If you are a Young Adult Carer, we will:

• Give you advice and guidance throughout the application process
• Signpost you to the UG Admissions Progression Team for students with caring responsibilities
• Support you throughout your studies with 1:1 Check in appointments with the Student Retention & Success Team
  
• Support you if you undertake a leave of absence to care for someone
• Fast-track referrals to other support services including Skills Centre, Wellbeing Team
• Offer opportunities to take part in activities outside of the classroom

If you are a young adult carer and have a support worker do let us know. Contact the Student Retention & Success Team with your Applicant Student ID number, your support workers contact name and details.

Am I a Young Adult Carer?

Your caring role may be a short-term commitment, for instance looking after someone following an accident, or it could be a long-term responsibility.

• Do you have to look after someone when you go home during vacation periods?
• Do you provide emotional support on the phone?
• Do you travel home some weekends to help look after someone?
  

If you answer yes to any of the questions above, you may be a young adult carer.

A Young Adult Carer is a person whose life is affected by caring for a family member, partner or friend who has a physical or sensory disability, learning disability, medical conditions, mental health difficulties, or has a problematic use of drugs, alcohol or gambling.

You are classed as a young adult carer if you look after a relative or friend, of any age, due to:

• disability
• chronic or terminal illness
• mental health problems
• alcohol or drug addiction/dependency

Many students combine university study with care or support for a family member, friend or partner. Support can be needed due to illness, disability, mental health or substance misuse. Balancing such responsibilities with academic study can be challenging and place additional stress on a student’s own physical and mental health. There is support available to students at the University of Bath which can help students with caring responsibilities, make the most of their time as a student.

Academic Work

If you find yourself missing lectures because of problems relating to caring for someone else this may impact on you keeping up with your academic work. Missed deadlines and poor attendance will affect your academic performance so you will need to inform a member of your department, if your studies become affected. Make sure you let either your Academic Advisor and/or Director of Studies know if you are having problems.

University guidelines explain the regulations in place for deferral of assessments due to mitigating circumstances.

Time out to be a carer

If you need to undertake a leave of absence to care for someone your funding is usually also suspended. However, your funding provider has the discretion to keep paying your student loan and grant if you have been receiving one. You must write and request this and provide evidence, including evidence that you will be in hardship if you are not paid. If you need assistance doing this please contact the Student Money Advice team.

Applying to Bath as a Young Adult Carer (UCAS)

The University encourages you to disclose your caring responsibilities so additional support can be provided. When you complete your UCAS application form, you will have the opportunity to share with your chosen universities more information about your caring responsibilities. The question for students with caring responsibilities is ‘Do you have any caring responsibilities?’ in the ‘More about you’ section of the UCAS Application. For more information about declaring your caring responsibilities on your UCAS application: see UCAS.

Bursary Requirements

You may be entitled to a Young Adult Carer Bursary of £500 per year of academic study.

To be entitled to the Young Adult Carer Undergraduate bursary you must:

• have a household income below £60,000, as assessed by the Student Loans Company
• be enrolled on a full-time undergraduate or foundation degree and registered as a student at the University of Bath
• be aged 25 years or under at the start of the course
  

Process to apply for the SRS Undergraduate (UG) Young Adult Carer Bursary

For information on how to apply for the Student Retention & Success (SRS) Team Undergraduate (UG) Young Adult Carer Bursary, please visit the Bursaries and Funding webpage.

Information on Providing Evidence as a Student with Caring Responsibilities.

This should be in the form of an original letter by a professional person. The letter could be from:

• Teacher/adviser from school/college
• GP/ Health Professional
• Social Worker/ Social services
• Local authority
• Charity or Support organisation, i.e. Carers Trust
  

The letter cannot be from a family member or the cared for person. The third-party professional will have known about the caring situation for a substantial amount of time and can verify that the student has caring responsibilities and for whom they care for.

We will also accept the following evidence:

• Letter or medical report from a health professional such as a GP, detailing the medical condition of the person you care for.
• A copy of your latest Carer’s Award letter if you receive Carer’s Allowance
• or a copy of an award letter showing that the person you care for is in receipt of one of the following:
  • Attendance Allowance
  • Council Tax Reduction or Housing Benefit that includes a disability premium as part of the assessment
  • Disability Living Allowance
  • Employment and Support Allowance
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Evidence must be dated within the last 12 months.

What if you have never told anyone that you are a carer and are unable to provide evidence?

Please contact the Student Retention & Success Team and we will consider your individual circumstances, email studentsuccess@bath.ac.uk with your Student ID number, your name, names and relationship of the person you carry out caring responsibilities for.

Please get in touch by emailing studentsuccess@bath.ac.uk and let us know about your situation.

You may not be able to access the full support package at this time, but we may still be able to offer you practical advice and guidance.

In the meantime, you may like to consider disclosing your caring situation to either your GP or Social Services. Most GP practices would welcome your disclosure, and most have support and advice available for carers. Talking to your GP and/or Social Services is advised by the NHS and please be aware that we would still consider applications later in the academic year once you are able to provide evidence.

Bursaries & Scholarships

You may be entitled to additional financial support as part of the Undergraduate Scholarships Bursaries and other Funding Packages.

We recommend that you apply asap via Bath Application Tracker. Funding for 2024/5 entry may be subject to change.

Postgraduate Student with Caring Responsibilities

If you are a Postgraduate Student with Caring Responsibilities we can offer our 1:1 support whilst you are studying. As a Postgraduate student with caring responsibilities you can apply for the Financial Support Fund and/or Short term loan, and UK Government postgraduate loans. You can also check your eligibility for UoB scholarships and bursaries.

For financial support as an international student please contact the Student money Advice Team.