A care leaver is someone who has previously lived with foster parents, in a children’s home, orphanage, or sheltered accommodation. The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 defines a care leaver as someone who has been in the care of the Local Authority

The University is delighted to be a founder member of the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL)

Which aims to transform the progression of young people in or leaving care into and through further and higher education, by championing the continuous improvement of local practice, multi-agency partnerships and national collaboration.

WHAT IS THE CARE LEAVER COVENANT?

The Covenant is a promise made by private, public or voluntary organisations to provide support for care leavers aged 16-25 to help them to live independently.

In July 2016, the Government published ‘Keep on Caring’ to support young people from care to independence. A key policy commitment in the paper is a strategic pledge to introduce a Care Leaver Covenant.

Find out more about what the Covenant could mean for you by having a look at their website at www.mycovenant.org.uk and you can also read our commitment to be part of the extended network who are supporting care leavers in England at https://mycovenant.org.uk/signatories/university-of-wolverhampton/. 

For students who do not have a family support network, who are 18 to 24 and have no communicative relationship with either living biological parent, or often their wider family, coming to university can be a huge life choice change. We are here to help and support your university career from pre-entry all the way through to graduation.

Stand Alone is a charity that supports people who are estranged from their families and can provide advice and support. 

They also offer support groups across the country that provide a non-judgemental space where you can share thoughts and experiences with others in a similar position together.

The University is proud to have signed the Standalone pledge in 2016 and to be recognised for its ongoing support for estranged students in the 2020 year’s Stand Alone Pledge Awards. 

Read more at: Support for estranged students recognised nationally

Kirsty Dorward, our named contact for Care Leavers and Estranged students, said, "We recognise that many students, estranged or not, come to university to 'rewrite the script' of their lives, and put some of their past behind them.

We aim to be a welcoming University, one that promotes a sense of "family" and belonging, whilst striking the balance of empowering and enabling individuals to be independent and very much the shapers of their own destiny."