Student care leavers let down by inconsistent support

Of the 279 students surveyed, 37 per cent had lost touch with their local authority, while many who were in contact reported wide variations in financial and personal support given to them by their corporate parents.

Twenty-eight higher education institutions (HEIs) were also interviewed for the research by the charitable trust Buttle UK. Many of them reported that long-standing barriers continued to hinder joint working with local authorities in their efforts to meet students’ needs. These included a lack of knowledge from local authority staff about the type of support available to care leavers, and care plans not being passed on to HEIs. 

The Buttle report said: “HEIs endeavour to respond to all needs of students previously in care, but this is sometimes time consuming". It added that the institutions want "more emphasis put on local authorities to review their support of students and their levels of joint working with HEIs.”

However, young people surveyed – 84 per cent were undergraduates aged under 24 – were also critical of the services offered by some of the HEIs, despite most of them attaining a quality mark from Buttle.

Four in 10 said they did not receive any information about support offered to care leavers when applying for places on courses, while 37 per cent said they had received no support from staff at university, despite previous surveys of care leavers highlighting the importance of this.

Only six per cent of care leavers go on to study at university, compared to a third of the general population of 19-year-olds. Lack of support to pursue a future in higher education, to help pay for living expenses while at university and with accommodation outside of term times adds to the inherent barriers looked-after children face in accessing university.

The survey found 41 per cent of respondents said financial support was the key factor influencing their choice of university, while a quarter mentioned the welfare support available. A third said that without support they would not have been able to complete their course.

Universities that have been awarded the Buttle quality mark appoint a designated lead for student care leavers, and survey respondents valued the one-to-one support these staff offered them.