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The collaborative Opening Doors programme is a comprehensive package of support designed to improve progression to higher education for care-experienced young people.

Opening Doors, delivered in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University, the University for the Creative Arts, and the University of Kent, is a comprehensive package of support designed to improve progression to higher education for care-experienced young people.

The collaborative work undertaken as part of Opening Doors contributes towards the universities’ access and participation plans. 

Programme Strands

Through three interconnected strands, the Opening Doors programme aims to upskill foster carers and professionals with knowledge and confidence about higher education, enabling them to better support the young people they work with.

At the same time, it offers a direct intervention for care-experienced young people, providing them with meaningful exposure to university life and helping them to see higher education as a realistic and achievable option for their future. 

15%

Only 15% of care leavers enter into higher education by the age of 19.

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Young people with care experience are known to achieve lower educational outcomes than their peers. We believe every young person should have the same opportunity to access higher education, yet recent data shows that only 15% of care leavers enter higher education by age 19 – compared with 46% of other young people (Source: Department for Education). Our work supports, connects, inspires and empowers our community, with whom we share our overarching ambition for more young people from care backgrounds to consider, access and flourish through further and higher education and beyond.

Opening Doors – CPD for Professionals 

In-person training sessions for professionals who support children in care and care leavers, including advocates, social workers and virtual school staff.

The workshops aim to help professionals learn more about supporting young people successfully into and through higher education. 

Opening Doors – Webinars for Foster Carers and Supporters  

A programme of online workshops that equip foster carers with the knowledge and confidence to support young people in making informed educational choices, with a focus on understanding higher education pathways.

Opening Doors – Spring School  

A programme for care-experienced young people aged 14-19 to explore university life through a free, three-day non-residential programme.

Hosted across the Canterbury campuses of Canterbury Christ Church University, the University of Kent, and the University for the Creative Arts, this event introduces students to what it means to be a university student, offering a hands-on, interactive experience of university life. 

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