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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Apr 28

For instance, extending summer tenancies for care-experienced and estranged students in their final year can relieve the immediate pressure to find a job post-graduation. This gives them the time and space to secure the right job, reducing the risk of homelessness. (3/3)

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Apr 28

Starting this conversation is a great step, but action is crucial. While the plan includes significant initiatives, some smaller changes can also make a big impact. (2/3)

www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/latest/insig...

Enabling care-experienced and estranged students to access and thrive at university

Fiona Ellison, Director of the Unite Foundation shares the importance of providing opportunity for care leavers.

www.universitiesuk.ac.uk

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Apr 28

It was fantastic to share insights on the four key areas in @universities-uk.bsky.social Action to Success plan. This initiative aims to unite universities, government, and partners to enhance access to higher education for those who need it most. (1/3)

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Apr 24

Positive to see @universities-uk.bsky.social UCAS & @suttontrust.bsky.social come together.

Consistency on contextual admissions and building greater understanding of offers with those supporting future HE students will be key to increasing access as in Scot www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/latest/news/...

University sector unveils plan to boost access to higher education for the most disadvantaged in society

At an event in Westminster today, we unveiled our action plan to help deliver on the government’s mission to boost opportunity across the UK.

www.universitiesuk.ac.uk

Reposted

Rebecca Montacute @beckymontacute.bsky.social · Apr 24

We laid out the current issues (including 33% of working class students skipping meals to save on food costs) and options for reform here - www.suttontrust.com/our-research...

Reforming student maintenance - The Sutton Trust

The third policy briefing in our General Election series discusses the student financial support system.

www.suttontrust.com

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Apr 17

I really like this line from @ippr.bsky.social blog "This vision is [...] One that offers young people opportunity time and time again in the places they call home and the places they want to call home."

A long way to go but recognising the importance of home is so important to social mobility

Institute for Public Policy Research @ippr.org · Apr 16

⏰ | NEW BLOG: Social mobility shouldn’t just be about a lucky few beating the odds. In our new blog, we set out a progressive vision for opportunity—one that tackles structural inequality and delivers for all young people.

Read here: www.ippr.org/articles/rec...

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Apr 17

That why students on the @unitefoundation.bsky.social scholarship say that without having to worry about paying their rent they're freed up to access everything else university has to offer. How do we ensure more care experienced & estranged students have a free #HomeAtUniversity (2/2)

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Apr 17

This is so true from @drrobphillips.bsky.social - extracurricular activities are SO crucial in the HE experience, but we so many students are cut out from accessing them - especially those who are studying without family support and therefore have to do much more paid work...(1/2)

Wonkhe @wonkhe.bsky.social · Apr 16

NEW on Wonkhe: There are wide-ranging personal, academic and institutional benefits of extracurricular activities. Robert Phillips urges universities to promote and tailor them to underrepresented groups buff.ly/EPEL5JV

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Mar 4

Back home after 2 fabulous days with @unitefoundation.bsky.social team in Birmingham. Talking all things culture, strategy & topped off with escaping from @escapeliveuk.bsky.social with almost 5mins to spare 🙌

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Jan 29

We'd love to see more HEI's robustly using data to understand the impact of their support - and then challenging themselves to do better and think differently about how financial support can be distributed.

But to do that we need good data on smaller student populations from HESA!

fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Jan 29

We at Unite Foundation know that targeted financial support through accommodation bursaries is the only evidenced intervention that makes a difference in terms of progression & completion for care experienced and estranged students: thisisusatuni.org/jiscimpactan...

Impact = Unite Foundation

This is 10 years of impact Students on the Unite Foundation scholarship have always told us how life changing the scholarship has been for them. But until now, we’ve not had enough data to be able to ...

thisisusatuni.org

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Jan 29

This is a great read from Peter Gray in todays @hepi-news.bsky.social blog on the impact (or lack of) financial bursaries and support.
www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/01/29/m...

Making better decisions on student financial support - HEPI

Universities must rethink financial support strategies, using data-driven insights to address student needs and improve retention outcomes.

www.hepi.ac.uk

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Jan 27

This 👇

Sunday Blake @sundayblake.bsky.social · Jan 24

Comparative data back to 2017 would be somewhat more helpful if "estranged student" wasn't only an elective data point on UCAS or unis 2022 onwards. It would also be helpful if OfS and DfE could agree on a definition of "care leaver" for unis to use so provider-level data is actually comparable.

Jim Dickinson @jimdickinson.bsky.social · Jan 23

NEW on Wonkhe: Care leavers and estranged students in SLC data https://buff.ly/3Cn0ZXq

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fionaellison.bsky.social @fionaellison.bsky.social · Jan 27

Hi @bsky.app community... back from maternity leave, feet under the table and keen to reconnect and keep ears and eyes open to what else is happening in the big wide world - especially around #careexeperienced #estranged #students and all things #highereducation

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