Financial support for care leavers

Definition of care leaver

A care leaver is a young person who meets all of the eligibility criteria below:

• You have been in the care of, or have been given accommodation by, your local authority.
• Your time in care lasted at least 13 weeks.
• Your time in care ended after you turned 16.
• In most cases, you have not returned to the care of your parent(s) prior to the first day of the first academic year of your course.

If you have been adopted, are under a private foster agreement, or are no longer under a care order as per the Leaving Care Act, you are not eligible to apply for this support.

Support for undergraduate students 

If you’re a home fee-paying student on a course that attracts undergraduate funding and are a care leaver, you can apply for an enhanced bursary.

A bursary is money from the University and it doesn’t have to be paid back (unless your circumstances change). It is in addition to government funding.

Eligibility

You must meet all of the criteria below to be eligible to apply:

• You are registered or are due to register on a full-time or part-time undergraduate course at the University of Sheffield.
• You will be attending in person: where you are studying by distance learning, you will not be eligible for a bursary.
• You are a care leaver (refer to our definition).
• You are under the age of 25 on 1 September of the first year of your course.
• You are eligible for and have applied to Student Finance England (or equivalent regional funding body) to receive a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan via the undergraduate funding system. If you do not wish to take out a loan, you can still apply for a household income assessment to be carried out by Student Finance England (or equivalent regional funding body) and request a £0 loan - this allows us to assess you for the bursary without you receiving any loan.
• You have been assessed as independent due to your care leaver status by Student Finance England (or equivalent regional funding body). Student Finance England provides a short guide on applying for student finance as a care leaver.

If you are estranged from your parents or guardians, refer to our web page on financial support for estranged students.

Award

The enhanced bursary is instead of the University of Sheffield Bursary Scheme. A bursary is money from the University and it doesn’t have to be paid back (unless your circumstances change). It is in addition to government funding.

The year you start your course determines which scheme you are eligible for. 

For students who start their course in the 2025-2026 academic year, the bursary award per level of study is:

• Up to £5,000 for part-time students studying a Lifelong Learning course in the School of Education
• Up to £10,000 for full-time students. The way your award is paid will depend on where you choose to live - refer to the table below for more information.

University of Sheffield accommodation

If you will be living in University of Sheffield accommodation, undergraduate students are able to apply for a 42-week contract. If you require University accommodation beyond this, accommodation may be available for the summer vacation period - this will usually involve moving accommodation. More information about summer vacation accommodation and how to book is usually available in the spring

You are required to apply for accommodation yourself and follow the relevant steps in securing your place, which include paying the deposit and setting up a payment plan. 

• If you are not in a position to pay the deposit and believe you are eligible for the enhanced bursary, you can request that the University pay this on your behalf: we would pay the £150 on your behalf and then this would then be deducted from the first instalment of your £4,500 University bursary award once you've been assessed for this in October (the refund of the deposit at the end of the year, if applicable,  would be returned to you directly). If, when you are assessed in October, you are not eligible for the enhanced bursary, you will be liable to repay the deposit to the University yourself.
• You will be required to provide payment details for your accommodation to secure your place. However, provided you meet the criteria of the scheme and are assessed as eligible for the enhanced award, we will be able to process the payment of your accommodation prior to the first payment date on 1 October. This would then mean that there would only be payments taken from your nominated payment account if you are not living in a standard en-suite room and there is a surplus amount for you to pay.

If you have any queries in relation to the University accommodation available, contact the Accommodation Office.

If you have specific needs for accommodation that may increase the cost, contact the Student Funding Team to discuss this.

For information about schemes for previous years, click on your year of entry below for more information.

2023-2024 entry

For students who start their course between September 2023 and September 2024, the bursary award, per level of study, is

• up to £10,000 for full-time students – see the table below for how the award will be paid
• up to £5,000 for DLL part-time students – paid in four instalments per year of study

If you're a full-time student, the way your award is paid will depend on where you choose to live:
 

Accommodation	Bursary award per year
University of Sheffield accommodation	£4,500 bursary (paid in two instalments), accommodation fees paid by the University
Private accommodation	£10,000 bursary (paid in four instalments)
Unite accommodation scholarship winners	£10,000 bursary (paid in four instalments), accommodation funded by the scholarship award

University of Sheffield accommodation consists of a single en-suite room in University accommodation. Contracts last 52 weeks. There is no cash alternative available if you choose to take a shorter accommodation contact.

If you have specific needs for accommodation that may increase the cost, contact the Fees and Funding team to discuss this.

2020-2022 entry

For students who start their course between September 2020 and September 2022, the bursary award, per level of study, is

• up to £10,000 for full-time students – see the table below for how the award will be paid
• up to £5,000 for Department of Lifelong Learning part-time students – paid in four instalments per year of study

If you're a full-time student, the way your award is paid will depend on where you choose to live:

Accommodation	Bursary award per year
University of Sheffield accommodation	£4,500 bursary (paid in two instalments), accommodation fees paid by the University
Private accommodation	£10,000 bursary (paid in four instalments)
Catalyst and Unite accommodation scholarship winners	£4,500 bursary (paid in two instalments), accommodation funded by the scholarship award

University of Sheffield accommodation consists of a single ensuite room in University accommodation. Contracts last 52 weeks. There is no cash alternative available if you choose to take a shorter accommodation contact.

If you have specific needs for accommodation that may increase the cost, contact the Fees and Funding team to discuss this.

2015-2019 entry

If you started your course between September 2015 and September 2019, the bursary award per level of study is

• £4,500 for full-time students
• £2,250 for Department of Lifelong Learning part-time students

2012–14 entry

If you started your course between September 2012 and September 2014 and you're a full-time student, the bursary award per level of study is £1,600.

How to apply

You will need to complete an application form to provide some details about your personal circumstances and relevant evidence to support your application. 

• You will need to provide evidence confirming your care leaver status. Your evidence will need to include the dates you were in care. Your evidence confirming your care leaver status can be a copy of the evidence that you are using or have used to apply for your student finance, for example:
  • A letter from your local authority
  • A letter from social services
  • Proof of legal guardianship, such as a court order
• You will need to provide a letter or email from the Student Loans Company confirming that you have been assessed as independent due to your care leaver status. 

If you have any questions about what evidence to provide, please contact the Student Funding Team. If you do not provide the relevant documentation, we will not be able to progress your application. 

You will need to use your applicant login details (once you have received an offer) or student login (if a current student) to access the application form.

If you have applied previously and are already in receipt of an enhanced award, you are not required to reapply each year of your course (unless you have been specifically requested to do so by our team).

Enhanced Support for Care Leavers Application Form

You will receive a response within 20 working days of submitting your completed application.

Along with enhanced financial support, there may be additional support that you are able to access. We will not share your personal circumstances or a copy of any of the evidence that you submit as part of your application. However, if we feel that you may benefit from support offered by other University services, then we may ask them to contact you directly.

Refer to our information about advice and support if you need help with an application.

Terms and conditions

• The enhanced bursary is money from the University for students and it doesn't have to be paid back (unless your circumstances change). It is in addition to government funding.
• The enhanced bursary is assessed and paid each year of your course and cannot be backdated for previous years.
• Awards will not be assessed and paid until after the registration start date and when you are fully registered.
• If you have applied prior to the start of the academic year and plan to live in University accommodation, bursary assessments will take place before the first University accommodation instalment payment date to ensure your accommodation award is allocated before payment is due. However, the £4,500 award will then be processed during October. If you have applied after the start of the academic year, we will process your application within 20 working days and then confirm to you when you will be paid.
• If you have applied prior to the start of the academic year and plan to live in private accommodation, bursary assessments will take place during October and we will email you by the end of October to confirm whether you are eligible and include details of your payment dates. If you have applied after the start of the academic year, we will process your application within 20 working days and then confirm to you when you will be paid.
• If you withdraw from your course, you may need to repay a percentage of your bursary that you received in that academic year. Contact the Student Funding Team for guidance.
• If you take a leave of absence during the year, you won’t have to repay the enhanced bursary you have already received; however, you won’t be eligible to receive any further instalments due to be paid.
• If you are eligible to receive the award for full-time study and repeat part of your course part time, we may be able to consider you for a pro-rata award. Please refer to the full terms and conditions for more information.
• If you receive an enhanced bursary from the University, we will contact you on each year of your course to confirm that you still meet the eligibility criteria. You may also need to provide evidence to confirm this - we will let you know if this is the case.

For full terms and conditions, please refer to our web page.

Read the full bursary terms and conditions

Support for postgraduate students

If you’re a home fee-paying student on a course that attracts postgraduate funding and are a care leaver, you can apply for an Enhanced Financial Support Award.

This award is from the University and it doesn’t have to be paid back (unless your circumstances change). It is in addition to government funding.

Eligibility

You must meet all of the criteria below to be eligible to apply:

• You are registered or are due to register on a full-time or part-time postgraduate course at the University of Sheffield.
• You will be attending in person: where you are studying by distance learning, you will not be eligible for the Enhanced Financial Support Award.
• You are a care leaver (refer to our definition).
• You were assessed as eligible for the enhanced bursary throughout your undergraduate studies at the University of Sheffield. If you did not receive the enhanced bursary throughout your undergraduate studies at the University of Sheffield or if you have not studied at the University of Sheffield before, you are under the age of 25 on 1 September of the first year of your postgraduate course.
• As an undergraduate student, you were assessed as independent due to your care leaver status by Student Finance England (or equivalent regional funding body). If this doesn’t apply, contact the Student Advice Centre about your circumstances for advice and support.

You do not need to provide any additional evidence if you studied your undergraduate degree with us and received the enhanced bursary for care leavers.

Award

For students who start their course in the 2025-2026 academic year, the bursary award per level of study is £3,000 for full-time study (£1,500 for part-time study). This will be paid in two instalments over the course of the academic year.

For information about schemes for previous years, click on your year of entry below for more information.

2020-2024 entry

For students who started their course between September 2020 and September 2023 the bursary award, per level of study, is £3,000 for full-time study (£1,500 for part-time study).

2016-2019

For students who started their course between September 2016 and September 2019 the bursary award, per level of full-time study, is £2,000. 

2015

For students who started their course from September 2015 the bursary award, per level of full-time study, is £1,600.

How to apply

You will need to complete an application form to provide some details about your personal circumstances and relevant evidence to support your application, if applicable.

If you studied at undergraduate level with us and you received the enhanced bursary for care leavers, you are not required to provide us with any further evidence as part of your application.

If you did not study at undergraduate level with us,  you will need to provide relevant evidence to support your application:

• You will need to provide evidence confirming your care leaver status. Your evidence will need to include the dates you were in care. Your evidence confirming your care leaver status can be a copy of the evidence that you used to apply for your student finance at undergraduate level, for example:
  • A letter from your local authority
  • A letter from social services
  • Proof of legal guardianship, such as a court order
• You will need to provide a letter or email from the Student Loans Company confirming that you were assessed as independent due to your care leaver status at undergraduate level.

If you have any questions about what evidence to provide, please contact the Student Funding Team. If you do not provide the relevant documentation, we will not be able to progress your application. 

You will need to use your applicant login details (once you have received an offer) or student login (if a current student) to access the application form.

Enhanced Support for Care Leavers Application FormYou will receive a response within 20 working days of submitting your completed application.

Along with enhanced financial support, there may be additional support that you are able to access. We will not share your personal circumstances or a copy of any of the evidence that you submit as part of your application. However, if we feel that you may benefit from support offered by other University services, then we may ask them to contact you directly.

Refer to our information about advice and support if you need help with an application.

Terms and conditions 

• The Enhanced Financial Support Award is money from the University for students and it doesn't have to be paid back (unless your circumstances change). It is in addition to government funding.
• The Enhanced Financial Support Award is assessed and paid each year of your course, if applicable, and cannot be backdated for previous years.
• Awards will not be assessed and paid until after the registration start date and when you are fully registered.
• If you have applied prior to the start of the academic year, Enhanced Financial Support Award assessments will take place during October and we will email you by the end of October to confirm whether you are eligible and include details of your payment dates. If you have applied after this point, we will process your application within 20 working days and then confirm to you when you will be paid.
• If you withdraw from your course, you may need to repay a percentage of your Enhanced Financial Support Award that you received in that academic year. Contact the Student Funding Team for guidance.
• If you take a leave of absence during the year, you won’t have to repay the Enhanced Financial Support Award you have already received; however, you won’t be eligible to receive any further instalments due to be paid.
• If you receive an Enhanced Financial Support Award from the University, we will contact you on each year of your course to confirm that you still meet the eligibility criteria, if applicable. You may also need to provide evidence to confirm this - we will let you know if this is the case.

For full terms and conditions, please refer to our web page.

Read the full Enhanced Financial Support Award terms and conditions

Advice and support

Student Advice Centre

If you have concerns about your finances or anything else, as an undergraduate or postgraduate student, then you can contact the Student Advice Centre as a professional, impartial, confidential and non-judgemental service, providing advice, support and representation to help you resolve your problems whilst studying at the University of Sheffield.

Contact the Student Advice Centre

The Student Funding Team

Other resources

You can find out more information about the support available to students who are estranged at the University of Sheffield on the Access Sheffield web pages.

Access Sheffield -  Support for care experienced and estranged students

The National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) have created a guide on finance for care leavers.

NNECL - Support and useful links - Finance

UCAS provides information about financial support for students who are care leavers or care experienced on their web pages.

UCAS - Finance and funding for care experienced students
UCAS - Student finance for independent students

The Student Experience, Diversity and Inclusion team organises events and provides tailored support activities that aim to build a sense of community and belonging for students with a variety of lived experiences. Current students can find out more about these events online.

Student Belonging events (student login required)