Scotland’s universities are to offer guaranteed undergraduate places to students who have been in care at any point in their lives as part of a groundbreaking effort to increase the number from that demographic doing a degree.

The formal announcement by 18 of Scotland’s education institutions is backed by Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, as a way of helping those who have been in care overcome the barriers they face.

Only 4% of looked-after school leavers go directly to university, compared with more than 40% of school leavers across Scotland. In 2016-17, just 335 students who had experience of being in care went to university.

“This announcement demonstrates that universities across Scotland recognise the importance of those who have had an experience of care and the huge potential they have,” said Pamela Gillies, the principal of Glasgow Caledonian University.

The new national policy – the first of its kind in the UK – applies to “care-experienced” applicants in Scotland. It includes those who have been or are currently in care, regardless of duration or age. The definition covers those who have been looked after in residential care, home supervision, foster or kinship care and those who were adopted.

Under the scheme, a place will be automatically offered to applicants who meet an institution’s minimum entry requirements, which are lower for those who have been in care under a policy designed to widen access.

Sally Mapstone, the principal of St Andrews University, said the national scheme was thought to be the first of its type in the world.

“This is a decisive and, I hope, catalytic step jointly taken by Scotland’s universities. It gives due recognition to the substantial achievement of people with experience of care who are successful in getting the grades for university, having overcome very challenging circumstances at a young age,” Mapstone said.

“We hope it will enable more people with care experience to feel confident applying to university, knowing that their application is encouraged and will be supported.

“It is important that all of Scotland’s universities have made this guarantee together. That should provide the greatest possible clarity and visibility of this change to people with care experience wherever they live in Scotland and wherever they want to study.”

Scots attending national universities do not pay tuition fees, while the Scottish government provides a support grant for care-experienced students worth £8,100 through the student awards agency, and individual universities also offer support. The Open University Scotland already offers places without minimum entry requirements to its applicants.

Duncan Dunlop, the chief executive of the Who Cares? Scotland charity, which advocates for those who have been in care, said his organisation welcomed the move as long as it was followed by efforts to encourage applications.

“The fact that the guaranteed offer has no upper age limit demonstrates a commitment by universities to seek out ways to support care-experienced learners beyond the statutory requirement of age 26,” Dunlop said.

About 2% of all children in Scotland are looked after or are on the child protection register.

A survey of students published by the Higher Education Policy Institute found that 72% agreed that university admissions should take account of applicants’ backgrounds.