On the 26th October as part of National Care Leavers Week 2022 the CLASS Cymru network and CASCADE launched a new website called CLASS Cymru. The website offers information, advice and guidance for care-experienced people in Wales and those who support them to facilitate their transition to higher education.
CLASS Cymru (Care Leavers and Student Support Wales) is a network of professionals who work with care leavers and other care-experienced and estranged young people in their educational journeys towards higher education. Research conducted by CASCADE’s Dr Hannah Bayfield into the support available for care-experienced students in Wales suggested that whilst support is available, it isn’t always well signposted or specific to care-experienced young people’s situations.
The CLASS Cymru website is designed to plug this gap: providing clear, concise advice and signposting to relevant sources of support and information. Covering the whole timeline from considering a university degree through to what to do when you graduate, this bilingual resource provides care-experienced people and those who support them with a one-stop-shop for finding the key information necessary to simplify this process.
The CLASS Cymru launch event welcomed practitioners, young people and academics to learn more about the project and the website, as well as hear from care-experienced students and the social enterprise the Sunflower Lounge about how we can all work towards better support for care-experienced students.
To find out more, visit the website or email info@classcymru.co.uk
