Stepladder of Achievement -

Stepladder Plus currently open to all local authority areas - click here for more information

The Objectives

·        To inspire teenagers in care to take a number of significant steps to improve their literacy, numeracy and financial capability in order to be better placed to achieve their full potential as an adult.

·        To help prepare young people in care to develop financial understanding and capabilities in preparation for leaving care.

·        To give teenagers in care the opportunity to earn and save by experience (Stepladder Plus).

·        To raise additional funds to add to their Junior ISA or Child Trust Fund with incentivised learning (Stepladder Plus).

·        To inspire young people to save by growing the funds in their Junior ISA or Child Trust Fund through Stepladder Plus.

The Stepladder of Achievement programme provides both life skills and financial resources in order to enhance the capability and prospects of children and young people in care, who are likely to have experienced an unpredictable education. Our aim is to break the cycle of deprivation by empowering young people to take control of their finances, be confident about their future and enhance their employability prospects. To this end, Stepladder of Achievement content is structured inclusively to adapt to each young person’s learning needs. This means Foster Carers, teachers and other professionals can support their young person to think about money and how it can help their future.

The standard Stepladder programme is available in all local authorities across the United Kingdom, and for care leavers up to the age of 25.

Stepladder Plus is also available in all UK local authorities for young people in care aged 15-17, but its continuing access across the country depends on The Share Foundation securing voluntary funding for step payments and mentoring: this financial support is not currently available from central government. Young people from 128 Local Authorities throughout the United Kingdom have thus far benefited from Stepladder PLUS.

We work actively with Local Authorities, Virtual Schools and Independent Fostering Agencies to bring Stepladder Plus to young people in care across the UK.

To find out how The Share Foundation can help establish Stepladder PLUS for your young people in care, please contact the Programme Coordinator Natasha Richmond at natasha.richmond@sharefound.org or on 01296 310405.

How it works

The standard Stepladder programme has six steps designed to achieve readiness for adult life in terms of gaining employment and achieving full self-sufficiency. With Stepladder Plus, additional payments of up to £1,500 in total are added to the young person’s Junior ISA or Child Trust Fund in return for achieving each of the six steps. Please note that the step benefits in brackets (shown below) are only provided under the Stepladder Plus version.

The six steps are:

·        Literacy – using up to date functional skills content from Skills Forward, Step 1 assesses the young person’s reading and writing skills and is achievable at Functional Skills Entry 3 or above. (Benefit £150)

·        Numeracy – using up to date functional skills content from Skills Forward, Step 2 assesses the young person’s maths skills and is achievable at Functional Skills Entry 3 or above. (Benefit £150)

·        Financial Capability (1) – Practice and assessment with costs of living using Skills Forward software and Young Money content. (Benefit £200)

·        Plan for the Future – 250–500 words submitted by the young person and assessed by The Share Foundation, describing their aspirations for the future and how they will use their investment. (Benefit £250)

·        Financial Capability (2) – Managing My Money, Share Radio’s broadcast version of the Open University Business School’s eight week course with recognised accreditation. (Benefit £350)

·        Securing future education, employment or training – working with a mentor such as a carer, teacher, leaving care worker. (Benefit £400)

We work with Local Authorities to identify the most appropriate support and mentoring to work alongside the young people taking the Stepladder programme, and to secure local funding for implementation of Stepladder Plus. We also encourage those who have taken the programme to support and mentor those following on after them.

Key to the success of the programme is its promotion to young people themselves, and we work closely with Virtual School Heads, Foster Carers and Social Work teams within Local Authorities.

Share Radio provides the ‘Managing My Money’ Step 5 for the Stepladder programme. It broadcasts online and provides a podcast library of 8,000 programmes designed to share ideas about money.

Listeners who access Share Radio via The Share Foundation get free access to all these audio programmes.