Care Experienced, Estranged and Young Carer students

Student finance defines a care-experienced student (or a ‘care leaver’) as someone who ‘has been in the care of, or has been given accommodation by, their local authority; their time in care must have lasted at least 13 weeks and ended after they turned 16. In most cases, they’ve not returned to the care of their parent(s) prior to the first day of the first academic year of their course’. These definitions vary slightly depending on if you are based in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, so please check what applies to you.

The University of Oxford defines a care leaver as ‘anyone who has spent time in the care of a local authority, including foster care, children’s homes, supervision orders and kinship care’. This is a broader definition and encompasses a larger range of experiences. 

Estranged students are studying without the support of a family network and usually have little or no contact with their parents (either biological or adoptive). In certain circumstances, students may have very limited contact for specific reasons; for example, they are still in touch with siblings.

The University of Oxford offers support to students who are assessed as independent students by Student Finance. We also recognise that it may not be safe or possible to be completely estranged, but your family offers no support. In this case, you may be able to access support based on your individual situation, including wellbeing, academic, and financial support.

 Young people aged 16–25 who care, unpaid, for a family member or friend with an illness, disability, mental health condition, or addiction.

We are aware that students with caring responsibilities may face additional challenges, especially during vacation periods. Tutors and staff in College are prepared to support students experiencing extenuating circumstances, including caring responsibilities.

As a care-experienced or estranged student, you may be eligible to be classified as an independent student, meaning your parents’ income will not be considered when calculating how much student finance you can receive, and you will receive the maximum maintenance loan.

This varies between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but in most cases means eligible students will receive the full loan of £9,790 per year.

As a young carer, you do not automatically qualify for the maximum student finance maintenance loan; however, other forms of support are available which you may be eligible for:

• Adult Dependants Grant for students who reside in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Childcare Grant for students who reside in Wales
• Parents Learning Allowance for students who reside in England
• Carer Support Payment for students who reside in Scotland
• Young Carer grant for students who reside in Scotland

We encourage all care experienced, estranged and young carer students to get in contact with their local authority to see what help is available; this varies by council but will often include some level of support until your 21st birthday. 

If you are a care leaver and entering higher education before the age of 25, you may be entitled to a one-off bursary of a minimum of £2,000 from your local authority.

• Grants of up to £3,000 are available for students experiencing a shortfall in meeting essential living costs
• Living cost assistance of up to £750
• The Oxford bursary is available for anyone that does not qualify for Crankstart. Grants range from £1,120 to £4,480 per year depending on household income brackets

More information available at: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/fees-funding/assistance/oxford

The University of Oxford recognises that you may be facing complex and ongoing challenges that can make applying to university feel particularly daunting. As part of the Standalone pledge, Oxford has also pledged 

• Unlimited university counselling sessions for care-experienced students 
• A named contact for estranged and care-experienced students applying to Oxford 
• Support Coordinators: The university provides designated support coordinators to help you navigate academic, accommodation, or financial concerns, acting as a direct link between you and your local authority
• Vacation and Crisis Support: Year-round resources include access to the 24/7 online mental health platform Togetherall, Oxford Nightline and emergency health services

More information is available at: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/news/2025-12-01-welfare-blog-advice-care-experienced-or-estranged-students-over-winter-vacation

At Brasenose, we have several resources available for students throughout their studies.

• If students find themselves in unexpected financial hardship, Brasenose have a Minibursaries scheme up to £700
• Termly awards and grants for sports, arts, and academic enrichment activities of up to £500 per application

At Brasenose, we offer guaranteed accommodation for all undergraduates for the duration of their studies.

As part of the stand-alone pledge, the University of Oxford guarantees 365-day accommodation to care-experienced and estranged students meaning we can provide vacation accommodation if this is needed. We can offer this at a reduced rate to students round who don’t have a permanent home outside of Brasenose.

The College’s Care Progression Leads are the Senior Tutor, Freyja Madsen, and the Head of Access and Retention, Dr Joe Organ. Please get in touch, or ask a teacher or social worker to contact outreach@bnc.ox.ac.uk if you would like to discuss things further.

We can usually offer guidance from a current student on course from a care-experienced, estranged or young carer background, as well as access to counselling provision from our on-site counsellor and the wider college welfare team.

There is specific support available for graduate students;

• If you are a graduate young adult carer (aged 25 and under, including PGCE and GEM students) and require funding towards costs associated with your caring responsibilities for a family member in the UK, grants of up to £350 are available
• Care-experienced academic futures full graduate scholarship