What Care Leaver Covenant does

Care Leaver Covenant is a UK Department for Education-funded national inclusion programme that connects care leavers aged 16-25 in England with exclusive opportunities across five pillars: education, work, wellbeing, money, and home. The programme is delivered by Spectra First Ltd, a certified B Corporation and registered private limited company based in Wolverhampton, England, operating with a delivery team of approximately 10-11 FTEs. Care leavers access opportunities free of charge through the Connects digital platform, which now serves over 10,000 registered users as of 2025, alongside 600+ signatory organisations including Amazon, NHS England, ITV, Sky, Metro Bank, PureGym, Merlin Entertainments, and John Lewis & Partners, plus 100+ local authority partners and 115 education institutions (76 HE + 39 FE).

The core technology is the Connects platform — a digital engagement system enabling care leavers and support workers to register for personalised opportunity updates, browse filterable listings of 400+ jobs and 2,000+ opportunities, and gain automatic entry into giveaways. This is complemented by a suite of downloadable frameworks for partners: the Inclusive Employment Toolkit for employers, the Care Leaver Friendly Employer Charter with RTD (Recruitment, Tracking, Development) principles, the Social Value Toolkit for councils adopting a Whole Council Approach, and the Whole Institution Approach for education providers. No AI, API, or third-party integrations are disclosed; the platform functions as a curated matching and content-distribution layer rather than an intelligence-driven system.

The business model is grant-funded rather than commercial: the programme receives funding from the Department for Education under the 'Keep on Caring' policy established in 2018, with Spectra First Ltd contracted as the delivery partner. There are no fees for care leavers or signatory organisations, and no pricing tiers beyond a free Freemium tier for end users. Distribution is community-led, combining self-serve digital onboarding for care leavers, a four-step signatory enrolment process for organisations, and dedicated engagement teams supporting local authorities and education institutions. Awareness is driven by national campaigns (JC Decaux billboards reaching 40M+ in October 2023, Channel 4 TV reaching 12M+ in October 2024), annual events including the Empathy Summit and Care Leavers Week/Month, and organic social media across Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and YouTube. Governance is provided through an Advisory Board chaired by Mark Rogers and a Business Council chaired (as of October 2025) by Dr Margaret Heffernan.

Name

Care Leaver Covenant

Legal name

Spectra First Ltd

Website

https://mycovenant.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Care Leaver Covenant is a UK Department for Education-funded national programme, delivered by Spectra First Ltd, connecting care leavers aged 16-25 in England with education, work, wellbeing, money and home opportunities through its Connects platform and 600+ signatory organisations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wolverhampton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: The Care Leaver Covenant is funded by the Department for Education. It is free for organizations to sign up as signatories and free for care leavers to access opportunities through the Connects platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Care Leaver Covenant is a national inclusion programme that connects care leavers aged 16-25 in England with exclusive opportunities in education, work, wellbeing, money and home. It operates the Connects digital platform, which serves over 10,000 registered care leavers, and recruits more than 600 signatory organisations (companies, charities, universities, colleges, councils) to create and promote those opportunities.

Product overview

Care Leaver Covenant is a national inclusion programme delivered by Spectra that connects care leavers aged 16-25 with exclusive opportunities through a network of 600+ signatory organisations. The core offering consists of the Care Leaver Covenant Platform (website) and the Connects Platform (youth engagement system), supported by the Inclusive Employment Toolkit, Care Leaver Friendly Employer Charter, Social Value Toolkit, and Partner Programme. The platform aggregates over 2000 opportunities across 23 sectors spanning employment, apprenticeships, education, wellbeing discounts, and recreational offers from partner employers and organisations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Connects Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 10,000 care leavers registered on Connects platform as of 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, major and notable.

• Spectra (Spectra First Ltd)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSocial impact company delivering the Care Leaver Covenant programme. Spectra is a certified B Corporation and manages the programme on behalf of the Department for Education, with support from advisory boards.
• NHS EnglandflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor partnership with NHS Universal Family Programme launched January 2023, providing consistent guidance and 'family-style' support for care leavers navigating health services.
• Ambitious Together FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched January 2025, supporting young people aged 16 to 30 who have experienced care, young carers, family estrangement or significant disruption to ensure they are not left to navigate adulthood alone.
• AmazonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDelivered first Amazon voucher giveaway (£50k) in December 2021 easing financial pressures for care leavers. Partner providing employment opportunities.
• Metro BankmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroundbreaking programme making banking accessible to care leavers without ID, removing a key barrier to independence. Over 2000 sign-ups to date.
• PureGymmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational partnership launched March 2024 offering affordable gym access and wellbeing support for care leavers with 50% discount. Over 2000 sign-ups to date.
• AA Charitable TrustmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership announced October 2024 providing free AA Driving School Theory Test App to support care leavers into driving and mobility.
• Live Nation / Leeds & Reading FestivalsnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since August 2023 giving care leavers work experience and access to live events at Leeds and Reading Festivals.
• JC DecauxnotableGTM or Marketing PartnerNational billboard campaign as part of 'Care Leavers Wanted' campaign reaching over 40 million people.
• Channel 4notableGTM or Marketing PartnerTelevised 'Care Leavers Wanted' campaign nationally reaching over 12 million viewers and amplifying care leaver voices.
• 100+ Local AuthoritiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal authority partners including Blackpool City Council (first to adopt Whole Council Approach), Birmingham Children's Trust, and many others committed to supporting care leavers through enhanced services and procurement.
• 76 Universities and 39 Further Education CollegescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation institutions signed up with additional support packages for care leaver students, following the Whole Institution Approach covering Student, Employment and Community pillars.
• Nationwide Association of Fostering Providers (NAFP)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAFP supports the Covenant in developing engagement strategy and works with Individual Foster Agencies to disseminate offers and opportunities directly to young people.
• Office for Students (OfS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegulatory body for Higher Education working with the Covenant to ensure care leavers are a priority group in Access and Participation Plans.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Catch22: Catch22 is a UK social business working with vulnerable young people including care leavers, delivering employment, education, and social inclusion services. Comparable as a fellow social enterprise operating in the UK youth social impact space with government contract funding.
• Centrepoint: Centrepoint is a UK charity supporting young people experiencing homelessness, with a major focus on care leavers aged 16-25. Directly comparable in target population and the housing/education/employment pillar overlap with Care Leaver Covenant's 'Home' and 'Work' pillars.
• Become: Become is the UK's leading charity specifically for children in care and young care leavers, providing advice, advocacy and direct support. It is the most directly comparable peer since both organisations serve the same narrowly defined beneficiary population (care leavers aged 16-25 in England) with a national UK footprint.
• St Basil's: St Basil's is a UK youth homelessness charity specifically supporting 16-25 year olds at risk of or experiencing homelessness, with significant care leaver focus. Comparable as a direct peer in supporting care leavers and at-risk youth through housing, education, and employment pathways.

Broad incumbents

• YMCA England & Wales: YMCA is a major UK youth services organisation providing housing, education, and health programmes for young people. Comparable as a broader youth-focused incumbent with significant overlap on supported housing and training for disadvantaged young people, though not specialised on care leavers.
• Action for Children: Action for Children is a major UK children's charity supporting children, young people, and families including those in care and leaving care. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the children's services sector with overlap on care leaver transition support.
• Barnardo's: Barnardo's is one of the UK's largest children's charities, supporting children in care, care leavers, and vulnerable families. Comparable as a major incumbent in the broader children-in-care and care leaver support space, though with a much wider portfolio beyond care leaver transition support.
• The Children's Society: The Children's Society is a UK charity supporting disadvantaged children and young people, including work with children in care and young refugees. Comparable as a major national children's services organisation with overlap on the vulnerable youth cohort CLC serves.
• National Youth Agency: The National Youth Agency is the national body for youth work in England, supporting youth services and policy. Comparable as a body working on UK youth policy and practice infrastructure, with overlap on the policy/advocacy layer that underpins programmes like CLC.
• The Prince's Trust: The Prince's Trust is a major UK youth charity supporting disadvantaged young people aged 11-30 with education, training and employment programmes. Comparable as a broader youth-focused organisation with overlapping employment and education offerings, but not specialised on care leavers specifically.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CareLeaverCov
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@theCareLeaverCovenant
• Facebookfacebook.com/careleavercovenant
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/care-leaver-cov
• Instagraminstagram.com/careleavercovenant/?hl=en

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Care Leaver Covenant