Estranged Students

Estranged Students

Definition

Scottish Funding Council (SFC) defines an estranged person as someone who no longer has the support of their family due to a breakdown in their relationship, which has led to ceased contact. This might mean a biological or adoptive parent or wider family members who have been responsible for an individualā€™s support in the past. Estrangement can be complex and may have happened over time or be completely unexpected.

Many factors can impact this family breakdown such as lifestyle choice, sexuality and gender preferences, money, religion and others and this can leave people feeling vulnerable and that they have no support. We know that this can be a difficult subject to discuss but we urge you to let us know if you are an estranged student asĀ we are committed to supporting our estranged students, this is why we haveĀ taken theĀ Stand Alone Pledge to ensure we uphold our commitment.

Support

We want it to be as easy as possible for you to let us know you are estranged so you can advise us at the point of enrolment, when applying for your bursary with our student funding team or speaking to any member of staff. You can then be linked in with our named contact for estranged students Louise Downie who is part of the Student Advisors Team. Louise can offer advice and guidance from pre-entry right through to the end of your course which could include accommodation and financial support as well as link you with the wider student services team at City. This can include the following:

  • Learning Support - you can be get a Personal Learning Support Plan to help with your course.
  • Mental Health Support - you can book a wellbeing assessment to find out about long or short term counselling.
  • Action for Children - we have support workers who can offer personal support both in and out of college.

Funding

For students up to the age of 24 studying a course up to level 6, you may be able to receive a ā€œbursary top upā€ which is an additional monthly payment as we understand you may not have family support for essential living and studying costs. If you think this applies to you please contact studentfunding@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk.

Students Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) - if you are studying at HNC or above you can let SAAS know you are estranged, this will allow you to be assessed for the Estranged Student Bursary meaning they will not ask for your parents/guardian's income to assess your application. SAAS will send you a form to complete which will need to beĀ signed by someone who can confirm your estranged status such as a teacher, lawyer or doctor.

Named Contacts

Follow our Advisors onĀ Instagram.

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