This Tick the Box week Kinship Carer and Fostering Wellbeing Pioneer Rachel shares useful information about how foster carers and kinship carers can support the children in their care when it comes to applying for college and university – from finding the care experienced contact at open days, to setting up weekly calls when they move out to check all is okay.
When Laurie started university, I was genuinely impressed by the support available to her. From financial help to general support from the university, everything felt accessible and straightforward.
At the open day, we made a point of finding the care experienced team to talk through Laurie’s options. That initial contact made a big difference. We stayed in touch with them, so when Laurie started her course, they already knew who she was and understood her background. It meant that if she ever needed help, she knew exactly where to go.
To help her settle in, I put together small gift bags with photos and little gifts. She loved opening them and it helped her to settle. We also set up a weekly FaceTime check-in, just to make sure she was doing okay. Laurie’s always been independent and responsible, so she didn’t need much more support than that.
I’m so proud of her. She worked so hard through school and absolutely deserved to get into her first-choice course. Pharmacy is a tough course too, but I knew she’d be able to do it.
If you’re supporting a care-experienced young person, I’d really recommend getting in touch with the university’s dedicated team. Cardiff University’s team was brilliant -friendly, responsive, and genuinely supportive.
As for financial support, Laurie applied through Student Finance Wales and found the process really straightforward. She even set up a separate bank account to manage her money better, transferring a weekly amount to help her budget.
