“Only 14% of care leavers go on to university. Without the support of a family or financial stability, university can feel like an unrealistic option. When I applied for the Sutton Trust Summer School, it was the first time I saw care experience represented in the selection criteria – The Sutton Trust not only understood the barriers I faced in accessing higher education, but also actively worked to break them down, helping me feel confident in applying to university. I’m now in my second year at the University of Oxford!” – Chloe Pomfret, UK Summer School alum 2021

There are over 83,000 children and young people in care in England alone. BECOME, a national charity supporting young people in care and care leavers, found that only 13% of care leavers in England progressed to higher education by age 19[1], compared to 46% of the general population. This figure is even lower in Scotland with only 8% progressing to higher education by age 19.

There are many barriers that care experienced young people face trying to access higher education. Many carers and advisers often lack specialist knowledge and information to help guide young people through applying to university. Care-experienced students can experience a lack of financial stability, and nearly 50% experience one or more mental health conditions[2]. For those who do overcome these barriers to access university, many then do not receive adequate support while studying – care-experienced students are over 5 times more likely to withdraw from their course than their non-care-experienced peers[3].

We know that with the right guidance and support all students can reach their potential. At the Sutton Trust, we support students from less advantaged backgrounds to access university, apprenticeships, and careers. Through our evidence-led programmes, we help students explore their options and make informed decisions about their future. Our evidence shows that students who take part in one of our programmes are two times more likely[4] to receive an offer from a leading university.

We’re already offering some support tailored to care-experienced students on our programmes, such as automatically offering places on the majority of our programmes to students who disclose care experience and who meet our academic criteria, underscoring our commitment to ensuring our programmes are accessible.

We’ve worked with organisations like BECOME and the Unite Foundation, who both offer specialist guidance and expertise for care-experienced students, to inform our work and increase our team’s understanding of the particular needs of students with care experience.

And our programmes provide well-rounded support to all students. We run sessions on financial support and housing options at university, we provide tips and resources on managing mental health, and we make sure students know where to go for support at university or during their apprenticeship. We then continue to support students beyond their programme through our extensive alumni work and our fantastic alumni community.

We know we can do more to support care-experienced students to access and succeed in higher education and in their careers. We’re providing tailored content on our online platform, Sutton Trust Online, highlighting specific resources and support for care-experienced students such as bursaries and year-round accommodation. This content has been reviewed by care-experienced alumni to make sure it’s as relevant and helpful as possible.

We’re ensuring that all students who declare care experience on their application are contacted by a designated member of the Sutton Trust team at the start of their programme, providing a single named point of contact and support throughout their time on the programme.

And we’re working with our alumni community to improve peer support for care-experienced students at key transition points, such as moving to university or starting employment, ensuring students have a supportive network from those who can relate to their experiences.

We’re committed to learning and to improving the support we offer so that all students – particularly care-experienced students – can overcome the barriers they may face and to succeed in higher education, apprenticeships, and careers. If you think we could improve something or have any ideas of what other support we could offer, then please do get in touch with us via email at [email protected]!

Reference list

  1. Help for universities and colleges. BECOME website, accessed October 2024.
  2. HE provider good practice briefing for care experienced students. UCAS, accessed October 2024.
  3. Unite Foundation evidence to parliamentary committee.
  4. Sutton Trust programmes.