Higher education
The Leaving Care Team has high aspirations for our care leavers. One of our aims is to see that you are successful in education.
We will:
- support you to make progress
- equip you with the life tools to make appropriate choices to progress through education and into employment
We can:
- help you apply for student finances
- look at the universities that you are interested in going to
We also work closely with:
- Connexions
- Virtual School
They can help you with your personal statements, if needed.
University bursaries
Many universities give out bursaries. A bursary is an extra source of financial support. It is provided to students from the university.
Many universities offer bursaries to care leavers.
To see what funds are available you can:
- contact the university student finance service
- visit the Become website
Southend will pay you a University Bursary on top of what you receive from student finance. This totals £2000 over the duration of your degree.
It's paid roughly a month into the new academic year and is split up as:
- £700 year 1
- £700 year 2
- £600 year 3
Extra financial support whilst at university
When in University, we will:
- support you with rent payment in the holidays (in line with the local housing allowance rate)
- pay you an allowance of £38.46 per week during the holidays to help with living costs
- help pay towards books and stationery up to £150 per year (for maximum of 3 years)
- support with travel costs needed for the given activity