Care leavers and Estrangement
If you are a care leaver or estranged, see below for information on Student Finance and how we can support you.
Care leavers
If you are classed as a care leaver, your students finance will not be based on your parents’ income, and you will be able to access additional support from us.
You are classed by us and funding bodies as care leavers when:
- You have been in the care of, or have been given accommodation by, your Local Authority for a period of at least 13 weeks before the age of 16.
- You have not reconciled with their parents between leaving care and starting their course.
You won’t be classed as a care leaver if:
- You have been looked after by family members or legal guardians (without the involvement of their Local Authority),
- Have a residency order, or
- Have been given accommodation or supported housing by a charity
These students may be able to apply as an independent student in other ways, for example, by showing they are estranged from their parents.
Student Finance Funding
You can apply for the same support as other students, but your application won’t be based on your parents’ income, as you are assessed as an independent student.
Depending on where you are from in the UK, you will have different grants and support from the Local Authority that was responsible for your care. To apply for support, please contact your personal advisor, social worker, or caseworker.
Propel provides a useful guide to the differences between funding for English, Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish students, including charities and trusts who provide additional financial support.
Evidence
You will be asked by Student Finance to provide evidence that they were looked after, or have been given accommodation by, their Local Authority. Usually, you will be asked to send a letter from your local council or care authority. This letter should confirm that you:
- Were under the care of your Local Authority,
- Have now left the care of the Local Authority, and
- Are a care leaver as defined in the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000.
You will only have to provide this evidence once, at the start of your course. If you can’t provide the evidence asked for, you should contact Student Finance England to discuss your individual circumstances.
What Trinity Laban can help with
- You do not have to pay an audition fee if you provide us with evidence, you are in or have left care
- You will be given priority allocation for a room in our McMillan Student Village
- You will receive a bursary of £1,250 via our Access Agreement if your income is under £30,000 per year
- You will be able to apply for a Financial Support Grant via Student Services
- We can help you provide evidence of attendance for your Local Authority if need
- We can arrange a meeting with you before your course starts to discuss concerns
If you have any questions, please contact Student Services.
You can also contact Propel, who offer independent advice and information to those leaving care.
Estrangement
You are classed by us and funding bodies as estranged if:
- You are ‘irreconcilably estranged’ from your parents on or before the first day of the academic year for which you are applying for funding and/or
- You have had no contact with your parents for a period of 1 year on or before the first day of the academic year for which you are applying.
It is recognised there are circumstances where relationships can become irreconcilable very quickly and we as an institution and student finance will recognise this and will consider all cases.
Funding
Students under 25 are judged as being dependent upon their parent or carers whilst in Higher education. This does not apply if you are estranged from your parents. You will be treated as an independent student and parental income will not form part of your assessment for your student loan.
You will need to complete one of the following forms depending on your country:
How to prove you are estranged
Although it is not always an easy subject to discuss, it is important to raise before you start or if you become estranged during your course.
When completing the form linked above, you will need to get it completed by a professional third party who is fully aware of your circumstances. This could be a counsellor, a teacher or former teacher, a social worker, the police, a support worker at a charity, or your GP. If you did not tell anyone meeting this description, you may be able to prove it in the form of proof of benefits relating to you. One Example could be child benefit being transferred to another carer, or that carer claiming Child Tax Credits or Universal Credit, with you as a declared dependent.
You can get support from Student Services with this process, before or during your course of study.
When completing the form you should include:
- Specific dates of when the circumstance arose
- Your circumstances since that date
- Who (if anyone) has been supporting you
- Evidence of any benefits claim during this time
- If you live alone, evidence of bank statements showing no payments from a parent
If you do not have any evidence, you can opt to have a yearly telephone interview to determine your circumstance, and to assess any additional evidence from the past year.
What Trinity Laban can help with
- We can prioritise you a room in McMillan Student Village
- We can offer a bursary of £1250 per year via our Access Agreement
- You will be able to apply for a Financial Support Grant via Student Services
- Any questions please contact Student Services
Stand Alone is a charity which provides advice to those estranged from their families. You can contact them directly for independent advice.