Leaving care

In the past young people in care and care leavers have tended not to do as well in education as other young people and are often less likely to consider higher education. This is not entirely surprising considering the number of other things they have to think about.

We would like to help young people to overcome the obstacles they face. By providing information about the extra support that is available, we hope that we can help care leavers progress through education and succeed in higher education or whichever path they choose to follow.

For information on the specific support available for care leavers wanting to do a higher education course, read on…

Financial worries?

Often care leavers don’t continue with their education because they don’t know how they would support themselves during that time.

When you are discussing your Pathway Plan with your social worker, they will be able to explain your local authority’s policy on the financial support they will offer you if you want to go into higher education. This support is on top of the grants, bursaries and loans that are available to all students entering higher education. We don’t want you to be put off because you are worried about the costs of accommodation, travel and general day-to-day living without first finding out the help that you are entitled to.

Find out more about Student Finance for Care Leavers

The Frank Buttle Trust Quality Mark

The Frank Buttle Trust has created a quality mark which recognises the higher education institutions that go the extra mile to support students who have been in public care.

The Frank Buttle Trust realised that the needs of young people going to university from being in local authority care is vastly different and that they needed to establish links with universities which go above and beyond the call of duty.

The quality mark is still very new, and not all universities and colleges that provide care leavers with full support are acknowledged. All universities and colleges have a designated person who supports care leavers, and most consider care leavers as a priority group to receive full funding and support.

Visit the Frank Buttle Trust website for more information on the quality mark.

Am I bothered?

The Aimhigher Peninsula Programme has produced a guide to higher education especially for care leavers called 'Am I bothered?'. It has all the information you need about getting into and supporting yourself through a higher education course. Download 'Am I bothered?' (2.8MB pdf) now or contact us using the link below.

Websites

The Who Cares Trust is a national charity working to improve public care for around 60,000 children and young people who are separated from their families and living in residential or foster care.

Care Leavers Association - Accessing Further and Higher Education pages