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Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
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Question reference: S6W-40391

Asked by: Davy Russell, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 22 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding (a) how many and (b) what proportion of care experienced people have enrolled in (i) the Open University and (b) other university education in each of the last 10 years.

Care Experienced students entering undergraduate courses at The Open University and other Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been included below.

Further details on Care Experienced students in Scotland can be found in the annual Scottish Funding Council's Report on Widening Access (RoWA). https://www.sfc.ac.uk/publications/report-on-widening-access-2023-24/

Scottish Domiciled undergraduate entrants to Scottish universities, by Care Experienced status, 2014-15 to 2023-24

Academic year	Provider	Care Experienced	% of all UG entrants who are care experienced*
2014-15	The Open University	45	1%
	Other HEIs	230	1%
2015-16	The Open University	35	1%
	Other HEIs	225	1%
2016-17	The Open University	45	1%
	Other HEIs	250	1%
2017-18	The Open University	45	1%
	Other HEIs	325	1%
2018-19	The Open University	35	1%
	Other HEIs	425	1%
2019-20	The Open University	50	1%
	Other HEIs	450	1%
2020-21	The Open University	55	1%
	Other HEIs	600	1%
2021-22	The Open University	95	1%
	Other HEIs	670	1%
2022-23	The Open University	185	2%
	Other HEIs	710	2%
2023-24	The Open University	220	3%
	Other HEIs	815	2%

Source: HESA Student Data, SG Secondary Analysis

*Percentage is an estimate and could be influenced by the number of unknowns in the data and improved data quality in recent years.

1) When interpreting figures relating to care experienced students it is important to note that the reporting of students from care experienced backgrounds has been given more focus in recent years, with increased efforts made to encourage students to declare themselves as being care experienced.

2) Those on short part-time courses are more likely to include unknown information.

3) Numbers may differ slightly from other published sources due to the way data has been aggregated. This includes 2020-21 where SFC published a slightly higher number of Care Experienced students due to post-data collection changes.

4) Numers are rounded to the nearest 5.