About the fund

The Care Leaver and Estranged Student Bursary is designed to provide financial support to full-time undergraduate students from care leaver or estranged backgrounds who are studying at our Stoke, Stafford or London campuses.

What can you claim for: 

Eligible students are entitled to a £1,000 bursary each year but need to apply for a £500 payment each semester:
Semester/Cycle One 2026: First Payment (£500):
Fund opens: 5th October
Fund closes: 4th December

Semester/Cycle Two 2027: Second Payment (£500):
Fund reopens: 4th January (start of Semester 2)
Fund closes: 28th May

Eligibility Criteria:

To qualify for our bursary and support package, you must meet either of the definitions below and be recognised as such by your student finance provider.  
Definitions
Care Leaver
A student under the age of 25 at the time of enrolment who:
Has spent at least 13 weeks in care (e.g. foster care or a children’s home) since the age of 14 and was in care on their 16th birthday,
OR
Was privately fostered until the age of 16 or was ‘looked after’ under a Special Guardianship Order.

Estranged Student:

A student under the age of 25 at the time of enrolment who:
Has no communicative relationship with either living biological parent,
AND
Has been assessed as estranged by their student finance provider.


In addition, you must:

- Be an undergraduate ‘home’ fee status student, studying at University of Staffordshire *, on a full-time or sandwich course, paying the full tuition fee either yourself or through a sponsor (such as the NHS for some health courses).

- Be 25 or under when you start the course.

- Be entitled to funding for fees and living costs from Student Finance England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

- Be in receipt of the full tuition fee loan or comparable funding. 
This bursary is only available to Level 4, 5 and 6 Undergraduate (UG) Full Time students studying at the University of Staffordshire Stoke, Stafford or London campuses. Please do not apply if you do not meet these criteria.

*If you are studying at a franchise college or university, please contact your college/university directly to enquire about any bursaries they may offer e.g. South Staffordshire College, City of Stoke Sixth Form College, Burton and South Derbyshire College, CECOS College, Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group etc.

Eligibility criteria

This fund is only available to people in the categories listed below. Please do not apply if you are not in one of these.