‘The door closes and that’s it’: experiences of leaving care and turning 18 in education

Leaving care marks an important change for young people. This article considers the journey from leaving local authority care to becoming a ‘care leaver’, using data from research with 234 care experienced university students. Although this cohort is celebrated as representing sector success, their narratives reveal that they struggled at key points, particularly around their eighteenth birthday. Participants noted that there were challenges in becoming a care leaver, namely, staying in or securing new accommodation, adjusting to new financial arrangements, changing relationships with social services and securing long-term support. These difficulties were often distressing and, for some, shortfalls in support led to significant upheavals, including homelessness. Entering university was felt to offer a reprieve due to more certain finances and predictable housing. Focusing on the pre-university period, this article highlights the ways in which systemic issues, including service cut-offs and financial hardship, impact on young people leaving care. Our findings suggest that support was often lacking and that educational success was often achieved in spite of the additional barriers that they faced as care leavers. The article concludes with recommendations aimed at improving care-leaving transitions to better protect and support young people’s continued educational journeys.