Child Friendly Warwickshire

Moving from being in care to living independently is a big change for all young people. The Warwickshire House Project is an initiative set up to support young people who are leaving care to live independently and learn life skills such as cooking and paying bills. The project has recently become a friend of Child Friendly Warwickshire because it shares the same aims to ensure that young people have the support to be heard, safe, healthy, skilled and, most importantly, happy. 

Warwickshire House Project is a part of the National House Project and was one of the first five pilot projects funded by the Department for Education’s Innovation Programme. 

The House Project identifies learning areas for the young people to develop which will help them to live independently in their new homes.  The project develops a community around the young people to ensure that they can maintain and sustain their tenancies, as well as supporting them to:  

• access education, employment and training 

• learn how to cook a variety of meals 

• manage budgets by providing financial advice and training 

• maintain their housing through support and advice. 

The project allows young people who are training and learning to be able to achieve accreditation under the AQA Unit Award Scheme and receive certificates. Young people that are working with the House Project are classed as being in education, training or employment. This helps to make it easier for young people to return to education and gain more formal qualifications. They can also use these to show to future employers that they are committed to further developing their skills. 

Some of the young people who are members of the Warwickshire House Project said:  

“The House Project is a chance to develop your personality, without the fear of being judged.” 

“The House Project is somewhere to make friends & enhance my skills in a fun, informal environment.” 

“The project has allowed me to feel accepted somewhere without a place of judgement, whilst learning new skills.” 

“It has been a good life experience and a good chance to improve my independence and team skills.” 

For more information about Warwickshire House Project, visit: https://warwickshire.thehouseproject.org/ 

If you share the Child Friendly Warwickshire values, you could become a friend too. You might be working for a business, a charity or other third sector organisation, or simply be someone who wants to help make a difference to children and young people in Warwickshire. For more information visit www.childfriendlywarwickshire.co.uk.