Learn with Care to Go Higher: Definitions of care-experience

Go Higher West Yorkshire’s (GHWY) 13 Higher Education (HE) partners committed to a shared definition of care-experienced in November 2023. This has been a talking point in much of the work we have undertaken in relation to care-experienced students since.  

A shared definition allows students to feel confident they will be eligible for support at any of our partners. It also reduces the burden on students to research every institution individually, especially when some definitions may not have been listed on their websites.  

The definition we chose is as broad as possible, allowing for as many students to be eligible for support as possible. It also matches the new UCAS definition below: 

“Being care experienced means you will have spent time living with foster carers under local authority care, in residential care (e.g. a children’s home), looked after at home under a supervision order, or in kinship care with relatives or friends, either officially (e.g. a special guardianship order) or informally without local authority support.

“Sometimes you will see the term ‘care leaver’ used. Although this has a slightly different meaning, it is often used interchangeably with ‘care experience’.”

Find out more about our common definition launch 

In order to really understand how important the definition can be, we look at some of the challenges faced in relation to the variety of definitions of care-experienced or care-leaver. 

Legal definition 

The standard legal definition is: “Care leavers are young people aged 16-25 years old who have been in care at some point since they were 14-years old and were in care on or after their 16th birthday.” 

To meet this definition the individuals are also usually required to have spent 13 weeks in care during the above time period.  

This definition can cause difficulties for young people who do not quite meet the criteria. If one day of exactly 13 weeks in care was before their 14th birthday or the arrangement stopped prior to their 16th birthday, then those individuals might not be eligible for support from an institution or organisation that follows the strict care-leaver definition. This can mean missing out on thousands of pounds of financial support, contextual admissions (reduced entry requirements for certain HE courses), or other forms of support. 

Kinship care 

Some young people can find themselves in what is referred to as kinship care. This is where a young person lives with a relative, such as grandparent or sibling, or close family friend either full time or most of the time. Sometimes these arrangements are formalised via the local authority but other times they are not. This can lead to uncertainty as to whether the young person would be eligible for care-leaver or care-experienced status through no fault of their own. 

Special guardianship orders 

Special guardianship orders (SGOs) are where a special guardian is given legal order by a family court. They will share parental responsibility with the young person’s parents, but the young person will live with them until they are 18 and the special guardian can make nearly all major decisions without asking permission from the parents. Depending on the circumstances, special guardianship is sometimes not considered the same as being in care and therefore does not meet the support criteria for all institutions. 

Parental reconciliation 

Those in the care system who have since reconciled with their parents sometimes are not eligible for care-leaver status. In some cases, this means they are also no longer eligible for support despite having been in formalised care.  

Conclusion 

A care-experienced student who collaborated with GHWY made a great point: the circumstances that lead to someone entering the care system can be where the difficulties and inequalities stem from, not necessarily the care system itself.  

GHWY is proud to have partners that have helped make West Yorkshire an attractive location for care-experienced students and that demonstrate a continued commitment to supporting them. 

 

Dominic House, GHWY Care to Go Higher Delivery Officer