Carers (students with caring responsibilities)
Are you caring for someone and (considering) studying at Warwick?
A student carer is a person who combines university study with caring for a family member, partner or friend who has a physical or sensory disability, learning disability, medical conditions, mental health difficulties, or has a problematic use of drugs, alcohol or gambling. You may be the main carer, or you may share this responsibility with someone else.
Juggling such responsibilities with academic study can be challenging and place additional stress on a student’s own physical and mental health. The University of Warwick provides a network of support to students which can help student carers make the most of their time as a student.
If you are under the age of 19 and provide regular care and support to a family member, you may be eligible to access additional support while studying.
Support we offer
It's important to identify yourself as a carer, so that we can advise and help you put the necessary support in place. If you're not sure where to start, have a chat with your personal tutor or Wellbeing and Student Support, who will be able to point you in the right direction.
We know not all students will want to use our services and you are under no obligation to do so but we believe it is still useful to know exactly what is available and to keep updated, if you decide you need additional help or support at a later date.
Everyone is different. That’s why we’ll work with you to create a personalised package of support. This package can be reviewed at any time to suit you.
You might find it helpful to establish contact with Wellbeing and Student Support before you arrive and discuss what support you might need during your time with us. To have an initial chat.
Examples of how the University can support you are as follows:
Providing you with student funding help and advice
Information can be found at:
Students’ Union
Student Finance
Student Funding
Providing you with accommodation advice
Information can be found at:
Warwick Accommodation
Students’ Union
Providing support with your academic work
You will be allocated a personal tutor/ supervisor, whilst at Warwick and we suggest that this person is aware of your caring responsibilities from the beginning. Whether you choose to inform them from the start or not, you will need to inform your personal tutor if your studies become affected. If you find yourself missing classes / academic commitments because of problems relating to caring for someone else, this may impact on you keeping up with your academic work so it is always important that the personal tutor is aware, so that this can be taken into consideration – please be reassured that all information will be dealt with sensitively.
Time out to be a carer
If you have to suspend your studies to care for someone, it may be possible to take a period of temporary withdrawal. You should seek advice from your personal tutor/ department in the first instance.
Information can be found at:
Your academic department (Personal Tutor/Supervisor/Department Senior Tutor/Dean of Students)
Students’ Union
For advise regarding liaison with external support agencies or support for your Wellbeing:
Information can be found at:
Wellbeing and Student Support
Students’ Union
External support:
UCAS
Coventry Carers
Carers UK
Health Centre
Please note: Warwick students will not generally be caring for other Warwick students and should you find yourself in this situation, you are strongly recommended to seek advice as soon as possible.
