Health and social care

We offer a specialist assessment service to all new unaccompanied asylum seeking children providing them with support on their arrival in the U.K.

What do we mean by the term Unaccompanied Minors? 

Unaccompanied minors are children and young people who must leave their own country for their own safety. They may have been sent by a family member, friend, or representative from an interested organisation or group to the U.K. to claim asylum. This could be for a number of reasons for example persecution on the grounds of religious belief, political views, civil war and family feuds.

What we do? 

We offer a specialist service for unaccompanied minors that involves:

• The initial assessment of all new unaccompanied asylum seeking children;
• Providing support to unaccompanied minors on their arrival in the U.K.;
• Finding suitable placements (see also Fostering Unaccompanied Young People.);
• Finding appropriate educational resources, including learning English;
• Helping them integrate into British Society and develop the necessary life skills;
• Accessing specialist counselling, particularly around post traumatic stress syndrome;
• Attempting to make contact with and establish links with family or friends remaining in the country of origin, or already in the U.K.;
• Helping those who wish to return to their country of origin to do so, when it has been assessed to be safe and appropriate;
• Transferring appropriately at either 16 or 17 to the Leaving Care and Independence Service for preparation for independent living (see also Leaving Care).  

We also manage and operate the pan-London Rota for referring 16/17 year old new arrivals from the Home Office, with no local connection anywhere in the U.K., for assessment of service provision.

Where are we?

The assessment service is based at Taberner House, with a part of the service being based in the Asylum Screening Unit of the Home Office (ASU), where social workers assess what services each individual is entitled to.

The service is currently expanding to provide better assessments at an earlier point for all new unaccompanied asylum seeking children. 

Referrals

Unaccompanied asylum seeking children usually come to us via the Home Office but occasionally present directly at Taberner House for advice or assistance.

Contact Details

Contact name

Children, youth, families and schools

Telephone

020 8726 6400

Minicom

020 8760 5797

Address

Taberner House
Park Lane
Croydon CR9 3JS