Care leavers

Information for care leavers and estranged students

At the University of East London we are proud to offer an inclusive package of support for care leavers and estranged students. We are dedicated to supporting you throughout your entire journey at UEL. This page will provide you with information on the support available to you before you start your course, during your studies and after you graduate.

Our commitment to Care Leavers at UEL

A care leaver is an adult who has spent time living in the care system, with a foster family, in a children's home or supported housing service, or under another arrangement agreed by their social worker.

We recognise that care leavers may face additional barriers while accessing university, studying at university, and/or seeking employment. As such, we take a Whole Institution Approach whereby alongside our outreach activity we also consider our role as employers and as a community hub.

Care Leaver covenant overview

We have recently evidenced our commitment for care experienced students by signing up as a signatory of the Care Leaver Covenant.

The Care Leaver Covenant is a promise made by the private, public and voluntary sectors to provide support for care leavers aged 16-25 to help them to live independently. The aim of the Care Leaver Covenant, to which organisations commit, is to provide additional support for those leaving care; making available a different type of support and expertise from that statutorily provided by local authorities.

Get in touch

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in contact with our Care Leaver and Estranged Students Advisors Katarina Blanco and Manjula Modwhadia. You can contact them via their email youngindependent@uel.ac.uk.