CUKAS - Care leavers

Buttle UK - Quality Mark for Care Leavers

Buttle UK makes a real difference to the lives of children and young people in need. They make grants totalling £3 million each year to give children and young people a brighter future. The charity received many applications for their Students and Trainees Programme from care leavers, so they decided to commission a piece of research into the experiences of this group before and during higher education. The result was 'By Degrees: From Care to University', which showed that young people who have been in care often lack the emotional and financial support of their families and face greater challenges than the majority of students in acquiring educational qualifications and employment skills.

From this, the Quality Mark for Care Leavers was created, to recognise those universities and colleges which make special efforts to support students from care backgrounds.

Professor Drummond Bone, President of Universities UK (2005 - 2007), welcomed the contribution the charity's Quality Mark for Care Leavers programme will make to the support students from care backgrounds receive, saying, 'Universities are committed to encouraging applications from candidates from non-traditional backgrounds; the scheme is another fine example of this.'

To find out more about Buttle UK, the By Degrees research and the Quality Mark for Care Leavers please visit their website: www.buttleuk.org.