Hello Future Impact Report 2017-2021

Impact Report 2017 - 2021

Contents Introduction 3 A Look Back at Phase 1 and 2

4

Hello Future Activity in Phase 2

9

Hello Future Activity 11 Some of our Partner Projects

14

Our Research and Evaluation

21

Hello Future Phase 3: 2021/22 and beyond 22

2 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

Introduction Welcome to Hello Future and our latest impact report! This report highlights our achievements in the second phase of the programme, whilst also looking back into the first phase and ahead into phase three. As has been the case for us all, the Covid-19 pandemic presented many challenges to the aims and objectives of Hello Future. Whilst this report reflects on some of these challenges, we invite the Hello Future partnership, our learners, and stakeholders to celebrate the many impacts that we have made.

Hello Future is a partnership hosted by the lead institution, the University of Cumbria. Our partnership is made up of universities, colleges, the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership/ Cumbria Careers Hub, Cumbria County Council, the NHS, and employers working together to improve Higher Education progression rates within Cumbria. This impact report showcases the range of collaborative projects that have been co-designed and delivered for learners in Cumbria through the programme so far.

Once known as the Cumbria Collaborative Outreach Programme (CCOP), Hello Future started life in January 2017 as one of 29 partnerships set up under the ‘National Collaborative Outreach Programme’ (NCOP) which has since been re-named ‘Uni Connect’. The overarching aim in phases 1 and 2 was to increase learners’ progression into Higher Education in England.

Funding totalling £2.8 million was awarded for Phase 1 (January 2017 to July 2019) and the Office for Students (OfS) released a further £1.9 million for Phase 2 (August 2019 to July 2021).

Hello Future has continued to deliver a progressive, intensive and sustained programme of outreach activity across Cumbria to learners in Years 9-13 who live in one of 24 Uni Connect target wards, where participation in Higher Education has been lower than expected and where learners have, or are on track, to achieve Key Stage 4 grades which would allow progression to Higher Education. The programme delivers a range of workshops, assembly presentations, residentials, mentoring and cultural experiences designed to build confidence and resilience, as well as impartial practical support and information advice and guidance about Higher Education.

Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 3

A Look Back at Phase 1 and 2 Phase 1 (1st January 2017 - July 31st 2021) By the end of Phases 1 and 2 we had met with:

15447 5021

unique Cumbrian learners

of those learners lived in our Uni Connect target wards

Of those 5021, learners were from the following areas: 26% - Furness 39% -West Cumbria 35% - Carlisle & Eden

3241 We provided support to

of those target learners engaged in 3 or more Hello Future activities

31

Cumbrian schools and colleges

Meeting target learners from our wards Hello Future exceeded the Office for Students target to work with and subsequently track 20% of learners from identified target wards in both Phases 1 and 2 of the programme.1

The ward level population estimates have been provided by the Office for Students (OfS), available to download from the OfS Uni Connect Resources for Partnerships. The OfS population estimates are based on five young cohorts as reported in school records of state-maintained education, aged 15 between in academic years 2011-12 to 2015-16. These broadly equate to the potential population in Years 9 to 13 in the academic year 2013-14. The number of participants reported in this table reflect any participant with an identified postcode who lives in a target ward and who has been registered on an activity flagged as a Uni Connect activity.

1

4 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

Hello Future Aims and Objectives in Phase 2

Targeted Outreach 1. To provide impartial, sustained and progressive Higher Eduction outreach that is tailored to the needs of young people in target areas.

2. To increase the number of opportunities for learners, teachers/advisors, parents/ carers and community groups to access and understand the value of higher level qualifications and Higher Education.

3. To engage over 20% of the target Cumbrian young people in the Hello Future programme intervention activities.

4. To increase the number of learners engaged in three or more intervention activities as outlined in the progression framework from Phase 1 to Phase 2.

5. To embed Hello Future intervention activities into schools and college Higher Education access provision beyond 2021.

Outreach Hub

Evaluation

1. To map existing outreach opportunities for young people in Cumbria to identify gaps in provision.

2. To develop a mechanism through which school/ college teachers and advisors (and therefore learners) have improved access to the range of existing outreach activities to them in Cumbria and Lancashire.

3. To actively signpost school/ college teachers and advisors to the range of existing outreach activities available to them in Cumbria and Lancashire.

4. To facilitate collaboration between partners and stakeholders to understand local needs (skill gaps and opportunities) and support localised approaches.

1. To effectively engage with evaluation at both local level through the partnership and nationally. To provide timely, accurate and accessible findings and impacts that contribute to a stronger (longer and national) evidence base on ‘what works’ and is value for money in Higher Education outreach.

2. To seek the opinions of learners and their influencers (parent/carers, teachers/ advisors, community groups) consistently across CCOP intervention activities to strengthen local evaluation practice in widening participation.

3. To increase partnership knowledge and understanding meaningful data collection and reflective practices.

5. To support schools and colleges to meet Impact Measure 7 (Encounters with Further and Higher Education) of the Cumbria Careers Hub and Careers Strategy.

4. To promote the findings and impact of the Targeted Outreach and Outreach Hub across the partnership through a dissemination of evidence plan.

Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 5

Developing a Theory of Change A Theory of Change was developed and updated for Phase 2, and all intervention activities offered by the Hello Future programme were mapped to our aims and objectives. This identified; resources, assumptions/context, acknowledgement of learner barriers, key learner education points, the information/guidance needed at each stage and the connection to Hello Future objectives. It also ensured clear alignment against Gatsby Benchmarks used by schools and colleges, the Learner Need Progression Pyramid, learner intervention outcomes and our evaluation method, all informed by extensive collaborative work with stakeholders. The aim of developing the progression pyramid was to identify the key needs of learners as they navigate the education landscape.

The Theory of Change INPUT

4 years of OfS funding.

RESOURCES

Contracts for national formative and impact evaluation.

Consortia investment.

Physical Infrastructure.

Staff (Roles and Experience).

Virtual and printed Positionally (impartial and flexible). resources.

Tracking system - HEAT. External resources.

BARRIERS TO LEARNER PROGRESSION Confidence

Stakeholders: Learners, parents and carers, teachers, Hello Future & Outreach Hub staff and partners.

OfS investment.

CAPACITY BUILDING

- National evaluation partner (CFE).

- Uni Connect connections and contacts.

- Best practice and resource sharing.

Learner Need Themes Ideation

Understand & Upskill

Support & Guidance

Transition

Financial Literacy Expectation

Lack of engagement in education and society Parental influence North/South divide BARRIERS IDENTIFIED FROM: Extent knowledge of ‘WP’

Understand how GCSE options impact the future.

Have explored a variety of careers.

Feel supported to develop ideas about the future.

Choose suitable GCSE subjects for future careers ideas.

Hello Future Research

Have a career aspiration and feel motivated to work towards it.

Understand the variety of options available and associated benefits and drawbacks to options.

Hello Future Stakeholders

Make decisions about future study and plan towards it.

Hello Future Practitioners and Learners (Phase 1)

Knowledge to challenge sociocultural barriers (and associated barriers).

6 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

Understand aspects of independent learning and living (revision skills, student finance, academic skills etc.).

Move beyond understanding of options (and associated benefits and drawback) to assess in relation to self.

Understand the processes of applying to chosen route.

Feel suitably prepared to access route.

Have accessed and actively engaged with practical support and guidance.

Should have developed relevant work and extra-curricular experience as required by learner chosen route.

Both understand and have experienced H.E. including H.E. learner expectations.

Have confidence to make and act upon decisions made.

Understand and can account for (life) variables which may impact future choices.

Uni Connect Aims and Objectives

Religion/Nationality

Consider personal skill set to understand and reflect on strengths and weaknesses and passions.

Hello Future Aims and Objectives

Fear of the unknown

Feel encouraged to consider personal future.

L4 STUDY & ONWARDS

Transport

GCSE OPTIONS & KS4 STUDY

First Gen to Uni

KS4/L3 OPTIONS & STUDY

Learner Progression

H.E. Knowledge

Learner Need Progression Pyramid Offering a sustained, intensive and progressive programme of activity to students in Years 9-13 and their influencers, the Hello Future programme is designed to broaden and raise aspirations and support progression to Level 4 study and beyond. The programme has been developed with feedback from learners, teachers, advisors, parents and carers and is delivered in both educational settings and in the community. Based on this feedback, Hello Future created the Learner Need Progression Pyramid which represents the needs of Cumbrian learners. The base identifies the needs of learners entering the programme at Year 9 and moves up through Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 until progression to H.E. The pyramid shape represent the move from the more general to the specific needs as a learner journey through education.

Transition Learner Need: To be able to apply ideas, knowledge and skills to F.E., H.E. and work-based learning environments.

How to Meet Need: Create opportunities to experience F.E., H.E. and work-based learning/environment, including interactions with F.E., H.E., alumni and visits.

Practical Support and Guidance Learner Need: To develop self-awareness and understand self-management tools.

To be equipped to access support and guidance.

How to Meet Need: Provision of resources and information (applying to university and apprenticeships, wider lifestyle, citizenship and student voice).

Understand and Upskill Learner Need: To understand available options, eg. F.E., H.E. and work-based learning routes, institutions/organisations and courses. Opportunity to self-reflect.

How to Meet Need: Opportunities created for capability building in [1] communication, [2] confidence and [3] resilience.

Ideation Learner Need: To introduce future choices and create, support and develop leaner ideas.

How to Meet Need: Opportunities created for [1] provoke interest, [2] produce encounters, [3] begin engagement, [4] generate excitement and [5] raise aspiration.

Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 7

Evaluating our impact In Phase 2 a further evaluation plan was developed and underpinned by the Theory of Change, Learner Need Progression Pyramid and the Progression Framework. Programme evaluation of our delivery, short to medium term outcomes and long-term impact is an important aspect of Uni Connect and Hello Future. It is important that we continue to contribute to a stronger evidence base in England around ‘what works’ in Higher Education outreach and how evaluation practice in the sector can continue to strengthen and inform intervention delivery.

Tracking and Monitoring Higher Education Outreach The Hello Future programme was designed in line with target learner ‘ward’ data. The process included matching ‘wards’ with schools/colleges to enable the identification of the highest number of target learners. During Phase 2 new schools/colleges were included in the programme.

As a Uni Connect partnership we are expected to track and monitor our delivery to target learners over time to see if the impact of our programme leads to an increase in learners progressing into Higher Education. To do this, Hello Future subscribes to HEAT (Higher Education Access Tracker).

This is one of a number of tools that enables local Uni Connect partnerships and the OfS to track ongoing student attainment, progression to Higher Education, and post-Higher Education destination.

HEAT works closely with government agencies such as the OfS, the Department for Education (DfE) and other organisations that collect pertinent data including the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). In collaboration with their subscribers, HEAT aims to build robust evidence of Higher Education outreach impact by longitudinal tracking through a secure online database, used to record learner details and their involvement in activities.

8 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

Hello Future Activity in Phase 2 •

Targeted Higher Education outreach in schools and colleges within the local areas where we can have the most impact

•

Creation of a Cumbria-wide ‘outreach hub’ to help all schools and colleges access the Higher Education outreach they need and provide a platform for wider collaboration

•

Strategic Outreach – identifying gaps or ‘cold spots’ over and above the target wards that Uni Connect identify

Our activities during phase 2 were designed to be sustained and progressive, often meeting learners through our schools & colleges programme and our community outreach. Whilst our interventions were designed to lead on from one another, as a learner progresses through each year group in school our key activities throughout the phase adapted to current situations and became more flexible. Key activities at the start of the phase included our cultural trip packages, which had developed from Phase 1 to follow the sustained and progressive approach. Within our school & college outreach, key activities included our mentoring programme and a menu of workshops and presentations. Following lockdown and school closures, we worked hard to make sure our key activities would remain accessible, but also flexible, to team capacity and coronavirus restrictions, meaning the development of digital (pre-recorded) and virtual (live) presentations and workshops, as well as the creation of e-courses, Hello Future Live, Hello Future Expo and the continuation of mentoring online. All of this activity is captured in the table below.

Total Activities Delivered

Activity

Exhibition

Number of Contact Hours (all students) 35

96.66

471 (312)

494.7

73 (63)

470.66

HE Subject Insight

105 (103)

577

Mentoring

435 (386)

542.9

815

1063.84

606 (465)

1855.27

1 (1)

55

2541

5156.03

General HE Information HE Campus Visit

Non-learner activity Skills and Attainment Summer School TOTAL

Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 9

Who do we work with?

The Hello Future programme was designed in line with target ward data published by OfS2. The process included matching these wards (as detailed below) with schools and colleges with the aim of meeting the highest number of learners from these target wards.

West Cumbria target wards • Aspatria • Clifton • Distington • Frizington

• Mirehouse • Moorclose • Moss Bay • Sandwith

• Silloth • St Michael’s

West Cumbria target schools • Beacon Hill • Solway • Nelson Thomlinson • Workington Academy • St Joseph’s

• Whitehaven Academy • St Benedict’s • West Lakes • Keswick • Cockermouth

• Energy Coast UTC • Lakes College • Netherhall School

• Hindpool • Holborn Hill

• Risedale • Walney North

• St Bernard’s • Ulverston • Victoria • Walney

• Furness College • Kendal College

Furness target wards • Barrow Island • Central

Furness target schools • Chetwynde • Dowdales • Millom School • Furness Academy

Carlisle and Eden target wards • Botcherby • Currock • Denton Holme

• Harraby • Longtown & Rockcliffe • Morton

• Upperby • Penrith Pategill

Carlisle & Eden target schools • Caldew • St John Henry Newman Catholic School • Richard Rose Morton Academy

• Richard Rose Central Academy • Trinity School • William Howard School

• Queen Elizabeth Grammar • Carlisle College

The ward level population estimates have been provided by the Office for Students (OfS), available to download from the OfS Uni Connect Resources for Partnerships. The OfS population estimates are based on five young cohorts as reported in school records of state-maintained education, aged 15 between in academic years 2011-12 to 2015-16. These broadly equate to the potential population in Years 9 to 13 in the academic year 2013-14. The number of participants reported in this table reflect any participant with an identified postcode who lives in a target ward and who has been registered on an activity flagged as a Uni Connect activity.

2

10 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

Hello Future Activity Booking processes and relationships with schools and colleges Throughout phase 2, we continued to build positive relationships with our target schools and colleges as well as moving through the ‘Progression Pathway’ with each year group. This way of working allowed us to book in sustained and progressive activities with learners from Year 9 through Year 13 and build on previous learning year on year.

During phase 2, our Outreach Officer team regularly met with school and college contacts from their area; at the beginning of the academic year activities were discussed and booked in for each year group from the ‘Progression Pathway’, often similar activities to the previous academic year. These activities would often be booked in as part of a World of Work Day or Enrichment Day, allowing the team to see full year groups in one day.

Our response to Covid-19 Following lockdown measures in early 2020, we set out to make an action plan to reach learners through alternative methods. This included exploring innovative virtual ways to engage our audiences whilst not straying too far from the core ethos of Hello Future and our Progression Framework. We were able to take the learning, relationships and best practice from previous years and quickly adapt our interventions to the current environment, set up our online presence and work out where we fit in the virtual space. We created resources that were deemed as best practice, with our videos being praised by colleagues, as well as our ‘Chat with Us’ FAQs which were based on our CFE3 baseline data analysis. We were pleased to end the year 2019/20 academic year with 53% engagement despite all the challenges.

We were able to take this learning forward into 2020/21 and were delighted to work with 66% of target learners during the year. The uncertainty during this time, due to Covid-19 restrictions and school and college closures, continued to provide delivery challenges. However, we found the most successful way of gaining engagement was to remain extremely flexible and adapt to the differing needs of schools, colleges or community groups as well as by developing innovative ways of delivering our message. Planning was on a very short-term basis, usually only 3

CFE are Uni Connects national evaluators and have conducted a longitudinal learner survey since 2017/18.

Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 11

looking a few weeks ahead and adapting as required. We continued to deliver our virtual and digital offer within schools and colleges as well as out of school hours. For some areas of Cumbria, this continued to be successful, while in others we noticed a rapid increase in digital fatigue.

Trialling, testing and continually reviewing was the key to our success as well as consulting with partners and other Uni Connect partnerships to share best practice. We found new ways of working with learners, including training community leaders to deliver to their groups. Some schools also delivered on our behalf. We were pleased to see that schools still saw value in the programme during this time even when we couldn’t physically attend. We supported schools and colleges to use/spend their Higher Education participation fund on resources to support learners and their progression during this time. We also funded an external provider, MADE, who were able to deliver face-to-face interventions with learners. We saw increased uptake for 1:1 mentoring and subject specific activities. Finally, resource packs were popular and have now become a regular part of our offer. These approaches have enabled us to successfully exceed the OfS minimum 20% target across both years of Phase 2 despite the challenging context.

Progression Pathway [digital and virtual offer 20/21] Following a swift move to a digital and virtual delivery programme, we updated our progression pathway for 2020/21 to showcase our varying offer for schools and colleges. At the time, our schools and colleges had varying regulations in place, including year group bubbles, learning from home and staff shortages. To ensure our offer was flexible to the varying circumstances we showcased both digital (pre-recorded) and virtual (live) opportunities for learners to engage with outreach, as well as wrap-around interventions which would increase the impact of this work by raising overall intervention levels, and continuing our sustained and progressive approach.

Hello Future Activities for Schools & Col leges 202 ‘Your Future’ 1

‘Introduction to Futures’ Digital Assembly

Paving the way to Higher Education.

15

Year

9

Mins

Benchmark

‘Student Finance’ Digital Assembly

15

Mins

50

Year

3

9

Sixth form and college students

Exploring the financial support available to students and increasing knowledge on repayments

‘Identifying your Strengths’ Online Course

Digital Workshop

Learners will explore their skills, talents and values and map out possible routes for their future.

Designed to light the spark in planning their next steps.

To introduce learners to the Hello Future Programme and to start thinking about their future and consider their options.

Mins

Learners will identify their values and strengths and how they might lead to their ideal career options.

Year

Benchmark

9

2&3

‘Studying Effectively’ Online Course Practising and developing their study skills for use in the future.

Year

11

90

Mins

Benchmark

3&4

90

Mins

2&3

Year

10

15

Mins

‘Study Well’ Digital Assembly Introducing study styles and offering revision tips to build confidence in time management and exam skills.

50

Mins

Year

Benchmark

3&4

11

15

Mins

Exploring how mindsets can influence actions and how to build resilience and self-motivation.

2&7

Showing how study skills are adaptable beyond school and how to manage health and productivity during exams.

Year

‘Growth Mindset’ Digital Workshop

Benchmark

‘Study Well’ Digital Workshop

11

Benchmark

Benchmark

‘Progression Routes’ Digital Assembly Demonstrating and explaining the different educational levels and understanding the options available locally and nationally.

50

Year

10

Mins

Online Mentoring

Benchmark

Learners will be paired with our graduate mentors for one to one sessions exploring their future, through our online chat function.

3

‘Understanding Your Options’ Online Course

Year

10

Designed to build learners knowledge on the education routes available to them.

Benchmark

3&4

60

Year

10

Mins

8

Weeks

Benchmark

3, 4 & 7

Benchmark

4&7

7

‘Preparing for Opportunities Fairs’ Digital Assembly Talking learners through how to make the most of virtual open days, events and opportunities fairs, and sharing how to make the most of these.

15

Mins

Benchmark

7

Ask us about…

Hello Future Participation Fund We support our participating schools and colleges with the Hello Future participation fund, which can be utilised by schools and colleges to provide Higher Education opportunities, interventions and resources to learners.

‘Communicating Confidently’ Digital Workshop

‘Research’ Online Course

Practising forms of communication and how to adapt these for various interview formats and workplace situations

50

Mins

Benchmark

Our interventions are designed to support the themes of the Gatsby Benchmarks. Each intervention on the progression pathway has been marked with the Gatsby Benchmark number they support.

75

Mins

3,4 & 7

Supporting Gatsby Benchmarks

Developing research skills and understanding its purpose in higher education and the workplace.

Benchmark

4&7

‘Preparing for life after School or College’ Online Course Learning the essential life skills needed to prepare for future educational and career pathways.

15

Mins

Benchmark

3&7

Digital Sessions

Our Website

All our assemblies and workshops are pre-recorded and are accompanied with a session plan so that staff can follow along in school or college. We also have supporting resources available through our website, or on request.

Our online courses and mentoring are ran through the Hello Future website. We also have the team available to chat through instant message for any learners or staff who would like support after any of our interventions.

12 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

Online Mentoring Learners will be paired with our graduate mentors for one to one sessions exploring their future, through our online chat function.

8

Weeks

Benchmark

3&7

‘Adult Learners – University Support’ Online Course A five part guide to preparing for university study from an adult learner perspective. Learners can also be supported through our online chat function.

Hello Future Opportunities Grant

CPD Sessions

Our opportunities grant is available for eligible target learners to access Higher Education opportunities and can be applied for individually through our website.

We provide an offer of fully funded CPD sessions for Teachers and Advisors, Community Groups, Parents & Carers.

Parent & Carer Sessions Ask us about our Parent & Carer sessions that can be delivered at open evenings.

The digital and virtual aspects of our programme still remain accessible which offers a valuable tool for strategic outreach and ensures that our programme can reach a wide range of Cumbrian learners, whilst our targeted outreach can be delivered in a face-to-face capacity.

The remainder of this report celebrates a range of our innovative projects, research and impact. Many of these projects aim to support regional priorities and higher-level skill development across Cumbria. We hope that by sharing our work, we will enhance further opportunities for learners and inspire, inform and support their progression into Higher Education.

New partners In phase 2 we were pleased to welcome Edge Hil University and BAE Systems into the Hello Future partnership.

At the beginning of phase 3, we will also welcome Centre for Leadership Performance. Expanding the partnership enables us to expand our reach and support more young and adult learners in Cumbria, seek further opportunities and avoid duplication of outreach activities.

"We would like to express our support for the fantastic work that Hello Future has done in Cumbria. The number of young people you’ve supported since 2017 is brilliant and having a focus on raising aspiration amongst YP in Cumbria is particularly important in a county which can often feel isolated and cut off, particularly in relation to creative careers in the culture sector."

Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery Trust

“Thank you so much for all the work you have done for Energy Coast this year and for the last few years.

Hello Future has been an integral part of our careers and PSHE programme for some time and it is one of the clearest and most helpful organisations which work with our students from assemblies to workshops and your excellent mentoring programme...the way you have adapted to the Covid pandemic should be applauded, the online sessions and online mentoring that our students are engaging in has been superb.”

Simon Richardson, Assistant Principal, ECUTC

Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 13

Some of our Partner Projects Post-16 Tutoring Our research revealed that schools and colleges indicated a need for subject-specific Higher Education tutoring for Year 12 learners to support catch-up work. Whilst providing learners with one-to-one and group support with experts in their subject, the tutoring demonstrated that a focus on subject specific activity at an individual level can have an impact on learner grades. Due to the success of the programme, Hello Future will continue to deliver post-16 tutoring and offer this service to both Year 12 and 13.

‘[our learner] has moved forward from a grade E to a grade C, highlighting the immense impact it has had. We would love to get involved again’

Workington Academy on Post 16 Tutoring.

Lockdown Hub – Furness College This was a virtual hub hosted via a website for learners and other young people to use to support mental health and develop resilience. Content included blogs, vlogs and games and was developed by learners in Cumbrian Colleges, with content supplied by student support teams. All content was curated and edited by Furness College Student Union.

Hello Future Live A series of live presentations and workshops that followed different themes throughout the summer term were delivered by a range of our partners, including University of Cumbria, Lancaster University, UCLan, Edge Hill University and Furness College. All sessions were delivered live over a series of weeks and captured as a longer-term resource on our YouTube channel.

Your Community Project (Note: CfLP not yet a partner at time of delivery) Hello Future worked with the Centre for Leadership Performance delivering 3 community projects in Carlisle & Eden, West Cumbria and Furness. Each project was led by learners and included input from a range of external providers (key public and private organisations), based within the local community. The projects had a theme of “Regeneration and Development”.

Brilliant Club The summer term of 2020-21 saw Hello Future fund 5 ‘The Brilliant Club: Scholars Programme’ subject placements in 4 schools. Across these 5 placements, 19 pupils submitted a final assignment and 12 (63%) achieved a 1st or 2.1. Additionally, 12 pupils made at least 5% progress between their baseline and final assignment grades, which is fantastic to see. Of the pupils enrolled on these placements, 18 submitted a baseline and final assignment and it was great to see these pupils increasing their marks in written communication (+1), subject knowledge (+5) and critical thinking (+5).

14 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

Bauer Media Content Creation Workshops In April 2021, we partnered with Bauer Media to run two days of Media Content Creation Workshops. This was a fantastic opportunity for learners to collaborate over Microsoft Teams with professionals from the radio and digital industries from radio producers, presenters and digital marketing specialists.

Throughout the workshops, learners developed new skills and techniques in how to create an engaging digital video, from creating a story board to how this is taken through the process of being developed into a digital production. Each learner created their own story board about ‘the progression into Higher Education’ with one video from each day being selected to be developed into a fully digital animation and one video selected by Hello Future to be part of a campaign hosted by Bauer Media.

The final video was part of a boosted campaign by Bauer Media, which had a total of 98,544 impressions and 51,153 individual views.

From the post-session evaluation form, we pulled the following:

Did you learn any new digital skills from the session?

“The structure needed for storyboarding and having a message is good” “It can happen in many ways, not just one or two” “How stop motion works” “I learnt all the different ways animations are made” Since completing the workshop, would you consider higher education?

80% of the participants answered “Yes” to the above question.

‘Cumbria Activate Your Future’ - Carlisle College A learner-facing website containing 10 self-study programmes (available up to Level 3) supporting the transition from school into Further Education. The platform included vocational subject pathways in; Business, Construction, Engineering, Hair and Beauty, Arts, Catering, Health and Social Care, Early Years, IT, and Maths and English.

The aim of the website was to increase awareness of opportunities after school, where to find information about educational progression (CEIAG) and courses available at college.

Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 15

‘UCAS at home’ - Newton Rigg College Newton Rigg College successfully bid to access funds to support the development, printing and distribution of an ‘Applying for Higher Education’ guide. The guide included details on all elements of the application process from setting up your account with UCAS to creating a personal statement. It also included checklists, timelines and a diagram for learners to follow.

‘Your Next Steps in Music’ - Soundwave Through the Hello Future community outreach strategy, our team in West Cumbria partnered with Soundwave in Workington to create a free online event ‘Your Next Steps in Music’. The event involved coordinating with our partners UCLan and Carlisle College to deliver virtual sessions based on Higher and Further Education music courses. Learners from Soundwave, and across the county, were invited to take part. Each learner who participated received a music careers specific resource pack to support learning from the virtual sessions.

Strategic Outreach and the Outreach Hub In June 2019, the OfS published guidance stating that local collaborative ‘outreach hubs’ should be set up across England as part of the programme to: • Help teachers and advisors find out about the Higher Education outreach activity available in their area • Support schools and colleges in areas of low participation to access Higher Education outreach • Provide a platform for other local collaborative activity As part of this, Hello Future set out to provide access to a range of Higher Education outreach interventions for every school and college in the county. This enabled us to offer schools in South Lakeland a range of interventions for the first time.

During Phase 2, Hello Future conducted a comprehensive mapping exercise to gain an accurate picture of Higher Education outreach available to learners in Cumbria and a detailed understanding of the Higher Education outreach needs of Cumbrian schools and colleges. The multistage mapping process took place between the academic years of 2019/20 and 2020/21 and formed part of the work covered by the ‘outreach hub’ introduced at the start of this phase.

Based on this guidance, Hello Future set out to map Higher Education outreach provision through the following stages: Stage 1 - Partner mapping

Current Higher Education outreach activity delivered by partner Higher Education providers Stage 2 - School and college mapping

Higher Education outreach provision accessed by Cumbrian schools and colleges and their Higher Education outreach needs Information gathered included details of 386 outreach interventions being delivered by 11 partner institutions, which was mapped across 44 Cumbrian schools and colleges. This mapping exercise also provided details of the Higher Education outreach needs and preferences of 25 Cumbrian schools and colleges, as well as specific details of outreach activity received by 11 Cumbrian school and colleges, which included details of interventions delivered by 15 non-partner Higher Education providers.

The mapping exercise allowed us to collect valuable information that is being used to; support signposting by providing outreach information for our delivery team and Hello Future website, support Cumbrian schools and colleges by reviewing their needs and facilitating access to outreach provision on offer. The mapping also provided us with a detailed understanding of the current outreach provisions in Cumbria, giving us the ability to strategically develop new collaborative activity based on gaps identified and school and college needs.

The Hello Future website was updated to become the main mechanism for providing teachers and advisors with improved access to the outreach opportunities available in Cumbria. We set ourselves an objective to support schools and colleges in meeting Gatsby Benchmark 7 and worked closely with the Careers Hub CEIAG network (at county and area level) to ensure partner interventions which address Gatsby Benchmark 7 were accessible to all schools and colleges in Cumbria.

16 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

A new Hello Future website with resources, tools and e-courses We launched our rebranded website with the aim of increasing our traffic, improving the user experience, and becoming more digitally focused with the addition of our e-courses and online tools. By simplifying the homepage to focus on our four target audiences, we made the website easier to navigate as well as highlighting who we work with and our brand values. We improved the user experience by giving visitors the option to sign up to a Hello Future account and bookmark their favourite courses and resources. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we proactively created our series of e-courses and online workshops so that we could continue to engage with learners while they were at home, as well as to encourage them to keep learning and upskilling! To date, we have created the following e-courses; Understanding Your Strengths, Understanding Your Options, Research, Studying Effectively and Life After School or College. So far, over 100 people have completed at least one course.

Cultural trips based on subject preferences and linking to Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP) & creation of project packs In Phase 2 we created three cultural trip packages that linked in to the 2019 CLEP sector panels. The three panels we focused on were; Creative and Cultural, Advanced Manufacturing and Nuclear and Clean Energy.

LA12 & ‘theidol.com’ + University of Salford + Newcastle day trips This package was linked with the CLEP sector panel ‘Creative and Cultural’ and allowed learners to explore local opportunities within the sector and thriving businesses that had a diverse range of employees and opportunities at ‘LA12’ (Ulverston) and ‘theidol.com’(Penrith). The next stage would be to visit the University of Salford to explore a series of paths that can be taken to get into the sector and just how many opportunities are available.

Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 17

University of Bolton + M-Sport This package was linked to the CLEP sector panel ‘Advanced Manufacturing’ and gave learners the opportunity to explore Motorsport Engineering as a potential careers pathway.

This started off with a fantastic trip to the University of Bolton, where learners engaged with a series of engineering-based workshops, had a tour of the site and got to speak to current students and staff to learn about career opportunities within the sector. Following on from the trip to Bolton University, learners would be able to visit M-Sport in Dovenby (near Cockermouth) to discover how motorsport engineering worked in the real world with the opportunity to build on learning from visiting the University of Bolton.

Dalton Nuclear Institute (West Lakes Science Park) + Heysham EDF Powerstation + Glasgow Science Centre This package was linked with the CLEP sector panel ‘Nuclear and Clean Energy’ and would allow learners to explore a range of routes into the nuclear sector, focusing on a range of different job opportunities, not just engineering. With trips to Dalton Nuclear Institute and Heysham EDF Powerstation to explore these careers, learners also got to speak to staff members about what routes they took, as well as engaging with a series of hands-on activities and workshops.

18 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

As a result of restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, we were unable to run all the trip packages. Instead, in order to continue our support schools and colleges, we turned these packages into a series of organisers packs which can be found below:

Jodrell Bank Exploring careers in astrophysics and experiencing astrophysics in a real-life setting

Motorsport Engineering A trip to the University of Bolton National Centre for Motorsport Engineering

University of Central Football Business For those with a keen interest in a career in sports and business.

Includes a trip to the national cycling centre

Newcastle City Centre A trip to explore Newcastle city centre, discover landmarks and independent exploration

Photography Masterclass Working with the University of Cumbria (Brampton Road Campus) to discover opportunities surrounding photography and different routes learners can take

Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 19

Adapting school financial support – the Participation Fund Historically, Hello Future have offered target schools and colleges funding for travel to enable visits to Further Education colleges and Higher Education institutions.

In Spring 2020, we decided to adapt our ‘Travel Package Fund’ to the ‘Hello Future Participation Fund’. This was in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant that travel was not possible for over a year. The ‘Hello Future Participation Fund’ is available to target schools and colleges to help support learners. We saw a large increase of schools and colleges use this funding to cover or partly cover their CEIAG platform of choice, which for many was UniFrog. Other uses for funding have been obtaining careers resources (print or online) and 1:1 careers appointments.

Hello Future Expo In November 2020, we ran an online Higher Education fair with partner booths and live webinars, including: Kendal College, Lakes College, Lancaster & Morecambe College, Lancaster University, Carlisle College, BAE Systems, Edge Hill University, Furness College, Newton Rigg College, Inspira, Myerscough College, NHS Careers Team, UCLan and the University of Cumbria. At a time where travel was restricted and many learners had missed opportunities to attend Higher Education and careers fairs, the event provided a similar style from the comfort of their own home. The team worked on an engagement system that awarded points for visiting booths, chatting to practitioners and attending live webinars, so learners could take part in a leader board and win prizes that would support their journey through education. After the ‘live’ event, the platform, videos and resources remained accessible, allowing learners to continue access to this information – 431 unique students accessed resources on this digital event. ABS Insights conducted a review of the Expo and the report can be found on the ‘Our Impact’ webpage here: www.hellofuture.ac.uk/our-impact

Resource packs To address the issue of digital fatigue raised by several practitioners during school closures and the continued pandemic, we organised a campaign of physical resources to target learners through schools, colleges and target wards. Hello Future learners who had provided marketing consent received resource packs providing them with key information, advice and guidance for their Higher Education journey. We also targeted priority year groups, including Years 11 and 13, and utilised our schools to ensure that every learner within these groups received a Hello Future resource pack, with material targeted towards their current stage in school or college. This work ensured learners received practical support, as well as information that would be brought home for parents and carers as key influencers.

“An excellent resource for transition post-16, full of useful notes, links, and guidance for students and parents”

Ulverston Victoria High School What our learners, schools and colleges say about Hello Future

“It’s been great having you and Hello Future back in school again.”

Furness Academy on the return to face-to-face delivery.

“I am really pleased I took part in The Scholars Programme as it gave me the opportunity to experience what university education is like and engage in interesting discussions. I am thankful for this opportunity and would recommend it to anyone!”

‘The Brilliant Club: Scholars Programme’ Graduate, Richard Rose Morton Academy.

20 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

Our Research and Evaluation The Hello Future website hosts a ‘Knowledge Exchange’. This hosts detailed evaluation and research undertaken throughout Phases 1 & 2, alongside commissioned research to enable and deepen our understanding more about the needs of our target learners in Cumbria, and to provide evidence of the impact of Hello Future. A sample and overview of some of the research undertaken is given below: The aspirations, knowledge, intentions and attitudes of Young Cumbrian learners in 2018: Most learners in Year 11 or below expect to continue to study after they finish their GCSEs or equivalent qualifications, with a more positive response from Carlisle and Eden. Learners in Furness and West Cumbria are more likely to respond ‘begin an apprenticeship’ instead. Following this pattern, Year 13s also expect to remain in education after they finish their current studies, especially those in Carlisle and Eden. More learners in Furness hope to ‘get a fulltime job’, while West Cumbria leads in terms of learners who wish to ‘begin a higher/degree apprenticeship.’

Relatively few learners felt they have ‘a lot’ of knowledge about applying to higher education or various aspects of Higher Education.

(COSMOS Engagement (2019) CFE Secondary data W0 analysis: Cumbria)

The impacts of peer conversation and relationships on the choices of young learners in Carlisle - There is a fair amount of ‘unacknowledged conversation’ going on, which is then informing young learners’ ideas of peer group norms. Conversation peaks around key transition points; focusing on these and trying to maintain discussions may have the potential to bring more options under consideration. Certain future-related subjects are seen as ‘too personal’ to discuss openly, for example staying or leaving Cumbria.

(Canovan, C., McDonald, R. Fallon, N (2020), Something to talk about: The impacts of peer conversation and relationships on the choices of young learners in Carlisle)

Voluntary and community organisations can be effective assets for supporting young people in their decisionmaking. However, it is important for outreach work to understand where and when the best forms of information and intervention might be to utilise these assets.

(Grimwood, T, Goodwin, V, Grabrovaz, M (HASKE: Health and Society Knowledge Exchange) (2020), Voluntary and Community Organisations (VCOs) in Cumbria: Assets for Young People’s Decision-Making)

Data collected suggests that understanding how ‘gates’ are created and maintained is key to underpinning an asset-based approach to both Widening Participation and outreach work. It allows practitioners to identify areas where asset gatekeeping can be addressed, but also to place assets in terms of the broader contexts they are subject to.

(HASCE: Health and Social Care Evaluation (2020), An asset-based approach to WP for young people in Cumbria)

While a large amount of research has linked hard-to-reach with economic insecurity, this may overlook some of the more concrete contexts of Cumbria such as infrastructure and historical employment routes. The survey suggested that aspiration amongst parents and carers was not low. As such, addressing lack of engagement should be needs-based. Parents and carers who attended Higher Education themselves are more likely to feel confident talking to their child compared to those who did not. Those who did not attend Higher Education are confident in discussing career opportunities. Just 25% of parents and carers in target wards attended Higher Education and as a result are more likely to prefer that employers and education providers attend open/parent evenings.

(Grimwood, T and Snell, L (2021) Parental assets and influence on young people’s decision-making: engaging ‘hard to reach’ parents)

We will continue to build on our insights that underpin and inform the delivery of the Hello Future programme and in line with Uni Connect aims, and we will contribute to the wider body of evidence about ‘What Works in Higher Education Outreach’ through the submission of evaluation reports to CFE’s4 calls for evaluation evidence.

4

Uni Connect national evaluators Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 21

Hello Future Phase 3: 2021/22 and beyond A new approach to outreach delivery For Phase 3 of the programme Hello Future have taken a new and innovative approach to the identification and delivery of outreach. Whilst still underpinned by the Progression Framework and lessons learned, the partnership aims to be even more responsive to learner need.

Inspired by a model developed by Neil Harrison (Harrison, N (2018), Using the Lens of ‘Possible Selves’ to Explore Access to Higher Education: A New Conceptual Model for Practice, Policy, and Research), Hello Future has in part applied the model to explore learners’ ‘Future Selves’. The approach starts from the assumption that learners do not lack aspiration but require a range of intervention to explore and realise their possible or future selves. From here we developed an initial progression wheel incorporating our learner need themes.

Our innovative ‘Future Selves’ model seeks to identify gaps across the learner need themes to deliver tailored outreach at a school/ college and academic year level. Working with research partner Cosmos Engagement Ltd, the project consists of a ‘baseline survey’ that was embedded into the ‘Future Self workshop’ session delivered by Hello Future staff at the beginning of the year and follow up surveys to assess learner need and impact.

22 • Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021

Total School

Total Region

XXX College

Future Selves Student Survey - Live Dashboard XXX College - Scroll down for reports by year group Total School

Total Region

Total Network

Surveys Completed

Surveys Completed

Surveys Completed

23

189

664

Likelihood to study at

Likelihood to study at

Likelihood to study at

Higher Education

Higher Education

Higher Education

3.74

3.81

3.89

XXX College

Furness

Building Skills &

Building Skills &

Building Skills &

Strategies

Strategies

Strategies

I know how to achieve goals

4.43

I know how to achieve goals

4.19

I know how to achieve goals

4.00

I know how I learn best

4.39

I know how I learn best

4.11

I know how I learn best

4.11

I know what to improve

4.08

I know what to improve

4.08

I know what to improve

Key Themes

Building Skills & Strategies

Ideation & Self-Belief

Personal Expectations

Practical Support

Supporting Transitions

Key Themes

4.43

3.87

3.39

Building Skills & Strategies

Ideation & Self-Belief

Personal Expectations

4.65

3.57

I can improve weaknesses

4.19

3.94

3.52

I am aware of my options

How to find information

How to use information

Key Themes

Total Network

Furness

4.74

3.43

3.83

3.52

3.87

Ideation & Self-Belief

Building Skills & Strategies

4.00

Ideation & Self-Belief

3.99

I can achieve my goals

Personal Expectations

3.91

I know my strengths

Practical Support

4.05

Practical Support

3.91

I will be successful

Supporting Transitions

3.93

Supporting Transitions

3.91

I know my future options

I can improve weaknesses

3.85

I can improve weaknesses

3.91

I am aware of my options

3.97

I am aware of my options

3.96

How to find information

4.04

How to find information

3.86

How to use information

3.95

How to use information

3.93

Ideation & Self-Belief

3.87

3.70

4.30

3.78

Ideation & Self-Belief

I can achieve my goals

3.94

I can achieve my goals

3.99

I know my strengths

3.99

I know my strengths

3.95

I will be successful

4.03

I know my future options

4.06

I will be successful

I know my future options

4.36

4.06

Our innovative new approach allows aggregated and anonymised responses to be reported immediately via a live dashboard for analysis. This provides immediate insight and enables Hello Future and schools/colleges to better plan and deliver tailored interventions. This model aids the continual review and reiteration of our Progression Framework and learner need themes. By sharing findings with schools and colleges, this has helped to support their practice and further strengthen our stakeholder relationships and deepen our understanding of Cumbrian Higher Education progression.

We are excited to continue the Future Selves approach into 2022/23, for schools and colleges to receive individualised reports and to share full insights of the first wave of the approach very soon.

Hello Future Impact Report 2017 - 2021 • 23

For more information: E: hellofuture@cumbria.ac.uk T: 01229 634 760