for those in need.
- British Gas – 0333 202 9802
- EDF – 0333 200 5100
- EON – 0345 052 000
- Npower – 0800 073 3000
- Scottish Power – 0800 027 0072
- SSE – 0345 026 2658
- Benefits Guides and Calculators
- Debt management advice – National Debt line or Step Change
- Online Advice by Money Helper
- Student Finance
Financial help is available through the Household Support Fund or the Bury Support Fund. These are intended to provide short term financial support for food and fuel. This could be because of some unforeseen event, or due to the pressures of the Cost-of-Living Crisis.
Support provided is based on a household’s income and expenditure, and will range from between £100 and £300, depending on your circumstances and financial hardship. Payments of less than £100 will be paid in certain crisis situations.
- Greater Manchester Police - 101 or 999
- Crimestoppers – 0800 555 111
- Greater Manchester Police Domestic Abuse Team – 0161 856 8064
- Bury SafeNet – 0300 3033 581. SafeNet Bury supports people who have experienced domestic abuse to find the right level of support they need to move towards a happier, healthier and more secure future.
- Bury Probation Service – 0161 933 6870
- Manchester Immigration Aid
- Refugee Support – Refugee Action or Refugee Council
- Unaccompanied asylum seeking children - Refugee Council or GMIAU
- Bury Adult Learning Centre – 0161 253 5772
- Bury Virtual School
- Guide to applying for university as a care leaver
- National Careers Service
- Bury Local SEND Offer
- University Application Site (UCAS)
- Volunteering Opportunities
- Greater Manchester Youth Network (GMYN) – 0161 234 2950. Greater Manchester Youth Network (GMYN) supports young people up to 25 across Greater Manchester by offering exciting opportunities to build key skills and confidence. They deliver a range of development programmes and drop-in activities to help young people transition to adulthood feeling supported, positive, and valued. GYMN are very active in Bury.