Support for care leavers and care experienced students

Our Outreach Team offer a variety of activities and events which are open to all, as well as activities which are exclusive to care leaver/care experienced students in Years 10 and 12. Some of these events will need to be booked by a teacher or carer, and some you can book yourself.

We organise:

• Open days
• Subject and University taster sessions
• Campus tours and visits
• Conferences
• Talks about how to choose a course, student finance, personal statements and more…

We also visit schools and colleges to talk to students about applying to university and the support on offer. Find out more on our Schools and Colleges pages.

If you would like to attend an event, help with filling in your UCAS application or information and advice about anything related to higher education study, please email arucares@aru.ac.uk

Care Professionals

We welcome enquiries from carers, personal advisors, support workers and teachers who are helping young people to transition to higher education. We run an annual conference for foster carers, designated members of staff and other care professionals. For more information, please email arucares@aru.ac.uk

Our team are your point of contact throughout your studies whether you are a Care Leaver or are Care Experienced – we will check in with you during your first six weeks at ARU and will agree what you would like our contact to look like going forward (for example, a monthly phone call or email check in, a less regular check in, or us simply emailing you any updates to the support).

We will give you information and advice about a range of support and can refer you to other specialist services if relevant and with your consent. We are here to support you through your ARU journey and you can always get in touch with us using our dedicated email address care-leavers@aru.ac.uk. We will be happy to help.

The Student Experience Team is made up of:

Jamie Carson
Student Experience Manager

Elly Page
Student Experience Coordinator,
Cambridge

Nicki Sinclair
Student Experience Coordinator,
Chelmsford

Elly will be your main point of contact if you study in Cambridge and Nicki will be your main contact if you study in Chelmsford or Peterborough. However, if you would rather speak to a male, just let us know and we can arrange for Jamie to be your point of contact.

Debbie Barker (Student Money Adviser) also supports the Student Experience Team to offer Care Leavers and Care Experienced students advice on any funding related questions. You can contact her using our care-leavers@aru.ac.uk email address too.

Care Leavers only

If you’ve been in local authority care on or after your 16th birthday, you'll be eligible for University-managed accommodation throughout your studies in Cambridge and Chelmsford:

• University-managed accommodation in Cambridge (under ‘our properties’)
• University-managed accommodation in Chelmsford

As a Care Leaver you are also eligible for 365-day accommodation within University-managed accommodation throughout your studies (regardless of whether you are a September or January starter).

However, this will be made up of two contracts each year – for example for a September starter, this would be made up of an initial let (September-June) and a summer let (June-September).

Although you may be required to move rooms between lets, please be assured that you will not be left without accommodation at any point.

To ensure you are guaranteed a room in your first year, you need to apply for accommodation by 30 June, notify Residential Services that you are a Care Leaver and provide the relevant evidence, and have firmly accepted ARU as your first choice.

If you speak to Residential Services after this date, we will do our best to accommodate you. However, we cannot guarantee a place in ARU-managed accommodation in your first year.

To notify Residential Services of your Care Leaver status, you can either contact the team directly (for the Cambridge campus please email cambaccom@aru.ac.uk and for the Chelmsford campus: essexaccom@aru.ac.uk) or you can contact the Student Experience Team at care-leavers@aru.ac.uk who can support you with this.

If you have any questions about accessing accommodation as a Care Leaver at ARU, both the Residential Service Team and the Student Experience Team would be happy to help.

If you are struggling to pay the £300 to secure your ARU accommodation please contact Debbie on care-leavers@aru.ac.uk or by calling 01245 684288 to discuss if we can defer payment until you receive your student funding.

If you are planning on moving into the private sector, we are unable to move the due date for any deposits, but in exceptional circumstances we may be able to pay any Care Leaver’s Bursary early.

Care Leavers and Care Experienced students

Our Residential Service can also assist you to secure accommodation in the private rented sector.

For more information please email:

• Cambridge Campus - cambaccom@aru.ac.uk
• Chelmsford Campus - essexaccom@aru.ac.uk

Care Leavers only

At ARU, we have a Student Money Advice Service who can run a “Money MOT” with you to check that you are accessing all of the funding you are entitled to, from your Local Authority and Student Finance England, etc. For example:

Care Leavers starting university should receive a £2,000 Higher Education Bursary from their Local Authority to help with the costs of university life. This will usually be paid in instalments over the duration of your course. All local authorities must pay a bursary to Care Leavers who go on to higher education.

Some local authorities choose to provide further support in excess of this £2,000. This can be in the form of help with housing costs, a weekly allowance, or support towards tuition fees. You are advised to contact your local authority to discuss what support is available and in what form, as this varies between authorities.

The £2,000 Higher Education Bursary is available to any Care Leaver who started a course of higher education on or after September 2008 and before their 25th birthday.

Care Leavers only

Full-time students under 25 are either classed as independent or dependent on their parents'/legal guardian's household income. Students who are married or have dependent children at the start of their course are automatically classed as independent.

Under 25s are usually classed as dependent but, if evidence is supplied that shows that you have spent time in care or are estranged from your parents, you can be assessed as independent which usually means maximum funding.

If you have studied before in Higher Education, you should contact the Student Money Advice Service to discuss the previous study regulations and how this may impact you. Sometimes if you had to leave your previous course due to “Compelling Personal Reasons” you can be granted additional funding.

For further information on what funding is available please see the our Help with finances pages.

Care Leavers only

If you are struggling to pay the £300 to secure your ARU accommodation please contact Debbie on care-leavers@aru.ac.uk or by calling 01245 684288 to discuss if we can defer payment until you receive your student funding.

If you are planning on moving into the private sector we are unable to move the due date for any deposits but in exceptional circumstances we may be able to pay any Care Leaver’s Bursary early.

Care Leavers and Care Experienced students

We also have Hardship Funds if you find yourself struggling financially during university, Care Leavers and estranged students are a priority for these.

We also have additional funds to help with the cost of diagnostic testing and any costs associated with Disabled Students Allowance, help if you have unpaid placements as part of your course, grants for overseas experiences including study abroad or field trips, as well as an Internship Bursary.

The Student Money Advice Service can advise you on what funding is available, how to apply and what you may receive as well as discussing money management to help make your money go further. Email moneyadvice@aru.ac.uk or by call 01245 686700