At King’s we recognise that any time spent in local authority care can have a significant impact on educational opportunities and outcomes. We are therefore committed to providing support for students who have spent any time in local authority care throughout their time at King's.
Important to know: In order to access the support available, we strongly encourage students to disclose that they have been in care as part of the King’s enrolment task.
Verification process at King’s
As part of your enrolment/re-enrolment at King’s you’ll need to verify your care-experienced/care leaver status with us. For more information on how to complete the verification process, visit our Social Mobility & Widening Participation pages, and for guidance on:
Our definition of Care-experienced/Care Leaver
The evidence you’ll be required to submit during the verification process
What to expect after you’ve completed the verification process
The remainder of this article will provide an overview of the support available at King’s for care experienced students throughout the duration of your studies.
In this article:
Financial support
At King's, we offer several bursaries which care experienced students from the UK are eligible for:
Care-experienced and Estranged Student Bursary
Worth up to £1,000 per year, the Care-experienced and Estranged Student Bursary is available for students who are under 25 when enrolling, and have experience of local authority care.
King's Living Bursary
The King's Living Bursary is open to every full-time, home first degree student who has been means-tested with a final income assessment of £42,641. The bursary is worth up to £1,600 a year.
Students do not need to apply for the Bursary and will be contacted automatically as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.
King's Student Fund
The King's Student Fund is a limited discretionary fund to assist students on low incomes who may need financial support for their course and to stay in higher education. To find our more information about the fund, visit our King's Student Fund page.
52-week accommodation
We appreciate that accommodation is often a concern for many students who have been in care. We therefore offer 52-week lets (all year round accommodation, including summer months) for all care-experienced students.
Important to know: You will have to notify residences that you would like to stay for 52 weeks as this is only available in selected halls of residence. For more information on accommodation at King's, visit the King's Residences webpage.
King's Affordable Accommodation Scheme (KAAS)
Care-experienced students are also eligible for the King’s Affordable Accommodation Scheme (KAAS) in which accommodation is capped at £169 per week. For more information on KAAS, visit the King's Affordable Accommodation Scheme page.
All students at King's are allocated a Personal Tutor from within their Department or School. To learn more about this, visit our article Who is my personal tutor & what do they do? Care-experienced students also have access to a Senior Tutor who will act as a consistent tutor throughout their time at King's, and give further support with academic work if required.
Our Careers and Employability team at King's can help you with finding a part time job, internship and graduate opportunities, and with gaining employability skills throughout your studies.
Care-experienced students are eligible to access Careers+ which provides you with access to:
Longer Careers Guidance appointments including via Skype and phone (30 minutes)
Advance booking for Careers Guidance appointments (two weeks in advance)
Exclusive internship opportunities
Termly newsletters
Drop in sessions with a Careers Consultant
Exclusive workshops (including online sessions)
To sign up for Careers+, visit our King's CareerConnect webpages.
Advice and Guidance Team
Advice Services provide free and confidential advice on a range of topics, including money and housing. Take a look at our article What student support services are available? for more details on the support they provide.
Mental health and Wellbeing support
The Counselling and Mental Health Support Service offer free, confidential support to all students at King's. For more information on how the Counselling and Mental Health Support Service can support you during this time, read our article Top tips on managing your mental health & wellbeing.
Care-experienced and Estranged Student Network
KCL Car.es is a network for care experienced and estranged students which is focused on creating a safe place for all care experienced and students who identify as estranged. This is a community where these students can feel visible and empowered.
Your first term at King's
At King's, we recognise that the first term is particularly important in transitioning to university life. There are a range of bespoke events and programmes at King's designed to help you settle in:
Officially King’s - Bespoke Induction
We host a social welcoming event at the beginning of September where you will have the opportunity to hear from different support services and connect with people from widening participation backgrounds.
Care-experienced Welcome event
We host a welcome event at the start of term where care-experienced students have the opportunity to meet other care-experienced students.
Important to know: If you are verified as care-experienced by King’s, you will be contacted with your personal invite to both the events above.
The Buddy Scheme
The Buddy Scheme is organised by King’s College London Students’ Union (KCLSU) to help incoming Widening Participation students form friendships and find communities by matching them up with experienced undergraduates. Buddy Mentors are there to answer their questions and signpost to useful resources. Everyone on the scheme can choose whether or not they’d like to be matched based on shared interests and/or experiences.
The scheme offers regular virtual events for Buddy Mentors and Mentees to connect with one another and meet others in a similar situation. Visit the Buddy Scheme webpage to find out more about the scheme and to sign up.
