Starting university is an exciting journey filled with new opportunities, experiences, and challenges. At Edge Hill, students are at the heart of everything we do, so a wide range of support services are available to help students make the most of your time here.
Students who have experience of Local Authority care or who are estranged from their family (CEES) may experience barriers to their education. So, we’ve created dedicated support systems from pre-entry through to graduation to help CEES to thrive.
From academic support to well-being initiatives and student societies to career advice, CEES will find everything they need to make their time at Edge Hill rewarding and enjoyable.
Support for all aspects student life
All students will be able to access a range of support before and during their time at Edge Hill, and there’s dedicated support for CEES too. The support spans across the university to help you to settle in, achieve your academic goals and have a thriving social life.
Here’s just some of the teams and programmes available to students when they need it.
Student support team
Our Student Support team are the central team for on-course support and can help students to make the most of their time at university. They offer a mix of online and in-person appointments where you can chat through any issues you may be facing. They can signpost you to the best support, so make a great first point of call for whatever you need.
Thrive Programme
CEES are also automatically eligible to join the THRIVE programme, an on-course support package including a dedicated THRIVE coach, skills development opportunities and networking with teams from across the university.
Student life team
Student Life host many events to help you to settle into your new home, from exciting events in our Students’ Union through to coffee mornings and much more. They also have a team of Campus Connectors who will accompany you to your first lectures and are an excellent source of information and advice throughout your time at university. Student Life also have a portal where you can see all of the events running at any time, most of which are free to join.
Financial support
Our Money Advice team offer appointments to help with money issues, budgeting and much more. Edge Hill also offers financial support for care leavers, who if eligible may be able to access an annual bursary of £1,000 for up to a maximum of three years whilst studying.
If students are ever worried they can’t afford university, there’s a Student Support Fund on offer for eligible students too. The fund offers non-repayable awards and emergency support for students in financial difficulty and the Money Advice team can give further advice on funding available.
Residential support
CEES studying at Edge Hill may also be able to access a room in the university accommodation for 365 days a year, for the three years of their degree course.
If students don’t wish to live on-campus, the Accommodation team can provide support in the search for accommodation both during term time and the vacation period.
NNECL Quality Mark
The NNECL Quality Mark is awarded to universities and colleges who demonstrate their support for the inclusion and success of students with care experience and who are estranged. Edge Hill has been awarded this for the second time.
“We’re delighted to have been re-awarded the NNECL Quality Mark, which recognises the comprehensive support at Edge Hill for care experienced and estranged students (CEES).
“As a university we’re committed to supporting CEES students into and through university, and we hope that this award will encourage more students with these lived experiences to come to us for support. We’re proud of our offer which spans the whole university journey, particularly as student voice and effective practice from NNECL has guided our approach. So, to be recognised for this work for a second time is a testament to the impact this support has on CEES students.”
Heather Lloyd
Head of Widening Access and Student Success
This award shows the dedication support teams have to providing bespoke support to CEES. Work is ongoing and Edge Hill will continue to work with CEES students and the NNECL to ensure that the best possible support is provided.
“NNECL is delighted to re-award Edge Hill University with the NNECL Quality Mark and to recognise the commitment to supporting learners from a CEES background at every stage of their journey into and through Higher Education.
Their submission continually demonstrated how the learning from their data, the student voice and strategic buy in and overview feed into and support the development of their practice and provision which in turn leads to better outcomes for our young people.
NNECL is confident that any student entering Edge Hill University will be well looked after and supported, and we celebrate the achievement of awarding enhanced provision on several sections of the Quality Mark with everyone at the institution. We look forward to learning about the developments with your action plan over the next 3 years of this award period. Well done Edge Hill!”
Sian Edwards
Programme Manager at NNECL
CEES student thinking about university?
If you’re thinking about coming to university, and want to know more about the support available and how we can work with you our Widening Access and Student Success team are here to help and can offer bespoke information and advice on accessing Higher Education.
Contact the team today to find out more about university life as a CEES student.
Get in touch
March 11, 2025
