Realise offers a central point of contact for care-experienced and estranged students who want to understand the supports available to them at the university.
We also provide a listening ear to students who want to voice concerns, frustrations, or just have a chat. Students classed as independent by Student Finance England can also benefit from the enhanced Cambridge Bursary and 365 accommodation.
Mentoring
Realise provides both ad-hoc mentoring as well as structured, regular mentoring for students who feel they would benefit from it. This mentoring comes at no cost to students. You can ask for a mentoring session or a dedicated mentor at any time.
Mentoring can look however you want it to: maybe you would like a one-off session to better understand the university’s supports, or maybe you would like a regular contact to help you settle in Cambridge and support you with life skills. Either way, Realise can provide the type of mentoring that would help you best.
Social opportunities
Care-experienced and estranged students can take part in regular social activities to meet each other and build their social network within the university. Invites to these events come via the Realise mailing list, so make sure to sign up if you aren’t already subscribed.
Providing feedback
Realise moderates a panel of students with lived experience of care and estrangement. The panel provides feedback to the university regarding its supports for care-experienced and estranged students. New members of the panel are always welcome.
Additional supports
Care-experienced and estranged students can consult the Student Support page for an overview of the supports available to them both inside and outside of the university.