SOCIAL MARKET FOUNDATION courses and graduate with a reasonable quality degree that sets them up well for the job market. Yet there is a sense that momentum has stalled since the publication of the MacAlister review. This might be attributed to the fact that it was commissioned by a government on its way out of office – though it did publish a response, Stable Homes, Built on Love, and consulted on the best way forward.25 With a new government now in office, this report identifies the measures it should take to ensure care experienced and estranged students can access and thrive in higher education. Specifically, it addresses the following research questions: • What are the distinctive needs of estranged and care experienced students in understanding, reaching and succeeding in tertiary education? • What existing activities are trying to address these needs, which are most successful/effective, and what systemic issues are challenges or barriers in addressing these needs? • What can policymakers, educational institutions and other organisations do to improve estranged and care experienced students’ chances of success? • How much would any initiatives cost, and what would the potential economic and social benefits be? • How do these initiatives map onto current windows for change? It does so by means of a thorough literature review, covering policy documents, academic papers and think tank/charity reports. We have also conducted 20 interviews with a range of experts, practitioners and policymakers, including representatives of government, educational institutions and researchers. In addition, we conducted a focus group of care experienced and estranged young people, to canvass their experiences and perceptions of different policy options (in addition to student voice within the literature). Interviewee type Number of interviews undertaken Civil Society 7 Care experienced and estranged 6 students Policy & government 5 Higher Education 5 Academic researcher 3 In this report, we focus primarily on universities and higher education in England, though in some places we touch on further education colleges and devolved administrations since many of the challenges are shared. That is simply to keep the scope of the report and research manageable, and no reflection on the importance of non-university educational routes. The rest of the report is organised as follows: • Chapter Two explores the barriers and challenges that care experienced and estranged students face in higher education 20