Support for Estranged Students

We have a dedicated contact person for estranged students – Wendy Price. Wendy and her small team work with each student to provide a confidential bespoke support plan to help them achieve their full potential during their time with us. Information about the support we offer can be found on our webpages www.sunderland.ac.uk/estranged.

Each student will be offered an induction meeting to confirm that they have accommodation, student finance and other support confirmed. We can also let you know if you could be eligible to receive the We Care Scholarship of £2,000 per year. For further information please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.

The term ‘estranged student’ is used to refer to students who are studying without the support of a family network. If the following applies to you, we have a support package in place to assist you:

• Studying a full-time, undergraduate or taught postgraduate course
• Aged under 25 on the first day of the academic year (1 September)
• UK ‘home’ student
• Irreconcilably estranged from both parents/carers

By ‘irreconcilably estranged’ we mean that either:

• You have had no contact at all with your parents/carers for at least 12 months and this is unlikely to change
• You can demonstrate on other grounds that you are estranged from your parents/carers, for example in exceptional circumstances
• You are assessed as independent by Student Finance England (SFE) because you are estranged from both parents/carers

For estrangement cases that cannot be confirmed by SFE, proof of evidence of ‘genuine estrangement’ would need to be supplied to the University. All applications of estrangement are assessed on an individual basis.

For more details please see https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/help/student-support/estranged/definition/.

Please note, you will not be considered estranged simply on the basis that you live separately from your parents, have recently fallen out with your parents, or your parents are unwilling to complete income assessment forms or contribute towards your student finance.

If you are unsure whether you are an estranged student, or what you may be eligible for, please contact our Estranged Students Support Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.