Care-experienced children miss out on university advice, survey reveals
Joe Lepper
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Three in five children with experience of care receive no guidance on applying for university despite growing numbers wanting to progress to higher education, a survey has revealed.
The survey of care leavers and those with experience of care, who have applied for a university, found that 60 per cent have received no guidance at school or college about applying to higher education.
This means they are missing out on specific advice for young people who have been in care, on issues such as financial bursaries, year-round accommodation and mental health and disability support.
Advice around this support is especially needed as care-experienced applicants are almost twice as likely to have a disability and three times more likely to have a mental health condition.
They are also more likely to be older, with 69 per cent of applicants with experience of care aged 21 or over.
The findings have emerged in a report published by higher education admissions service UCAS and care leaver scholarships charity Unite Foundation.
A lack of information about apprenticeships is also highlighted in their report, with 45 per cent of care-experienced students feeling unsupported at looking at such options.
When applying for university value for money and overall costs are the most important considerations among more than three quarters of care experienced applicants.
UCAS warns that reasons for a lack of care specific advice include poor access to latest knowledge around benefits and support available at universities, among young people’s support networks, including teachers and personal advisors.
Despite the lack of guidance around two thirds of care-experienced university applicants say they are looking forward to meeting new people, greater independence and making a fresh start at university.
“Bespoke support for care-experienced students has the power to transform their time at university,” said Unite Foundation director Fiona Ellison.
“We hope this report will encourage colleagues across the sector to review the support they provide and explore what more they could be doing to ensure care leavers are able to benefit equitably from everything university has to offer.”
The number of UK university applicants with a care background has doubled over the last 14 years, from 4,495 in 2008 to 8,930 this year. Care-experienced people now account for 1.6 per cent of all applicants.
In its newest report in the Next Steps series, we've partnered with the @ThisIsUsAtUni Unite Foundation, to exam the educational experiences of students from a care background.
— UCAS (@ucas_online) November 30, 2022
Check out the full report 👉 https://t.co/WqsbVrJExa#CareMeAndHE pic.twitter.com/tCWxH5rj84
UCAS chief executive Clare Marchant added: “Navigating your options when applying for a traditional undergraduate degree or apprenticeships can be daunting for any student but particularly for those who may not have family to turn to for advice.
“Our report highlights that while care-experienced students have high expectations and motivations for higher education, a large proportion have little awareness of the support mechanisms in place that can help their progression, lacking crucial information, advice and guidance to support their decision-making.”
