Care-experienced young people and higher education

According to a new research by CASCADE at Cardiff University for What Works for Children's Social Care (WWCSC), young people, who either in care or care experienced at 13 or 14 years old had significantly lower expectations of attending higher education than their peers.

The highlights of the Research:

• Care - experienced kids at the age of 9, who thought they were likely to apply to a higher education provider (HEP) were much less likely to be in higher education aged 20
• Students with Special Educational Needs status, history of school exclusions and family benefits were less likely to apply for higher education
• Young people's own expectations about their future are shaped by others, including the support by their teachers, carers, social workers, by HEP
• Some local authorities paid not enough attention to young people's transition to higher education
• HEPs support met their needs of help and reduced their anxiety about attending higher education, although not all of the HEPs provided support
• There are many individuals and organisations that can encourage young people to attend higher education

In order to feed into a report to be published later this year, WWSCS in partnership with Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO)  has launched a call for evidence and practice from these groups.