Our City Cares team provides financial, pastoral, and educational support for students who have spent time in local authority care, from application stage, through to graduation and searching for employment.
City St George's, University of London is committed to supporting those who are, or have been, in the care of a local authority. We recognise that being a student with little or no family support may mean that you often face additional challenges whilst at university and we are committed to guiding you so that you can make the most of your time here.
City Cares is a service that offers a range of support to help you navigate the ups and downs of your student journey from enrolment to graduation.
Who is a care leaver?
The term care leaver refers to a young person under the age of 25 who is currently, or has previously been, in local authority care such as foster care, semi-independent living or a residential care home for a minimum of three months since the age of 14 and on or after their 16th birthday.
If you don't meet the definition of a care leaver but have spent any amount of time in local authority care and are under 25 at the start of your course then you are care experienced and can still access support.
Pre-entry support
The City Cares Advisers act as the designated members of staff for the support of care leavers and care-experienced students at any time in their higher education journey, even before they arrive at university. The advisers can provide you with advice and guidance to help you make informed decisions about your transition into university life and we welcome queries via Support@City.
In order to access the support available at the university, we strongly encourage applicants to ‘Tick the box’ on their UCAS application. This will inform your chosen universities and give you access to the support available.
City St George's offers pre-entry advice and guidance through the Widening Participation Outreach team. There are a range of events and activities on offer for students thinking about university as well as for those who would like more support in preparing them for university.
As a care-experienced student, you are guaranteed access to pre-entry support such as application advice, pre-induction events and Taster Weeks and UniFocus Days. Please email the wpteam@citystgeorges.ac.uk to find out more.
We encourage Virtual Schools and Local Authorities to get in contact with the Widening Participation Outreach team to organise bespoke visit days for the young people in their care. To do so please email wpteam@citystgeorges.ac.uk.
Financial support
- City Cares Bursary – undergraduate care leavers or care experienced students who meet the eligibility criteria will be awarded up to £3,500 each year of their studies for up to three years.
- Hardship Fund – students who find themselves in financial hardship can apply for the Hardship Fund. Care leavers or care experienced students are eligible for support of up to £2,500.
- Graduation package – care leavers and care experienced students who complete their final year of undergraduate studies are eligible for a financial package to aid with graduation costs and life after City St George's.
Accommodation
As a care leaver or care experienced you are prioritised for City St George's partner student accommodation throughout your undergraduate degree provided you have City St George's as your firm choice by the UCAS deadline. We work closely with City's Accommodation Advisers to ensure you are allocated accommodation that best meets your needs, including out of term time.
We will support you to secure 365-day accommodation where available.
Please note that we are unable to provide a guarantor scheme, however, we are happy to provide advice and guidance in this regard. Most landlords, including student halls, will require a third person to act as a ‘guarantor’ before a tenancy agreement can be completed. This person is usually a family member who agrees to pay the rent in case of a shortfall from the tenant and they might be liable to other costs that might incur during the tenancy.
We are aware of some organisations that offer guarantor services to students: Housing Hand, and RentGuarantor. We are aware of these companies but please understand that we do not endorse them.
On-course support
City Cares helps students transition to university life, provides advice and guidance whilst studying with us and supports students to prepare for life after graduation.
- A Designated Member of Staff to support you throughout your time at City St George's by being your first point of contact.
- All care leavers or care experienced students receive priority access for Student Health and Wellbeing services.
- CityBuddies peer mentoring: First year care leaver or care experienced undergraduate students are prioritised when being paired with a second or third year student from the same course (where possible) to help with settling into student life.
- Support with academic skills, attend workshops and 1-1 sessions to make sure that you're getting the most out of your studies. City Cares students have increased access.
- Second and third year undergraduate care leavers or care experienced students will be guaranteed an interview and given priority for the professional mentoring scheme, an opportunity to receive mentoring with a person in industry.
- Free annual membership to CitySport.
Useful resources
Further support is available from charities, government, local authorities and other organisations:
- UCAS – Comprehensive information on applying for finance as a care leaver.
- Become – Offers support, advice and help to young people in care and care leavers.
- Propel – As part of Become, this information portal provides useful resources about applying to Higher Education institutions, different courses available and financial support.
- Care Leaver Offer – Tool to check local authorities and the support offered for young people leaving their care.
- Coram Voice – Coram Voice offers free advocacy for those who are in care or leaving care.
- The Catch 22 National Care Advisory Service (NCAS) – supports care experienced children and care leavers through their national network.
- The Care Leavers' Association – Provides advice, guidance and support to enable care leavers to thrive.
- The Rees Foundation – Aids young people and adults who are care experienced by providing financial assistance, a support network and mentoring opportunities.
Accreditation Accreditations and Awards
We are proud recipients of the NNECL Quality Mark, an accreditation demonstrating our dedication to supporting care leavers and care-experienced students.
We have also received the NEON Widening Access Initiative (Retention and Progression) Award in 2022.
Contact us
If you want to speak to our City Cares Advisers, Michel Salamouni and Alice Myers, please contact the team via Support@City.