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We are the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers, NNECL, a registered charity dedicated to transforming the educational outcomes of young people with experience of being in care.

We believe all young people should have the opportunity to start adulthood with a good education, leading them to a good career, which will sustain them for life. Too often young people from care backgrounds get stuck in low-paid employment because of the lack of ambition to support their education after the age of 16. Since 2018 we have been working in partnership with proactive and ambitious colleges, universities and local authority leaving care teams across the UK to transform the progression of children in care and care leavers, into and through further and higher education. 

We have over 100 universities, colleges, foster agencies, local authority leaving care teams, virtual schools, independent consultants, charities in active membership. Over 300 individual practitioners are supported via these organisations enabling us to reach a community of more than 800 dynamic professionals who are collectively supporting over 5000 learners from care and estranged backgrounds.

We are incredibly proud of our Quality Mark, an evidence based and impact driven change management process for universities and colleges to demonstrate their support for the inclusion and success of students with care experience and who are estranged. You can read about the positive impact of the Quality Mark in this independent evaluation.

Our vision is for learners with care experience and who are estranged across our four nations to be empowered and supported to achieve their full educational potential. Our mission is to create educational environments where people with care experience thrive. 

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