University of Nottingham to provide scholarship for estranged Care leavers and students
A new scholarship scheme is to offer four University of Nottingham students, who are leaving care or are estranged from their families, assistance with their accommodation costs.
Thanks to funding offered by the Unite Foundation, the university will be offering the scholarships to students from these backgrounds who are applying for their first year undergraduate study to start in the academic year 2023/24.
The scholarship covers accommodation and bills for 365 days a year for up to three years of study.
Professor Sarah Speight – STAFFROOM
I am very grateful to the Unite Foundation for this award of four 52-week accommodation scholarships. These will be targeted at our care leaver and estranged students.
Professor Sarah Speight, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience
She added: “I had the privilege of meeting some of these students in the summer. Their stories confirmed to me just how important it is that we offer them secure homes at university and enable them to have a full student experience. These four scholarships will significantly contribute to this. Thank you Unite Foundation!”
Vikki Welch, Associate Director for Student Living, added: “I am delighted we have successfully agreed this new partnership with The Unite Foundation to support our care leavers and estranged students as part of our commitment to university widening access and participation. We look forward to working closely with Unite Foundation for the duration of the partnership and seeing our students flourish.”
Access to the university experience
Nottingham is one of four new universities – alongside Oxford Brookes, University of East Anglia and Northumbria University – to be selected to take part in the new Home at University: Widening Access and Participation Pilot programme, which is match funded between the successful partner universities, the Unite Foundation and Astra Foundation and the Dulverton Trust.
Unite Foundation Director Fiona Ellison said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming four new partner universities into The Unite Foundation family. The ‘Home at University: Widening Access & Participation Pilot’ will enable us to offer up to 17 new scholarships across four additional higher education providers. This means 17 care leavers or estranged students will have more choice when applying for a Unite Foundation scholarship and be able to take advantage of everything university has to offer.
“The University of Nottingham demonstrated a clear commitment to doing more to support care experienced and estranged students as they continue to grow and develop their institutional-wide holistic approach. As a Russell Group university, we hope this scholarship pilot will shine a spotlight on what more Russell Group institutions should be doing to support this group of students.”
The pilot scheme will open for applications on The Unite Foundation website from January 1 2023 and is open to all care leaver or estranged students applying to first year undergraduate courses starting in the academic year 23/24.
The Unite Foundation is an independent registered charity offering unique accommodation scholarships for care leavers and estranged young people at universities across the UK.