Care Leavers Week: How does USW support our care leavers?

28 October, 2024

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This week (28 October – 1 November) marks National Care Leavers Week 2024.

USW plays an important role in shaping a supportive environment for care-experienced students to help them feel valued, encouraged, and empowered to pursue their goals.

The University of South Wales is a member of CLASS (Care Leaver Activities and Student Support) Cymru partnership, who share best practice relating to care leavers across higher education institutions in Wales.

Lynda Jones, Senior Progression Adviser in Student Services, is also USW’s Care Leaver Co-ordinator. Lynda and the wider Progression team are the first point of contact that prospective care leaver students have when speaking directly to the University.

In the video below, Lynda discusses the importance of raising awareness and touches upon the Fostering Network’s Tick the Box campaign with UCAS.

At USW, care leavers can access extensive support, including:

  • A care leaver bursary for students who are classed as ‘home’ students – currently £1,000 for full-time students, or £500 for part-time students
  • A mentor who will be their main contact throughout their studies
  • Access to 365-day accommodation for full-time students – as long as you meet payment and terms and conditions
  • A graduation award to support related costs such as gown hire and photograph package

Holly Pensom, a first year Education student says the Tick the Box campaign helped her start her USW journey. She said: “I’ve always wanted to go to university and get a qualification to become a teacher. As soon as I moved out of foster care, the first thing I did was apply to university and I’ve had support ever since.

“I’m so glad I ticked the box when I applied through UCAS because that extra bit of funding and support has helped me with travelling to the University campus and living independently now that I have my own flat. It’s also helped my confidence grow.

“Care Leavers Week gives us a voice. I’ve gone through meetings with other care leavers, and we’ve either felt not listened to or not had much of a say. You never know raising awareness may even make more care leavers want to come to university.”

More information about the Tick the Box exercise can be found here: https://www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/get-involved/our-campaigns/tick-box

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