by Hannah Wiseman

This week (23rd – 27th November 2020) is Estranged Students Solidarity week, NTU are using this as a time to raise awareness and highlight the support available for estranged students.

This campaign is led by the charity Stand Alone (Twitter: @UKStandAlone and @StandAloneHE). We will be raising awareness  across our social media channels (Instagram: @ntu_psychology, Twitter: @PsychologyNTU) using the hashtag #WithEstrangedStudents.

Who are Estranged students?

The term ‘estranged’ refers to those students who do not have support from a family network. They often have no contact with a family at all due to difficult family situations.  Causes of estrangement can vary but the reasons may include abuse or clashes of values.

Source: Stand Alone

Some students may not realise that there is a term for their situation or they may decide that the term ‘estranged’ does not suit them.

These students may have removed themselves from their family without the intervention of a local authority. Therefore, the struggles of these students are often faced alone and go unrecognised.

Challenges for estranged students

Estranged students are more likely to drop out of university which is why NTU provides a range of support for students who may be in this position. Research shows that 14% of estranged students drop out or suspend their studies which is 3 x higher than the average student (1). This is due to additional challenges estranged students need to overcome, such as having to get by with no financial or emotional support from close family.

We live in a society which assumes family relationships are positive for everyone. Particularly recently due to COVID-19, there has been extra family focus in the media which can lead to increased feelings of isolation for people who have no contact with their family. Many estranged students feel open to stigma and judgment causing them to keep quiet about their situation.

Photo by Fabian Blank on Unsplash

One of the main issues estranged students may face is financial issues. They must be self-sufficient as they may have no one to turn to for financial support. It is likely that they rely on bursaries or other support from universities. At NTU there are bursaries to apply for and Student Financial Support Advisers that can check students are receiving all the money they are entitled to and offer financial advice. Also, providing evidence for estrangement can be challenging which is why student finance have an email team dedicated to help estranged students with their applications (estranged@SLC.co.uk). There are also guides that can be found on the Stand Alone website to help with the application process.

Estranged students may struggle with accommodation as they might find it hard to get a guarantor to be able to access privately rented accommodation. They also may be concerned about where to live in the summer holidays which can be hard when many students may leave to live with family. Research showed that around 30% of estranged students had been registered or considered registering as homeless before university began (1). So, for estranged students university might essentially become their home. To help with this situation NTU offers the option for estranged students to stay in halls of residence over the summer and in second and third years.

Source: Hidden voices: Family Estrangement in Students, University of Cambridge Centre for Family Research and Stand-Alone

All these factors added onto the challenge of separation from family can have negative effects on student’s mental health and wellbeing. This makes it incredibly important to be mindful of others and support any peers that you know are estranged. It is also important to reduce the stigma around estrangement so that students are not afraid to seek help.

Stand Alone: Stand Alone is the main charity that provide support to people who have been estranged from their family. They focus on breaking down the stigma and help students to overcome their disadvantage.  

Nottingham Trent University are committed to the Stand Alone Pledge and therefore aim to increase awareness of the support we offer for estranged students.

Useful links

References

  1. Bland, B. (2015). Focus on access and retention. Risks for students who are estranged or disowned by their family. Stand Alone. (https://www.standalone.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Access-and-Retention.Final_.pdf)