Care leavers and those with care experience

The Inclusion Team is here to support you and make sure that you have everything you need to get the most out of your degree programme and your time at LJMU. 

Liverpool John Moores University has a long history of supporting care experienced young people. In 2009, LJMU set up the John Lennon Imagine Award scheme with the support of Yoko Ono’s Spirit Foundation which is a bursary awarded to care leavers, those with care experience or estranged students who are studying with us.

In 2022 LJMU was the first higher education institution to be awarded the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) Quality Mark in recognition of the enhanced level of support that we offer, and this Quality Mark was renewed in 2025. We offer a wide range of support which starts before you arrive and continues throughout your time with us.

Definition of a student with care experience

Our definition of ‘care experienced’ is inclusive of the range of different circumstances under which someone may have spent time in care, for example being looked after by a Local Authority, being in kinship care or having a Special Guardianship Order.

We understand that everyone’s circumstances are different, and you may have questions about what support you are eligible for. Your dedicated point of contact in the Inclusion Team can discuss this with you.

Get in touch by emailing imagine@ljmu.ac.uk.

We respect your confidentiality and will only ever share relevant information about you with your consent. For further information please view our Privacy Statement.

Support available

If you are a care leaver or are care experienced, we understand that you might have specific questions or concerns whilst studying with us. Our dedicated Inclusion Team and staff within Student Advice and Wellbeing can work with you to plan out what support you might need. 

Our support can include:

• Meeting you at university events such as Open Days, Campus Tours and Applicant Days to answer any questions.
• Liaising with you and any support workers or organisations that you might have, including guardians, Foster Carers, Personal Advisors or Social Workers to answer any questions before joining us.
• A dedicated point of contact within the Inclusion Team to provide ongoing advice and support throughout your university journey.

We also offer:

• Access to 365-day accommodation in an LJMU partner hall including support with guarantors.
• Support with applying for Student Finance and additional funding advice with access to Money Advisers.
• Wellbeing appointments with Wellbeing Advisers as well as access to Counselling and Mental Health support.
• Academic guidance from our Specialist Study Skills tutors.
• Careers and employability support including CV workshops and interview skills.
• Support for taking a year to study abroad with the Go Abroad team.

The Inclusion Team will also send you email updates on support and specific opportunities that might be available to you.

John Lennon Imagine Award

If you are care experienced or estranged from your family you may be eligible for our John Lennon Imagine Award. This is an annual bursary of £1000 per academic year to support with your living and study costs. This award is available to students up to the age of 25 and can be awarded alongside support offered from your Local Authority. To find out more about the award and eligibility please contact imagine@ljmu.ac.uk.

Accessing support

When you tick the box at UCAS to say you are a care leaver or are care experienced you will automatically receive information from the Inclusion Team to outline the support available to you. 

During your first term at LJMU, the Inclusion Team will invite you to come along for a chat during one of our scheduled drop-ins or we can arrange a Teams call if that is more convenient. This will be a chance to see how you have settled into your course and confirm that you have everything in place that you need. 

It will also be an opportunity for you to access the John Lennon Imagine Award bursary, we will ask you to provide some supporting evidence in your first year and attend an annual catch-up . The evidence you need will usually be a letter confirming your care experience status from your Local Authority or other support agency or confirmation of ‘Independent Student Status’ from your student funding body.

Throughout the year you will be able to reach out to your dedicated contact if you require any further support or advice. 

Our team can help you source appropriate evidence when needed just email imagine@ljmu.ac.uk.

Students who are adopted

The John Lennon Imagine Award is reserved for students who are or those who have been living and supporting themselves independently without the support of family. Therefore, students who have been adopted are not eligible for this bursary.

However, students are encouraged to visit our Scholarships webpage to see if they are eligible for any other financial support. Students who are adopted are eligible for support from the Inclusion Team. This support includes a dedicated contact for one-to-one meetings and appointments to help with their transition into university, as well as support accessing Wellbeing and Counselling services and appointments with the Money Advice Team or Disability team if appropriate.

To speak with the Inclusion Team please email imagine@ljmu.ac.uk and a member of the team will be happy to advise.