Celebrating Tameside care leavers this November

FOR National Care Leavers’ Month (NCLM), local care leavers are set to come together to celebrate and take part in a range of fun activities and events to shine a light on their achievements.

In previous years it has been a week dedicated to celebrating care leavers — but for 2025, it has been extended to an entire month.

This November provides an opportunity for a call for positive change as it shines a spotlight on the voices, achievements and resilience of young people who’ve left care — while also raising awareness of the challenges they continue to face.

Tameside Council’s Leaving Care Team, Participation Service and Staying Close Team have come together to create a packed programme of fun, inclusive and uplifting activities for care leavers aged 18–25.

Activities include bowling, pottery painting, Heaton Park Northern Light Show, breakfast clubs, weekly wellbeing walks called ‘Lightening the Load’, playing pool, retro games club and much more.

These activities have been funded via donations from care providers, Inicio and TPR Care Services, along with local retro-games company, Gamesmania offering free gaming sessions.

Alongside these activities the teams who support care leavers will be hosting sessions to teach the young people new skills, cooking lessons and games clubs.

Every care leaver who takes part will be entered into weekly raffles, with a grand prize draw to wrap up the month.

Ahead of NCLM, Tameside’s care leavers proudly represented the borough at the Greater Manchester Care Leavers Awards on Wednesday 29 October, where six young people were nominated and shortlisted. Two even took to the stage to perform solo singing pieces — a powerful moment of pride and talent.

Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Children and Families, Cllr Teresa Smith said: “Our care leavers are remarkable and resilient young people who deserve have their voices heard and their talents, achievements and opinions are recognised in our community.

“I’m so pleased to see not only locally but nationally there is a drive to raise awareness around care leavers.

“Last year during Care Leavers’ Week I had the pleasure of attending several of the activities with our care leavers and finding out about what they enjoy and what matters to them, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know more of them further over the past year. It is important they feel supported and heard so we can help them find their identity and move into adulthood with all the skills they need to live a good life and achieve their best.”

For more information about Tameside’s Leaving Care service visit www.tameside.gov.uk/Care-Leavers