Dear Kirsteen,

This is not an area I am familiar with and wondered how you differentiate between the needs of different types of care leavers and what criteria would apply. If some of the care leavers happen to be refugees, abandoned children, those illegally brought in as sex workers and rescued,  are they likely to be disproportionately impacted by an internal policy?

Regards
Anne
-----Original Message-----
From: HE Administrators equal opportunities list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kirsteen Coupar
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 10:22 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: care leavers bursary

Hi Tara

I manage our care leaver mentoring scheme here and we do offer the bursary to care leavers, but an issue has arisen recently which might bear thinking about.

 

Our finance manager identified that perhaps as many as half our bursaries were being awarded to students who, although fitting the definition of a care leaver, were not really part of the group of students for which the bursary was intended.

 

Apparently we have a significant amount of students who have been sent to the UK before their sixteen birthday and have arrived as a lone child and 'officially' become the responsibility of a local authority.  In practice, these children have been placed with relatives in the UK (which was the parents original intention) and have lived there up until their join university.  It is quite common for their parents to then relocate to the UK and be with the student at registration!


Because they  have been in the care of a local authority for a period spanning their sixteenth birthday they meet all the criteria but it is fairly obvious that they do not need the same level and type of support that other care leavers would.

 

We are therefore considering reframing our care leaver bursary to ensure that our limited funds go to the right people.  At present we have over 70 care leavers registered (though not all getting the bursary) and if our growth in this area continues we will not be able to afford to provide the bursary at all, so it seems sensible to rule out those that meet the letter of the law (as it were) but not the spirit of it.

 

Kirsteen

 

Kirsteen Coupar

Equality and Diversity Manager

Flat 40B, Catherine of Aragon Court

Southwood Site

Avery Hill Campus

University of Greenwich

Eltham

London SE9 2UG

 

Direct line: 020 8331 8817

 

From: HE Administrators equal opportunities list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tara Leach
Sent: 05 March 2010 13:49
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: care leavers bursary

 

Dear all, 

 

We have set up dedicated support for care leavers but for this first year we have not offered the Frank Buttle Trust recommended bursary of up to £1000.  Can anyone share what criteria they use to allocate the bursary and where the funding for this comes from within the University?  

 

Many thanks,

tara

 

 

tara n. leach

Student Wellbeing Project Manager

Student Life Directorate 

University House

University of Salford, Manchester, M5 4WT

United Kingdom 

 

Tel: +44 (0)161 295 2041

Fax: +44 (0)161 295 2018

Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> 

Web: www.salford.ac.uk <http://www.salford.ac.uk/>  

 


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