Supporting care experienced young people into higher education

Care-leavers have experienced removal from their parental home during childhood. This may be as a result of neglect, abuse, death of family members or inability of family members to care for them. There are approximately 45,000 children in care in Australia and child protection orders are growing (AIHW, 2020). When removed, children may stay with relatives in a kinship care arrangement, foster care or residential care, for example, a group home. A significant body of research demonstrates that care-leavers are less likely to attain educational qualifications, less likely to have good health, and are more likely to have contact with the criminal justice and mental health systems. Their participation rates in higher education are low: care-experienced school leavers are three-times less likely to enrol in university (Harvey et al., 2015). Those who do enter higher education face significant challenges from childhood trauma that may adversely affect their studies.