Foster care leaver

I’ve heard there’s financial support for care leavers at university, could anyone tell me more about this please?

I’ve heard there’s financial support for care leavers at university, could anyone tell me more about this please?

Also, I will just add that when I applied for uni, on the forms you fill in to tell them about yourself, there was a box you could complete to tell them you are care experienced. You don't have to tick that box if you don't feel comfortable doing it, but I ticked them and it helps the uni to be made aware of your lived experience and then they should make contact with you when you go to the uni and go from there. I remember I was supported by the student advice team on how to access grant funding etc.

I would also recommend thinking about whether you could manage to put some money from the grants away into a saving account. If you find an account with a good interest rate (look for one with a higher interest number), then you could keep savings away for when you graduate. Then you will have a little pot of money for yourself to get you set up after uni for whatever you like. I never did that, but wish I had been advised to do that.

Finally, the funding for university comes through student finance england. Your personal advisor should take you through all of that. You are also entitled to a setting up home allowance - ie, to be used for buying yourself pots and pans, bedding, a laptop etc if you plan to live in dorms. Many unis also cater for care experienced people to be able to live in their dorms year round (no issues with the holidays) and you may be able to request an ensuite.

I hope that helps. There is a lot of information there, but feel free to ask me any questions!

Thank you this is so helpful ! I’ll keep all of this in mind. It’s good to know there’s support.