The number of care leavers entering higher education has risen over the last couple of years by about a fifth - but the financial support local authorities provide to help fulfil these aspirations has fallen sharply, according to a CYP Now investigation.
Freedom of information requests were submitted to all England's 152 top-tier local authorities to build a picture of the educational participation of young people who leave the care system. The results are timed to coincide with this year's National Care Leavers' Week.
Seventy-eight authorities responded to the question regarding the number of care leavers in higher education. The total number in those authorities rose from 920 in 2010/11 to 1,095 in 2012/13 - an increase of 19 per cent.
Fifty-four authorities provided figures for how much support care leavers in higher education received in each of the past three financial years.
Here, it emerged that total funding to help them during their studies is on the wane. Combined funding for care leavers in higher education from the authorities stood at £4.44m in 2010/11, but by 2012/13, it had fallen to £3.51m - a drop of 20.8 per cent.
Higher ambition
The increase in care leavers entering university contrasts with demand for places among the population as a whole. The hike in tuition fees caused applications for all courses to drop by 7.7 per cent in 2012/13 alone, according to admissions service UCAS.
Natasha Finlayson, chief executive of The Who Cares? Trust, said: "It's good news if the number of care leavers going to university is rising. However, we must remember that the overall percentage remains disappointingly low."
Six per cent enter higher education and 29 per cent go onto further education, according to the latest Department for Education data on looked-after children.
"Our research shows that a third of young care leavers aren't aware of the financial support they're entitled to for education from their local authority," added Finlayson. "This may either put care leavers off pursuing higher education altogether, or mean that they struggle financially during their studies."
Local authorities are required to pay the Higher Education Bursary of £2,000 to all eligible care leavers going on to university. On a discretionary basis, they should also pay for registration fees, course fees, exam fees, equipment, course books, activities and transport.
Finlayson said: "Supporting care leavers into higher education is not just about the overall spending of local authorities.
"We'd like to see local authorities and universities working more closely together to ensure every care leaver who wants to go to university receives a package of support tailored to their individual needs."
The drop in funding for care leavers in higher education comes as the government's social mobility tsar Alan Milburn warned this month in the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission's first annual report that prospects for children are going into reverse for the first time in a century.
CYP Now's investigation also reveals an increase in reported numbers of care leavers engaged in further education.
Information provided by 59 authorities responding to the question show that the figure rose by 6.51 per cent over the three-year period - from 4,270 in 2010/11 to 4,548 in 2012/13.
Unlike funding for higher education, corresponding financial support for those in further education grew at a broadly equivalent rate to the growth in numbers.
Of the 30 authorities revealing details of their financial support for care leavers in higher education, the figure went from £4.13m in 2010/11 to £4.42m in 2013/14 - a rise of 7.2 per cent. A 16-19 bursary scheme began in 2011 entitling looked-after young people and care leavers to a £1,200 bursary if they stay in full-time education.
Care leaver grant
However, over the three-year period, support paid out in setting-up home grants - also known as the care leaver grant - has increased more significantly.
Among the 60 local authorities that provided data here, the total amount of setting up home grants rose by 27.3 per cent (from a combined £2.74m in 2010/11 to £3.49m in 2012/13).
The rise in funding follows a government drive to improve local authority support for care leavers. In April, children's minister Edward Timpson announced that more than two-thirds of councils have signed up to the government's Care Leavers' Charter, launched in October 2012.
At the time of the launch, Timpson said that minimum grants of £2,000 per care leaver would be an "acceptable level".
Concerns have previously been raised about a "postcode lottery" in support for care leavers attempting to set up home - an investigation by CYP Now two years ago found council grants to ease the transition to independent living ranged from £750 to £2,500.
HIGHER EDUCATION
The figures supplied to CYP Now show that although the number of care leavers in higher education is increasing, the amount they receive in support has fallen by more than 20 per cent.
Susan Mueller, manager of Buttle UK's Quality Mark scheme, awarded to colleges and universities that commit to support a young person who has been in care, comments: "It is positive news that the number of care leavers progressing to higher education is increasing. Initiatives like the Buttle Quality Mark have helped to raise awareness of the barriers that care leavers face at higher and further education as well as the provision now being put in place for them.
"It is disappointing that financial support from local authorities for children in care and care leavers appears to be decreasing. Sometimes funding decisions are made during a student's course that can put them in financial difficulty or jeopardise their chances of being able to continue or complete their course. Local authorities need to be clear from the start on what financial support will be provided, ensure that they fulfil a student's entitlement to funding and commit to the support for the duration of the course.
"There is clearly work that needs to be done to ensure that the interests of care leavers in further and higher education remain on the agenda"
FURTHER EDUCATION
The number of care leavers in further education has also increased, by 6.51 per cent between 2010/11 and 2012/13, with financial support rising by 7.2 per cent over the period. At first glance, the figures for care leavers in further education and the support they receive appear to be a cause for optimism.
Gareth Crossman, director at The Adolescent and Children Trust (Tact), comments: "Unfortunately, these modest rises are little to get excited about. Closer investigation shows a significant rise in funding in 2011/12 to £4.98m has since diminished by half a million pounds to the current level. Slight increases in both numbers and funding means that the amount available per individual care leaver remains static.
"Change is happening at a snail's pace. Numbers in 'Staying Put' placements, allowing care leavers to stay with foster carers until 21, increased by a total of just 10 places nationwide last year.
"Care leavers continue to bemoan the lack of encouragement, support and information available. Many former looked-after children go on to achieve great things, but largely remain hampered by a system that fails to match their ambitions."
SETTING-UP HOME GRANTS
The biggest increase in support from local authorities for care leavers comes in the form of the setting-up home grant, also known as the care leavers grant.
Emma James, policy and research officer at Barnardo's, comments: "It is good to see the total amount paid to care leavers in their leaving care (home start) grants has increased in the past three years. Edward Timpson's letter to local authorities recommending that all care leavers receive the amount of £2,000 has obviously had some impact. However, the amount paid to care leavers still varies considerably across the country and even within the same authorities. This is unfair and means that yet again there is a postcode lottery when it comes to entitlements for care leavers.
"Perhaps a minimum amount should be in legislation to ensure that no care leaver slips through the net. The average age a young person who has not been in care leaves home is 25 and as we know, care leavers are often forced to become independent as early as 16, minus the parental support or resources of many of their peers.
"This is why accruing the basics in their first home is so important. Although the leaving care grant is crucial, so is ongoing support. All care leavers, not just those in education, employment or training, must be able to receive advice and support from a personal adviser up until the age of 25."
GOVERNMENT CARE LEAVER STATISTICS
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The number of young people given care leaver status each year has increased by 14.2 per cent between 2008/09 and 2012/13 - from 8,750 to 9,990.
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In each of the last three years, the number of young people given care leaver status has remained largely constant - 10,010 in 2010/11, 10,040 in 2011/12 and 9,990 in 2012/13.
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Most recent government figures show that the number of 19-year-old care leavers in higher education as of 31 March 2013, who were looked after when they were 16, was 400.
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The figure, a reduction from the 2012 figure of 430, is lower than the level reported to CYP Now by local authorities because it relates to a single-year group, rather than all young people who have care leaver status.
Source: Department for Education
