Care experienced and estranged young people

The University of Manchester is committed to supporting care experienced and estranged young people to access and succeed in higher education.

For any young person who identifies as care experienced or estranged, we offer support to make the transition to university smooth and straightforward. We provide information, advice and guidance so young people are able to make informed decisions about their future.

When students tick the box on their UCAS application to indicate that they're care experienced or estranged, they'll be contacted with information that can help them with their transition to university, and an offer of a visit or a call to answer any questions they might have.

If you'd like more information about how we can support care experienced or estranged students, email wecare@manchester.ac.uk. You can also find out more about the support available for students while studying.

Our commitment

The University has made a commitment to estranged students through our StandAlone pledge and we are currently working on our institutional commitment to the Care Leaver covenant.

National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL)

The University of Manchester is a proud member of NNECL and was recognised with the NNECL Quality Mark in July 2021 for our work to include and support the success of care experienced students.

National Network for the Education of Care Leavers quality mark logo

The Quality Mark demonstrates that we're working towards a national set of standards to support applications from care experienced young people and help them throughout their student journey, and beyond.

It not only recognises our existing work, but acts a visible reminder that universities are inclusive places of learning, personal development and success. 

The NNECL website provides a list of activities run by universities across England for care leavers that can be searched by region, age group or institution. To see what events your looked-after children and care leavers can get involved with, visit the NNECL website.

The Who Cares? Trust

The Who Cares? Trust has put together Propel, a website that brings together information from UK universities and provides general information on higher education, as well as information about what each university provides to care leavers.