Care Experienced Students’ Grant
At the University of Bradford, we are fully committed to supporting students who have previously been in care as a child or young person. Care experienced students (including care leavers) studying at the University of Bradford are eligible to receive a grant of £1,000 for each year of study.
Who is eligible?
You are eligible for the grant if you have previously been in the care of a local authority as a child – this can be for any period of time. You must be classed as a Home student and have a household income of less than £30,000 per year. You must also be fully enrolled at the University and be attending your course during the 24/25 academic year. The grant is open to students at all levels of study, including Foundation years, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Degree Apprenticeships.
For part-time students, you will receive the same equivalent grant amount as a full-time student, but payments each year will be based on your course intensity. For example, if you study a 3 year full-time course over 6 years (50% intensity), we will pay you a £500 grant per year. This also applies if you are repeating a year of study on a part-time basis, for example, you are only repeating one semester, rather than a full academic year.
How do I apply?
You will need to complete the application from in full and provide evidence that you were in care from your local authority. You may also need to provide evidence of your household income. The application form will tell you what evidence you need to provide.
We cannot unfortunately process your application if you do not send provide all the required evidence.
The application form is available here
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You only need to apply once. We will keep your details on our system and we will contact you in May each year to re-confirm your household income and confirm your bank details for payment.
If you are applying for the grant for the first time and you are not in your first year, we can only pay you your grant for this academic year. We cannot pay you for any previous academic years before 2024/25.
We need to see evidence from your local authority that you were in care – this should be in the form of a letter from your Social Worker or Social Services, addressed to the University of Bradford. We may also need to see evidence that your household income is less than £30,000 per year.
Then we will not be able to process your application. Make sure you check you have submitted the correct documents, as otherwise your application will be delayed.
We will send an email to your student email address to make you aware of our decision.
You will be paid the grant annually at the end of May for each academic year.
Feedback from current care experienced students has told us that they find the summer holidays to be the best time to receive the grant, as they do not receive any Student Finance over this period. However, depending on your circumstances, we can consider bringing the payment forward through an alternative individualised plan, or we may be able to offer you an alternative form of financial support instead.
Please email [email protected] for more information.
As a care experienced student, you have access to a dedicated Student Life Adviser, to help you with your finances and funding throughout your time at Bradford.
You may be eligible for additional financial help from the University’s Student Support Fund (SSF) which can award grants of up to £2,500 a year, depending on your circumstances. Care experienced students have priority access to the SSF and can access support all year round.
Please email [email protected] to see what additional support might be available.