Care Leaver / UCAS Application

Hi,

I've got a question regarding what counts as being a care leaver, especially for Oxford. In their section on contextual knowledge, they write that 'a candidate [should have been] been in care for more than three months (determined from the UCAS application, and subject to later verification checks).'

I have spent several weeks with foster families during my mother's operations. Similarly, I have spent several weeks in care before spending several months (4-5 months) living with my half-sister in London at a relatively young age. I wanted to ask whether this counts as being a care leaver. I'm worried about the 'verification checks', as I'm unsure whether the latter would be registered with the local council.

I look forward to your replies. In advance I wanted to thank you so, so much!