GHWY’s innovative Care to Go Higher pilot programme has been successfully launched with a group of foster carers and children’s home workers from Leeds and Bradford.

The training programme, which aims to equip key influencers to support a care experienced young person to make informed choices about their education, held its first session at Leeds Beckett University on Tuesday, 24 September.

Developed in partnership with Leeds City Council, it will immerse care professionals in a higher education (HE) environment in order to inform first-hand perceptions and perspectives about the HE experience and its value.

The programme was established in recognition that too few care leavers ever realise their potential in HE and beyond, and is based on research into some of the barriers they face. It is hoped the programme will ultimately help to give them the best opportunity to progress economically and educationally, by equipping their key influencers to support their progression.

Participants will attend six taught sessions that will provide information on, among other subjects, benefits of HE and support available for care leavers. They will complete ‘reflective journals’ in between the sessions and will undertake a range of experiences, including campus tours and meeting named Care Leaver contacts. The next three sessions will take place at Leeds City College University Centre before returning to Leeds Beckett for the final two sessions.

Key to the success of the programme is each participant being assigned a named HE ‘buddy’.  Volunteers from GHWY partner institutions will be participants’ link to HE to help them find an answer to any HE-related questions between sessions.

Further information about the programme can be read here.