Estranged Students (Students with no parental support)

You can apply for Student Finance by yourself through the Government's Student Finance website.

• When you get to the section that asks whether you are a dependent or independent student, tick the box that states that you are “irreconcilably estranged from your family”
• Send in supporting evidence
• Complete the Confirmation of Estrangement Form with Student Finance England

It’s best to send as much supporting evidence as possible. All applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis and the more evidence you provide, the quicker Student Finance can reach their decision. Any delay in this process could affect the date you receive your student loan payment.

If you'd like someone to help guide you through the process, you can contact our Specialist Advisers at specialistsupport@salford.ac.uk

Estrangement Bursary 

We offer up to £1100 per academic year within this bursary. This is split into two payments, with £300 awarded to eligible students at the end of November, and £800 awarded to eligible students at the end of May. This bursary is weighted towards the summer as we appreciate this can be a difficult time for students who are estranged with costs for accommodation and expenses during the summer break. This bursary is designed to assist with these costs. 

Student halls

If you stay with our Partner Accommodation that’s run by Campus Living Villages (Peel Park Quarter or John Lester and Eddie Coleman) then we may be able to provide additional support.

• CLV offer 52-week contracts for estranged students to make the gap between academic years easier for you by letting you stay in their accommodation over summer.
• They can organise for you to book your room without paying the deposit and rental advance up front, and delaying it until the first instalment of your student loan comes in.
• If required, we are able to organise for you to stay at the accommodation for all three years of your study through our ‘Protected Returner’ scheme.

If you’d like to find out more about any of the above, please get in contact with us.

Unite Foundation scholarship

We are also University partners with the Unite Foundation, who have a scholarship that can provide up to three years of free accommodation whilst you’re at university.

• You can find out how to apply on the This Is Us website and if you’re successful you’ll get your accommodation without having to pay rent or bills for up to three years.

Guarantors

We’ve also become partners with Housing Hand, which can act as a guarantor for your accommodation.

• If you’re in your second or third year at university then we may be able to cover the cost of using Housing Hand.
• If you are in your first year at Salford then we have an exclusive price. Please contact the team for further information.

Contact us for accommodation support

If you ever need any advice or support on accommodation, then we have accommodation specialists who can help. The accommodation team can be contacted on accommodation@salford.ac.uk or by calling +44 (0)161 295 0023.

The estrangement support team within askUS is here to be your first point of contact at the University and, while we usually only deal with non-academic enquiries, we can put you in contact with other areas of the University. Email specialistsupport@salford.ac.uk  directly so we can provide you with support and set up a one-to-one appointment with you.

• It is completely normal to want or need to seek additional emotional support at university. We have a dedicated Wellbeing and Counselling team who will be able to speak with you about anything that is worrying you and refer you into counselling if you’d like. They can be contacted on +44 (0)161 295 0023 (option 1, option 1), on email at wellbeing@salford.ac.uk or through the referral form
• We also have a dedicated Disability Inclusion Service who will be able to support you with getting extra support in place. It’s best to contact them before you start university so they can get your support in place before you start. They can be called on +44 (0)161 295 0023 (option 1, option 2) or emailed on disability@salford.ac.uk
• We have also set up an instant messaging service to connect our estranged students and prospective students who are estranged. If you’re interested in joining, then please let us know by emailing specialistsupport@salford.ac.uk

• Buttle UK provides thousands of grants to young people in the UK, often when there is no other source of help available to you. One particular grant that might be available to estranged young people is the Students and Trainees Programme
• The Students and Trainees Programme awards financial support to young people (aged 16-20), who are estranged from their parents to attend education. There are criteria and eligibility for this programme, so please ensure you check this first
• Brightside has some useful information for students whose parents are unwilling to provide their income details, as well as estranged students finding it difficult to evidence independence
• Turn2us is a free service that helps people in financial need to access welfare benefits, charitable grants and other financial help. Their website has a free and easy to use benefits calculator and grants search
• UCAS have launched a handy guide to applying as an Estranged student and how to access support whilst at university
• Stand Alone was a UK organisation that has been established to support anyone who has become estranged from their family, or primary care giver.

We still retain strong links with Stand Alone and the legacy of their work.

While Stand Alone was in operation they offered a wide variety of useful resources, and research into Estrangement Support. You can find some useful links to some of their reports below. 

What happened next? Transitioning out of Higher Education 

Family Matters. An exploration the role and importance of family relationships for students in UK higher education 

Hidden Voice: Family Estrangement in Students

Focus on access and retention. Risks for students who are estranged or disowned by their family 

The award is to support a student’s learning and living costs and is available to UK full-time and part-time students who are struggling financially, have declared themselves as estranged or having a negative or poor relationship with family and were under the age of 26 when starting their current undergraduate programme of study at the University of Salford.  

In Higher Education the word estrangement is used by Student Finance to describe a student with no relationship with either parent (adoptive or biological) and would not be able to provide information for means testing. At Salford we use a wider definition to include little, no or negative support from parents and carers. These students can also apply for this award.  

Eligible students will be awarded up to £1100 per academic year within this bursary. This is split into two payments, with £300 awarded to eligible students at the end of November, and £800 awarded to eligible students at the end of May. This bursary is weighted towards the summer as we appreciate this can be a difficult time for students who are estranged with costs for accommodation and expenses during the summer break. This bursary is designed to assist with these costs. 

Application to the Salford Estrangement Bursary is by registering with the Specialist Support team by completing and having your evidence accepted. Please email specialistsupport@salford.ac.uk to receive the registration form.

To receive the Salford Estrangement Bursary, students must meet all the following criteria:

• Be verified as an estranged student or a student with no/negative support by the Residence and Campus Life Team.
• Be studying a course either delivered by the University on the University’s main campus (including Media City) or at a UK partner college: Salford City College or Bury College
• Be classed as a Home student (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Republic of Ireland) for fee purposes
• Have consented to the sharing of data submitted to Student Finance
• Have met the required progression criteria for their course.  
• Must not have been previously registered with the University for any course except where the student is progressing from a foundation course to the first year of an undergraduate course (level 4).  

For the 2024/25 academic year students must be registered and in attendance on a full-time or part-time course being delivered by the University at its main campus either at the University or a UK partner college (Salford City College or Bury College). This includes those students on a Higher National Certificate (HNC) course, certain postgraduate students (such as those on intercalated masters), and foundation course (level 3) students.

The bursary will be given to those who meet the eligibility criteria at the time of payment and meet all listed eligibility criteria.

Those not eligible for this award:

• Students who are not classed as home for fee purposes, or whose fee status is unresolved
• Students who were not ordinarily resident in the UK (i.e. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, also included is the Republic of Ireland) at the start of their course
• Students studying on a degree apprenticeship course
• Students already in receipt of any other bursary administered by the Residence and Campus Life Team (e.g. Care Experienced Bursary)
• Students who have been assessed by the Salford Support Fund team as ineligible for financial support due to money mismanagement.
• Students who have a relationship with their parents.
• Students deferring entry – subject to awards still being available, students holding offers for a deferred entry will be considered for an award the year they start their course. 
• Students who are studying at postgraduate level. Please note that some Meng courses are UG courses and will be eligible for the bursary. Please email specialistsupport@salford.ac.uk if you are unsure if your course is eligible.  

Verification will be undertaken by the Campus and Student Life Team, who will cross-reference information provided through UCAS, Online Registration and Student Finance. When necessary each student who has declared their status will be invited to attend a triage session to verify their status and eligibility for the Salford Estrangement Bursary.  

Students who have self-declared as estranged will be asked to provide evidence. The evidence may take the form of any of the following:  

• A letter from a member of staff at school or college which explains that they knew about the difficult relationship whilst the student was at school and their subsequent estrangement
• A letter from the student’s doctor explaining that they have consistently, and historically reported difficulties associated with estrangement
• A letter from a social worker or local authority that shows they were aware of the student’s difficult situation and/or they allocated them a child protection order
• A letter from a counsellor or an organisation such as National Association of People Abused in Childhood or Karma Nirvana that can vouch for the fact the student has been seeking support for their estrangement or disownment
• A letter from a housing support worker who may have helped the student find accommodation after they left home
• A letter from a member of the clergy, a rabbi or imam explaining that they were aware of the difficulties in the student’s family and their subsequent estrangement
• A statement of incident from the Police that shows any callouts, arrests or cautions involved in the case
• Appropriate evidence for any student who is still in contact with their family but has a poor, controlling or negative relationship with them

There are additional sources of evidence that would be considered suitable, but if the student is unable to provide the evidence requested, the specialist adviser will discuss this in further detail at a triage session. They should indicate this on the application form and an adviser will be in contact to discuss this further.

 Awards are not transferable and should be used to assist with living costs.

•  All cash payments are paid through the Inspire scheme and details of how to download the cash will be provided when the award is made. 
• Payments must be downloaded within one month of payment. Failure to do so will mean loss of award. 
• If a student does not meet the eligibility criteria by Friday 15th November 2024, they will not receive the first instalment of this bursary for this academic year. If a student does not meet the eligibility criteria by Friday 9th May 2025, they will not receive the second instalment of this bursary for this academic year.  
• Any students not claiming their bursary may claim at a later stage in their course, including if they have become estranged during their course. However, payments cannot be backdated.  

• Changing a course and starting again at level 3 (foundation year) or 4 (first year undergraduate). Students who, having started a course, subsequently change courses starting again at either level 3 or 4, will not be eligible for the award against the new course. The original award will remain, but there will be no second payment against the new course. Once the student progresses onto the next level they will be eligible for the appropriate award to be made for that year of study.  
• Temporary breaks in study. Students who arrange with the University to interrupt or leave their course on a temporary basis will have their award frozen until they resume studies. 
• Suspension of study. If students are suspended by the University, their award will be frozen until the suspension has been lifted.  
• Repeat/extended study. Repeat periods of study and temporary breaks in study that lead to repeat periods of study will not usually qualify for any additional award. The award entitlement is for the scheduled minimum duration of the course but may be extended if decided as necessary by the Specialist Support team. In instances such as this, students are expected to contact the team directly to discuss their individual circumstances  
• Leaving or being removed from the course.  Students who leave or are removed from their course will not be expected to repay the amount of their awards which have already been spent. However, the accounts of these students will be closed, and any remaining award will not be available to them and entitlement to all future payments will stop on the date they leave or are removed.  
• In accordance with the Student Privacy Policy, the Campus and Student Life Team and the Schools will need to liaise to verify student status and eligibility to receive payment.