Supporting care leavers with Life After University

On 16 November, AccessHE held an event for care leavers in higher education who are thinking about life after graduation. The event, called ‘Life After University’, was focussed on supporting care experienced students in the areas of leaving care, future employment opportunities, further study and rights and entitlements.

The multi-pronged nature of the event meant that the programme contained a diverse range of speakers from employers to HEIs, local authorities and third sector organisations. Many of the speakers stayed for the duration of the event and were able to further discuss any issues arising from the sessions with those who attended. As well as this, there were members of staff on hand from organisations such as the Care Leavers’ Association and Drive Forward Foundation, along with those from AccessHE member HEIs, to provide support to the event and students attending.

This contributed to a welcoming environment and fostered lively discussion during both the sessions and the breaks. It allowed those attending to meet people who share similar experiences as well as people who may be able to support them as they progress on their journey in higher education and beyond.

AccessHE would like to thank all of those who helped make the event possible and our newly named Care Experienced and Estranged Students forum (formerly Looked After Children forum) will be exploring the ways in which we can continue to support care leavers in HE in the future.

A full event programme can be found here.