Last updated:

22nd June 2026

Your relationships and connections

Helping you stay connected with your family, understand your past, and build healthy relationships

We know that relationships are important, and we’re here to support you to spend meaningful time with family and those who are special to you. 

When you feel ready, we can help you understand your life story and experiences in care, taking things one step at a time and going at a pace that feels right for you. This might look like: 

  • Sitting with you whilst you read them, so you’ve got someone there for support 

  • Providing you with a ‘later life letter’, which brings together what’s known about your journey 

You’ll also have the chance to do life journey work if that feels helpful for you.

Your Personal Adviser (PA) will support you through this process if you already have one. If you don’t, the team will arrange a PA for you while you’re requesting your records.

They’ll help you ask for your records and explain everything in a clear, easy-to-understand way. If your records are held outside of Wokingham Borough, they’ll support you with that too.

When you receive your records, your PA can go through them with you and help you understand what they mean. This can sometimes be difficult, especially reading about your past, so you won’t have to go through it on your own.

Support for keeping close to family and important people 

We want to help you stay connected to the people who matter most and support you to build strong, healthy relationships. That support might include:  

  • Help with the cost of visiting family members if you’re under 18

    • We offer support for children under the age of 18 with the cost of visiting family or having family time. 

    • We will help care leavers over 18 with travel costs to visit family in the UK, up to twice a year. The travel must be affordable and agreed by your PA.

    • If you are a parent visiting your child who isn’t living with you, this can be up to four times a year. 

  • Support to find ways to stay in touch if your family live abroad 

  • If you’ve lost contact with family in another country, we can help make a referral to the Red Cross, who may be able to help find them and support you to reconnect 

  • If you’re under 18 and don’t see your family very often, you can have an independent visitor - someone who’s there just for you. They’ll listen, offer support and advice, and spend time with you doing things you enjoy 

  • If you’re over 18, we can help arrange an independent visitor, advocate or a mentor if you’d like that extra support 

  • If you’re thinking about moving back to live with your parents, family, or someone you’re connected to before you turn 18, your social worker can explore a reunification assessment together and talk it all through with you

We’ll keep supporting you to manage family relationships in a way that feels safe, healthy and right for you as an adult.

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