Live, Learn, Grow: Supporting young people with a care experience through higher education

Abstract

Developed through research and community collaboration with the out-of-home care (OOHC) sector, including people with lived experience and local providers, Live, Learn, Grow aims to address some of the barriers faced by care leavers in learning about, accessing and engaging in higher education. Over 40,000 children and young people in Australia are currently in OOHC. Research shows Australians who have a previous OOHC experience are less likely to commence and complete tertiary education, and more likely to be unemployed, or employed in low paid, low skilled roles. Through collaboration with local agencies, Live, Learn, Grow has provided information about higher education pathways to young people in care, as well as on-campus experience days. The Navigator/Linker role has also provided support for first-year university students, with participants highlighting this support as a key factor in their decision to remain engaged in university study past their first month.