Our criteria  is that the student must be in the care of Local Authority for a minimum of 52 consecutive weeks immediately prior to beginning a programme of study.  The bursary of £1000 is available to students who on the 1^st of September in their year of entry are 20 and under.

We are just campaigning to have this age raised to 24.

We also provide a foyer bursary.

Our criteria for access to mentoring and other services is simply that the individual must have been in care at some point (no time period required).

Kirsteen

Good morning all,

The University of Salford is looking to introduce a Care Leaver Bursary and we need to put a business case to the University Fees Committee very shortly to justify such a bursary.

I know many of you will already have such a bursary. Alas, in this time of austerity and with national and local surveys indicating that students do not pick their University choice by whether or not they will receive a bursary or scholarship, the process will be more rigorous than ever.

Buttle UK has given me some excellent pointers with regard to this, including qualitative data from their three year renewal process, but has suggested I ask other institutions. I wonder if you could share with me:

1.       What sort of persuasive arguments you put up to your University to gain approval for funding such a  bursary?

2.       What criteria do you use to pay such a bursary? We have 90 students at present that have stated they are care leavers and paying a £1000 bursary (alongside existing postcode, subject and grade based bursaries) for such number would be expensive. As a institution we support all students that have been in care at some stage in their life and do not use the narrow definitions from the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, but to pay a bursary to all might not only be costly, but may not be targeting the ones that need it the most. Do any institutions means test the bursary? Or what criteria do you use to pay it?

3.       Any information on factors that may have arisen in Equality Impact Assessments, H&S impact assessments or risk assessments with regard to the bursary’s introduction.

Thanks,

Arron

Arron Pile

Project Co-ordinator, Project Team

Careers & Employability

Student Life

University of Salford

University House

Salford M5 4WT

Tel: 0161 295 2152

Fax: 0161 295 2018

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www.salford.ac.uk

                         

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