Students with caring responsibilities
London South Bank University has been ranked third in the world for reducing inequality in the prestigious Times Higher Impact Rankings 2024. As such, we are continually seeking to improve our offer for students with caring responsibilities, particularly young adult carers.
Deciding to study at university is a big step, and if you’re a student with caring responsibilities we recognise you’ll have more to organise and consider than most. At LSBU we’ll be on-hand to offer support, helping you to settle in, focus on your studies and enjoy everything your experience has to offer.
LSBU is one of eight universities taking part in the exciting ‘Driving Change in Higher Education ‘ project. Driving Change is supporting us to embed an organisational approach to helping young people with caring responsibilities fulfil their potential in higher education and beyond.
Learning and Work Institute and Carers Federation have joined forces on Driving Change in Higher Education. This is a three-year project focused on breaking down the barriers to university education faced by young adult carers, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
According to the Carers Trust there are at least 376,000 young adult carers in the UK.
“Young adult carers are young people aged 16–25 who care, unpaid, for a family member or friend with an illness or disability, mental health condition or an addiction ”.
If you a current student who is a young adult carer, or you’re applying to join LSBU, please get in touch with the Student Advice Team for support.
Our support package for students who are Young Adult Carers includes:
- Single point of contact - at LSBU, we offer students a point of contact for all queries, concerns and support needs through the Student Advice team.
- Drop-ins and dedicated events - throughout the year students can join group drop-ins, or meet the team for a range of priority support, including jobs and careers advice.
- LSBU celebrates Carers Rights Day each year and has a free legal advice clinic for students who may want support
- Links to community support– There are lots of great charities in your local boroughs. Here are the local services closest to our campus:
- Southwark: Southwark Carers
- Wandsworth: Wandsworth Carers Centre
- Croydon: Croydon Young Carers (18 to 25 years) & Croydon Carers First (25+ years)
- Financial support - students with caring responsibilities of all ages can get support managing their finances with the Student Advice team and via Blackbullion. Students with caring responsibilities of all ages will be prioritised for support funds, take a look at Student Money Advice pages.
- Young Adult Carer Award - students who are under 25 years and provide unpaid care are offered a dedicated non-repayable annual award of a minimum of £500 a year during their undergraduate studies. We have consulted with students and the Carers Federation to set a level of evidence that is fair, but achievable for LSBU students.
- Health and wellbeing support - throughout your time with us, we can offer regular 1:1 advice and guidance, as well as signposting you to access high quality student support services around the university from Mental Health and Wellbeing, Disability and Dyslexia Support to Careers Advice.
- Flexible and inclusive teaching - we are proud of our inclusive learning environment; we understand that there may be times when you’re not able to submit work by a deadline or have unexpected absences due to caring responsibilities. Our policies are inclusive to support you.
- LSBU Active - free foundation gym membership , consideration for paid work as a Sports Ambassador, access to a wide range of clubs and sports activities
- 24/7 Accommodation Support - in halls, our Residence Management teams known as Thrive, Accommodation Office Team and Out of Hours Residential Wellbeing Managers are on hand 24-hours a day to provide welfare, wellbeing and support
- Why choose LSBU?
Accessing the support package
If you’re thinking of applying, or have already applied to LSBU, please get in touch with the Student Advice Team, for details on how to access our support package.
Once you’ve got in touch with us, we’ll invite you to our annual ‘Get to know us’ offer holder event and set up a welcome appointment to help understand how we can support you.
We highly recommend sharing that you’re a young adult carer with us, as this helps us to identify and reach out to you while you study with us.
You can ‘tick the box’ via UCAS, and declare during the enrolment form as well as when completing the LSBU Personal Development Plan during semester one. This information will be treated in the strictest of confidence, and your application will not be disadvantaged in any way.
The Student Advice Team have one-to-one appointments available either in person or on the telephone throughout the week. Current LSBU students have a MyAccount that you can use to make appointments with an advisor or ask us a question. See the help guides: How to use MyAccount as a student and How to book an appointment in MyAccount. Can’t log in to MyAccount? See this help guide.
Helpful links
Support for Young Adult Carers
- Carers Trust has lots of really useful resources and information on caring for someone. They also have a benefits calculator which can help you understand any benefits you may be entitled to
- Learning & Work Institute offers useful advice and resources on learning and work for young adult carers
- Mobilise support people who are looking after a family member or friend who have a disability, long-term illness, or are elderly. They have a really great website with lots of useful resources. Mobilise also run virtual ‘cuppas’. These are free 45 minute video calls where you can connect with around 12 other people who are also looking after a loved one.
- MYTIME Young Carers They support young carers up to 25. Have a look at their toolkit which includes useful links and sources of support to help young carers get the advice and help they need.
- You can also have a look at your local council to find out what kind of support is available and the rights you have as a carer.
- UCAS - applying to university as student with caring responsibilities
“Honestly, the Student Advice team have been amazing. As I leave university I feel as if I was supported more than ever. The understanding and genuine assistance was there and it has helped me so much! I have struggled with money, relationships, mental health etc and the university has always been there. There is a reason that rated so highly, you can tell the heart is the right place”.
At LSBU, we not only recognise the untapped potential within you, but we also amplify it, helping you become the best version of yourself.