Almost 400 care leavers are currently supported out of a former caretaker’s flat in Leyton Cricket Pavilion
By Victoria Munro
A disused school building in Leyton is set to become a new support service for hundreds of local young people who grew up in foster care.
According to a report presented to the House of Commons last summer, young “care leavers” are far less likely to be employed than their peers and, even when employed, earn £6,000 less a year on average.
Waltham Forest Council acts as the “corporate parent” for almost 400 young people, aged 18 to 25, who have aged out of foster care and currently supports them from a service based in the former caretaker’s flat in Leyton Cricket Pavilion.
A report prepared for council leaders notes that this cramped space “does not allow delivery of consistently good provision”, adding that the building is also due to be refurbished in the coming years.
As a replacement, the council hopes to build a new “leaving care hub” in Farmer Road, on the site of what was once part of George Mitchell School, currently occupied by property guardians.
Construction of the new hub – as well as a handful of flats to be rented to care leavers as a stepping stone to “independent living” – would be partly funded by building four to nine new homes for private sale.
However, while the former Design & Technology building has not been used by the school since 2018, when it became an academy and relocated across the road, the council will be unable to move forward without special permission from the Secretary of State for Education.
If all goes well, the council expects to spend around £2.5million redeveloping the site, which currently costs it around £7,000 in upkeep annually, and hopes to see the new hub open in 2024.
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