In this piece, co-authors Alison Gray (Senior Student Services Manager), Dr Lucy Judd (Transition Team Manager) and Shelly Williams (Accommodation Team Leader), discuss the theory and practice of supporting care experienced students at Nottingham Trent University. UPP is pleased to be working in partnership with Nottingham Trent University to provide free accommodation for eligible care experienced students.
For care experienced students, the transition to university can be transformative, but it can also bring uncertainties that many of their peers may never face. Housing insecurity, financial pressures, and limited support networks can make the start of university feel especially precarious at precisely the time when stability and connection matter most.
At Nottingham Trent University (NTU), colleagues from across academic and professional service teams work together through the Care Experienced and Estranged Students Network to provide coordinated support before, during, and beyond transition. Through this work, we witness first-hand the difference that stability, particularly secure accommodation, can make.
When students know they have a safe place to live, they are better able to focus on their studies, build friendships, and participate fully in university life. It is this understanding which informed our development of the Care Leaver Accommodation Scholarship, in partnership with UPP.
NTU UPP Care Leaver Accommodation Scholarship
At NTU, the Care Leaver Accommodation Scholarship covers the full cost of NTU/UPP accommodation for eligible students during their first year of study. By removing one of the most significant financial pressures students face, this scholarship goes beyond providing practical support to create the kind of stability that enables care-experienced students to participate fully in university life, and ultimately, to thrive academically.
The impact felt by students has been immediate:
“Having free accommodation has made a significant difference in my life. It has relieved a huge financial burden, allowing me to focus more on my studies and worry less about my living situation.”
Research consistently shows that financial pressure can be a significant barrier to belonging, while social connection is one of its strongest drivers. By removing the pressure of accommodation costs, scholarship recipients have more freedom to participate in everyday experiences that help them build friendships, confidence, and a sense of community: “Not having to worry about rent means I have a lot more disposable income each month, which allows me to enjoy going out with my flatmates and taking part in social activities without stressing about money.”
These moments – being able to say yes to a coffee with friends, to joining a society event, or spending time with course or flatmates – may seem small, but they are often the experiences that help students feel connected to their university community. For care experienced students, access to these can help bridge the gap between their sense of belonging and that of their peers.
For some students, the impact is even more profound:
“Before coming to NTU, I didn’t have a home and felt vulnerable. With the accommodation scholarship, I didn’t have to worry about this awful anxiety of not having a home and instead could focus on my studies just like all the other young people.”
A Network Approach: Collaboration and Co‑Production
This highlights the powerful role that accommodation can play in creating a more equitable student experience. When care-experienced students feel safe, secure and supported, they are able to start university on a more equal foundation.
The Care Leaver and Accommodation Scholarship sits within a wider package of support delivered through collaboration across NTU, and with external partners, including UPP. Together, NTU and UPP fund early-arrival accommodation for care experienced students, helping to bridge gaps between accommodation contracts and provide additional stability during key transition periods. Students are also supported with bedding and kitchen starter packs, alongside laundry support, which helps them settle into their new home and reduces some of the practical and financial challenges associated with starting university.
Across the university, care-experienced students can also access contextual admissions offers, specialist financial guidance, priority accommodation, dedicated advice and wellbeing services, and employability programmes. This approach recognises that student success depends on more than access alone.
Increasingly, our work has been shaped by student voice and co-production. Paid Care Experienced and Estranged Student (CEES) Ambassadors work alongside our staff network to help shape services, co-design support, and influence communications. This helps us to ensure that our offer remains relevant and responsive to students’ needs. Alongside this, peer representation and early community-building activities help students develop connections and strengthen their sense of belonging.
Looking Ahead
We’ve seen how working together across the university, and alongside our accommodation partner, UPP, can make a real difference for students with experience of living in care. Together, we’ve created support that helps students not only access higher education but also feel settled and ready to succeed once they get here.
The Care Leaver Accommodation Scholarship is about more than financial support though. It demonstrates that a holistic approach can offer this vulnerable student group the financial, psychological, and emotional safety needed to engage fully in university life, and creates opportunities for belonging, progression and success.
As a network, we are proud of the progress made so far, while recognising there is more to do. By continuing to work alongside students, colleagues, and partners, like UPP, we hope to ensure that care experienced and estranged students not only enter higher education, but feel secure, connected, and able to thrive here once they arrive.
