1. Student

University of Brighton pre-enrolment support:

• At Brighton we support all students who identify as a care leaver, students are eligible for a care leavers bursary if they; are starting an eligible course in academic year 2020-2021; are under the age of 25; have been in care of, or been given accommodation by, their local authority for a period of at least 13 weeks before the age of 16; students who are under a Special Guardianship Order or in supported housing including Foyer accommodation are also eligible; are normally resident in England; have been assessed by Student Finance England as eligible to receive the full package of tuition fee loan and maintenance loan; have a residual annual household income of up to £25,000; are studying a full-time course, part-time students who meet the other criteria will be eligible for a pro rata bursary if they study is between 30 and 90 credits.
• At Brighton pre-enrolment support is delivered by the Outreach team. We provide a two-day university taster experience for children in care in Years 7, 8 and 9. It offers a student shadowing programme, which gives children in care the chance to attend a lecture with a student and discuss student life.
• All care leaver students are eligible to be part of our enhanced Outreach programme, giving them priority access to all tasters, conferences, summer schools and 1:1 application support.
• The University of Brighton works closely with East Sussex Virtual School, the University of Sussex, foster carers, social workers, personal advisers and schools to ensure that young people in care have the information they need to make informed choices about attending university.
• The university also offers advice and guidance to foster carers, social workers and personal advisers to help them navigate higher education for the young people they work with/who are placed with them. The Outreach Officer at the university is the main point of contact for these professionals.

Support for all enrolled self-identified care leavers students

• Care Leavers are contacted by a designated Student Support Guidance Tutor (SSGT) pre-enrolment and remain linked to this primary contact for the duration of the course. This is the primary contact for pastoral issues and wellbeing support. The SSGT is available to the CL throughout their studies, and across all levels of study
• The Residential Life team proactively contact care leavers living in university accommodation at the beginning of the year to offer support and make sure they are aware of the social activities and community events available in halls. They are offered the opportunity to meet regularly throughout the year
• We offer starter packages to care leavers who start a course at the university, which includes items such as bedding and utensils
• Brighton Student Union provide all access freshers activity passes and free UOB branded hoody.
• Study skills assistance – to help you with the academic demands of university, Care Leavers get priority access to one to one study skills sessions with a specialist tutor familiar with the needs of your course.
• Mentoring – All Care Leavers are guaranteed a mentor through the University’s Momentum programme. We have identity and non-identity based programmes and amazing professionals trained ready to support care leavers
• Accommodation – CL are guaranteed university accommodation for 365 days for their first year of study. The longest contract we offer in our halls of residence is 50 weeks. When allocating Care Leavers, they are prioritised for their preferred accommodation and we will always ensure they are in a 50 week contract (unless they have requested otherwise). However, should CL’s require accommodation for an additional amount of time after that 50 week period, we allow them to stay in the room and just arrange this directly. So yes, we can offer accommodation for the full year.
• We cannot act as a guarantor for CL’s or any students. However, CL’s do have the option to remain in university accommodation throughout their studies and they do not require a guarantor to stay in our accommodation, whether it be halls or houses. Additionally, we now offer university-managed houses to returners, so CL’s could still embark on a “normal” second/third year experience by renting a university-managed house with a group of chosen peers, without any disadvantage concerning guarantors.
• We offer all care leaver students a guaranteed interview to be part of our student ambassador scheme (£10.43 ph). This scheme offers paid employment and employability skills
• In addition, care leavers who meet the eligibility criteria outlined at the start of this document will receive the Bursary package – the award is a cash bursary of £1,000 for each year of study.

2. A Robust Employment Offer

University of Brighton is keen to explore through our upcoming review of care leaver support, how we could respond to this aspect of the Covenant.

3. Community

• The University of Brighton works closely with East Sussex Virtual School, the University of Sussex, foster carers, social workers, personal advisers and schools to ensure that young people in care have the information they need to make informed choices about attending university.
• The university also offers advice and guidance to foster carers, social workers and personal advisers to help them navigate higher education for the young people they work with/who are placed with them. The Outreach Officer at the university is the main point of contact for these professionals.