Care Experienced students
If you are a care leaver or care experienced we understand that you may have different concerns to other students.
As a first step, get in touch with Lisa Firth – our contact for care leaver and care experienced students – for an informal chat to find out how we might be able support you. If you'd like to book an appointment, please email careleavers@leeds.ac.uk.
This page tells you about some of the support available at the University of Leeds, who we can support and includes useful links for information and guidance.
What does care experienced mean?
Being care experienced means you have spent any amount of time, before you were 16, either:
- living with foster carers under local authority care
- in residential care
- looked after at home under a supervision order
- or in kinship care with relatives or friends.
Support available
Finance
Our team offer a £50 welcome payment to care experienced students in September/October of the first year of your degree.
Students who are able to evidence that they are care experienced and are in receipt of either the Leeds Bursary or the Undergraduate means-tested scholarship, will receive an additional £2,000 per year. If you are asked to provide evidence of your circumstances in the form of a Supporting Statement, you can find our template here.
If you are in financial hardship we can help you apply to the Leeds Financial Assistance Fund once you have started your study at Leeds.
Accommodation
As a care leaver or care experienced student, the University can offer you:
- A guaranteed place in University-owned accommodation
- The offer of 365-day accommodation
- A waiver of the upfront security deposit for University-owned accommodation
Contact Lisa at careleavers@leeds.ac.uk to find out if you are eligible.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Staying in Leeds during the vacation? There are still student events and activities you can get involved in.
Don’t forget the support offered by Wellbeing and Counselling Service including:
- Groups and workshops to enhance your wellbeing and develop skills and self-awareness
- Big White Wall – a supportive online community offering 24/7 online peer and professional support
- Meditation and Relaxation Downloads
- Headstart cards offering advice on a range of common issues.
On Course Support
As a care leaver/care experienced student you are eligible for the Plus Programme which includes:
- Study skills workshops
- Personal skills workshops, such as budgeting, confidence building, wellbeing
- Employability workshops and notifications of opportunities for internships, jobs and volunteering
- Mentoring schemes
- Social events
- Personal support from our contact for care leaver and care experienced students
- Help with accessing support services –careers, LUU, Skills@Library, counselling, personal tutors etc– so you don’t have to keep repeating your situation
Helpful Information
You can read about more help you can receive from the information provided by these charities to assist care leavers in Higher Education:
If you'd like to book an appointment to talk about your care experienced status or the support available at the University of Leeds, please email careleavers@leeds.ac.uk.