Care experienced & estranged students support

We are committed to providing fair access, information, advice, guidance and support to Care Leavers, Care Experienced and Estranged students. As one of these students, you may be entitled to additional financial support as well as pre-entry guidance and on-course support.

If you are a Care Leaver

At the University of Reading we define a care leaver as a young person under the age of 25 (upon entry to their course) who is registered on their first undergraduate programme and:

you are a 'home' student for fee purposes
you have been “looked after” by arrangement of the local authority for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and in care on your 16th birthday.
Care includes but is not limited to; foster care, semi-independent living, residential care homes.
It does not include care workers or applicants who have been involved solely in the provision of care.

If you are Care Experienced

At the University of Reading we recognise that any time spent in local authority care can have a significant impact on educational opportunities and outcomes, and therefore provide pre-entry and on-course support to students who have spent any time in local authority care.

You are considered care experienced if you have:

spent time in local authority care
you are registered on a full-time undergraduate course
you are classed as a 'home' student
you are under 25 years of age at the start of their course

If you are Estranged

Estranged students are those who are studying without the support and approval of either of their living parents due to a break down in their relationship and this is unlikely to change- this might be biological or adoptive parents and sometimes wider Kinship carers such as grandparents, aunts or uncles. There are many complex reasons for being estranged, and no two circumstances are the same.

Student Finance England classifies estranged students as:

A student who has not had contact with either or your parents for 12 months or more, or
A student whose relationship with their parents has broken down in the last 12 months and has no expectation this will change in the near future.

SFE will require confirmation of the estrangement from a professional person outside your family who knows about your circumstances, for example a Teacher or Social Worker, Doctor, Counsellor, Housing Support Worker, Police or Student Welfare/Adviser at College/School.

They may also ask you to provide up-to-date evidence of your estrangement every year while you're studying. To see if you qualify as an estranged student, you can check out guidance issued by the Standalone Charity.

Accessing Support

We have various teams, schemes and mechanisms to support you:

Welfare support

On arrival to Reading you will be linked up with your School designated Student Welfare Officer who will get in contact with you at the start of term and arrange to meet up to discuss your needs and how best they can support you. They are there to assist you if you are experiencing difficulties, have any concerns or are unsure where to go to for help for the duration of your studies. Whether you have academic, wellbeing or personal concerns your designated welfare officer will support you to access the right advice and support when needed. With your permission your Welfare Officer can also act as a link between you and your local authority and the University to make sure you are accessing all the support that is available to you as a care leaver.

Financial support

After talking to Student Welfare, you will know if you meet the University of Reading's criteria above, if you are then you will be eligible for cash bursaries of £1,000 in each year of study, and the Student Financial Support team will also provide financial support towards the cost of gown hire and one photograph for your graduation upon successful completion of your course

Student Welfare will pass on your details to the Student Financial Support team who will contact you to outline the support available throughout the duration of your course, including individual appointments with a named contact within our team to discuss your finances if required. The Student Financial Support team will also provide a gown hire for graduation on successful completion of your course.

Please note that the Care Experienced and Estrangement Bursary is only available for each year of undergraduate study.

Accommodation support

For new care experienced students the initial £250 Accommodation security deposit will be deferred until October, this aligns with student payments from the Student Loan Company.

Care experienced students staying in halls past their first year will be asked to pay a £250 security deposit when accepting their accommodation contract.

The security deposit, less any damage charges, will be refunded once the contract is over.

We can offer 40 week and 51 week accommodation. Students who require to stay the full 52 weeks might have to move during the summer but accommodation will be available.

For further information on accommodation please contact Sophia Hagalid, Accommodation Contract Officer at acmo@reading.ac.uk.

Careers support

The careers team supports you by providing impartial information, advice and guidance on a range of topics including identifying your strengths, discussing job options with your degree, putting together effective applications, searching for experience and opportunities, and more.

Students often find it useful to engage with us to understand the breadth of options that will have after uni, and how to find people who can help them along the way. Think of us as being like a sports coach, they are there to help you reach your full potential.

Career events (employer presentations, fairs, webinars), 1:1 appointments (application checks, career guidance, interview practice), mentoring, skills awards and lots of online resources are there for you to access when you need them.

Emma Butler is your main contact within the team, you can email her, phone on 0118 378 6614 or contact her via Teams.
You can also contact us at careers@reading.ac.uk or visit us on the first floor of the Carrington Building.

Useful links for additional support

You may also be able to access additional support outside of the University.

Student Finance information for independent students

Student Finance England (SFE) has advice specifically related to financial support in the UK for independent students. You can find out how your situation will be taken into account by SFE, what evidence you will need to support your applications for finance, and more on their definition of estrangement.

Stand Alone

Stand Alone is a charity supporting people of all ages who become estranged from their family. They offer innovative advice and support services, as well as running support groups, a range of therapeutic workshops and a programme to connect people for ongoing emotional support. They have also published online information and advice guides for all people experiencing estrangement or disownment who can’t reach a group or workshop.

Stand Alone has a designated student support portal, which offers support on a range of topics such as student finance and providing evidence.

Become Charity

Become, the charity for children in care and young care leavers, provides a range of support, as well as a dedicate advice line. You can also visit their propel site, which has specific resources for higher education.

Care experienced and estranged students support

If you are a Care Leaver

If you are Care Experienced

If you are Estranged

Accessing Support