Support for Care Experienced Students

We have a dedicated contact person for care experienced* 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/careleavers

Each student will be offered an induction meeting to confirm that they have accommodation, student finance and other support confirmed. We can liaise with your Local Authority if you want us to. We can also let you know if you could be eligible to receive the We Care Bursary of £2,500 per year. To find out more, please contact the We Care Team on 0191 515 2216 or email care.contact@sunderland.ac.uk.

* Our definition of care experienced is someone who, at any stage of their life, and for any length of time, has been in care e.g. looked after by the local authority.

This includes the following:

• spent time in the care of the local authority (e.g. foster care or children’s home)
• privately fostered
• ‘looked after at home’ under a supervision order
• ‘In kinship care (where a friend or family member becomes the foster carer). Kinship care can be through a formal arrangement, recognised by the local authority, and could be prior to a Special Guardianship Order’.

We recognise that someone may have had earlier or shorter experiences of care and may not have received ongoing support from their local authority. This may also be the case if someone has left care through adoption, or is aged over 25 years, therefore no longer receives statutory support.

For more details please see: https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/help/student-support/care-leavers/care-experienced-student/