Care Experienced Students

Young people who are Care Experienced

The information on this webpage is for young people who are thinking of applying to Warwick as an Undergraduate student and are care experienced. A definition of what this means is included below.

If you are an independent because you are a care leaver or are estranged from your parents, there is more information about the support available to you on the following webpages:

Contact us

Emily Watkins

Widening Participation Lifecycle Officer

Email:

Support for Care Experienced Students at the University

Warwick offers a wide range of pastoral, academic and financial support for students who come to study here. We have a named contact at the University (Emily Watkins) for young people who are care experienced so that you have a single point of contact to help you with any questions or queries before you get here.

Emily, and the Widening Participation Lifecycle Team, can offer support to help you navigate through the various stages of applying to Warwick and explain how you can share more information about your care experienced status with us.

Applying to Warwick as a Care Experienced Student in 2025?

Take a look at our handout for Care Experienced students:

CLICK HERE

Read about the support available and find links to support networks in the tabs below.

Definition of care experienced status

Care experienced: this means that you have been looked after for at least 3 months at any point in your childhood. This care may have been provided in many different settings, including:

Living with foster carers
Living in a residential children's home
Being looked after at home under a supervision order
Living with relatives in kinship care or under a guardianship agreement

If you were in the care of your local authority for at least 13 weeks at any time since the age of 14, and were in care on your 16th birthday, please take a look at our webpage for Care LeaversLink opens in a new window too.

Support for care experienced students

Students who have spent time in care are able to access a wide range of support from the university. This support includes:

Student Funding SupportLink opens in a new window, such as the Warwick Bursary of up to £2,500 per year (this is a means-tested bursary based on your household income)
Wellbeing SupportLink opens in a new window
Disability ServicesLink opens in a new window
Accommodation Support from the Residential Community TeamLink opens in a new window
Students UnionLink opens in a new window

Each student also has a personal tutor who they can reach out to for additional support when they study at the University. There is more information about the student support services on offer at Warwick on this webpageLink opens in a new window.

Contextual Offer

In addition, students who have spent 3 or more months in care are also eligible for a Contextual Offer from the University. There is more information about our Contextual Offer policy online hereLink opens in a new window.

What will I need to do?

When you apply to Warwick

To help the Warwick Admissions team contextualise your University application, we would encourage you to indicate that you are care experienced on your UCAS form and to ask your referee to confirm your care experience in the 'Extenuating Circumstances' section of the UCAS reference. The Warwick Admissions team will assess your application and will let you know if they require any further information from you.

If you have already applied to Warwick and did not include this information in your UCAS form, please contact the WP Lifecycle Team (lifecycleteam@warwick.ac.uk).

Useful links:

UCAS information for Care Experienced studentsLink opens in a new window – Useful information for students with care experience who are considering applying to university.
The EaCES HandbookLink opens in a new window – A resource for students who are estranged or are care experienced and are thinking about FE or HE study, written by young people from the EaCES community.
PropelLink opens in a new window – Advice and support for care experienced students who would like to go to university. Propel also runs a series of workshops, including the Uni Ready ProgrammeLink opens in a new window for care experienced students.
Rees FoundationLink opens in a new window – General advice and support for care experienced young people and adults.
Buttle UKLink opens in a new window – a charity providing funding for young people.

If you are from a care experienced background, we hope this information has been useful for you, but please email us at if you or your supporters have any questions.