Paul Heaton, casework assistant, Rainer

This is a great outcome for her as looked-after young people are much less likely to go on to higher education than others. Two others are currently being “detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure,” says Heaton.

Wherever they are, Heaton’s role is to ease their transition from care into independent living, whether through finding them accommodation, helping with benefit forms, referring to mental health professionals, working with social services or ensuring they have the pathway plans that must be updated every six months, and aim to bring professionals together to ensure everything is going well for the young person.

“I have to make sure they are accessing employment, education or training, that they are healthy emotionally and physically, that they are accessing leisure facilities, have self care skills, financial abilities, plans and aspirations for a future,” explains Heaton.

Some of the young people Heaton works with are parents themselves, and he sometimes acts as facilitators between them and former partners.

To achieve this Heaton must work with colleagues in the voluntary and statutory sector – this could include social services, youth offending teams, or voluntary organisations such as Moving Forward or supported housing scheme the Lighthouse Project.

Heaton works a 24-hour week but has a lot of flexibility within that, meaning every day is different. “I work according to what needs doing,” he says. “I travel a lot but I also have an office in Ramsgate and spend maybe a third of my time there.”