CSC0013

Written Evidence Submitted by Unite Foundation

The Unite Foundation is a charity that runs a unique scholarship scheme, supporting estranged and care experienced students with the provision of a rent-free #HomeAtUniversity

Our mission is to ensure estranged and care experienced students have a safe and secure home at university, enabling them to make the most of their time there and complete their degree.

We are submitting this evidence to draw attention to the importance of focusing on higher education attainment for care leavers; an indicator of wider education attainment for this group of young people, as well as providing clear evidence about the way to supporting an increase in participation which goes beyond the current activities undertaken by DfE which we believe won’t meet the ambitions set out within Stable Homes. Built on Love.

Terms of reference

This submission addresses two questions as outline in the terms of reference:

        How children’s social care can impact a child’s educational or long-term outcomes and ways to improve outcomes for care leavers

        The government ’s children’s social care implementation strategy, Stable Homes, Built on Love, released in February 2023, including:

• How effective the strategy has been so far,
• How effective it is projected to be in the long-term.

Insight

We know that:

        Just 14% of young people from a care background go to university compared to 46% of their non care experienced peers.

        Care leavers are 38% more likely to drop out of university than non care-experienced peers[1]

        Care leavers are 10% less likely to progress from year 1-2, and 10% less likely to graduate with a good honours degree.[2]

However, the body of research clearly shows that if a young person with this background can be supported to stay the course and complete their degree, the experience is transformational; post-degree outcomes are comparable with peers[3].

“The analysis of data from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey on outcomes six months after graduation, revealed a general picture where the outcomes for care experienced graduates were broadly similar, on average, to other graduates. […] In other words, care experienced graduates did notably better than might have been predicted on the basis of their higher education qualifications, where they did their degree, and their demographic profile.” Pg8 Positive Impact?

Higher educational can be transformative for young people if they have the right support available to them.

        Students tell us that a safe and secure home at university, year-round, means they can make the most of the full university experience, this is reflected in their progression & completion rates at a statistically higher rate than other care leavers[4]

        In the 2023 Student Academic Experience[5] survey, which highlighted “88% of care-experienced students said they worked in paid employment compared to 58% of non-care experienced.” This coupled with research from Unipol[6] found that “the average rent in England which stands at £7,566” (not including studying in London) which means even if statutory care leavers get the full maintenance loan value and aren’t studying in London (£9,978) that would leave them with just £2,422 to live on for the year.

        Students provided with accommodation support dedicate more time to study as they are not reliant on paid working hours to meet rent demands, don’t have to worry about where they can go during the holidays and are able to save to secure suitable housing on graduation.  Students report this as the most important impact of the Unite Foundation scholarship; it "removed stress and anxiety to allow focus on study"[7]

        As more care experienced young people become confident that they can have a home at university, we expect this to increase participation from what is a significantly underrepresented group. When asked to identify the factor that was most decisive in making a choice of university, the number one priority was "the level of support available” (11% of care-leavers versus under 4% of students from other backgrounds)[8].

The ambitions within Stable Homes, Built on Love are laudable “We will narrow the gap in care leaver higher education participation rates compared to the general population year-on-year from 2027, with a view to this being minimal by 2030.”

However current progress, and the delivery mechanisms outlined within Stable Homes, Built on Love aren’t enough to create meaningful change.

A recent report by think tank Civitas, “Breaking the Care Ceiling”, highlighted that if we continue with the current level of activity – it will take 107 years to close the participation gap for care experienced young people in higher education. We must do better and think more radically about how we can close this gap. 

The proposed solution to increasing the numbers of students engaging in higher education – an accreditation scheme for universities – has no clear route to making a tangible difference to the number of students engaging in higher education. The ambition lies in driving up standards of support for institutions, but this is already being done through the NNECL quality mark. A lighter touch solution which is being developed by Department for Education colleagues will do little to improve the support that institutions provide.

Instead understanding why care leavers don’t go to university must be the fundamental driver behind action; yet there is very little evidence about why care leavers don’t go to university. What does exist includes:

        Research by UCAS found that 60% of care leavers receive no specific support relevant to their circumstances when deciding on their options[9]

        The most common negative experiences during the transition into higher education were poor support from the local authority, difficulties in navigating changes, financial problems and social/emotional issues[10]. 

        Care leavers face barriers to securing and maintaining affordable housing, with a third of care leavers becoming homeless within 2 years of leaving care.[11] They are also financially vulnerable. This can prevent them from engaging in further or higher education and employment including apprenticeships. It also puts them at increased risk of loneliness and isolation. It is estimated that a quarter of the homeless population in England were in care at some point in their life.[12]

However, there is a way to increase the numbers of care leavers going to university by addressing a key barrier that stops care leavers from thinking that higher education is for them. The provision of a safe and stable home at university.

Data and feedback from students shows that the provision of a home at university, the security this provides and the financial stress it alleviates, means care experienced students are as likely to continue on from their 1st year as any other student[13]. 

In 2022 the Unite Foundation commissioned Jisc to undertake an independent comparative analysis of 10 years of our data. Jisc’s objective analysis suggests “strong evidence that the scholarship improves educational outcomes of the students we support, specifically in year to year progression and completion”. The findings showed that :

+        Unite Foundation students progressed from their 1st to 2nd year of programme within 2 academic years at the same percentage as non-care leaver students and at a statistically significantly higher percentage to the other care leavers groups examined.

+        When looking at year 2 to 3 continuation, again within 2 academic years, Unite Foundation students progressed at a greater percentage than other care-leavers and within 5 percentage points of the non-care leaver population.

+        Finally, Unite Foundation students achieved a ‘good honours’ degree within 3 percentage points of non-care leaver students and at a statistically significantly higher percentage than all other care leaver student groups.