Care Aware – Support for Student Carers

Do you have unpaid caring responsibilities for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems? 

At Borders College we are committed to promoting, supporting and safeguarding the wellbeing of students with unpaid caring responsibilities.  We work closely with you and the people who support you to offer impartial advice and guidance to enable you to attend a college course and achieve your goals.

It is important to tell us if you are a Student Carer.  Our commitment through our Care Aware service is to support you in every way we can; to assist in removing barriers and to help to ensure you have the best possible experience with us.  You will have a named contact who will be your dedicated contact throughout your chosen programme of study.

Your named contact will support you to overcome any additional barriers created by any life circumstances which may affect your attendance, progression and achievement on your chosen programme of study. 

If you tell us that you are a Student Carer we will:

  • be there to provide you with help and advice about courses, funding, and support services;
  • help make the transition to college as smooth as possible (this might be as simple as showing you around the campus before you become a student);
  • guide you on your funding entitlement
  • guide and support you during your studies, in a way that is seamless and invisible to others;
  • listen and be responsive to your needs and what matters to you;
  • help you to overcome any obstacles that arise or could become a barrier to success;
  • be there when you need us and as a friendly face just to ask how you are doing;
  • work in partnership with other staff e.g. Course Tutor, the Students’ Association, Support Agencies to help ensure you are listened to, supported, included, respected, achieving, nurtured, healthy, active, responsible and able to access the fullest range of services and opportunities.

We are proud to be working with Carers Trust Scotland and working towards our 'Going Further' Recognition Award to show that we are committed to supporting Student Carers through their learner journey.

Get in touch!

Jen MacKenzie, Student Services Team Leader

There are a number of agencies which support student carers:

Our vision is to be a College in which all learners succeed and which inspires growth, creates opportunity, raises aspirations and enhances lives. Borders college is committed to widening access and to providing equity of opportunity to all student carers.

We are an institution free from bias, providing equality of access and opportunity to succeed for all its students. Wherever there is disadvantage-creating, barriers to learning the College will make adjustments and provide services to ensure that equality of access and opportunity is preserved.

Borders College is committed to widening access and to providing equity of opportunity to all students to help ensure that all students are supported to reach their full potential.

Borders College uses the Carer’s Trust definition of an unpaid carer:

A student carer is anyone who “provides unpaid care for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support.”

  • Are you considering college as a future option?
  • Are you thinking about making an application?
  • Are you studying with us just now?

At Borders College we are committed to promoting, supporting and safeguarding the wellbeing of students who are care-experienced. We work closely with you and the people who support you to offer impartial advice and guidance to enable you to attend a college course and achieve your goals.

It is important to tell us if you are Care-Experienced.  Our commitment through our Care Aware service is to support you in every way we can; to listen to what matters to you; to assist in removing barriers and to help to ensure you have the best possible experience with us.  You will have a named contact who will be your dedicated contact throughout your chosen programme of study.

You can tell us any time, but sooner is always better. Even if you are just thinking about college as a possibility, your named contact will help you explore your interests, find the best course, talk through your options, funding and support. If you do decide to study, they’ll even help you to fill out your application forms.

What support am I entitled to?

Your named contact will support you to overcome any additional barriers created by any life circumstances which may affect your attendance, progression and achievement on your chosen programme of study. 

If you tell us that you are Care-Experienced we will:

  • be there to provide you with help and advice about courses, funding, and support services;
  • help make the transition to college as smooth as possible (this might be as simple as showing you around the campus before you become a student);
  • guide you on your funding entitlement
  • guide and support you during your studies, in a way that is seamless and invisible to others;
  • listen and be responsive to your needs and what matters to you;
  • help you to overcome any obstacles that arise or could become a barrier to success;
  • be there when you need us and as a friendly face just to ask how you are doing;
  • work in partnership with other staff e.g. Course Tutors, the Students’ Association, fellow Corporate Parents including the Local Authority to help ensure you are listened to, supported, included, respected, achieving, nurtured, healthy, active, responsible and able to access the fullest range of services and opportunities;
  • help you move on when it’s time – whether to another course with us; moving on to university; employment; or taking on something new.

Our Duty as Corporate Parents

We are incredibly proud to be a Corporate Parent and are committed to fulfilling and exceeding our statuary duties under Part 9 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.

Get in touch!

Jen MacKenzie, Student Services Team Leader

We are proud to work with the Scottish Care Leavers' Covenant to help improve outcomes for care-experienced young people.

The Scottish Care Leavers Covenant is a bold step to make the changes needed to give care leavers the bright and better future they deserve.

Borders College is working in partnership with Who Cares? Scotland, who work with care-experienced young people throughout Scotland.

Their mission is to see a Scotland where care-experienced people are equal members of society. They want those with experience of care to know that they are not alone

Looking to access Education? – Propel can help!!

Propel aims to help more care-experienced young people enter further or higher education and complete their course. Propel have collated information from institutions containing an overview of the support it offers to care leavers.