Additional Support

Additional Support​

Here you can explore additional support available for young people within the Liverpool City Region. If you require further information or signposting, please get in touch with us via this link.

Additional Support​

Here you can explore additional support available for young people within the Liverpool City Region. If you require further information or signposting, please get in touch with us via this link.

Mental Health Support

One-to-one support for whatever challenge you’re facing, designed for students. Whether it’s your mental health, your studies, money, housing or relationships, we’re here to support you. Also offers specific support lines for Muslim and Punjabi students.

YPAS is a Youth Information Advice and Counselling Service (YIACS) that provides free, accessible and age-appropriate support to young people with a wide range of issues. YIACS are driven by the needs of children and young people. 

Funded by the NHS and local authorities, Kooth is an anonymous site which helps children and young people to feel safe and confident in exploring their concerns and seeking professional support.

Care Experienced & Estranged Students

Support for Care Experienced Students in Higher Education

Developed with our partners, this document has all the up to date information you need on the support offer available to care experienced learners.

Use this during your research to find the institution that offers the best support for you, or to get in touch to discuss further.

Find information about support, financing your studies and accommodation options as an estranged student.

Based in the Liverpool City Centre, Thrive Careers Hub is a supportive and welcoming space for young people and their carers/support workers in our region to access employment help, career advice and other support services.

Propel is your guide to higher and further education for care leavers. They provide help, support, and advice so that young people who spend time in care can unleash their potential and take control of their lives.

  • There are over 5,000 care experienced students in the Liverpool City Region.
  • There is very little information available on estranged students in the Higher Education sector as a whole.
  • People who have spent time in local authority care face many and significant barriers to entering and succeeding in higher education, but are just as likely to succeed as any other student with the proper support and pathway.

Students with Disability

Inclusive Transitions Package

Our Inclusive Transitions resources are designed to help students who feel they may need to access some additional support to make their Higher Education experience as successful as possible – whether that means accessing mentoring, assistive technology to support them with studying, supported accommodation, or adjustments in classes or assessments.

This booklet is available in both standard and large print. Please get in touch if our would like a physical copy via admin@shaping-futures.info.

Higher Education is for everybody. Every year over 60,000 students with physical and/or mental health conditions and learning differences apply through UCAS to study at a university or college in the UK, and access a range of support to help them succeed with their studies, day-to-day activities, travel, and lifestyle. UCAS has compiled all the information you need to know before you begin your HE journey. 

Barnardos Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDiass) offers advice and support around various topics relating to Special Educational Needs and disabilities (SEND) for children and young people aged 0-25 living in the Liverpool and Knowsley Area District and their families.

The Disabled Students Helpline offers information and advice by phone and email on post 16 education and training to Disabled students, apprentices, trainees, their parents, carers and any professionals supporting them.

  • The Liverpool City Region has higher rates of SEND students than North West and England as a whole, with higher rates of ASD, Severe Learning Difficulty, Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs and Specific Learning Difficulties than the national average. 
  • Learners eligibility for free school meals, requirements for SEND support and school exclusions all have an impact on young people’s attainment at GCSE.
  • The Skills for Growth plan specifically mentions disability as an area where they are going to work to close the gap for those out of work (Liverpool City Region Combined Authority; Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, 2018), so this work continues to be a priority for the combined authority.

See more.

Adult Learners

At Shaping Futures, we recognise that every adult learner is an individual, with different motivations, concerns and aspirations and our approach reflects this. We want to ensure every adult learner can access the information, advice, and guidance they need to make the best choice for them when returning to education.

The Liverpool City Council’s Adult Learning Service delivers high quality, locally delivered adult learning opportunities for the people of Liverpool. 

UCAS has compiled information and guidance for those looking to begin studying an undergraduate course at aged 21 or over.

Refugees & Asylum Seekers

Refugee Education UK provides you with everything you need to know if you want to progress in further or higher education as an asylum seeker or refugee, offering one to one support, advice lines and information on the UK education system.

Displaced Student Opportunities UK is a comprehensive source of information about accessing higher education for people who are displaced in the UK. Universities, charities, and other organisations add information about opportunities that they offer, as well as providing resources and information on your journey to university.

Compiled by Liverpool City Council, this is a list of all support organisations available for refugees, people seeking asylum and vulnerable migrants. 

  • Refugees face significant barriers to successful participation in higher education, including a lack of certainty over immigration status, tuition fee concerns, language and cultural barriers and issues around validating previous qualifications (Office for Students).

  • We are aware each learner who is a Refugee or Asylum Seeker has different needs and support requirements – we work closely with partners to support you and your circumstances. Please get in touch for more information. 

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Students

 Shaping Futures, working with our local university partners and Action Transport Theatre, are pleased to present ‘A Sense of Belonging’, a recorded theatrical performance based on the conversations we had with students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

Access UK is a charity and social enterprise that offers end to end, bespoke information, advice and guidance services for young Black Minority Ethnic individuals. They focus on three E’s: education, employment and enterprise.

  • There are a range of different Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups in Liverpool, with varying support needs. Therefore, outreach should focus on specific groups and their needs, rather than blanket provision.

  • The Liverpool City Region launched the Race Equality Programme in 2020 that is currently conducting research into the scale of racial inequality in the region.

Young Adult Carers

Barnardo’s Action With Young Adult Carers is a Liverpool city-wide community-based service that ensures young adult carers age 18-25 in Liverpool can receive a carer’s assessment, support plan and review to meet their needs to reduce the negative impact of caring for an adult. 

Higher Education is for everybody, and if you’re providing unpaid care to a family member, partner or friend you are entitled to additional support. UCAS has compiled all the information you need to know before you begin your HE journey. 

Action for Carers holds provides tailored information about things like education and employment decisions, as well as balancing your life with your caring role. They also hold events for specific age groups, allowing carers to enjoy some respite.

  • As of 2011, there were 24,561 Young Carers under 18 in the North West. This number is likely to have substantially increased within the last decade.

  • Young carers can thrive in further and higher education provided with the correct pathways guidance that acknowledges their specific situation and challenges.

 

See more.