"The bridge between school and uni, that's the bit that's missing": improving access to higher education for care-experienced students

Abstract

International research has demonstrated that care-experienced young people achieve poorer educational and life course outcomes than their peers. Based on statistics from 2012, the Office for Fair Access (now the Office for Students, OfS) reported that while 60% of the general population of school leavers in the UK entered higher education (HE), only 6% of care leavers went to university. The latest data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows that this now stands at 14% of care leaversi, though growth remains slower than for the population as a whole. With rates of children taken into care increasing in Wales, there is value in understanding how best to support this group with their educational transitions. Growing from pan-Wales research into access to, and success in, HE for care-experienced young people, this paper reflects on how the experiences of care-experienced students gathered through research have been translated into action by developing a website centred around information, advice and guidance for this group and those who support them. In particular, there are reflections here on the value of collaboration between professional services and academic staff to further access and participation goals in a university setting.