This week is #nationalcareleaversweek and we want to show our support by highlighting the support available to care experienced and estranged students.
There are approximately 99,000 children in care in the UK, and each year over 10,000 young people leave the care system and become care leavers. National Care Leaver’s Week is a necessary time to recognise that leaving care can be difficult. Unlike most young people who can rely on the love and support of their family long after their teens, care leavers are expected to be independent once they turn 18. They can find managing their first experience of independence and living alone challenging and isolating. (https://imohub.org.uk/national-care-leavers-week/)
At the University of Reading, we are committed to providing fair access, information, advice, guidance and support to Care Leavers, Care Experienced and Estranged students. There is support available to you, to find out more contact Sue Wallace, Senior Welfare Officer: s.j.wallace@reading.ac.uk.
What does the University of Reading mean by Care Leaver?
The legal definition of a Care Leaver is someone who is classed as a ‘home’ student for fee purposes, is under the age of 25 at the start of their course and has been looked after for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14, and was in care on their 16th birthday. Public care includes but is not limited to:
- foster care
- semi-independent living
- residential care homes.
It does not include care workers or applicants who have been involved solely in the provision of care.
Care Experienced Students:
At the University of Reading we recognise that any time spent in local authority care can have a significant impact on educational opportunities and outcomes, and therefore provide pre-entry and on-course support to students who have spent any time in local authority care.
You are considered care experienced if you are:
- A student who has spent time in local authority care and:
- is registered on a full-time undergraduate course
- is classed as a ‘home’ student
- is under 25 years of age at the start of their course
What does it mean to be an estranged student?
We recognise that having no communicative relationship with either biological parents can have a significant impact on educational opportunities and outcomes.
Student Finance England classifies estranged students as:
- a student who has “not communicated with either of your biological or adoptive parents for 12 months (this is flexible) before your course begins and the situation is irreconcilable.”
- a student who can “show you have been financially independent for three or more years through employment or benefits (consecutively or non-consecutively) before your course begins.’’
For pre-entry support, please visit our Discover pages.
What do you need to do next?
We try and keep things as simplistic as possible at the University of Reading, so whether you are pre-entry or you have already started we provide a named contact from our Student Welfare team, who will talk you through all aspects of welfare support and finances. She will help you navigate what you need to do based on your individual circumstances and offer you support along the way.
Contact Sue Wallace, Senior Welfare Officer, for further information: s.j.wallace@reading.ac.uk.
Dedicated webpages – Support for care experienced and estranged students
Check out our dedicated webpages on Essentials for key contacts and more information.
Real experiences
Leaving care: ‘I made it to university, but then I fell through the cracks’
About 10,000 young people move out of the care system in the UK every year. For some there’s a sudden cut-off with little support on the other side. Kim Emenike describes her experience of what has been described as a “care cliff”.