The University of East London (UEL) is pleased to be committing to the Care Leaver Covenant to support students and staff from care leaver backgrounds. We understand and recognise the challenges that care leavers experience. We are committed to supporting care leaver students by removing barriers and ensuring that we empower them to increase their chances of succeeding at UEL.

We are members of The National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL). Through our commitment to the care leaver covenant, we are looking at how we can be more active in our membership. We advertise the support we offer to care leavers on the Propel website. Students Care leavers are specifically identified as target groups with a priority status for action and support throughout the student life cycle in the university’s 2020-2025 Access and Participation Plan. We are committed to continually improving the student experience of care experienced students and regularly review our offering in line with student feedback.

Outreach

• One-to-one information, advice, and guidance with a specialist advisor to support students with course choices, entry requirements, and pre-entry support
• Free access to any of the university’s Pre-Entry programmes, including the award-winning New Beginnings, as well as a package of practical and academic support
• Priority access to pre-entry access events, such as Summer Schools and University taster days, hosted by our Schools and Colleges team
• At the pre-entry level, we work in partnership with local Virtual Schools to promote access to higher education.
• We also work with third-sector organisations such as the Uni Connect programme to ensure our outreach activities reach care-experienced school-aged students.
• If you would like to find out more about the pre-entry events available to care-experienced students, please email: outreachandaccess@uel.ac.uk
• You can find out more about our IAG service and pre-entry programmes: https://www.uel.ac.uk/study/information-advice-guidance

Finance

•  Specific financial bursary of up to £1,500 for care-experienced students and priority access to hardship funds
• Dedicated support with the Student Finance application process to ensure maximum funding entitlement
• Financial support towards university accommodation during the summer
• A graduation bursary of up to £500 to assist with the costs of graduation Accommodation
• Priority access to year-round university accommodation
• Dedicated accommodation advisor within our Residential Life team
• Specialist workshops and social events run by the Residential Life team (e.g., life skills, Christmas dinner)

Mental Health and Wellbeing

• Reviewing care leaver students’ attendance and identifying those with low attendance. Identified students would be contacted by our vulnerable groups’ team to offer an appropriate support plan.
• Designated members of staff to offer hands-on support to care leaver students via telephone, dedicated drop-in sessions, and a designated email
• Direct referrals to our wellbeing and academic staff members to provide ongoing holistic support
• Raising awareness around the issues that care leavers face to staff via internal comms and events, (E.g., National Care Leaver Week)

Employment

• We guarantee all applicants who declare that they are care leavers an automatic interview for the Student Ambassador Scheme. This scheme provides paid work experience and professional development opportunities.
• Our dedicated Care Leaver and Estranged Students Advisors ensure care leaver students are aware of the opportunity and are encouraged to apply.
• Our funded internship scheme provides UEL students with the opportunity to work in exciting and varied internship roles both at the university and with our external partners.
• Our Career Zone Platform, accessible to all UEL students, hosts volunteering and paid work opportunities. Our students are eligible for ongoing career support post-graduation.
• Through our commitment to the Care Leaver Covenant, we shall explore how we might extend this further to ensure care leaver students are utilising the available opportunities.

We are an inclusive employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds, including care leavers, to apply for jobs within the university.

Community

Through our commitment to the Care Leaver Covenant, we shall explore how this might extend further.

• Care leavers in the community can access the UEL Legal advice centre which provides a free service of legal advice. The service is provided by students of the University supervised by experienced practising solicitors. We aim to assist in relation to any legal problem: www.uel.ac.uk/our-research/research-royal-docks-school-business-law-rdsbl/uel-legal-advice-centre
• If you would like to book an appointment with our Legal Advice Centre, please email: legaladvicecentre@uel.ac.uk.
• We offer a variety of free events to the local community. This includes conferences, workshop talks, exhibitions and more. You can access events open to the community on our events page: https://www.uel.ac.uk/about/events

Contacts

• If you have any questions, please get in contact with our Care Leaver and Estranged Students Advisors, Katarina Blanco and Alexandria Manning. You can either call them via The Hub on +44 (0)208 223 4444 or email at youngindependent@uel.ac.uk
• We publicise our package of support for care leavers on our website: https://www.uel.ac.uk/study/students/care-leavers