#TickTheBox campaign: What support is available for care experienced young people who want to go to university or college?

Many universities still need to make significant improvements in their efforts to identify the people with care experience in their student population to provide them with the correct support. In the 2021/22 academic year, research identified that over 6,000 care leavers at UK universities may have been unknown to their institution and therefore didn’t have access to the support they are entitled to. 

‘Ticking the Box’ on your UCAS application lets your prospective universities know that you have care experience. Many universities also have opportunities for you to declare this once you begin your course to access support once you’ve started your course. Colleges have a more varied process, so make sure to ask your prospective further education college about the support they have for people with care experience and how you can access it. 

Read this UCAS blog on the main reasons you should tick the box. 

Who is ‘care experienced’? 

On the UCAS website, care experience is defined as having spent time: 

• living with foster carers under local authority care 
• in residential care, e.g. a children’s home 
• looked after at home under a supervision order 
• in kinship care with relatives or friends, either officially with a special guardianship order or informally without local authority support 

If you have any of this care experience make sure to tick the box on your UCAS application!

Keep in mind that each university has different definitions of care experience and whether or not you can access support varies depending on those definitions. Make sure to check with your prospective or current university to find out what support you are entitled to. Many universities make their support available to those who meet the legal definition of a 'care leaver' but others extend their support to care experienced people outside of this definition.

Universities are also moving towards including people with experience of adoption in their definition of 'care experience'. Some universities are further along in this process than others so contact your prospective or current university for more information.

Dispelling myths around ‘Ticking the Box’ 

What happens with the information you provide about your experiences of care? 

When you ‘Tick the box’ on your UCAS application it means that staff in the university admissions team can consider your application in context and so your chosen universities and colleges can let you know about the support you’ll be entitled to. This information is confidential and will only be shared with those who need to know. Read more on this UCAS webpage. 

Should you mention your care experience in your personal statement? 

Mentioning your care experience in your personal statement is an individual choice. Personal statements are for you to explain why you have chosen your course and the journey you have been on to get you there. If you feel that your care experience is a big part of that journey, then including your care experience may add useful context for your application. On the other hand, you might want to focus your statement on other aspects of your experience and suitability for the course. 

Read more in this blog by UCAS and Become. 

Financial support for care experienced young people 

Everyone can apply for student finance to cover tuition fees and maintenance in higher education – this is slightly different depending on where you live in the UK, so check the guides on the UCAS website for more details. 

For students with care experience, there is often dedicated funding available – usually in the form of a bursary, that does not need to be paid back. Each university has its own approach to bursaries. Search your prospective or current university on their website or through Propel to find out the specific financial support they provide. 

The 2024 #TickTheBox webinar 

In the run-up to our #TickTheBox campaign we held our 2024 #TickTheBox webinar on 23rd October for foster carers and care experienced young people. The webinar covered the support available for young people with care experience who want to go to university or college and the importance of ticking the box on the UCAS application. 

The webinar was attended by over 100 people with presentations from UCAS, National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL), Propel (Become) and the University of York. Our panelists spoke on topics such as the application process, picking the right university, support for foster carers and university good practice. 

For those who couldn’t make it or want to watch our webinar again, the recording can be found on YouTube and our website.

Watch the webinar 

Resources for prospective and current students with care experience 

Click below to access a selection of resources from organisations across the UK for young people in care and those supporting them. These resources include those that were mentioned in our 2024 Tick the Box webinar. 

Propel (Become)

Propel is an online resource run by Become. It provides information about applying for universities and colleges for care experienced young people. Becca, Senior Advice and Support Officer for Higher and Further Education for Become, presented at our webinar and provides independent support. She can answer any questions or queries you may have about going to university. 

You can contact Becca or call Become’s free Care Advice Line on 0800 023 2033, WhatsApp Become on: 0786 003 4982.

Propel are launching their new rolling webinar series offering advice and guidance for care-experienced young people applying for higher education. The first session is Wednesday 30 October at 6pm. Sign up.

You can also search the universities and colleges you are interested in to see what support they offer for care experienced people. Search using the Propel search engine. 

National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) Quality Mark

The NNECL Quality Mark was launched in 2021 and is a process where universities and colleges can demonstrate their support for the inclusion and success of students with care experience and students who are estranged.  

The Quality Mark assesses the student lifecycle from outreach through to graduation (and beyond); institutional culture and leadership; and continuous improvement and future plans. Check NNECL’s Quality Mark map to see which universities are on there and have been assessed for best practice in supporting care experienced young people. 

Apprenticeships

Amazing Apprenticeships has produced a guide to apprenticeships for care experienced young people/ care leavers. The guide includes information on how apprenticeships work, financial assistance and accessing careers advice.  

Foster their future

Foster their future is a programme run by the University of York which provides skills and knowledge to foster carers around supporting a young person in their care to go to university. 

The outcomes of the latest programme show that foster carer’s understanding of the Student Finance and bursaries, the UCAS application process and discussing higher education with care experienced young people increased substantially. 

Vanessa Conman runs the programme and shares that one foster carer stated:

“This programme has been highly informative and has given us the confidence and knowledge to support our young person when discussing further and higher education. We have learnt so much from Vanessa and the guest speakers, as well as from other foster carers. The sessions were engaging throughout, and we would highly recommend this programme to other carers.” 

SpringForward

Spring Forward is a free online mentoring programme for care-experienced young people who are thinking about going to university and would like 1:1 support in navigating their next steps.  

Mentoring starts in the Spring/Summer of Year 12 (or equivalent if you are older) and includes five 1 hour online sessions working 1:1 with an independent schoolteacher matched based on subject area expertise to support with the UCAS application and decision-making process, with an option to access an additional five sessions to help prepare for university life after the UCAS application is submitted.  

To express an interest in the programme, please email SpringForward.

Specific support in the nations

• Wales: Care Leavers Activities and Student Support (CLASS) Cymru is a Welsh-based organisation. Their website contains information and resources around universities, colleges, social services and charities across Wales who support those with care experience to go on to Further and Higher Education. Here you can find information on Wales specific university funding, making choices on your application, transitions, after university and more. 
• Scotland: Student Awards Agency Scotland provides information about admissions policies and financial support for applicants with care experience on their website. 
• Northern Ireland: Ulster University’s Pathways to Further and Higher Education For Care Experienced Young People 2024. This guide collates useful information to inform young people about opportunities in education and what they need to consider.  

UCAS guides

UCAS has a range of webpages and guides around all things further and higher education for people with care experience. 

• UCAS Undergraduate: Care experienced students - this webpage shares information about financial support, accommodation, support from local authorities and more. 

• Higher education provider good practice briefing for care experienced students – this briefing is for staff working in universities and colleges to outline the common challenges for students who have care experience and how best to improve access to higher education and support. 

• Supporting care experienced students – this webpage provides practical information for foster carers or anyone caring for young people who want to go to university on all stages of the UCAS application process.