Student Advice and Support Service

Care experienced students are defined differently by Local Authorities, Student Finance and the University.

You are care experienced if you have spent time living with foster carers under local authority care, in residential care (e.g. a children’s home), looked after at home under a supervision order, or in kinship care (looked after by relatives or friends). You can learn more about this through UCAS

Accessing support as a care experienced student

You will have been asked to declare your care leaver status on your UCAS form and student finance application. If you didn’t declare at this stage or during the Loughborough University registration process, you may still be eligible for support if you let the University know that you have experience of care (email careleavers@lboro.ac.uk)

To access general support as a care experienced student please email careleavers@lboro.ac.uk  

To access support with money and housing related matters you can also make an appointment with the Student Advice and Support Service.

Care experienced HE students and graduates of any age can also join the ‘This Is Us’ student led community where they can chat with others, share helpful info, arrange meet-ups, organise games-night, find existing local groups near you, run day-trips/holidays, have serious conversations, give peer-support, pose questions, etc

Accessing financial support as a care experienced student

Depending upon your individual circumstance you may be eligible for financial support from your home local authority. Speak to your local authority about this. There is also a wealth of information on the Become charity website. 

There is a special package of support for care experienced students available from Loughborough University including the Care Leavers Bursary. 

Please note: Only students enrolled on an undergraduate degree programme (including Foundation Studies) can be eligible for the Care Leavers Bursary. This does not include the Art & Design Foundation programme or students on postgraduate courses.

For the purposes of the Care Leavers’ Bursary, a Care Leaver is defined as a young person who has been in care of the local authority and/or Health & Social Care Trust for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14. Care Leavers who have subsequently been adopted, or are the subject of a Special Guardianship Order, will not automatically be eligible for this enhanced financial award. Detailed eligibility information is set out in the Loughborough University Bursary terms and conditions in the Student Handbook.

To apply for the Care Leavers bursary, you will need to complete the application below by clicking the link.

Care leavers bursary application form

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You only need to complete the application once to establish entitlement for the whole of your course (note that the Bursary is not paid during a placement year). If you need help with the application form please contact Careleavers@lboro.ac.uk.

Financial assistance may be granted from the Hardship Fund Summer Scheme if you are living independently over the summer. It is expected that students will attempt to find paid work or other means of supporting themselves over the summer but should explain if they have reasonable grounds for not doing so.

New students who are care experienced can request a Dunelm Care Experienced Welcome Pack*. The aim of the pack is to help you settle into University life with all the essentials you need. If you would like a pack, please email Careleavers@lboro.ac.uk as soon as your place at Loughborough is confirmed.

The pack contains the following**

 *Subject to availability

** Pack contents could change due to availability of items

Loughborough University Student Carer Statement of Intent:

• Loughborough University defines Student Carers as anyone who cares for a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and could not cope without your support. This definition does not include student parents caring for their children. 
• We value our diverse student body and are committed to providing opportunities and improving support for students from widening participation groups. We recognise that student carers are one of those groups and may require additional support across the four stages of the student lifecycle: Access, Continuation, Attainment and Progression.
• We are committed to working with student carers to improve the support offered and to ensure they feel heard and can identify as part of the Loughborough University community. We will listen to student carer voices and provide opportunities for students and staff to share ideas and bring about positive change.

Accessing support as a student carer

You can access support as a student carer by completing the form below and providing details of your caring responsibilities and the impact you think they might have on your studies.

Click on the image below to request support as a student carer

Once you have submitted the student carer support form, a wellbeing adviser will contact you on your university email address to arrange an appointment. 

You may face additional expenses as a carer, for example if you have to travel home more frequently. The University Hardship Fund may be able to help with this. You can make an appointment with the Student Advice and Support Service if you would like help with the application.

Financial assistance may be granted from the Hardship Fund Summer Scheme if students are living independently over the summer, prevented from supporting themselves due to caring responsibilities or have other family, personal or health difficulties. It is expected that students will attempt to find paid work or other means of supporting themselves over the summer but should explain if they have reasonable grounds for not doing so.

You can read more about support services available to Loughborough students who are carers here.

You are estranged if you don’t have support from your parents (biological, step or adoptive) due to a breakdown in your relationship.

 There are many reasons why someone becomes estranged, which could include (but are not limited to): being homeless/at risk of homelessness, being a victim of domestic abuse by family members, having experienced/been threatened with 'honour'-based violence or forced marriage or being disowned/rejected for being LGBTQ+ or because of life choices which parents disagree with. You can learn more about this through UCAS

Depending upon whether the estrangement has been disclosed, and whether sufficient evidence has been provided, you may be classed as “estranged” by Student Finance and be assessed for maintenance support as an independent student i.e. based upon your own income rather than your parents’.

If you are treated as an independent student by Student Finance, you will be more likely to receive the maximum funding including the Loughborough University Bursary.

Evidencing your estrangement can be complicated so please make an appointment with the Student Advice and Support Service for more help.

You can also visit Stand Alone for more information.

Financial assistance may be granted from the Hardship Fund Summer Scheme if students are living independently over the summer due to being estranged from their family. It is expected that students will attempt to find paid work or other means of supporting themselves over the summer but should explain if they have reasonable grounds for not doing so.

Accessing support as an estranged student

To access general support as an estranged student if you can contact:

• Loughborough campus - wellbeingadviser@lboro.ac.uk
• London campus - london-welfare@lboro.ac.uk 

Estranged HE students and graduates of any age can also join the ‘This Is Us’ student led community where they can chat with others, share helpful info, arrange meet-ups, organise games-night, find existing local groups near you, run day-trips/holidays, have serious conversations, give peer-support, pose questions, etc 

Some students may not fall into the above categories but may lack support for a number of other reasons. You may not be a care leaver, young adult carer or estranged but nonetheless have difficult relationships with your parents.

This may be due to:

• Family breakdown
• Parental mental health issues
• A mismatch in expectations and the student's life choices

Parents may in some circumstances have withdrawn their cooperation with Student Finance means-testing, leaving you with the minimum amount of funding. If you are in this situation, book an appointment with the Student Advice and Support Service. An Adviser can help you to understand your options and maximise your income.  

Financial assistance may be granted from the Hardship Fund Summer Scheme if students are living independently over the summer, possibly due to being a care leaver, estranged from their family, prevented from supporting themselves due to caring responsibilities or other family, personal or health difficulties which make it necessary to stay in Loughborough. It is expected that students will attempt to find paid work or other means of supporting themselves over the summer but should explain if they have reasonable grounds for not doing so.

Accessing support

To access general support, you can contact:

• Loughborough campus - wellbeingadviser@lboro.ac.uk
• London campus - london-welfare@lboro.ac.uk