Care experienced

Care experienced students are provided with specific support to study with The Open University in Scotland.

We know that many care experienced students have faced challenges in accessing higher education and in managing their studies alongside everything else going on in their lives.

The definition of care experience the OU uses is 'anyone of any age, who at any stage in their life has been in care. This can be for any length of time and includes a variety of settings, such as in residential children’s home, kinship care, foster care, or through living at home under a supervision order. It also includes adopted children who were previously looked after'.

Study support 

As a distance learning university we offer a unique student experience. You don’t need to move away from home and you can study at a time and a pace that works for you. You can choose to study for a degree, diploma or certificate, or take a stand-alone module. We provide supported, personalised learning.

At The Open University in Scotland, we understand that as a care experienced student, you may need support to help you get through any challenges you experience and continue with your study. 

Our Care Experienced Students Policy outlines all of the support that we offer which includes:

• Study support sessions with your tutor
• Extensions to assignment deadline
• Taking your exam at home
• Recordings of online tutorials to listen to when convenient for you.

In addition, we offer: 

• Access modules for those with not much study experience, to build confidence before studying at degree level.
• 'Making Your Learning Count' module which gives you credit for study completed on the OU's free learning site OpenLearn.
• Support and adjustments for students with disabilities, including teaching, assessments and study materials and activities if you have a disability.
• Opportunities to connect with the OU community through module forums and Open SU, the OU's students union.

Financial support 

We provide guidance on funding, including:

• Part-Time Fee Grant and top-up funding from the OU - for those with a personal income of less than £25,000 a year to study for free.
• Help with other costs. 

Keeping informed 

Updating your student profile: 

If you have registered for OU study, to ensure you receive information about funding and support for care experienced students, please tell us that you have care experience by updating your OU student profile as follows:

1. Sign in to StudentHome.
2. Click on 'Update personal details' in the Profile box in the left-hand column.
3. Click on 'Previous education and background' under About you. 
4. Click on 'Edit details' and use the drop-down list under 'Care leaver' to select the option which applies to you. 

Receiving newsletter for care experienced students: 

Our OU Scotland Cares Team send newsletters to care experienced students which include information about study support, financial support, events and opportunities. 

You will receive notification about the newsletter and opportunities available if you have declared your care experience in your student profile or when you register on a module. 

Most recent edition: December 2025 newsletter (DOC, 520 KB). 

Proud corporate parents

All universities and colleges in Scotland are named corporate parents, responsible for upholding the rights and safeguarding the wellbeing of care experienced students. We take our responsibilities as a corporate parent seriously. 

More information on how we support care experienced students is in our Corporate Parenting Plan (PDF, 631 KB). 

We are always keen to hear from our care experienced students and those who are interested in studying with us about how we can improve their learning experience with us.

We also work in partnership with other organisations to better understand the needs of care experienced students, and to ensure that resources to fully support care experienced students are developed.