Support for care-experienced students

LCC Business Student writing notes

Studying at a new place can be an exciting time, but it can be a worrying or unsettling time for some. Here at Leeds City College, we are committed to helping all care-experienced students get the right support, both before starting college and during their studies. We use the term ‘Care Experienced’ to mean Children Looked After or young people who have previously been looked after.

This includes care leavers, those under ‘special guardianship’ or other orders, or young people who are adopted. We can offer a bespoke support package to each student, along with a dedicated person to help meet their needs. We also work closely with the college’s SEND team to support students who have special educational needs and disabilities or an Education, Health and Care plan.

Applying to college

We encourage you to ‘tick the box’ on your application form to let us know you are a care-experienced student.

When you tick the box, this information will be shared with our Care Experience team so that we can offer extra support. We will only share this with the people in your department who need to be informed in order to support you. This information will not be used when considering your application to a study programme and you won’t be singled out from other students.

We know that some people feel uncertain about sharing this information for lots of different reasons. By letting us know your circumstances, we can make sure you get all the support and help you are entitled to, so that your transition to college is smooth and you are supported throughout your studies.

A lot of the support we offer at college is optional, allowing you to choose whether to access it. It’s also useful to remember our support is always available should your circumstances ever change or if you change your mind.

Get in touch

If you are a care-experienced young person who is thinking about applying to college and wants to find out more about the support we provide, please get in touch using the details below.

If you are a parent, carer, support worker, Virtual School or social worker wanting to discuss the college support we offer, please get in touch to speak to a member of our team.

Please contact the Care Experience team for more information on CLA@leedscitycollege.ac.uk

We provide:

  • 2 dedicated members of staff who have an understanding of care experienced students and what support may be of benefit to them
  • Tailored support through staff members from each curriculum and department
  • A Priority Fund bursary of up to £1,200 per year for eligible students
  • Student opportunities
  • Taster sessions and campus visits
  • Support accessing the range of college services including careers advice, welfare support, mental health and wellbeing, and student enrichment