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 | GHWY’s collaborative Stand Alone Pledge updated for 2023-24
We have updated our collaborative Stand Alone Pledge, which is aimed at students studying without family support, for 2023-24.
The resource raises awareness of the support available for estranged students across our 13 member institutions.
The document includes a glossary of HE terms, quotes from estranged students, and tips to help individuals on their HE journey. | | Read more |
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 | Feeling elevated after exhibiting at the Elevate event
We recently exhibited at Kirklees Virtual School's Elevate event, which was designed to enable parents/carers of care-experienced individuals to effectively support their young people on their education journey.
Tahera Mayat, our Collaborative Outreach Officer, reflects on the event. She notes it was reassuring to hear our collaborative work is valued by those who support care-experienced young people. | | Read more |
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 | Graduate Beth praises Huddersfield’s support for care experienced students
A care-experienced student at University of Huddersfield has graduated with a first-class degree in Mental Health Nursing.
Beth Smith's achievement is all the more remarkable given she lived in foster care for much of her teens after her parents passed away.
She has credited the support of the University's Wellbeing team for helping her through the daunting prospect of her three years at Huddersfield. | | Read more |
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 | Championing care-experienced students during and beyond National Care Leavers' Week (NCLW)
From distributing homemade quilts to raising awareness of additional financial support, many of our 13 member institutions ran activities as part of NCLW. These activities sought to highlight some of the support they offer throughout the year to help care-experienced students. In this article we look at some of the available support. | | Read more |
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 | The journey towards a common definition of care-experienced
We discuss the background to our members' pledge to adopt a common definition of care-experienced.
The move will have wide-ranging benefits. These include care-experienced HE applicants having certainty at the application stage that they will be eligible for support from a GHWY member. Our members will also see a better-quality data picture coming through around their care-experienced cohorts. | | Read more |
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 | University of Bradford tops Social Mobility Index for third year running
The University of Bradford, one of our 13 member institutions, has been ranked first in England on the Social Mobility Index (SMI) for the third year running.
The SMI ranking, produced by the Higher Education Policy Institute, is a way of ranking universities based on the impact they have on people’s social mobility.
The University was ranked top in 2021, 2022 and again in 2023. | | Read more |
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Learn from Care to Go Higher | We have been running our innovative Care to Go Higher CPD programme for the key influencers of care-experienced young people since 2019. In this series of articles, we share some of the information from it that focuses on educational support. |
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Choosing where to study HE
There are a lot of decisions to make when transitioning to HE, one of the most important being where to study. With hundreds of providers across the country – including universities, HE in Further Education provision, and specialist institutions – it can feel overwhelming. As a care-experienced student there can be some additional things to keep in mind, some of which we will look at in this article. |
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Upcoming CPD opportunities |
Many care-experienced students also have additional support needs, such as a disability or being from a minority ethnicity. These free sessions provide a broader understanding of these lived experiences and ways in which to engage with young people. |
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Self-paced learning
We offer a range of opportunities to upskill and build confidence for individuals who support young people with their educational progression.
Our opportunities align with the academic year, covering topics such as preparing students for admissions interviews, equipping them with current knowledge on apprenticeships, clearing and student finance.
We also offer sessions that focus on personal and professional development, such as mentoring skills and presentation skills. | | Register |
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Upcoming Higher Education (HE) events HE events can help young people to plan the next steps on their educational journey. They offer an opportunity to visit campuses, talk to staff and current students, and learn more about what courses are available. They are free, with in-person as well as online options usually available. |
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 | Crosswire
When: Thursday, 23 November at 7pm Where: Leeds Conservatoire If your young person is interested in music, they may want to attend this free showcase of Leeds Conservatoire's pop and production students. The show could help to inspire them in making choices about what to study at HE. | | Find out more |
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 | Undergraduate taster courses
When: Self-paced Where: University of Leeds
Give your young person a taster of undergraduate study at the University of Leeds with this collection of free online courses. Each course focuses on a specific field of study and will help them pick up key skills that would enable them to study online. | | Book a place |
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Improving access and progression for
care leavers
The Inner Circle Education Trust is collaborating on a new initiative aimed at helping more care leavers gain access to HE and succeed in their studies.
The Head Start into HE programme will offer a targeted package of support that aims to, among other things, improve educational outcomes for participants; positively impact self esteem confidence and well-being; and pinpoint challenges and barriers for care leavers in accessing educational wellbeing support. | | Read more |
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Celebrating the Civil Service Care Leavers Internship scheme at Number 10
Benita, who is is on the Civil Service Care Leavers Internship Scheme working at the Children’s Commissioner for England’s office as a Digital Engagement Assistant, shares her experience of attending an event to celebrate the internship scheme during National Care Leavers’ Week.
She highlights some of the advantages of the internship scheme, including the opportunity for young people to gain independence, financial stability, and gain valuable work experience. | | Read more |
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Support offered to care-experienced young people by our members |
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Our spotlight features highlight what support most of our 13 member institutions offer to care-experienced young people. They detail care leaver contacts, financial support, and bespoke campus tours among other things.
Each 'what support we offer' feature is regularly updated to ensure that content is up to date, which makes them a valuable resource when guiding your young people through their HE journey. |
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Useful GHWY resources Take a look at some of our free resources, which can be used to support care-experienced and estanged young people to make informed decisions about their future.
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 | Collaborative Care Leaver Covenant
Our collaborative Care Leaver Covenant includes information about what our 13 members offer to care leavers, along with useful tips and links.
It is reviewed every year to ensure that its information is kept relevant, with addtional details being available online. | | Download |
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 | Resource pack for professionals and carers
Our free resources pack is designed to help you support care-experienced young people to make informed choices about their educational future. It will encourage you reflect on your own role as someone with influence and provide tips and activities to get the conversation going with young people.
Email us at GHWY@leeds.ac.uk to receive a copy of the pack. |
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| Collaborative Stand Alone Pledge
Our collaborative Stand Alone Pledge includes information about what our 13 members offer to estranged young people, along with useful tips and links. Additional information is available on our website that includes further support details. | | Download |
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 | Resources bank
Our resource bank holds a wide range of free and informative materials for various audiences to access. There includes sections on wellbeing in education, employability essentials, online taster days, and useful links. | | View |
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Go Higher West Yorkshire: reducing inequalities in access to, success in and progression from Higher Education. |
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