Care experienced and estranged students

Who are care experienced and estranged students?

• Care experienced: someone who, for any length of time and at any stage of life, has been in care (for example living with foster carers, in residential care, or in kinship care with relatives).  
• Estranged: someone who no longer has any contact with their parents, and this is very unlikely to change.    

At UCL we recognise that when applying to and entering university, students who are care experienced or estranged from their families can face certain barriers that other students may not experience. Please note that for certain support listed below, very specific definitions of ‘care experience’ or ‘estrangement’ may be in place. Please refer to individual websites for more information.  

Group descriptors and barriers

Only 13% of care leavers progress to higher education, compared to 45% of the general population (Become, 2023). As numbers of care experienced students at UCL are so low, analysis of continuation and attainment data is difficult. However, analysis does show that there has been an average continuation gap of 19% over the last five years for this group of students. 

There is even less data available for estranged students at UCL, however research nationally suggests that they are three times more likely to drop out of university than the average.  

Although care experienced and estranged students do have different experiences, many of the barriers that they face around applying to/studying at university without the support of family can be similar. Current students have reported some of the following:  

• Financial difficulties 
• Accommodation challenges 
• Lack of support networks 
• Feelings of loneliness and isolation 
• Mental health and wellbeing issues 

Support available at UCL

UCL offers numerous types of support for care experience and estranged students.

Funding

Student Finance

Student Finance usually use parental income to calculate the level of maintenance loan a student can receive. However, for care experienced and estranged students, once proof has been provided, they will be eligible for the maximum amount of maintenance loan. Providing proof can sometimes be difficult for estranged students, for more information please see here. There is also useful information on the Standalone charity website here.  

Local Authority Support 

Local authorities often provide financial support to students who are leaving the care system, students will need to speak to their social worker/personal advisor for more information about this.  

UCL Undergraduate Bursary 

This is open to any undergraduate with home fee status and is based on household income. It is likely that most care experienced and estranged students would be eligible for the full bursary, which is currently £3000 per year. Students do not need to make an application to this – UCL will automatically assess them provided they have consented to share their data as part of their Student Finance application. Anyone in receipt of the Undergraduate Bursary is also able to borrow a laptop for the entirety of their course. 

UCL Care Leaver Bursary

Care leavers are eligible for a bursary of £1000 per year of their course and can request £200 of this in advance of starting first year to help with transition costs. Application information is here.  

UCL Estranged Student Bursary 

Estranged students are eligible for a bursary of £1000 per year of their course and can request £200 of this in advance of starting first year to help with transition costs. Application information is here. 

Financial Assistance Fund

This is to support students who are in unexpected short-term financial need. Care experienced and estranged students are prioritised. More information here.  

Student Funding Advisors 

They can offer support, advice and guidance to any student who is struggling with finances – students can make an online, phone, or face-to-face appointment via askUCL.   

Students’ Union Student Activities Participation Fund

Students’ Union UCL has a pot of money to help enable students to take part in SU clubs or societies. More information here.  

Accommodation

Any care experienced or estranged student is eligible to stay in UCL accommodation for 365 days (rather than the standard 39-week lease) – for their first year, and subsequent years if necessary.  

When students apply via the Accommodation Portal, under ‘additional requirements’ they should state that they are CE/E, as this is the only way the Accommodation team receive this information. All undergraduates will be given a 39-week contract initially, then then will be invited to apply for the June-September period.  

The Unite Foundation (https://thisisusatuni.org/unite-foundation-scholarship/) partners with lots of universities across the UK, including UCL. It offers free accommodation for the full three years of an undergraduate course in Unite accommodation, for care leavers and estranged students – applications are done via Unite (please note that there are only a few scholarships available each year).  

UCL Rent Guarantor Scheme: for students who wish to live in private accommodation, but are unable to find a rent guarantor, UCL can act as a guarantor for certain students - including care experienced and estranged students.  

Student Success Interventions

Suzanne Hewings, Senior Student Success Officer, is the key contact for care experienced and estranged undergraduate home students.  

Pre-application: 

• Gets in touch with any care experienced or estranged students who have received an Access UCL offer, outlining the support available to them if they join UCL.  
• We hold offer holder Q&A sessions, where offer holders can ask a panel of student ambassadors, and the key contact, and questions about joining UCL.  
• All care experienced and estranged students are able to join the Access UCL pre-enrolment online events, where they will hear from staff members across the university outlining all they types of support available to them (including Funding, Careers, Academic Communication Centre, and Transition Mentors).  

Once at UCL: 

• Invited to join an MS Teams area where any relevant opportunities or social events etc. are advertised.  
• Invited to attend peer support group, open to any CEES across the university (supported by, but not run by, Student Success) 
• Key contact available for ad-hoc meetings or email/phone communications at any point across the time students are at UCL; able to signpost students to internal and external support.   

Not all care experienced or estranged home UG students will receive an Access UCL offer (due to, for example, not fitting in with the exact definition used by the Access UCL team, or becoming estranged after the application period). If any staff member comes across a student who has not been contacted previously by Suzanne, then please feel free to put them in touch with her.