University Best Practice White Paper by Social Mobility Pledge

1 LEVELLING UP UniversityBestPracticeWhitePaper

03Contents Forewords 06 Introduction to the Levelling Up Goals 08 The role of universities in levelling up 12 Next steps 13 Best practice from universities across the UK 14 North East England Northumbria University 16 North West England Liverpool John Moores University University of Chester 20 Yorkshire and the Humber University of Bradford University of York York St John University 28 The Midlands University of Lincoln University of Derby University of UniversityStaffordshireNorthamptonUniversityofWorcester 44 East of England Make Happen 48 London University of Greenwich University of West London 52 South East England University of Reading Solent UniversityUniversityofSouthampton 58 South West England Bournemouth University Plymouth Marjon University University of the West of England 67 Wales Cardiff Metropolitan University University of Wales Trinity Saint David 2

But the collective leadership on levelling up crucially also includes our Levelling Up Universities Coalition, led by their Vice-Chancellors, who are now also tackling the same challenge head on. For them and their institutions, levelling up and the phrase ‘talent is spread evenly but opportunity is not’ encapsulates the challenge they and their institutions constantly seek to address. For these institutions it is part of their very organisational DNA. They are often part of the very communities - whether places or people - that are more disadvantaged in profile, that we often discuss levelling up being most relevant for. And it drives how they target their efforts.

Moreover, in the midst of a wider Government policy shift on higher education, including proposals limiting access to university which would disproportionately impact those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, this could represent a time when progress is rolled backwards, rather than extended as is what’s needed.

This document sets out just some of the actions and projects that are already having a direct impact on creating a Britain that truly has equality of opportunity. It sets out a reality of a higher education sector that is already playing a strategic role on levelling up, acting as an engine of social mobility and increasingly stepping up its game to match our country’s ambition. We should all welcome and support this.

Although the Government’s recent Levelling Up White Paper was a step forward, higher education’s power to drive social mobility was a key omission from that plan.

Rt Hon Justine Greening, Founder of the Social Mobility Pledge and Former Secretary of State for Education Levelling up Britain is going to take leadership from all sections of our society, whether in politics, business or civil society - it’s a team effort we need. We must recognise that no single group has all the answers. In addition, often the solutions to levelling up are being innovated, developed, trialled and deployed at the grassroots in communities everywhere rather than coming top down from Whitehall. Through our work on the Social Mobility Pledge we have seen leaders from across the country step forward to work individually and collectively on improving social mobility. Some are business leaders, who understand that their companies being a force for good is not just smart for business, enabling them to reach a wider talent pool, it’s increasingly reflective of the expectations of wider society. Others are part of civil society or running key aspects of our public services, for example the NHS Trusts that have been on the frontline of combatting the covid pandemic yet also understand their wider role across a community. All are asking themselves what a comprehensive approach on levelling up looks like for their organisation.

Yet there is a huge opportunity for our country in developing the role that our universities play as anchor institutions, transforming not only opportunities for individuals but for communties more broadly. Far from being left out of a levelling up plan, our universities should be centre stage. After two decades or more of work on widening participation, our universities not only have a key role, but also key insights for a wider country now collectively aiming to level up.

01Foreword

Fundamentally, the work of these Vice-Chancellors and their universities shows that there is so much more to gain and learn from our higher education sector across the country. It has never been a more important time to reap the wider benefits of the successful approaches contained in this paper, as the levelling up debate necessarily shifts onto practical solutions. Through having the right leadership and setting ambitious goals, collectively these universities give a very different perspective of the art of the possible when it comes to how universities can level up Britain. Their strategic approach must become the norm across higher education more widely but can also provide direction more widely. We also aim to inspire a fresh effort from even more higher education institutions to become part of our Levelling Up Universities Coalition. Through spreading this own innovation and best practice it can enable us to get far further far faster on finally achieving equality of opportunity in our country.

measurable targets are truly pioneering work in the Higher Education space. I applaud the universities which are taking this next step towards making sure it is who you become, not where you were born that makes all the difference. It is clear that what we really need is to move beyond positive rhetoric and into the achievable targets that Justine and the Purpose Coalition are setting.

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Foreword

Supporting children to achieve their hopes, dreams and aspirations is what drives me and one of the things I’m proudest of working on in this job. As a Member of Parliament, Education Spokesperson and as a parent, I never want to stop pushing to create a better, fairer society for all of our young people.

Munira Wilson MP, Education Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats

Across the political spectrum, there is a strong consensus that a fully developed society is one with effective social mobility. We all want the best for young people, regardless of their background, yet too often social mobility falls by the wayside when it comes to tangible action. Real opportunity is still denied to far too many young people in Britain today. Our universities are some of the best in the world, playing a critical role in building the skills we need in a world that’s changing faster than ever before. These universities give young people the chance to understand their abilities, interests and passions in a stimulating, yet supportive environment. However, for too many, university may not even be a dream just out of reach, but a dream their circumstances would never allow them to conceptualise in the first place. The tireless work of Justine Greening and the Purpose Coalition is a beacon of real change in this country. These efforts in connecting universities and employers, pushing best practice and setting

I am so proud to support Justine and the Purpose Coalition in achieving these goals, without waiting for traditional mechanisms to catch up. We can all be doing more to inspire young people to grasp the opportunity to fulfil their potential and benefit from the cutting-edge universities in this country.

Foreword 5

In 2015, as Secretary of State for International Development, Rt Hon Justine Greening MP led the UK delegation to the United Nations (UN) and was at the heart of the efforts to successfully design the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Introduction to the Levelling Up Goals

7 PostdestinationsPositive16+3 schoolSuccessfulyears2infoundationsStrongEarlyYears1 Right advice and experiences4 Fair progressioncareer6recruitmentOpen5 Good health and well-being8savingsaccessWideningto& credit 7 Closing the digital divide10enterpriseExtending9 Building homes & communitiessustainable12forInfrastructureopportunity11 Achieve equality, through diversity & inclusion 14transitiontheHarnessenergy13 Introduction

These 17 interlinked, global goals were created to be ‘a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all’. However, Justine has recognised how a common set of ambitious but accessible objectives can also galvanise action to effect real change on levelling up and equality of opportunity. Working through the Purpose Coalition of businesses, universities, public sector employers like NHS Trusts and local authorities, Justine developed the Levelling Up Goals which she then launched in February 2021. These new Levelling Up Goals identify 14 clear goals, and draw on expertise provided by academia and businesses which has been applied to the unique challenges facing the UK in levelling up. They focus on key life stages and highlight the main issues that need to be resolved in order to create a level playing field for all in this country. The Levelling Up Goals are intended to guide how the urgent ambition to achieve equality of opportunity in the UK can actually be achieved. Of course, the impact of the work carried out to do this can, and should, be measurable. To do so, sub-goals within the 14 goals, with quantifiable targets and metrics to measure progress against are being developed by the Purpose Coalition members. This will create a transparent and measurable framework with which we can direct and monitor progress. It can also ensure different actors with different roles can nevertheless work on closing the same, measurable inequality gaps.

Ultimately, the Levelling Up Goals are a shared framework. Justine and the wider Purpose Coalition believe that with a common understanding and objectives, there can be real action that drives change on the ground, with the shared Goals being a uniting and motivating foundation for progress.

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The role of universities in levelling up One of the principal actors on levelling up is Britain’s higher education sector and it can act across a wide range of the Levelling Up Goals.

For all our levelling up universities, a common theme is their focus on widening access and participation (Levelling Up Goal 3 - Positive destinations Post 16; Goal 14 - Achieve Equality through Diversity and Inclusion). They reach into communities that are often furthest away from a level playing field, to be a gateway to opportunity – the chance for an individual to make something of their life, no matter where they were born or what their background is. Some of that work is driven by individual universities themselves, for example the Step Up programme by Staffordshire University, alongside so many others this White Paper sets out. It is also done collectively through university partnerships and UniConnect work, for example, the Future Quest project driven by the University of the West of ThroughEngland.theiroutreach activities they are raising aspirations in a wider community and making choices navigable and practically possible. For the communities and regions they serve, the opportunity to go to university is often not one that previous generations have had. The work is long-term in nature and seeks to influence a broader community on the benefits of education.

Some higher education institutions, like the University of Derby, Staffordshire University and the University of Bradford, are leading partners in their local Opportunity Areas. The University of Lincoln set up the Holbeach Academy Trust to successfully drive the transformation of schools within that Trust for local children.

For those diverse student bodies that they serve, the focus is not only on the attainment of knowledge and skills as part of a degree course, but in addition, the wider social and career ‘capital’ and employability skills their students need to be able to maximise the success of a first career step beyond graduation (Levelling Up Goal 4 - Right Advice and Experiences). The University of West London is an example of a university that plays a crucial role in embedding businesses and employers throughout its degree programmes, with relationships with 2,000 businesses (Levelling Up Goal 5Open Recruitment).

If talent really is spread evenly then a continued push to open up universities as a viable option for those with the potential to succeed in a degree, but from lower socio-economic backgrounds or needing a restart on education, must continue. It is every bit as important as work to deliver high quality technical education routes for people to pursue. The objective is enabling more and better choices for people to pursue education routes at all ages, including post 18. Some of the case studies demonstrate just how wrong and unwise it can be to write off a person when their educational progress principally reflects a more challenging past, for example being a young carer, rather than their potential for the future.

And in practice, as this report shows, the work of these higher education institutions goes far beyond Levelling Up Goals 3 and 14, and their

Universities core work delivering an Access and Participation Plan as required by the Office for Students.

The Treasury has reformed its guiding rules for investment, the Green Book, to reflect that an excessive focus on the economic past of a region is not the right way to prioritise physical

This work is transformative in practice. For Justine, whilst she graduated the University of Southampton with a first class honours degree in Economics, arguably an example of someone finally closing the education attainment gap during higher education, her social and career capital still had much further development to go.

The work by the Levelling Up Universities Coalition on closing that employability and career capital gap is crucial in helping their graduates make the most of their enhanced level of education.

These are universities that often work upstream on talent development, (Levelling Up Goal 1Strong Foundations in Early Years and Levelling Up Goal 2 - Successful School Years) working with, often running, local schools and colleges.

It also reflects a clear sentiment from students who expect their institutions to pursue policies of procurement and sustainability that overtly also deliver positive social value.

There needs to be a new approach to higher education and levelling up which places far greater value and focus on how universities are strategically delivering equality of opportunity through their work and actions across the board and across the full range of the Levelling Up Goals, drawing on the best practice that already exists and the expectations they need to meet.

There is much wider best practice than even contained in this White Paper. All of these examples give a fresh perspective again on how broad the role of universities as engines of social change can be and how a strategic mindset by higher education institutions can lead to a far more comprehensive effort than previously appreciated.

Universities also display innovative methods on how they might have a wider impact on communities (Levelling Up Goal 12 - Building Homes and Sustainable Communities), and as an example with £11 billion spent by the sector annually, how this in itself through improved procurement practices can deliver better social value. Pioneering work by the University of Northampton in challenging itself on having a broader social impact of its procurement approach for its new Waterside Campus shows how the spending power of the higher education sector can also shift outcomes and opportunities.

In the meantime, the Levelling Up Goals framework makes it much easier to evaluate the work happening on the ground and, as a result, compare it in a consistent way across organisations. This will also help meet society’s expectations, particularly following the pandemic, that they should be working towards the public good.

10 infrastructure investment decisions about its economic future. That same logic holds for developing the nation’s talent and human capital, and it is universities such as those in this White Paper that best understand how to strategically shift the outcomes for Britain’s talent base.

There are further examples throughout this paper of how universities work well beyond the talent pipeline they develop and their efforts to then connect their graduates to opportunity. Whilst there is a longstanding higher education policy focus on research and education, it is vital that alongside this we also recognise how crucial many higher education institutions are in practically reinvigorating and driving their regional economies. These universities actively drive inward investment that is linked to cutting edge research provision. But the economic impact goes much further. Many institutions are broadening their region and our country’s economic base through a focus on developing entrepreneurship skills and supporting business creation (Levelling Up Goal 9 - Extending Enterprise), with Solent University and Liverpool John Moores University prime Othersexamples.similarlyprovide a talent pipeline to crucial public services such as education or the National Health Service (Levelling Up Goal 8 - Better Health and Wellbeing). The Covid-19 pandemic underlines how healthy people underpin a healthy economy creating opportunities. Their graduate earnings may not match those of institutions with better connections to the highest paying roles in the City or in professional services, but the sooner we properly value those outcomes that these institutions achieve for our nation, the better.

Finally, as it is for these universities, levelling up should also be the lense through which higher education policy is approached by Ministers. We must build on the progress made on widening access to higher education. Similarly we must build on the work done by the institutions in this report and have a policy approach both of substance and measurement that supports it, rather than the opposite. In short, Minister’s decisions should also be approached in the same way as it is for the Vice-Chancellors leading these universities - what changes can make the role of higher education a more powerful one in driving levelling up. Universities

" Universities 11

Knowledge exchange on levelling upthe many ideas and practical experiences of universities contained in this paper can help other higher education institutions set their own sights higher on the crucial role they play in levelling up Britain. Beyond that, the insights many universities can bring to how they have widened access and participation are directly transferable to employers, both public and private, and will enable that wider talent pool to thrive in their future careers and support existing efforts on workforce diversity.

Developing a strategic relationship between the Levelling Up Universities Coalition and other Purpose Coalition employers - we have already used the Levelling Up Law project to bring together top City firms from the legal sector with our university partners to drive a more strategic, long-term relationship on developing employability and career capital, alongside ensuring that the transition into ‘early years’ careers is more strongly managed for more diverse intake. These learnings can now be transferred to other sectors and the Purpose Coalition more widely, including using technology to help employers work with our universities to find, develop and bring in talent to their organisations.

Continued strong investment in UniConnect is also vital for longer term planning and action. We believe that further and higher education are not either/or options for people, whether they are pursuing a technical or more traditional academic route. Like many people, Justine went to a Further Education College as a precursor to going onto Higher Education.

Next CoalitionUniversitiesLevellingStepsUp

04 Next Steps

Creating a high skilled economy involves ensuring that the ability to get to, and succeed in higher education is there wherever you are in our country. Advocating for an informed policy agenda that unlocks more progress is crucial.

Limiting aspirations to further education would place an unnecessary restriction on developing Britain’s greatest asset - its people.

The work of the Levelling Up Universities Coalition will continue with several strands of effort:

Advocacy - a levelled up Britain needs universities that are more open and a viable choice for more people not less. This report gives multiple examples of how that is possible.

Social mobility tracking - many of our Levelling Up Universities Coalition will be part of a groundbreaking group of organisations pledging to track and report their own employee socio-economic diversity in order to see where the barriers are that can be removed. The Equality of Opportunity Coalition will bring together like-minded organisations from all sectors who are committed to making a difference. This will be a crucial next step for the Purpose Coalition on developing, and also using, measurement and metrics across the Levelling Up Goals to drive change.

13 Best Practice

Through our work with universities we have come across some incredible examples of levelling up in action. In this section we have picked out some of the best practice from our Levelling Up Universities Coalition partners. While we know that there is so much more going on, these universities are setting the standard for others to follow in terms of levelling up the communities they operate within, and widening opportunity to those who need it the most.

Best practice from universities across the UK 05

Northumbria’sBESTUniversityNorthumbriaPRACTICECASESTUDYroleintheNorthEastof

The North East is known for its quality of life and unique mix of city, countryside and coastline and Northumbria University plays a key role in championing the region and access to higher education for people from all backgrounds.

England

In 2020, the University signed up to the Social Mobility Pledge and has also reaffirmed its commitment to levelling up through a new strategic objective to strengthen its role as an anchor institution. The University is working closely with other stakeholders in the city of Newcastle to deliver civic, societal, health, economic and cultural improvements through the work of the innovative Collaborative Newcastle partnership. As part of this work, Northumbria have developed a civic university agreement with Newcastle University which will focus on post-pandemic renewal across three themes of prosperity, people and planet.

The North East of England faces a number of socio-economic problems. It is the lowest ranked region nationally in terms of adults with Level 4 qualifications and it underperforms generally in terms of educational and attainment metrics. There can also be issues with the opportunities that students are presented with when they graduate, with other regions often having a wider range of jobs available. The North East is one of the worst performing for health inequalities with healthy life expectancy in adults changing by as much as eight years in just five miles. This highlights the unequal nature of the region with pockets of wealth and success fairly close to areas of real deprivation. Northumbria University is attempting to address some of these inequalities. It is proud of the quality, breadth and depth of the education and research it delivers which has a positive bearing on the local economy. The impact of research and innovation, business growth support and skills, employability and entrepreneurship reaches across the region and beyond, creating and applying knowledge and opportunities.

Northumbria attracts students nationally and internationally as well as from the North East and it is keen to enable students to stay and contribute to the local economy after graduation. Part of its work with local stakeholders is to ensure graduate retention and attract those from other regions to move here. The ERDF Northumbria Enterprise and Business Support Projects have so far supported 148 small businesses in the region to employ a graduate and 58 students and graduates to start up their own companies since 2015.

Best Practice North East England

Northumbria University puts more people into graduate jobs in the North East of England than any other university. In the latest Graduate Outcomes survey for 2018/19 leavers, 25% of all the graduates employed in the North East of England in highly skilled jobs from that cohort were graduates of Northumbria University.

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

Alongside Newcastle University, Northumbria is involved in the world’s first biotech and sustainable building through the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment, researching the future of the built environment and how we can make our homes healthier places to live.

The University's research is critical to the economic growth of the region and addressing the levelling up agenda. Northumbria has transformed its contribution, rising to being ranked 23rd nationally on research power in the Research Excellence Framework published in May 2022. The University has identified multidisciplinary research themes (MDRTs) which align with industrial strategy and regional priorities, including climate change, integrated health and social care, energy futures - including the RENU renewable energy doctoral training centre, life sciences, international development and digital interaction.

Northumbria is committed to raising educational aspirations and recruiting high quality students regardless of background. Northumbria University runs a supported entry scheme, NU Entry, to ensure a fair and transparent admissions process. NU Entry was launched to local schools in 2013 after feedback from teachers who wanted further support for certain students to help them progress. In 2020-21 the programme, which is now nationwide, engaged 905 students and since its inception over 1,000 of those taking part in the scheme have gone on to study at Northumbria. NU Entry is a structured scheme for students in their first year of sixth form or college who meet specific criteria. Eligibility criteria includes the following: a care leaver, those with care responsibilities, estranged students, those entitled to free school meals or from an area with a low progression rate to university, as well as other specific detailed criteria. Students take part in a range of activities, from subject specific workshops to campus visits and Studentse-mentoring.participating in the NU Entry scheme get the chance to earn 16 NU entry points, which are the equivalent to UCAS points when applying to Northumbria University. These programmes ensure that the University is reaching those from under-represented communities and giving them an equal opportunity to access higher education. In 2021-22 Northumbria is expanding its supported entry scheme to include Access NU, which will support adult learners to progress to Northumbria.

The University has also completed worldleading research around children’s hunger and food coping strategies during the pandemic and is a partner in the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration North East and North NorthumbriaCumbria.has close ties to the region’s business community. It runs a business clinic and offers students the chance to work alongside SMEs and charities. The University is a participant in the Northern Accelerator commercialisation programme and runs the Small Business Leadership Programme working with businesses that have been impacted by Covid-19 using research expertise to support their development.

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NU Entry

Close links between outreach staff and careers advisors or teachers in Northern Irish schools have been critical to successful recruitment. Teachers are committed to providing students with access to Liverpool John Moores University in order to support their learners in broadening their horizons and ultimately fulfilling their potential.

social immobility together In 1998, with the dust settling on the Good Friday Agreement, leaders at Liverpool John Moores University sat down to consider what they could do to forge closer ties with their Northern Irish neighbours. Initially their focus was on the province’s talent pool from a staff recruitment perspective. But after extensive fact-finding missions across the Irish Sea, the opportunity emerged to create brighter prospects for young people in disadvantaged parts of Northern Ireland. With only two universities, Northern Ireland had limited higher education provision and demand for places was far outstripping supply. This remains the case today. Many young people in poorer communities were therefore effectively locked out of higher education if they missed out on these limited places; since moving abroad may have been cost-prohibitive - or not even a known option. In setting out to change this and make studying at Liverpool John Moores University a viable opportunity for Northern Ireland’s youth, the University initially gathered invaluable intel from local teachers. A common theme fed back from numerous communities was that of low aspirations, with few disadvantaged young people seeing a future for themselves beyond Northern Ireland. Liverpool John Moores University responded by developing a successful outreach strategy working with schools and colleges to provide valuable information, advice and guidance about the benefits of higher education including increasing academic knowledge, social capital acquisition, and improved employment Andopportunities.thiseffort has paid off, both in terms of generating a more diverse intake of students and in raising aspirations in Northern Ireland. Today it has a network of strong relationships with schools in Northern Ireland built on trust – in both the University’s ability to create a compelling future for students and its commitment to helping people in the most disadvantaged situations. Its strategy for targeting schools and colleges in Northern Ireland has focussed significantly on reaching young people in some of the most deprived areas of the region, particularly in respect to income deprivation and education, skills and training deprivation. Its interactions also provide information on the affordability of higher education and the associated statutory and institutional support available, including information on scholarships and bursaries offered at the university.

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LJMUBESTUniversityJohnLiverpoolMooresPRACTICECASESTUDYandNorthernIreland–tackling

Another pivotal factor is the success of the University’s Northern Ireland Applicant Day held annually in Belfast, with more locations planned for coming years. This is supported by all faculties at the University and also, crucially, by current students from Northern Ireland. Sharing their transformational experience makes a compelling case for pursuing higher education in Liverpool, and also helps to allay fears about moving away from home.

17 Best Practice North West England

LJMU has a long history of working with care leavers and estranged students and was one of the first universities in the country to develop specific programmes of work in this area, having seen the specific barriers to access and participation faced by this emerging cohort of students. Recognition for their work has followed, including the recent Quality Mark from the NNECL (National Network for the Education of Care Leavers), after first receiving the Buttle UK Quality Mark for Care Leavers in 2008 following the submission of an institutional action plan and the development of a university-wide working group to implement four key elements of support:

> A designated member of staff with responsibility for supporting Care Leavers;

The University has maintained its position at the forefront of national developments in this area by supporting relevant staff to take up voluntary leadership roles with the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) and the Student Loans Company Vulnerable Students Stakeholder Group. In the academic year 2020 / 2021, the JLIA has provided support to 130 eligible students. Support is flexible to meet individual need but focuses on several key elements:

> Targeted opportunities for further development in collaboration with other LJMU services (Student Futures, Library Services etc.).

> Targeted outreach activities for care experienced young people in schools and colleges; > Access to 365-day accommodation in an LJMU partner hall; and

> An annual bursary of £1,000 per academic year (subject to eligibility criteria) and signposting to other forms of available funding; and

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY Support for Care Leavers

> The ongoing provision of a specialist member of staff within Student Advice and Wellbeing Services to coordinate this area of work;

> Access to appropriate accommodation including all-year round accommodation in an LJMU partner hall. Where appropriate, the University can request that a partner hall waive the need for a guarantor or deposit when this would act as a barrier to a student securing accommodation LJMU partner accommodation;

> A dedicated bursary for Care Leavers studying at FollowingLJMU. an endowment by Yoko Ono’s Spirit Foundation, the University launched the John Lennon Imagine Award (JLIA) in 2009 with 50 eligible students receiving support in the first year of the scheme. A dedicated member of staff within the University’s Student Advice and Wellbeing Services team was subsequently recruited in 2010 to act as the first point of contact and support for Care Leavers and students who are estranged from their families and coordinate the further development of the University’s work in this area. On renewal of the Buttle UK Quality Mark in 2011, the University was commended for its ‘exemplary level of support’ for Care Leavers. LJMU was subsequently approached to be an ‘early adopter’ of the government’s Care Leavers Covenant in 2017. Since 2013, they have worked in partnership with the Unite Foundation to offer the Unite Foundation Scholarship to Care Leavers and estranged students. The Scholarship offers three years free accommodation in a Unite Students hall, providing another valuable safety net for eligible Thestudents.work has been highlighted as best practice across the sector on several occasions, most recently by the charity StandAlone UK in summer 2021 for the University’s work supporting students estranged from their families throughout the pandemic.

“It’s just a fantastic opportunity to showcase your skills and to be judged on them, rather than who you are”. This is how a student described their experience of anonymous applications for Workplace Experiences, the University of Chester’s collective of placements, internships and project scholarships.

Best Practice North West England

of Workplace Experience anonymised applications, 90% of respondents agreed that unconscious bias still exists in society, 100% of respondents concurred that anonymised applications were a way to help eradicate unconscious bias from employers within the recruitment process. The evaluation also allowed respondents to include any other comments they wished to make. During a keyword analysis of the qualitative feedback, it was noted that over a third of respondents used the word “opportunity” in qualitative feedback and the Careers Service felt that anonymised applications gave under-represented students confidence in applying to Workplace Experience opportunities.

From an employer’s perspective, the interventions help them to achieve EDI objectives: “Anonymous applications allowed me, as an employer, to make judgements based on the key elements of the application that matter to us as a company. I believe that regardless of how hard you try, it’s impossible to avoid subconscious bias or overcompensation in the efforts to avoid bias. The anonymous application removed this as a thought process and ensured we chose our candidate without the process being impacted by Frombias.”astudent’s perspective, the interventions helped foster the ability to be comfortable in applying for roles without the concern of including their personal characteristics.

“The application process was very easy, and also less stressful, as you don't have to fill out lots of personal details which allows you to focus solely on the skills you can offer.” - 3rd Year Events Management Student

WorkplaceAnonymisedBESTofUniversityChesterPRACTICECASESTUDYrecruitmenttoExperiences

“I had 2 great experiences using the anonymous applications and felt confident to be 100% honest in my applications.”

With an anonymous application process in place, the university then actively encouraged students to apply and employers to take part. Engagement by some of the university's most under-represented students increased and applications for those who were appointed to Workplace Experiences went from under 20% to almost 60%, ensuring equality and success for all. During this process the university shared engagement data with stakeholders including academics and employers which could be interrogated to identify trends. For academics it was to encourage participation and for employers it was to enable them to see the diverse range of applicants that could benefit their Duringworkplace.anevaluation

During planning for the 2020/21 academic year, the Careers & Employability Service at the University of Chester moved away from using a traditional CV and cover letter recruitment process to an anonymous application process that put “what a student could do now and how they could develop” above “who they were and what they have done”. This was part of a move to eradicate unconscious bias and with it brought other opportunities.

Inspiring Futures at the University of Chester Inspiring Futures is a programme run by Careers & Employability at the University of Chester, delivering careers related activities and support aimed at addressing the particular needs of students from under-represented backgrounds. One of the strands of the programme is Inspiring Futures Workplace Experiences – paid extra-curricular placements within employers and organisations. Jordan participated in a Workplace Experience alongside her degree studies. Why did you apply for a Workplace Experience? I applied for the Workplace Experience as I had just lost my job due to COVID. My tutor posted a link to the opportunity and I thought it would be amazing to gain experience working in my job sector (marketing) whilst getting paid for it at the same time. I personally think work experience is extremely important. It helps you stand out as an individual when applying for jobs in the future and gives you an understanding of the work environment and greater self-awareness, independence and self-assurance.

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Over the first few months my employers pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me realise that I can do whatever I put my mind to. How do you feel the experience will make you more employable in the future?

> Leading and motivating a team and strong communications skills

The highlight of my Workplace Experience was speaking live on the radio!

> Further knowledge of social media and blog writing I was debating for a while whether to do work experience and I’m so glad I did! I have now been employed by my Workplace Experience employer as their Social Media Manager, which is something I never expected.

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

> Use of new software (Asana, Canva, Google, Excel, Social media, LinkedIn)

What has been the highlight of your Workplace Experience? The highlight of my Workplace Experience was speaking live on the radio! This was an opportunity I never thought I would be able to do and I’m very proud of myself for doing this. If you had asked me to do this a year ago, I would have said “no way!”

I think that doing the Workplace Experience will make me more employable in the future. I have learnt so many new skills and the experience will make my CV stand out, giving me an edge over any competitors in the future. I’ve learnt a lot during my time at Techtimeout. Here are a few skills I have gained with:

> Bradford is one of eight universities who participated in a pilot to develop a framework for the assessment of care leavers.

The programme sees the University working closely with schools and colleges on various initiatives designed to increase the engagement from these applicant groups.

The University of Bradford implemented this approach from its 2019 entry as part of its continual efforts to increase its positive influence on social mobility. Individuals whose situation may have limited their pre-application academic performance are eligible to receive an offer one A Level grade below the standard offer and are also eligible to receive an additional eight UCAS points from attendance at outreach events, to support their transition to University.

> The University works in partnership with rugby league club Bradford Bulls to learn from white, working class boys about how it could better engage with them.

The University works creatively to engage with these often hard-to-reach groups.

The University works closely with the Go Higher West Yorkshire collaborative outreach consortium, and is part of the Office for Students’ UniConnect programme, which offers activities, advice and guidance on the benefits and realities of going to University through local hubs.

Refugees / asylum seekers White, working class males

> The University works with Into University to support communities in areas of low participation in Bradford, through their Holmewood centre.

> The University also runs the Bradford branch of the Children’s University, a national scheme to raise aspirations and engage primary school students in considering higher education

Contextual admissions put the applicant’s academic achievements and potential in the context of their individual situation. Information factored into the process might include the person’s socio-economic circumstances such as their home postal address or which school they attended. Spending formative years in care could also be considered as an important consideration, and refugees and asylum seekers and those returning to study are also able to make use of the scheme.

University of FairBESTBradfordPRACTICECASESTUDYandopenapplications

The institution also has a well-run ‘widening participation’ programme which targets the following groups:

Adult Learners Care experienced students Young Carers Estranged Students

Students from an armed forces family

> It supports and is involved in festivals which attract people from across the city, including refugees and asylum seekers. These events are an opportunity to meet and inspire members of what is an under-represented group on campus.

> It is also part of the Care Leaver Covenant –a strand of the government's ‘keep on caring’ strategy that supports people leaving care to become independent.

Best Practice Yorkshire and the Humber

For example:

People from low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR4 Q1/2) Students from a Gypsy, Roma or traveller community

Best Practice Yorkshire and the Humber

> Special arrangements were put in place to accommodate extenuating circumstances so that students were not academically disadvantaged.

> The academic calendar was amended to ensure that students had sufficient time to complete assessed work, and could still progress or complete broadly within their expected timescales.

Covid-19STUDYresponse

> An extended laptop loan scheme was put in place for students without their own IT equipment to enable them to continue studying and laptops were delivered to those students who needed them.

> It set up a ‘virtual campus’ to support students remaining in Bradford, and provided a continued sense of community for students who returned home. It included online exercise classes from its gym, store cupboard cooking tips from its chefs, quizzes, an online book club, online mindfulness classes and daily spiritual tweets from its multi-faith chaplaincy team.

Learning, teaching and student support were moved online and although the campus was physically closed, the University remained open. All student services continued to work remotely to support students.

At the University of Bradford, staff and students came together to support each other and to support their local communities.

> Emergency regulations were put in place to enable students at Levels 3 and 4 to progress, and to provide a ‘safety net’ for students at Levels 5 and above to ensure that the disruption caused by Covid-19 did not impact on their overall degree outcomes.

The University continued to support students in financial hardship through its hardship and crisis funding and supported an increased number of students financially.

> It linked up its students with a range of new part-time work opportunities which arose in response to the COVID-19 crisis, mainly in retail, distribution and the care sector.

The University’s first priority was to support its students through the period of disruption to ensure their safety, health and wellbeing and to ensure that they were all able to continue with their learning, and not become academically disadvantaged. As University of the Year for Social Inclusion 2020, it recognised that the impact of the situation could affect under-represented or vulnerable groups disproportionately and therefore took steps to target additional support so that all students had fair and equitable opportunities to complete their studies.

21 CASE

> A range of self-access mental health and wellbeing tools were provided and telephone, email and video-call support was available for any student who experienced mental health issues, including those self-isolating.

The University partnered with Morrisons to provide a food bank delivery service for students who were self-isolating and unable to obtain food for themselves (and their families as required).

Measures included:

> Although the University does not own or manage any of its own accommodation, it supported students who were experiencing issues with private accommodation, including funding emergency accommodation where required.

> Higher York - a partnership with York St John University, Askham Bryan College, York College and City of York Council which sets out a city skills strategy to respond to Covid and build a skills pipeline for innovation.

The University of York’s founding values come from a Quaker tradition of social justice - they talk about ‘amelioration of human life and conditions’ and caring about opening up opportunity for higher education ‘more than almost anything else’. These values are now reaffirmed in the University’s commitment that ‘the University of York exists for public good’.

The University of York puts this commitment into practice by:

Good Business City - a collaboration with City of York Council, the NHS in York and Aviva which is committed to good practice and acts as a magnet for others to join.

> Opening up opportunity to participate in a more dynamic economy for those experiencing disadvantage.

> York Central - a collaboration with City of York Council, Network Rail, Homes England, York & North Yorkshire LEP and Science Museum with a vision of an innovation district and ideally a future venue for an Accelerator.

> Using its convening power to support both of the above and to build partnerships to deliver Examplesthem.ofthese

University of York

> IntoUniversity collaboration with the University of Hull with an outreach centre in the most disadvantaged parts of Hull, building pathways into HE from primary school up.

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

Next Step York Rich Winter is sure of one thing. Had it not been for Next Step York he would not have gone to university. “It’s that simple,” says the Doncaster-born graduate now working for global professional services firm RSM. Rich, whose father is a joiner, had always aspired to work with his head rather than his hands, but, as A Levels loomed, he began to realise that he might not make the grades to get to a good university.

Practice Yorkshire and the Humber

> Contributing to innovation and economic dynamism in our place.

partnerships include:

Best

> Collaboration with North Yorkshire County Council in building pathways for careexperienced students into University of York.

BioYorkshire and innovation - a collaboration with Askham Bryan College, FERA, local authorities, York & North Yorkshire LEP and local businesses which is at the core of Devolution Deal proposals submitted to Whitehall.

Today, with an ACA qualification under his belt, he is part of a niche team within corporate finance advising on corporate disposals and acquisitions. Reflecting on the degree and his four years working in Leeds, one thing is clear; “I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for Next Step York. That is the cold, hard truth.”

STUDENT CASE STUDY Milda

23 So, he began to explore an apprenticeship route to accountancy, securing a place with Deloitte to train in audit. It was then that Next Step York visited his school. “It was a lifeline. It gave me hope that I could get into a Russell Group university.” But both his school and his parents urged him to take the apprenticeship route, with no debt and a guaranteed job at a time when good jobs were scarce. At that point, while Rich knew he wanted to work in finance, he was undecided about the specific role. A three-year degree course would provide him with the time he needed to make that decision. The apprenticeship route risked closing his options. His experience of Next Step York – with its residential summer on campus, peer group mentoring, and practical insights into research, referencing and writing – gave him the confidence to go against the grain and ignore the advice of his teachers and parents. And that confidence – along with lasting personal friendships – stayed with him throughout his time at York. “I was the only one who wasn’t nervous on the first day, because I was in familiar surroundings and after doing the scheme I felt I knew more about university life than other students from wealthier backgrounds who had friends and family who had been to university. If anything, I felt like I had an advantage over them.”

The decision to go against the advice of teachers and parents also inspired him to make the very most of his experience at York, throwing himself into the wider world of university life, securing work experience and internships with investment banks along the way, to ensure he was in the strongest possible position to get a job. By the final year of his Economics and Finance degree, he had become the President of the Economics Society and had secured a graduate place with RSM. Best Practice Yorkshire and the Humber

It is also the reason he is passionate about social mobility. “I am the social mobility champion at RSM in Leeds. I want to help students from similar backgrounds to me as much as I can. We are working on a variety of programmes and initiatives that help bridge the gap and ensure equal opportunities for all. I am sure my friends Matt and Loui will agree, it’s for us to help give the next generation of students more access to opportunities than we had.”

From the age of seven, Milda Ambrazeviciute knew that she wanted to go university to study Mathematics; but life had other plans for the little girl from Lithuania whose family came to the UK when she was five years old. As a teenager, just when she should have been concentrating on her exams, her world was turned upside down. Instead of studying quietly for the future, she was forced to focus on the day-to-day struggle of homelessness, a women’s refuge and ultimately admission to Havinghospital.dropped through the gaps in Cornwall’s social care network, Milda fell further as the local mental health services failed her at the worst moment, resulting in seven months as an in-patient when she should have been preparing for A Levels.

“I had such a terrible experience with mental health services. If I can do something to change that and help others avoid what I went through, I will feel it’s not been in vain,” she says. And her advice to other care leavers who may think that university is beyond their reach and the door to social mobility locked? “Never think that. Most universities take care of the big financial worries. Just focus on what you want to do and go where you want to go, and go out and do it.”

“I had no real expectations of what support I would get, other than being given some money at some point,” says Milda. An email from the University’s dedicated care support team a week before commencement told her not to worry about kitchen utensils – a welcome pack would be “Theprovided.firstthing I saw when I went to my room was that someone had made the bed for me and that a little chocolate bar had been placed on the pillow,” she added. Even better, she was soon to learn that new bursaries would pay her accommodation. “That saved me £5,000 a year,” she Earlysmiled.socials – organised by the University’s care leaver support team led by Fran Hornsby – connected her to other students with similar experiences and proved to be the start of lasting friendships that also helped bring Milda out of her shell.

“Everything I had was lost,” says Milda, now in the second year of a Mental Health Nursing degree at the University of York. But, with the help of friends – “anyone but the professionals” – she somehow pulled her life together, returning a year later to complete her studies and the chance to fulfil her childhood dream of going to university. But, once again, the professionals let her down. No one at her school knew the answers to any of Milda’s many questions about support for university study.

She wanted somewhere far from the south of England and a place that understood the needs of people who had been in care Best Practice Yorkshire and the Humber

“I was very quiet about my background at first, but it is hard to hide the fact when almost everyone else goes home at the end of term and you stay behind,” said Milda, who now plays a key role in the working groups supporting new care leavers. Half-way through her four-year course – she will have a Master’s degree under her belt when she qualifies – Milda feels she has found her vocation in forensic youth care. Her current placement in an adult forensic unit, where “no two days are the same”, is giving her valuable experience in the front line of care for people who are a risk to themselves and others.

“I was living on Universal Credit, just about getting by from payment to payment, but really stressed out that I would not be able to afford to study at university,” she said. It was then she discovered the University of York. She wanted somewhere far from the south of England and a place that understood the needs of people who had been in care. York was the only university she found that had a visible page dedicated to care leavers, and that answered all her questions about financial support and accommodation during the holidays. On top of that, she fell in love with the city of York.

No one at her school knew the answers to any of Milda’s many questions about support for university study 25 Yorkshire and the Humber "

CONTEXTUALUniversityJohnADMISSIONS

In recent years much has been done to improve access to university for care leavers, but York St John University recognises that getting into university is only a small part of the picture. With challenging backgrounds and a lack of external support networks, care leavers need tailored support through their university journey and beyond it.

For 2019 entry, York St John University developed and implemented a contextual admissions scheme. This scheme is designed to take into account multiple factors within an applicant’s profile that tend to be barriers to higher education entry.

> Time in care.

> Whether the applicant is the first in their family to enter higher education.

Over 60% of students at York St John University come from one or more of the backgrounds known to be underrepresented in Higher Education. This is a real strength that makes a campus a diverse and inclusive place to study.

The university’s unique contextual offer scheme for applicants helps to build on that strength. It looks at academic potential and also at factors that prove to be barriers preventing students from attending university. Care leavers automatically receive a reduced offer, and if someone is both a care leaver and the first in their family to attend university, they will receive an unconditional offer.

Isabella describes finding out about her contextual offer from York St John: “It was such a huge relief after the impact of bereavement on my studies. Applying to university felt like I was jumping through hoops, when I was already jumping through hoops in my day-to-day life. When I got the reduced offer, it helped me feel I had less hoops to jump through. I still faced hurdles, but this meant there was one less. “I’m now studying psychology and child development and plan to do a master’s in paramedic science after my degree. Academically, I’ve had the support I’ve needed, plus a financial bursary and a Learning Support Plan which has helped me cope.

Best Practice Yorkshire and the Humber

York St

For care leaver Isabella Robinson, a reduced offer was a lifeline. When she applied to university in 2019, her foster care placement had broken down and she had recently lost her mum.

> Declared disabilities.

STUDENT CASE STUDY

The scheme considers: the following factors:

> Whether the applicant would be a mature entrant.

> Indices of Multiple Deprivation (where the applicant lives).

> Past school performance.

For 2021 entry, a scholarship has also been attached to the scheme, for applicants who attract the highest number of points, in order to further boost the accessibility of higher education to those who need it most. York St John also has an admission scheme to support candidates who are transitioning out of military service.

Based on their profile, applicants are assigned points and depending on their point score, would be made a reduced offer, or in very limited cases, made an unconditional offer. This scheme, which was praised by the Office for Students as ‘radical’, has attracted excellent feedback from applicants and their schools. The scheme was developed taking into account a number of experts in mobility and is completely transparent, with full details published on the university website.

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

careers the scheme was developed in recognition of the fact that care leavers face significant challenges on graduation, as they lose all support they may have been receiving, and do not have the option of returning to a family home. This makes careers decisions even more crucial, and means students get support to think about life post-degree as early as possible.

Frequently when coming to university, care leavers find a stable community and begin to thrive for the first time. This can sometimes lead to a reluctance to accept that the university experience is for a limited amount of time.

“York St John University is committed to widening participation in higher education,” says Professor Matthew Reason, Director of the Institute for Social Justice at York St John. “Through this unique partnership with Mind the Gap we are able to challenge some of the presumptions about who education is for and who can access higher learning. We are hugely proud to be working with Mind the Gap on this ground-breaking initiative.”

A contextual offer is just the beginning of the support offered at York St John to help care leavers succeed. Students also receive personalised one-to-one support from UCAS application stage until they graduate. They are prioritised in accommodation applications and offered year-round accommodation if they need it. There is financial support available too, with an annual bursary to all students who have been in care in the past 3 years, or up to the age of 25.

Mind the Gap’s Academy has more than doubled in size over the past few years from 30 students a week in 2012 to almost 70 a week in 2020, making it the largest of its kind in the UK. It runs a weekly one-day course in dance, music, and theatre and a weekly four-day Performance Academy course for advanced students which are currently recognised through Arts Award at Bronze and Silver levels. It also runs a weekly participatory course in partnership with Leeds-based disability consultants Totally Inclusive People, and a Youth Academy in partnership Bradford Council.

“We’re delighted with the response to the course, though we’re not surprised by it,” Charli continues. “All our courses are hugely popular and highly respected.”

York St John is addressing the issue with an innovative scheme to connect care leavers with the University’s careers service, Launchpad. The scheme works by splitting the care leaver bursary into two payments, with the second payment conditional on engaging with the Launchpad

Launchedservice.in2019,

The course starts this year and is in high demand.

“The validation from York St John University is a huge coup for Mind the Gap,” says Academy Director Charli Ward. “It really cements the company as a beacon for learning-disabled creatives and further strengthens our reputation within the industry.”

I’ve just been elected president of the Students’ Union for September, which shows just how much the university has enabled me to reach my potential.”

Best Practice Yorkshire and the Humber

York St John University, working with Mind the Gap, has launched a new Performing Arts course for adults with learning disabilities and/or autism. The course will give students a Certificate in Higher Education in Performing Arts equivalent to Level 4 or the first year of a University degree. This is the first of its kind in the UK. Mind the Gap, England’s largest learning disability performance and live arts company, has been running arts training programmes for people with learning disabilities and/or autism via its Academy since 1998. Many are accredited but to be recognised and validated by a higher education institution is a first.

The three-year course will study classic and contemporary theatre, dance techniques, music production, and music composition. Students will learn choreography skills, explore physical theatre, develop skills in devising theatre and participate in workshops led by industry professionals.

Best Practice The Midlands

The National Centre for Food Manufacturing opened in 2008 and is a satellite campus of the University of Lincoln based in the town of Holbeach. The University of Lincoln specifically chose to locate the campus in Holbeach as they had correctly identified that it was a community that could disproportionately benefit from both the initial investment into the site as well as the future opportunities created by other employers once they moved into the National Centre.

The Centre is a hub for research and innovation, particularly in the fields of automation and robotics, as well as serving as a place of learning for food industry employees undertaking apprenticeships and short courses to aid their professional development at the University of Lincoln. This complements the work of the Lincoln Institute of Agri-food Technology (LIAT), which is a leading research institution supporting innovation within the agri-food sector. As an EPSRC (The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) Centre for Doctoral Training in Agri-food Robotics, LIAT has the largest research team working in this discipline in the UK and EU including several professors dedicated to agrirobotics. The University’s investment in agri-food robotics research has paid off and as a result the world’s first robotic platform for the batch processing of food has been developed in line with the goal of using robotics to advance large scale food manufacturing.

Critically, 2,100 of the 2,400 students in the Lincolnshire Educational Trust are in close vicinity to the National Centre. Through its Academy Trust, the University of Lincoln has connected the talent pipeline to the opportunities at the employer facing campus of the Centre.

The National Centre for Food Manufacturing is now a major research centre for food manufacturing robotics, automation, and associated sciences. The University’s decision to locate the Centre in Holbeach brought employers (and thus, opportunities) to what was a deprived town. It is now the case that, from farm to fork, the Centre’s research and design is pioneering all aspects of the food manufacturing process, with the innovations boosting the productivity of the food manufacturing sector across the whole of the UK. In one example of the Centre’s ability to draw new investment, the UK Government chose to locate one of its Food Enterprise Zones adjacent to the campus. The FEZ allows for a streamlined planning process that benefits the agri-food industry and its supply chain. The first phase will create significant new business space with the capacity for 400 jobs, and the University of Lincoln has recently completed construction of the first buildings on the FEZ, the Centre of Excellence in Agri-Food Technologies and the Food Manufacturing Digital Technologies Centre, part of the Lincolnshire Institute of Technology, which together represent £10m investment. This investment has been correctly identified as having the potential to bring significant social change by revitalising the town of Holbeach; the University is planning to develop a range of activities to engage young people with the businesses that will eventually operate within the Enterprise Zone.

STUDY National Centre for Food Manufacturing

Lincoln is now a national leader in training and apprenticeship programmes in the food manufacturing sector, and the National Centre for Food Manufacturing is now a UK-leading food industry hub with remarkable success in partnering with employers to not just support

University of BESTLincolnPRACTICECASE

Lincoln shows that industry benefits by engaging with the education system; their cutting-edge research can be integrated directly into the skills that a company’s apprentices are learning on the job. Evidence has recently suggested that education-industry links are stalling or even falling backwards. Where they do presently exist, such as with the University of Lincoln and the National Centre, links tend to continue to develop. It is important that the University of Lincoln fully embraces their successful partnership and does not lose the momentum they have currently gathered.

“I didn’t feel that the university lifestyle was for me but I still wanted to get an education whilst learning in the food industry. My apprenticeship has given me more knowledge about the food industry, both broadly and in specific subject areas. It has also given me the opportunity to complete and pass my Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Level 3 qualification and my Food Safety Level 4 qualification.

STUDENT CASE STUDY

“There can be a misconception that the food industry is just people working in a factory, but it is so much more than that with so many departments offering many opportunities. On a day-to-day basis I assist the development team to develop new products for a wide range of retailers. I complete costings, source new raw materials and packaging, organise samples, attend taste panels, complete paperwork, and present to customers at least once a month. One of the most fun parts of the job is attending taste panels as I get to see and try exciting products that chefs have developed.”

Sheryl Gamble Sheryl was a member of the first group to achieve a Professional Technical Degree Apprenticeship with the University of Lincoln, having joined from their academy school, the University Academy Holbeach. She was awarded the University of Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacturing ‘Best Overall Performance of an Apprentice’ at their annual awards ceremony.

Thanks to some of the experience and knowledge my teachers had about the food industry, I was enlightened on some of the different roles that were available.

29 Best Practice The Midlands the development of thousands of industry employees, but also to drive forward research innovation and skills.

“I found out about my apprenticeship through the National Centre for Food Manufacturing. I regularly attended the Centre as my secondary school and sixth form, the University Academy Holbeach, are next door and we used the facilities frequently. Thanks to some of the experience and knowledge my teachers had about the food industry, I was enlightened on some of the different roles that were available.

The Centre supports over 350 apprentices in 70 businesses including Heineken and Tesco, Coca-Cola and Nestlé. It is unique in its seamless offering of apprenticeships from Level 2 to Level 7 for key roles, including degree apprenticeships in Food Engineering and the Agriculture and Horticulture Professional Advisor Apprenticeship.

University of BESTDerbyPRACTICECASE

> Improve pupil confidence, self-awareness, and esteem > Helps pupils to achieve the grades that match their potential and fulfil their ambitions.

Of the 2,830 pupils who participated in P2S in 2019/20: > 67% were from low progression

STUDY Progress to Success (P2S) is a key component of the University of Derby’s mission to improve social mobility across the East Midlands region.

> A 67pp increase in those stating they knew enough about critical thinking to apply it to their current and future studies; retained understanding of higher education, with focus group respondents able to recall higher education concepts six months after engagements; and focus group and reflective journal evidence highlighting increased motivation to study.

(2) Long-term tracking: Of the 5,520 trackable learners who engaged in University of Derby outreach activity and became ‘HE ready’ (18/19 years old) up to and including 2018/19: > 48.6% went on to higher education. > 3,440 (62%) were from the lowest POLAR quintiles (least likely to progress to HE). Of this group, 43% progressed to higher education at age 18 or 19.

Evaluation: Theory of change model is employed to identify need and assess the impact and effectiveness of P2S activities. Methods include tracking individual activity feedback, teacher evaluation, multipoint questionnaires, focus groups, and tracking of progress against predicted grades and of outcomes. Evidence of ‘what works’ is used to inform the development and review of activities.

P2S includes a series of progressive touchpoints for pupils from Year 7 through to Year 11 that: > Raise awareness of the range of higher education pathways available to pupils.

Participation: P2S is offered, wholly or in part, to 34 schools and pupils who stand to receive the greatest benefit. In 2020/21, the University delivered 174 activities and created 6,680 engagement opportunities.

This research informed, long-term, multiintervention, outreach programme is delivered in partnership with schools to achieve sustainable change. P2S was introduced to support disadvantaged pupils in social mobility cold spots across Derby City and Derbyshire where young people are least likely to enter higher education.

neighbourhoods; > 60% of participants’ parents had no experience of higher education; > 41% were male; > 28% were Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME); and > 24% were eligible for free school meals.

Best Practice The Midlands

> Pupils who engage in multiple activities are more likely to enter higher education. 44.5% of

Activities: Engaging, interactive, visit days, classroom workshops, synchronous/asynchronous remote sessions, and summer schools which cover a breadth of learning styles. Activities are delivered through an applied blended learning approach.

> A 55 percentage point (pp) increase in those stating they had the knowledge to make informed progression choices; increased knowledge and confidence to apply academic skills.

Evidence of impact:

(1) Pupils’ positive decision-making:

Chikomborero Mawoyo Chiko is a recent University of Derby graduate, having completed a BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Venue Design and a postgraduate qualification in MSc Sustainable Architecture and Healthy Buildings. Before joining the University Chiko was involved in the Progress to Success outreach programme through her school, Landau Forte College. The school is based within an area of high deprivation and has a wide intake from across Derby city, with a higher than average number of pupils whose first language is not English, and higher than average numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals.

31 learners who engaged in one activity progressed to HE, compared to 54.3% who engaged in 3+ activities. This evidence demonstrates the impact of, and need for, long-term, progressive approaches such as P2S.

STUDENT CASE STUDY

“These skills include public speaking, which I am now using in my post-graduate job on a regular basis, and the value of time keeping and punctuality, which is essential as a student ambassador, balancing paid work with academic work and a social life of course!

These activities got me out of the house during the summer holidays and I got to experience what being a real-life university student was like, which was perfect.

“From my time being a student ambassador I met so many people from different backgrounds and realised there is so much to learn from each individual you meet, I appreciate that every individual has different feelings and perspectives in life. It showed me how important it is to understand and respect others and that is something I will take forward with me through my life.”

Best Practice The Midlands "

“These activities definitely helped my confidence to grow and the various students I met through these activities left me feeling so inspired and really believing that I could do anything that I set my mind to. These activities definitely impacted who I am as a person today. I developed some invaluable and transferable skills as an outreach participant. When I joined the University I was keen to get more involved in outreach work to support other young people as I had been supported and so signed up as an outreach student ambassador.

“My journey with the Widening Access team began when I was in Year 10. We would come to the University to take part in various activities, like summer school and outreach events. I personally wanted to get involved because going to university was something I was really sure I would want to go on to do. These activities got me out of the house during the summer holidays and I got to experience what being a real-life university student was like, which was perfect.

Although the University’s reach is international, as the only University in Northamptonshire, it is at the local level where it has the most social impact. This runs throughout the University, with every student given the opportunity to work on solutions to local social or environmental problems. That is part of the four Changemaker Commitments the University introduced in 2015, focussed on health and wellbeing; education; entrepreneurship, and environment, culture and heritage. These Commitments aim to bring about change in support of the social mobility and levelling up agendas.

A campus car park was used as the local polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing centre and a further car park was used as a drive-through medical assessment centre. Patients at high risk with symptoms of coronavirus were triaged by GPs through telephone or video conferencing at home.

Patients were then asked to visit the drivethrough medical assessment centre for further assessment by a nurse or health professional if needed. After the assessment, the patients were either prescribed self-care or referred to the Accident and Emergency department at Northampton General Hospital. As a result, the number of patients accessing hospital services was reduced by almost 90%.

Best Practice The Midlands

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

University Northamptonof

University pulls out all the stops to provide community support during the COVID-19 pandemic

The University of Northampton’s mission is to transform lives and inspire change. They are an Ashoka U Changemaker Campus - future focused, supportive of students and staff and committed to positive social impact.

Furthermore, in 2021 the University was re-accredited with the Social Enterprise Gold Mark, given to organisations that have passed a rigorous external assessment process to achieve a recognised social enterprise quality standard.

As part of the University’s commitment to driving social impact and supporting the local community, it provided facilities and resources to the NHS and the local community, including halls of residence, car parks and tannery, to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic locally.

Over 70 homeless individuals were supported, with 40 being helped to move into settled accommodation.

In addition, the University contributed over £250,000 to cover the costs of providing 154 bedrooms in student accommodation and the on-site hotel for the NHS and other emergency service key workers. The University also worked with the local authority as part of the ‘Everyone In’ initiative to house homeless individuals in student accommodation and provide support to vital services to assist with a more permanent living situation.

The University was awarded Ashoka U Changemaker Campus status in 2013, one of less than 50 in the world including Ivy League institutions in the United States. Changemaker Campuses are part of an international network of entrepreneurial students, staff and community leaders. They provide inspiration, connections and support to broaden the reach and impact of social innovation around the world.

To respond to the pandemic collaboratively with local partners, including the NHS, the University also made available resources for COVID-19 tests. These resources include gloves, lab pipettes, lab plates, falcon tubes, and machines for analysing and testing samples. Additionally, the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies tannery and fashion workshops were used to produce medical scrubs for the Scrubs Up for Northants NHS project.

University students help ensure education is not interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening to disrupt initial teacher trainee placements, partnership schools worked closely with the University to keep students on track to finish their courses and gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) so they could join the teaching workforce.

Now graduated, Andy has a permanent role as an occupational therapist at Reach for Health, "

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So impressed was he with his own OT, Andy became fascinated with the profession and decided to study for a degree with University of Northampton. Andy worked closely with the academic team to take what he has learned from his lectures to establish an occupational therapy provision at local physical and mental health rehabilitation centre Reach for Health. One of his first successes was to create a dedicated telehealth hotline for service users who were unable to access it on a face-to-face basis when the COVID-19 pandemic meant it had to close its doors. Combining his past and present professional lives, the phones were manned by University OT students providing vital support for the community during COVID-19.

Now graduated, Andy has a permanent role as an occupational therapist at Reach for Health, funded by the centre and the Elizabeth Casson Trust, an organisation that works to support the development of occupational therapy. As part of his role, Andy supports a team of University Occupational Therapy students providing OT interventions for service users. Andy is also helping the centre deliver innovative online therapies.

Placements were a mixture of working in schools on a face-to-face basis with vulnerable children and/or the children of key workers; some trainees were teaching remotely and also in schools; some trainees were teaching entirely online; some trainees were at home preparing packs for home learning. The COVID-19 pandemic meant students had to think on their feet, putting their own classroom learning from University lectures into practice to help deliver a quality teaching experience for school children. This included showing how flexible and adaptable the students were and seeing challenges to be worked through rather than barriers in their way.

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University graduate combines past and present skills to support occupational therapy service users On his way to work in 2015, communications engineer Andy Jay was involved in a serious road traffic collision that resulted in several injuries that led to two strokes, a week in a coma and many months in hospital and at home recovering. Andy used occupational therapy (OT) to aid his recovery, helping him to return as close as possible to his pre-accident lifestyle and interests.

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University investment in a Community Interest Company generates significant social impact

Goodwill Solutions Community Interest Company (CIC) is a Northampton-based logistics business founded in 2008 which enables ex-offenders to get back into mainstream society through work programmes. Using the commercial revenue generated from this work, Goodwill helps the Northamptonshire community through the creation of various projects and schemes designed to improve social welfare. This includes a youth intervention programme to help reduce violence and drugs associated with gang crime, bringing police and the local authority teams working together to identify families in difficulty at an early stage and step-in to offer support; as well as a scheme working with offenders to repair lost or stolen bicycles for community use. In 2012, the University of Northampton joined the business as an investor due to a shared ethos of creating a positive impact on society.

For this work, Goodwill was honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2020 in the Promoting Opportunity category, which is awarded to companies with social mobility programmes that help people from disadvantaged backgrounds into successful working lives.

During the last nine years, Goodwill has supported hundreds of clients through its programmes, resulting in many gaining paid employment.

University commits to zero carbon by 2030

The University will also work with partners in Northampton, to see how they can support and learn from each other. All University fleet vehicles, meanwhile, will be electric/hybrid, while a staff bike hire scheme is also being scoped out.

During the last nine years, Goodwill has supported hundreds of clients through its programmes, resulting in many gaining paid employment, with University research identifying a cumulative social impact across this period of nearly £15 million. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Goodwill distributed food parcels for vulnerable families, donated bottles of hand sanitiser to vulnerable households and made warehouse space available for the distribution of personal protection equipment.

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

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The University of Northampton has reaffirmed its commitment to combating climate change by pledging to become net zero carbon by 2030 through the elimination or offsetting of 5,000 tonnes of Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions. This follows the reduction of 30% of carbon emissions since the University relocated to its purpose-built brand-new campus in 2018. To meet the 2030 target, measures the University will look into include further utilisation of the campus biomass boiler, which is a low-carbon renewable energy source; taking advantage of green business tariffs, such as green gas; investigating renewable energy generation via photovoltaic solar energy panels and turbines; utilising data collected from energy management software and pursue ways to further reduce energy use of buildings.

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Best Practice The Midlands

The University’s approach leverages resources across the private, community, third, and public sectors, to create sustainable responses to local needs whilst capturing and reporting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural impact of the ventures created. The University’s Institute for Social Innovation and Impact provides expertise and tools to evaluate the longitudinal impact of the incubator on improving social mobility and informs policy based on evidence.

The University is already supporting a range of initiatives through this scheme including the Frank Bruno Foundation, to support the scale-up of its core programme within Northamptonshire and reach larger numbers of vulnerable young people. This is helping them bring healthy body and healthy mind approaches for good mental health. The Round-by-Round programme is delivered by the Foundation and consists of two weekly sessions of emotional wellbeing and non-contact boxing. Another initiative the University is support is GOFMK, a not for profit organisation started by social entrepreneur Mike Kasibo, a student of the university, local councillor and community leader with the aim of supporting the integration of diverse MK communities and build community cohesion through events such as African Diaspora festival, reduction of youth knife and gun crimes and community workshops.

University launches Changemaker Incubator to support social mobility In the summer of 2021, the University of Northampton launched the Changemaker Incubator to provide a solution-focussed environment to explore the challenges faced in achieving social mobility. Unlike other incubators the University engages communities, local employers, local authorities, third sector, and other stakeholders to create solutions, share knowledge, and innovate new approaches to supporting social mobility.

Step Up to Higher Education Home to a diverse student community from a broad range of backgrounds, Staffordshire University is an innovative, state-of-the-art institution situated in the heart of a low-skilled, low-income economy – a favourable situation for maximum impact.

A global institution, with a significant number of students studying its courses overseas, the University’s strong civic values ensure it is committed to helping its home city tackle a broad range of social problems.

Ranked 298th out of 324 local authorities in England, Stoke-on-Trent is a social mobility ‘cold spot’. In terms of education – a key determinant of social mobility – participation rates in higher education are between 16 and 28 per cent in Stoke-on-Trent, compared to more than half (50.2 per cent) nationally.

The initiative is primarily designed to enable participants to develop their writing, referencing, research and critical thinking skills – all of which are critical for success at university – while helping them to build their Theself-confidence.StepUpcourse was developed as a free academic skills course which enables nontraditional mature learners to progress to Higher Education, improve career prospects and increase earning potential. Three to four cohorts run each academic year and group sizes vary from 15 to 25 students per cohort.

In the 2018/19 academic cycle, 77 learners completed the programme, 54 of which have now progressed onto undergraduate degrees - a 70% success rate. This included six young people from YMCA and two members of staff. Of those, three have now embarked on a full degree and the others have used their qualification to gain employment.

The percentage of Staffordshire University’s undergraduates who are first-generation entrants to higher education is 60 per cent, compared to 45 per cent across the wider sector. Approximately 40 per cent come from areas that are among the most deprived in the country, with some having experienced challenges such as homelessness and substance misuse, while the majority of its students are among the first in their families to go to university.

It’s against this background that the University’s Step Up to Higher Education programme is making a difference on the ground. Step Up helps to bridge the educational gap for individuals considering Higher Education.

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Staffordshire University BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

YEAR UG PG PCDA STUDENTS STUDENTS STUDENTS 2015/16 9 2016/17 48 -2017/18 55 -2018/19 54 22019/20 60 6 12 2020/21 65 11 7 TOTAL 291 UG 19 PG 19 PCDA Best Practice The Midlands

STUDENT CASE STUDIES

In the 2019/20 academic cycle, 89 students completed the course, with 60 going onto UG degrees. A further 12 went onto the Policing Degree Apprenticeship and six students who entered via Step Up finished their UG degree and decided to take the leap to PG study. Since Step Up was established in 2009, 291 people have benefitted from the initiative. Steeped in the University’s values, the Step Up team’s “brilliant and friendly” pastoral approach enables learners to develop self-confidence and self-efficacy, most noticeable amongst students who have poor prior experiences of Stepeducation.Upwidens the participation of hardto-reach demographics, such as refugee students, mature students, students who have experienced homelessness and students who have faced addiction. Within this context, it has enjoyed significant success working with local councils and the YMCA to identify mature students in the area who stand to benefit from its ‘Step Up to Higher Education’ University Foundation Certificate.

Aimie (not her real name). A mature student who studied adult nursing. Aimie battled with alcoholism throughout life after growing up in a home affected by domestic violence. Drinking alcohol was normalised in her family from a young age, which heavily impacted on her upbringing. As Aimie entered adolescence she experienced two violent and abusive relationships, which had a considerable impact on her. Aimie eventually ended up in trouble with the police and found herself in the court system. She recalls feeling like her life had no purpose and, sadly, this led to a suicide attempt. After a further stint in rehab Aimie enrolled on Staffordshire University’s Step Up to HE programme – although she was initially worried her troubled past would impact on her success. Aimie has been sober now for several years and says the structure of a degree, and the purpose she now has in life, helped her recovery and future sobriety.

CASE Covid-19STUDYresponse to combating the digital divide In Stoke-on-Trent, a city already struggling with socio-economic issues caused by deprivation, the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly exacerbated digital poverty. Before the pandemic, the city was the 14th most deprived district in England (out of 317 districts) and possessed one of the highest rates of people on low pay and skills. The number of people in Stoke-on-Trent who progress onto university is already significantly Jane said she was quickly made to feel welcome and wanted, and the genuine nature of the interactions she had with staff throughout made her feel at ease.

JANE (not her real name). A mature student who studied social welfare/law. Jane previously struggled with alcoholism and substance abuse, and also experienced periods of homelessness, before education helped to transform her life. She has experience of eight in-patient detoxes over six years, and also spent time living in a women’s refuge. She survived abusive relationships and encountered the loss of losing a parent to alcoholism. Jane got to the point where she was having seizures due to the amount of alcohol she was consuming. Jane was very nervous the first time she came onto a university campus and said it felt like a place where ‘she could never belong’ and she feared she would be ‘shunned’ due to her past issues with addiction. However, Jane said she was quickly made to feel welcome and wanted, and the genuine nature of the interactions she had with staff throughout made her feel at ease. Her journey to HE gave her a dramatic sense of meaning to her life and provided an enriching environment outside of the standard drug and alcohol services whereby she can create and foster her new identity as a person. She added that university was a huge part of her self-care – the structure and the achievements she made has enabled her to feel good about her journey and the future she is working towards. Jane now works for an organisation that helps vulnerable people with free advice and she routinely comes into contact with people like her former self who are homeless or experiencing issues with domestic violence.

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38 Aimie feels any rejection from interacting with external services and the University might have led her down a different path with her getting into trouble with the police and harming her health further through her alcohol abuse. She has said that without education, her life would have gone into a more destructive path altogether. Professionally, she now has a sense of pride putting on her nursing uniform and feels she can use her past life experience to help her care for her patients, particularly when they are going through difficult times.

Over the course of the pandemic, the University offered students studying at home access to hundreds of laptops. In September 2020, a survey from the Office for Students (OfS) found that during the first national lockdown 52% of university students said their learning was impacted by slow or unreliable internet connection and 18% were impacted by lack of access to a computer, laptop or tablet.

This was the driver that led Staffordshire University’s Digital Services team to embark on an ambitious and proactive outreach programme to ensure that those students studying at home weren’t unfairly disadvantaged by a lack of access to hardware or software.

Digital poverty comes in many forms and has varied consequences.

Essential software was also made available with more than 2,100 Adobe licences supplied since July 2020, giving students home use of software that had traditionally been accessed on campus. Hundreds of students were also given the opportunity to enhance their digital skills and employability through certified online training in Microsoft Office, Adobe, and AutoDesk software.

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The University and the Students’ Union worked together to help thousands of students who found themselves in financial difficulty – with almost £1 million being distributed in hardship funds during the 2020/21 academic year. This directly helped more than 3,400 students. The funding pot was made up of cash from the Government’s funding package to address student hardship, distributed via the Office for Students, in addition to other funding from the University, including £40,000 from the University’s own Horizon Fund.

Staffordshire University’s Digital Services team made loan laptops available to students, handing out hundreds of computers since the first national lockdown. In addition, following the school closures at the start of 2021, laptop computers were also provided to the children of students to support home schooling. Students at Staffordshire University are disproportionately affected by digital poverty. About 47% of the student body come from disadvantaged backgrounds and more than 50% are mature learners. Digital poverty comes in many forms and has varied consequences. Some students did not have adequate access to a laptop and the University heard instances of families having to share a laptop between an adult trying to work and a child needing to continue their schooling at home. By providing extra computers the University helped more families learn at home together.

39 lower than the national average and so it was incredibly important to Staffordshire University that nobody slipped through the net during already worrying and uncertain times.

To help support students on games, animation and engineering courses the University gave access to software that needed a high-powered device to run – this meant students could harness the power of the Cloud to run the software through their own low powered devices.

Best Practice

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There is no more important message to say”.

THE HIVE LIBRARY

The University of Worcester is in the top 10 of universities across the UK to best reflect society in terms of socio-economic class, according to analysis by the Higher Education Policy Institute, an independent higher education think tank.

(Teacher, St Clements Primary School, Worcester)

Worcester has reimagined the university in a city. The University has deliberately chosen to develop the estate inclusively, creating buildings that are conducive to co-operation and success. By opening the facilities in imaginative ways for the public benefit, the university encourages cohesion and contributes to its community becoming even safer, stronger and more engaged.

(Professor Michael Rosen)

University of WorcesterBESTPRACTICECASESTUDYCivicuniversity

The University of Worcester is eighth out of 132 UK universities for ensuring that people from all backgrounds have the chance to study at Throughoutuniversity.the 21st Century, a minimum of 97% of the University’s students have been state educated. Worcester students begin their higher education with lower than national average

The University of Worcester is an open, meritocratic institution that proactively seeks out people capable of benefiting from higher education, minimises barriers to their participation and contributes to the expansion of higher education opportunities, locally, nationally and internationally. It has a long-held commitment to welcome, support, and engage students with a broad range of backgrounds.

Overcoming barriers

The opportunity to participate in events and study at The Hive, Europe’s first integrated university and public library, is a day-to-day encouragement to active citizenship and learning. Co-developed and led by Worcestershire County Council and the University, it is a hub for numerous community activities including, for example, award-winning dementia social centres and one of the country’s largest children’s storytelling festivals.

“[The impact of the festival] is monumental on the children we teach. Many children have lost interest in reading and it is not promoted within the home setting, with many families not owning their own books. In addition, many lack relatable aspirations for the future and I feel that the Beeline Festival really opens their eyes to the opportunities that are available to them”.

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

“Beeline has made a great contribution to the literacy and culture of the West Midlands…The West Midlands is an area of high need, often overlooked in relation to its ‘big brother’ nearby, Birmingham. It has pockets of old industrial neglect, alongside rural areas and small pockets of relative prosperity. These gaps in status have consequent effects on attainment and life outcomes. Beeline Festival is a festival for all. it’s not a special perk or treat for those who already have good provision. By reaching all children, all schools, it gives out a powerful signal that this ‘culture stuff’ is for everyone. No one needs to be ‘left behind’ (as the US policy-makers called it). When on occasions ‘culture stuff’ has been met with some resistance or indifference, the great advantage of taking children’s literature right into the grass roots, to every child, Beeline is saying loud and clear: ‘This is for you. This for all of you. This includes everyone. Take it. Enjoy it. Have it. Keep it. Cherish it. You are entitled to it.’

41 UCAS tariff points, yet graduates are in the top 10 English HEIs for employment one, three and five years after graduation, according to the government-published Longitudinal Educational Outcomes survey in both 2017 and 2020.

The University also introduced a free rail and reduced bus fare travel scheme, recognising that the cost of attending open days can be a barrier to some. 798 potential students registered between September and December 2019, travelling to Worcester from a wide range of destinations. Participants were surveyed and 50% of respondents said the offer had made them more likely to come to the Open Day, with many indicating that they would not have been able to attend without the support.

The courses overcome traditional barriers to HE by flexible timetabling of classes, basing teaching in accessible locations, such as community centres, and extensive tutorial and student support.

The completion, retention, achievement and student satisfaction scores of the courses are well above sector norms. In 2017-18, 260 women were registered as students on the Foundation Degree in Teaching and Learning. The retention rate was 90% and the achievement rate was 88%.

Best

Much of the University’s work with those colleges has been around its Health and Social Care courses and the opportunity to train as a nurse, midwife, paramedic or other health professional – all areas which are great agents of social mobility. In addition to the college roadshows, the University held six mini-roadshows at local shopping centres, targeted at mature learners who might otherwise find it difficult to attend an Open Day due to work or family commitments.

The University of Worcester has consistently sought to develop initiatives to support potential students from areas of greater social deprivation, mature learners, those from BAME communities and students with a disability. In 2019 this included the introduction of ‘Open Day Roadshows’, delivered at Dudley, Hereford, Sandwell and Wolverhampton Colleges, all areas among some of the most deprived in the Government’s Index of Multiple Deprivation, and one of the most diverse areas in the West Midlands Region. As a result, the University saw a combined increase of 18% in applications from students attending those colleges. Applications from students at Wolverhampton College rose a remarkable 71% the year after the introduction of its first Roadshow.

Worcester’s work with The Learning Institute (TLI), a private training provider in the South West, helps mature, female students who want and/ or need to study part-time in a rural, coastal and isolated area to do so, through sustainable, locally-based Foundation Degrees and associated ‘top-up’ honours degrees.

For many years the University of Worcester has consistently sought to reach out to communities and individuals who in previous generations would not have had the opportunity to benefit from higher education, working with Colleges and high quality educational organisations to provide programmes in many parts of the UK in such vital but neglected areas as Child and Adolescent Mental Health; Learning Support, Early Years and Parent Education.

Polar Data derived from the Office for Students reveals that 58% were from low HE participation households (1st and 2nd quintiles), compelling evidence that the model and the courses developed through it are making a dramatic impact on access and outreach for hard to reach students. Practice The

In 2020 the University was a finalist for the UK University of the Year for the second year running in the annual UK Social Mobility Awards. Reaching the shortlist of just six institutions is a most positive recognition of the innovative work done throughout the whole University.

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Benjamin Borastero, University of Worcester student 2016-2019 In January 2019, the Universities Minister, Chris Skidmore, called for more institutions to follow the lead of Worcester in supporting students with Writingdisabilities.inTheGuardian, he said: “Universities like Brunel and Worcester have long been leading the way in improving the disabled student experience, by enhancing support services available to them and designing facilities with accessibility in mind. I want institutions like these to no longer be the exception, but the norm.”

The University of Worcester has been attracting increasing numbers of students with a disability in recent years. The University typically educates around 40% more students with a disability than the national average, with 10% of full time undergraduates in 2017/18 in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance (Higher Education Statistics Agency).

Accessibility at its core

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In 2004, Worcester was one of the first universities to appoint specialist Mental Health Advisors, who now work alongside the University’s BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy)accredited Counselling Service. It is now one of only a small number of universities with an identified suicide prevention strategy, bringing together the perspectives and expertise of staff from across the University, as well as external partners including Worcestershire County Council, Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, Samaritans and Community First. The University is working with other universities and national charities to support similar developments at other universities.

The University of Worcester has also been pioneering multi-agency approaches to student mental health and suicide prevention for several years and in 2018 was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Support for Students in recognition of its work in this area.

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The University has invested heavily in facilities and support for students with a disability. In 2017/18 the University’s Disability and Dyslexia Service introduced a number of new initiatives aimed at ensuring every student with a disability joining the University has the maximum opportunity to get all the information, advice and support they need to ensure a smooth and successful transition into university life. These included online programmes, more face-to-face appointments and specific summer schools for those with additional needs to prepare them for life at “Worcesteruniversity.know they are going to have disabled students and that people are going to have needs so everything is prepared before the student even gets to the University. Other universities tend to do it as the student shows up, then they work on their needs.”

It is now one of only a small number of universities with an identified suicide prevention strategy, bringing together the perspectives and expertise of staff from across the University

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Make Happen needed to adapt to new ways of working as a result of the pandemic and move away from an institution-led approach. It set up eight working groups, each tasked with creating events and resources to target a specific cohort of students or a key topic area. The groups set up to cover the UCAS process went on to create and deliver the ‘U Can UCAS!’ programme in Autumn 2020. Make Happen recognised the disruption to learning caused by the pandemic and the impact this could have on the support available to students applying to higher education. Without support for the university application process, students could be put off applying, especially those from underrepresented groups in higher education. As the UCAS process follows a set timeline of dates, Make Happen needed to act quickly to reach students and to deliver the support virtually.

(BASED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX)

U Can UCAS!

Funded by the Office for Students, the Uni Connect programme consists of 29 regional partnerships across the country. Since January 2017, they have brought together universities, further education colleges and other stakeholders to provide high quality impartial information to students from areas of low progression to HE. Uni Connect aligns with the levelling up goals, by aiming to increase the number of young people from underrepresented groups who progress to higher education. The partnerships focus activity in local areas where higher education participation is lower than might be expected given the GCSE results of the young people who live there. As the partnership for Essex, Make Happen currently engages with over 70 schools and colleges across the county. Since the start of the Uni Connect programme, they have provided over 2,400 activities, resulting in 8,450 contact hours and providing over 200,000 engagements with students. With 87,454 individual students taking part, Make Happen is having a direct impact on the young people and their aspirations in Essex. As a key influencer, the team works with parents and carers, with 976 actively engaging in activity since the start of the programme, as well as teachers and advisors who support students through their future choices. Make Happen is a clear example of how collaborative outreach activity can make a real impact on young people’s futures.

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BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

Make Happen

The programme was delivered over Zoom with Make Happen staff, Causeway Education and student ambassadors in hour-long evening

As a result of this, Make Happen created the ‘U Can UCAS!’ programme, a small-scale five-week programme run in November 2020 which aimed to offer personalised support to a cohort of post-16 students with their UCAS applications. Students were required to complete an application to join the programme, including a reason as to why they would be a good candidate to ensure buy-in from them to commit to the entire programme. Eight students were accepted from four different sixth forms or colleges.

The small-scale and sustained nature of the programme meant that Make Happen’s Outreach Officers could develop relationships with the students and offer bespoke support. Students received personalised follow-up emails after every session offering feedback and further support. Each weekly session was based on the discussions that had taken place in the sessions which included rearranging the personal statement session so that it took place before internal school deadlines. The strong relationships built with students meant that a couple felt able to contact them for further support even after the programme had ended.

Students also commented that they found the sessions on personal statements and student finance the most useful.

> Discussing University Life with our university Ambassador. Students completed a survey at the beginning and end of the programme to allow Make Happen to evidence some really positive evaluation data. Of the students completing both evaluations, all of them strongly agreed that they now understood the UCAS process and that their knowledge of all aspects of Higher Education had increased. This was a fantastic achievement and aligned with the aims of the programme. The data also showed a strong correlation between their increased knowledge of university types and financial support with their intention to apply to Higher Education. There were substantial increases in student knowledge around three key areas of HE, the different types of university, financial support and the different opportunities available in higher education.

The programme demonstrated the value of building relationships with students over a sustained period and the impact intensive programmes can have, regardless of the fact that it was delivered virtually and out of school hours. Make Happen hopes to run it again in the summer term, targeting students who missed the main UCAS deadline for this year or who want to apply for early entry courses in the next academic year.

> The art of crafting a personal statement.

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All of the students completing the evaluation agreed that the programme was helpful, they would recommend it to a friend and they learnt something new. This was further reflected in additional comments made by “Everystudents:lesson taught me something new. I never originally wanted to go to uni until 2 weeks before these sessions, so this allowed me to gain the knowledge that people who had wanted to go to uni already had for a long time.”

Navigating UCAS and searching for courses.

of England

> How to find bursaries and scholarships.

45 Best Practice sessions which covered the following topics:

The programme demonstrated the value of overrelationshipsbuildingwithstudentsasustainedperiod

> Year 12 looks at the potential challenges they might face in HE and discover how to overcome them.

Aspire and Aspire Higher Funded by Make Happen and led by the University of Essex, the Aspire and Aspire Higher programmes offer free activities to help students decide what they want to do with their future by exploring the different opportunities on offer after school or college. The programmes are not subject specific and instead focus on building skills, confidence and knowledge about higher education and everything that comes with it. It included a range of resources including events, blogs and webinars for teachers and advisers.

Aspire worked to encourage Year 9-11 students from traditionally under-represented backgrounds across Essex to work towards applying to, and studying at higher education. The programme was split into three years:

> Year 13 focuses on how to make more informed decisions and write a successful university application.

Aspire Higher was for Years 12 and 13 from similarly underrepresented backgrounds and aims to make a successful transition from school or college to university. The programme was split into two years:

The Aspire programmes highlighted why the ethos behind Make Happen’s work is so effective. The collaborative approach between Make Happen, schools and the University of Essex helps to effectively address potential cold spots in outreach provision, with some schools and colleges participating for the first time. The programme provided multiple opportunities for touchpoints with young people, with clear benefits of early and repeated intervention. The range of activities available deliver a sustained and progressive programme of support and are increasingly tailored to the age and circumstances of the learner, school or college and the area in which they are located.

> Year 10 explore the benefits of HE.

Make Happen are no longer utilising a Partnership Fund, however the University of Essex is intending to continue with the most successful elements of the Aspire and Aspire Higher programmes to continue to offer a progressive project. The new programme is intended to continue with the collaborative elements of the programme including working with Make Happen.

Best Practice East of England

Aspire and Aspire Higher were examples of the Make Happen partnership fund. Partner institutions had the opportunity to bid for funding for collaborative projects to support Uni Connect learners. Both projects ran from 2018 until 2021 and supported 316 students during that time.

> Year 9 discover how their GCSEs relate to HE.

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> Year 11 highlight key differences between studying in school and HE.

Aspire worked to encourage Year 9-11 students from traditionally under-represented backgrounds across Essex to work towards applying to, and studying at higher education. East of England " 47

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

The University of Greenwich community, both students and staff, come from all around the world and all backgrounds. Over half of the university's new students come from some of the most deprived areas in the country, around 57% of new students come from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, and 56% are the first in their family to go to university. They tend to commute, work part-time, and have caring responsibilities. But at the University of Greenwich a person’s life experiences, whatever they may be, can propel them onto success. This is why ‘Education Without Boundaries’ is central to the university’s new Strategic Plan and will be an important theme for the University of Greenwich in the coming years.

STAART welcomed over 2,000 15 - 17 year olds to the Medway campus (two visits each) as part of the National Citizens Service (NCS) over a three year period.

The University of Greenwich is the top modern London University for graduate prospects and top university in Kent for graduate prospects (Times Good University Guide 2021) and has recently been named in the top 15 of best universities for contributions to social mobility (English Social Mobility Index for 2022 - HEPI).

> 50% of the disabled students who engage with STAART are first-in-family, including Dr Thorley.

Dr Melanie Thorley created the University’s Support Through AccessAbility – Retention and Transition (STAART) programme in August 2016. The programme helps disabled students to thrive at the university and beyond.

student living with anxiety and complex PTSD, said: “Having STAART during my degree was an immense support for me. It was like having cheerleaders all the way to the finish line. With every struggle, there was always someone there to give me support, advice or simply listen to me. I have a tendency to not believe in my skills and to be really hard on myself, which stems from a childhood filled with people telling me I was not good, not worthy and would never amount to anything.

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The students who engage with STAART tend to have higher retention and higher outcomes than on average. But the impact of STAART and Dr Melanie Thorley is best described by the students who are part of the João,programme:30yearold

“Being on the STAART WhatsApp Group alone was inspiring. Reading and listening to what the other STAART members were going through and how resilient, strong, hopeful and fearless they sometimes were in face of adversity was very inspiring. Being part of such a supportive group has helped me grow as a person and gave me the tools to be able to find the strength within me to keep myself safe. Academically speaking, I was able to graduate with a 1st and be accepted onto the Masters that I wanted to study.”

University of Greenwich

> STAART works with the employability and careers service within the university and Evenbreak, a specialist job agency run by disabled people for disabled job seekers.

It is thanks to the support of the university that Elizabeth is able to champion the cause of Dyslexia awareness and encourages others to take advantage of the support networks available at Greenwich. “As a dyslexic, I found the support I received from Student Services beneficial while my one2one support at the university was phenomenal. If anyone has any specific learning difficulties i.e. Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia Irlen Syndrome, I advise them to ask for help. I would especially encourage BAME students to access the support available at Greenwich to unlock their full potential. I am a true testament of the amazing support the University of Greenwich is able to provide.”

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Elizabeth completed her Postgraduate Certificate in Education in 2015. The experience has had an immeasurable impact, thanks in particular to the support of the lecturers. “Studying at Greenwich was a real-life experience in how teachers should be thorough in teaching and supporting students… it opened so many different doors in teaching for me. “My biggest inspiration, however, was my course leader, Tracy Partridge, (Senior Lecturer, PGCE Lifelong Learning post-16), who made me believe in myself and inspired me to reach my full potential despite my Dyslexia and specific learning difficulties.”

As a dyslexic, I found the support I received from Student Services beneficial while my one2one support at the university was phenomenal.

Elizabeth Takyi Elizabeth Takyi is the CEO and Founder of Wandsworth-based A2i Dyslexia CIC, a social enterprise that aims to raise awareness of Dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties within the local community. “The journey of setting up A2i Dyslexia has been phenomenal, both highs and lows. I have had challenges as a Dyslexic, trying to run an organisation and it has not been an easy journey. However, supporting the Dyslexic community to unlock their full potential and knowing that we are there to support them makes the journey worthwhile.”

STUDENT CASE STUDY

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY Centre for Levelling Up CELUP was founded in March 2021 and launched in July 2021. It is focusing on producing policy relevant research and developing impactful projects related to addressing inequalities related to place, economic, ethnicity and other characteristics. CELUP will build on UWL’s long track record in providing opportunities to those from different communities across the UK, in particular those where progression to HE may have been low. UWL has a strong widening participation profile with 55.9% of the undergraduate FT entrants’ coming from the lower two deprivation quintiles (IMD), 57% of students are mature and over 60% are from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

Fresh Minds for Business non-profit service is available to businesses and other organisations in West London and neighbouring regions. Projects are completed to high professional standards by students working under the supervision of experienced consultants based within the School’s Faculty. It is also supported by independent advisors from industry who volunteer their time and expertise on specialist projects.

Mercedez Benz Retail Group said of the programme: “The students worked on a piece of research which included both internal stakeholders, as well as external organisations and a competitive survey. They took time to fully understand the brief and the research was undertaken in a logical and systematic manner. They were able to solicit feedback from all “Throughoutparties.the process, the students kept in touch to ensure that they were on track and to ask for information and support where required. The final presentation and the recommendations made was highly professional and in a useful structure. I found the students were personable, professional and easy to work with.”

The diversity of UWL’s students and faculty brings unique perspectives and out-of-the-box thinking to problems and issues that matter to individual businesses. Clients call on Fresh Minds when they have a need or problem that requires some investigation, research and thinking that they may not have sufficient time or resources to devote in-house or may not be able to commission commercial firms.

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University of West London

A little over two years ago, the Claude Littner Business School (CLBS) at the University of West London (UWL) launched “Fresh Minds for Business” - a ground-breaking innovation creating a collaborative space bringing students and businesses together to challenge the status quo and build success beyond what they perceived possible. The programme creates mutual benefits where students gain enhanced experience and confidence, and businesses gain new ideas to improve growth and CLBScompetitiveness.businesspartnerships grew from three to sixty-one in the first year as UWL strove to be an underlying engine of growth for the local business community. Ditching traditional teaching approaches by implementing a unique personalised-experiential learning approach tailored to students’ needs has been revolutionary. The impact on students’ aspiration and achievement has been astounding, particularly for students from BAME backgrounds - narrowing the attainment gap to a record low of 0.8%.

Fresh Minds for Business

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CELUP has already undertaken important research work since March 2021. In May 2021 it released a report for the Sutton Trust examining how to make the higher education (HE) admissions system more equitable as part of the government ‘s consultation on ‘post-qualifications’ admission. In June 2021 a report authored by the Head of CELUP, Professor Graeme Atherton, was launched which outlines the extent of inequality in graduate outcomes by students from different ethnic backgrounds in London. The report is entitled ‘Learning about place: understanding lifelong learning and social mobility in Covid Britain’. It is the culmination of a nine month research project exploring the view of stakeholders in education and skill in 8 different areas of the country: Blackpool, Derby, Oldham, Peterborough, Sheffield, Stoke, Wakefield, Wrexham. The project engaged over 150 stakeholders from schools, colleges, local government as well as the private and community sectors working in areas for whom the pandemic has added to existing social and economic challenges. CELUP is awaiting the outcome of a proposal to the Nuffield Foundation for which it has been shortlisted for, which will take this research a step further and look in detail at education recovery efforts in 5 of these places over 2021-22. Other future projects that CELUP will be taking forward include research on global approaches to online learning and their implications for UK communities with the RISE think tank from the University of Bolton and work in London looking at what ‘levelling up’ means for young people in the capital.

CELUP also hosts the National Education Opportunities Network (NEON) project. NEON is the national professional organisation for widening access to higher education in the UK founded in 2012 which has over 150 organisations, including over 100 universities, as members. NEON supports universities in their work to offer the opportunity for higher learning to those in the most disadvantaged communities in the country. NEON members work with over 100,000 pre-HE learners, mainly in schools, each year. NEON undertakes professional development for its members reaching over 1,000 stakeholders every year, has an active research agenda (NEON’s research has featured on the floor of the House of Commons as well on BBC, Channel 5 and many other policy/media outlets) and initiates new projects to address inequalities in access to HE. At present it is leading projects initiating collaboration amongst its members in the area of access to HE for white young people from lower socio-economic groups, disabled students those from Gypsy, Romany Traveller backgrounds. Throughout the process, the students kept in touch to ensure that they were on track and to ask for information and support where required. The final presentation and inwasrecommendationsthemadehighlyprofessionalandausefulstructure

“Everyone seemed to be saying, going to university is much harder than school – it will be much more serious. But the programme showed me that studying at university isn’t that different from being at school in lots of ways. It made it seem much less daunting and more realistic.

“It was helpful because when I got to uni in my first year I met up with some of my mentors so there was a sense of familiarity.”

Hazem says his experience at university has helped him, building his confidence to make contacts and forge networks that will help him after he graduates, when he hopes to build a career in music and media production.

“The programme involved meeting up every two months, meeting up with mentors, and then there was a residential scheme in the summer with activities and seminars based on the courses we were interested in.

Hazem started the Reading Scholars programme when he was 16, in Year 12 of King Solomon Academy in Marylebone, London, where he studied for an A-level in Economics and a Level 3 BTEC in Business.

That’s a message he is happy to pass on as he has now become a Reading Scholars mentor himself, helping the next generation to see life on campus as it actually is.

Hazem Ahmed, 21, from West London, is in his final year of a degree studying Business Management and IT.

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“In many ways social mobility seems harder than ever, and university isn’t always the answer. The solution needs to be much deeper than that. Otherwise it just reinforces class identities.”

“Social mobility is a tricky subject. It can’t just be about getting people to go to university,” he said. “It has to come from improving all education for everyone, at primary and secondary level. That’s important to me.

While Hazem felt an expectation from school and family that he should go to university, the experience of the Reading Scholars programme helped him to gain an understanding of what life on campus would actually be like.

“I already had my heart set on going to a university outside of my home city, so the Reading scheme seemed like a good way to find out about what uni was like,” Hazem said.

“At the end there was a party so we could meet up with the friends we had made and meet other people who had signed up for the course.

Reading Scholars has been running since 2012, growing from 35 attendees to more than 400 in 2020, all of whom come from backgrounds where attendance at university is lower than in the general population. The free scheme is designed to build confidence and understanding among attendees across a range of measures, developing skills and social and academic knowhow about life on campus.

University of ReadingSTUDENTCASESTUDYReadingScholarsScheme

By the end attendees on the programme report higher levels of understanding about university courses and student finances, among other Hazemmeasures.feelsthat while the scheme was helpful to him and others who have been through it, it’s important to highlight to young people the range of options that are available to them – which doesn’t have to include going to university.

The Whitley Researchers team has achieved success, leading to better public transport links, improved understanding about raising young people’s aspirations, and how people use community gardens and allotments to stay healthy. Members of the group themselves have grown their skills and confidence, with many moving on to new full-time jobs.

Whitley Researchers Project By many measures, Reading is an affluent southern town. At the heart of the M4 corridor, gleaming offices of global accountancy firms vie for space with pharmaceutical and computer Yetcompanies.Reading also has very high disparities within its own borders. Close to the blue chip HQ buildings in south Reading is Whitley. Variously described as ‘working class,’ ‘disadvantaged’ or ‘deprived,’ Whitley is mostly home to people categorised in ONS socio-economic groups C2, D and E. As with other similar communities, Whitley is often to be described in the language of ‘deficiency’, with a focus on the attributes it lacks. This can be interpreted as a catalogue of weaknesses among its residents. The stigma arising from this kind of approach can act as a real drag on the way people feel about themselves and about their future.

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The University of Reading assists local residents with participatory research methods, and strengthens their networks with local service providers. The local residents use their personal connections to access the opinions and experiences of a much wider cross-section of the community. All this gives voice to the local community, puts ownership into local hands, and builds channels of communication through which all parties can engage with change.

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The Whitley Researchers was formed as a partnership between Whitley Community Development Association, local residents and the University of Reading. The programme involves local residents conducting their own research, voicing their own needs and devising solutions to local issues. Putting knowledge generation in the community itself, rather than among academics or policymakers, allows people to directly shape the process of change. It’s vital for relevant, long-term impact. The research seeks to engage with and build upon the community’s strengths and assets. It partners with existing community groups, and it focuses on Whitley’s people. It is committed to working together in a friendly and inclusive way where everyone’s work is equally valued. This encourages the whole group to speak up and to grapple with genuine issues, rather than getting superficial responses to the wrong questions.

> ”Working together breaks down barriers and shows how we can help each other.”

“Every time I undertake a research project I thoroughly enjoy the experience and it makes me feel I have ‘come alive’. It feels great to be part of this researcher’s team.”

The Whitley Researchers, in their own words:

> “Using this research obviously benefits the recipients but being a part of the process empowers us as residents – we feel as though the whole project belongs to us.”

> “I became a Whitley Researcher after I heard about the work they had done in conjunction with Reading Buses to provide a bus to the hospital. I was very excited when I saw how the Researchers were able to make a positive change and was keen to find out how I could get involved in finding out more about a community I have lived in for the past 10 years.”

“My boss has put more responsibility on me in my other job which I have embraced; before the project I would have said, “no I can’t do that!””

> “The project gave me a boost as an individual which made me feel better about myself.”

Hayley said: “As I grew in confidence, I became more adaptable, which improved my employability. My confidence continued to increase when I received positive feedback from the ladies. Knowing the ladies are enjoying the sessions, gives me a sense of accomplishment.”

ofexperiencesoreligiouswhichnon-intimidatingall-female,environmentcatersforculturalandrestrictions,ithasfarenabledwomentoandenjoyavarietysportsandphysicalactivity.

Another, Health, Nutrition and Exercise student Hayley James, has secured her dream role as Lifestyle Advisor with Onside – a charity that provides support services to vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the community in Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

Two of the students have already secured a job opportunity based upon the work experience gained through the project - with one due to soon start work at Watford FC Community Sport and Education Trust as their Lifestyles Project Officer.

H4H has been awarded further funding from the ‘This Girl Can Community Fund’ so that the project can be delivered across the city, continuing to benefit both the local community and students.

Three students have also benefited from the project which, through real world learning, provides opportunities to learn new skills, gain confidence and improve their employability.

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Thanks to the University’s Covid Response Fund, equipment for the participants to take home and keep was purchased, so they could exercise at home throughout the Havingpandemic.theequipment at home enabled the programme to continue by switching to online provision through a Facebook Group. The funding enabled 33 women to continue on their health and fitness journey throughout the second and third lockdowns.

Solent University BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY Health 4 Her Solent University’s Faculty of Sport, Health and Social Sciences offers a number of programmes and activities that support staff, students and the wider community.

This includes Health for Her (H4H), a weight loss programme designed to provide an appropriate and safe exercise environment to facilitate an increase in physical activity participation for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic women from low socio-economic areas of ProvidingSouthampton.anall-female, non-intimidating environment which caters for cultural and religious restrictions, it has so far enabled women to experience and enjoy a variety of sports and physical activity. The project teaches health literacy, encourages a healthier lifestyle, supports behaviour change, boosts confidence and increases social cohesion. The programme encourages healthy eating as well as weight loss due to the high risk for obesity development and comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes which is more prevalent in the BAME demographic.

Providing an

During 2020/21, Solent Business School was one of 20 business schools working with the Chartered Association of Business Schools to deliver the specialised Government funded programme for leaders of small businesses.

Wendy Moffat, Director, John A Ray & Associates Ltd goes on to say, “We provide executive car services to the business community, consequently the effect of the pandemic has been significant. Participating in this course has provided the opportunity to take a critical look at our business model and how we operate. More importantly, it is giving us the tools to make changes right now, not just to see us through these challenging times, but to create a vision for the long-term future success of our business.”

Part of a £20million government-provided package to help small businesses, it has already helped thousands across England. Working with businesses across the southern region, from Cambridge to Truro, Solent Business School has supported over 140 businesses which actively enrolled on the programme, of which more than half are CarolineHampshire-based.Walsh,Director of Solent Business School, says: “We’ve received really positive feedback from the organisations who have participated in the programme. They have said that it is helping them think differently about their business and how they can emerge from the pandemic stronger and more resilient.”

Building on the success of this programme the Solent’s Business School is now helping to deliver the 90% Government subsidised Help to Grow Management programme.

The 12-week programme is 90% subsidised by the government as part of its Plan for Jobs to help businesses to drive growth and protect jobs, and is aimed at senior leaders of small and medium businesses.

Designed to be manageable alongside full-time work, modules cover financial management, strategies for growth and innovation, leading a high-performance workplace and digital adoption. By the end of the programme, business leaders will develop a tailored business growth plan to help lead your business to its full potential with access to mentoring and an alumni network.

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Leadership programmes to help small business grow

“The events industry has been so severely impacted by Covid-19, however the Small Business Leadership Programme at Solent Business School has provided me with the ideal platform to reassess our focus with a view to ensuring we remain resilient in order to survive these challenging times,” says Sarah Moss, Director, Jack Up Events.

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To aid business resilience and future growth in the current climate, the Small Business Leadership Programme has created peer groups that drive innovation and help small business owners in making the key decisions that will lead to sustainable growth.

Firstly, Ignite Your Journey works with care experienced and looked after children in year 11, offering mentoring from current University of Southampton students with lived experience of the care system as well as focused English and maths tuition to support attainment at GCSE stage. It is recognised across the sector that GCSE attainment has the real impact on care experienced children accessing and succeeding in higher education and Ignite Your Journey aims to provide positive, on campus experiences to start to change this.

Students have reported high levels of satisfaction with 89% saying they had been inspired or had their aspirations raised by the Ignite workshops. Additionally, 94% were either satisfied or really satisfied with the workshops and 94% said they found the alumni speakers either helpful or very helpful when thinking about their future. Students engaged whole heartedly, with 97% completing their internship in their first year. 78% said that the workshops provided them with careers information they wouldn’t otherwise have been aware of and 73% have completed follow up research on jobs and careers outside of the sessions.

The second stage of the programme, Ignite Your Success launched in October 2020 works with first year undergraduate students who either have a Care Leaver background or who come from IMD Q1 areas on admission. This group of 31 students join the Ignite Community in their first year and complete a series of workshops exploring their journey to higher education and the unique skills and experiences they bring. They have a safe space to discuss matters that might make them feel different from their peers including financial matters, identity and how to make connections which can help them in their future careers. All students undertake a guaranteed internship in their first year, an international opportunity in their second and a mentor in each year of study. They also all receive additional financial support.

University SouthamptonofBESTPRACTICECASESTUDY-Ignite

the university will be more focused on recording the impact of the programme through two areas: high level data (retention, awards, graduate outcomes, completion) and deep level impact (self-esteem, efficacy, selfdetermination, engagement and belonging).

The University of Southampton will have 10 students joining the first Ignite Your Journey programme in October 2021 with an aim to increase this in the following academic year. The aim is for the University of Southampton to be a hub of the community for looked after children and it will be using its excellent facilities to expand aspirations and increase participation.

The Ignite Programme is split into three stages.

After a year of the programme none of the 2020/21 cohort have withdrawn, with 81% progressing to second year. Students have reported high levels of satisfaction with 89% saying they had been inspired or had their aspirations raised by the Ignite workshops. Additionally, 94% were either satisfied or really satisfied with the workshops and 94% said they found the alumni speakers either helpful or very helpful when thinking about their future. Students engaged whole heartedly, with 97% completing their internship in their first yearthe final student will complete this in their second year. 78% said that the workshops provided them with careers information they wouldn’t otherwise have been aware of and 73% have completed follow up research on jobs and careers outside of the Fromsessions.2021/22

The University of Southampton has launched a new social mobility programme: Ignite, which uses different strategies to level up student’s experiences from Successful School Years through Post-16 Education and into Fair Career Progression. Elements of the levelling up agenda are embedded throughout to ensure that students have the skills to succeed.

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The University has also received very encouraging feedback from the students about their experiences, from the supportive network (“[the] social aspect of the Ignite Programme… enabled me to meet other students from different year groups across the University, especially during lockdowns and not being able to meet anyone. It also gave me the opportunity to be able to discuss student experience, support students and make friends”) to the employability enhancing opportunities (“I have had the opportunity to apply and be accepted for an internship, which has given me a chance to boost some of my workplace skills. The weekly sessions we have expose us to a range of speakers who provide us with some great advice for a range of topics”) and the financial stability the bursary provides (“Receiving the funding has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders! It meant that I could focus on my studies instead of worrying and feeling guilty about how much the things I needed was going to cost me”).

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“I felt that going to university opens so many doors, both academically and non-academically. As well as expanding your knowledge and interests by being taught, you get the opportunity to have practical experience in your field, (work experience, internships, etc). Even if you feel like you’ve not gained much academically, the people you meet are completely different from people you meet in primary/ high school, yet with a similar academic mindset. Engaging in conversations with fellow students is always really exciting!

Getting to know everyone who are outside of my course has been a really positive experience and when someone from our little group goes onto achieving something, it becomes our achievement too as everyone is incredibly supportive.

“It was through one of the talks from Ignite, I found out about the ‘Student Innovation Project’ which I ended up taking part in. It is a 6 week project that anyone, from any subject and any year can do as an extra thing, which can be related to your course or not! You are given a real client with an issue that you have 6 weeks to research about before presenting them with your solutions that they can possibly implement into their business.

“My favourite part has simply been the people. My fellow ‘Igniters’ are a great bunch of people, studying different subjects and from all different backgrounds, have become good friends of mine.

“Despite the current situation with COVID, you can still make the most out of your university experience, only if you choose to do so. You can either let the negativity of online learning consume you or you can be proactive and seek out interesting and exciting opportunities for yourself by reaching out to other students through email, LinkedIn, SUSU, etc. I decided to choose the latter and because of this, I have been fortunate to get involved in some amazing experiences all in my first year!”

“The situation was quite stressful because my dad was out of work for a long period of time due to him having and recovering from a heart operation. I needed a lot of textbooks and a laptop to support advanced computer programmes for my course. I was invited [by the Ignite programme] to apply for the bursary by email.

STUDENT CASE STUDY Maleeha Mahmuda “I’m a first year student studying environmental science. Despite getting used to a new normal, it has been a learning experience overall. I love studying at this university because I just felt that this university stands out from the others in terms of putting students’ needs first and making them the priority.

“Receiving the funding has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders! It meant that I could focus on my studies instead of worrying and feeling guilty about how much the things I needed was going to cost me.

The University will build on these successes in the final stage: Ignite Your Future, which will focus on improving progression to graduate employment and further study and is currently in development.

Bournemouth University’s Books & Stories programme supports partner schools across Dorset to help improve ability and confidence in reading and close the attainment gap.

Improving reading skills and closing the attainment gap

The scheme continues to grow, with schools in the Weymouth and Portland area of Dorset now adopting the programme too. The long-term aspiration is to develop and franchise the programme for use nationwide. The programme has been highlighted as an area of best practice by the Office for Students (OfS) in raising attainment at a school level and promoting equal opportunities.

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The programme consists of 30-minute guided reading sessions, with interactive activities led by current BU students, to develop reading Bookscomprehension.&Storiesstarted in 2014, with selected partner schools asked to identify 20 Year 6 pupils with reading ages over a year lower than their actual age.

The results began to show immediately and in 2019-20, 70 students were assessed to show their progress through the scheme, with 67% improving their reading age by 12 months and 38% improving their reading age by two years or Themore.programme has been highlighted as an area of best practice by the Office for Students (OfS) in raising attainment at a school level and promoting equal opportunities.

The programme is coordinated by BU’s Schools Liaison and Partnerships team, who work with schools across the region to raise aspiration and attainment through an extensive programme of outreach activity.

Bournemouth University BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

Beth Matthews, Schools Liaison Manager at Bournemouth University said, “It is such a pleasure to see these children fall in love with reading, through a system that works for them, and to see their reading age increase. Reading is a foundational skill for children to learn and we hope to set them up as lifelong learners.”

The gap in attainment for disadvantaged pupils has closed in recent years but disadvantaged students remain, on average, up to 8 months behind in their school work.

The Institute of Medical Imaging and Visualisation (IMIV) is delivering education and professional development programmes to meet the needs of the local community, the NHS and industry, as well as current global medical imaging workforce demands. Facilities including a 3T MRI scanner are facilitating joint research opportunities with NHS trusts, primary care, industry and academia.

Working in partnership to improve regional health outcomes

The partnership allows both organisations to assess the needs of the region and respond, embedding research in practice and supporting education by giving students the skills they need to thrive, with many continuing to work locally in healthcare after graduating. By working in partnership, BU and UHD are supporting regional health outcomes - helping people to live better, for longer - and putting patient care, the needs of the community, and vital skills at the heart of their Dorset'sactivities.ageing population provides a testbed for policy and best practice creation, through the partnership, that could be scaled nationally to help create solutions and reduce the burden on the NHS.

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BU’s Orthopaedic Research Institute (ORI) is embedded in UHD, supporting patient care and helping to prevent and lessen hip pain in patients. This has included work to enhance recovery after surgery, leading to better patient outcomes and reduced length of stay in hospital, as well as a programme of cycling and education to improve hip osteoarthritis, which could lead to a reduction in the need for hip Asreplacements.thepopulation ages, the likelihood of joints wearing out and the need for treatments or replacements increases – over 17 million people are expected to be living with osteoarthritis by 2030. The Cycling Against Hip Pain (CHAIN) programme, undertaken by ORI in conjunction with UHD and council leisure services, aimed to reduce pain and encourage mobility through a six-week programme of education and static cycling sessions, which would equip participants with the confidence to selfmanage their condition.

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86% of participants reporting improvements in walking and completing daily activities as well as reduced pain, better sleep patterns, being able to walk further, and a reduction in painkiller usage - all of which has led to a more active lifestyle.

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Bournemouth University’s partnership with University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) is supporting joint initiatives across research, education and practice to make a real difference to the health of the region.

As local anchor institutions, BU and UHD are also working together to develop local people for local jobs to support their communities. The partnership has supported students into placement opportunities and graduate positions, as well as joint staffing appointments across the two organisations. These opportunities are already attracting new talent to the area. Joint research has also explored ways to improve nurse retention, helping to address staffing vacancies and the loss of talent from the NHS.

It is estimated 40% of Dorset’s population will be aged over 60 by 2025. With the number of people aged 65 and over growing faster than all other age groups across the world, this unique demographic means the population of Dorset will mirror the global population of 2050 some 20 years earlier.

Plymouth Marjon University RESEARCH CASE STUDY

RETAIN, an Education Endowment Foundation funded project led by Prof Ovenden-Hope, designed, delivered and evaluated a researchinformed intervention to improve early career teacher retention in coastal-rural schools (2015-2017). The project findings demonstrated that access to school support/professional development through externally funded initiatives is essential in the development and retention of a high-quality workforce and therefore targeted support can mitigate placebased limitations in accessing resources in coastal-rural schools.

Prof Ovenden-Hope has used her research findings to support schools and MATs (such as Kernow Learning Trust, CELT, Askel Veur), Ofsted, Educational Charities (such as Professor Tanya OvendenHope from Plymouth Marjon University has championed every child successfully achieving their potential in attainment and development through her research on Educational Isolation.

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The Educational Isolation research project (2017-2019) used a national survey of school leaders in England, enhanced through followup interviews and case studies, refined the concept of Educational Isolation. The research established that schools in coastal, rural and ex-industrial areas are most likely to be Educationally Isolated. What this means is that schools that are geographically remote, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and culturally isolated have limited access to the resources necessary to school improvement. In other words, the schools’ place, or location, affects their ability to provide an equitable education for their children, because they do not get access to the same level of resources, such as high quality workforce, access to school support or externally funded interventions, as urban schools.

Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope from Plymouth Marjon University has championed every child successfully achieving their potential in attainment and development through her research on Educational Isolation. This research began in 2010 as a response to the poor performance, and challenges for teacher recruitment and retention, she observed in schools in disadvantaged coastal areas of England. Leading the Coastal Schools research project (2010-19) she explored whether there was a link between place and school performance and provided insights into the specific elements of the place-based challenges experienced by coastal schools, which led to an emerging idea of Educational Isolation.

Understanding the relationship between place and access to resources enables policymakers, agencies, organisations and school leaders to recognise, and target support to mitigate, the challenges of Educationally Isolated schools and thereby provide a more equitable opportunity for ALL children, no matter where they live, to achieve their potential in attainment and development.

Ofsted Education Inspection Framework was developed with an understanding of school context following a seminar on Educational Isolation to HMI; the DfE worked with Prof Ovenden-Hope to understand the challenges for Early Career Teachers in hard to reach schools and she supported work on the Early Career Framework; a MAT restructured its school support framework to remove issue of geographical remoteness in school access to professional development. These few examples demonstrate the change effected in schools for the benefit of children’s learning and experiences as a consequence of Prof Ovenden-Hope’s research and commitment to putting this into practice and policy.

Sentinel Healthcare corroborates that the Marjon Health and Wellbeing approach has improved options for treatment and rehabilitation of back pain, guided

61 Best Practice South West England Talent Tap) and the DfE through providing seminars, conference, staff development and roadshows, which have shared the importance of understanding the impact of place on school performance and thereby support the targeting of resources where they are most needed.

The

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The regional workforce health and wellbeing programmes have impacted on Devon and Cornwall Police Force (2017 - present) and the Environment Agency (2013 - present). Students are integral to the Marjon Health and Wellbeing approach and the involvement of students supports their learning and development while also bridging an intergenerational gap in line with regional priorities.

The Marjon Health and Wellbeing approach focuses on student-led, small group, person centred and self-management principles, and has significant impacts across the region. The Marjon Health and Wellbeing Approach has supported the service provision of a range of health care providers, including Sentinel Health and Wellbeing (2013 - present); Macmillan Mustard Tree Centre (2014 - present); Livewell South West (2017 - present); Evalesco Consulting and Devon Doctors (2018 - present).

The Detective Sergeant holding the ‘Health and Wellbeing’ role for Plymouth states “Four hundred officers have attended since 2018. We have also trained 32 Police Personal trainers to deliver and apply Marjon approach to health and wellbeing for our workforce” and “The collaboration with Marjon University has produced some startling results allowing our senior management team to better understand what specific wellness support is required for each team. Some of the key findings included 86% of frontline officers were experiencing MSK pain in work; 52% had never had a health check prior to the visit; 93% said the visit improved how supported they felt by the organization.”

62 improvements in service provision, enabled longterm empowerment of patients and reduced pressure on frontline services. Sentinel highlights that “we are the only back pain service in the UK offering multi-disciplinary support of this type, supporting both prevention and recovery”, which has directly benefited over 1000 back pain patients. Sentinel describes the reach goes far beyond the individual, “The behaviour techniques used in Marjon’s approach have motivated and empowered individuals to maintain adherence to exercise and healthy lifestyles within their own circumstances, beyond the duration of the service. In doing so our service reduces both primary and secondary care referrals reducing cost and strain on front line services. This fills a gap within current NHS rehabilitation provision."

The Mustard Tree Macmillan Cancer Centre provides access to Marjon Health and Wellbeing programmes to improve the care of people diagnosed with cancer. Programmes are delivered by Marjon staff and students helping over 500 people. The Mustard Tree Macmillan Cancer Centre states that these have “enabled the creation of a service which is unique within Devon and Cornwall NHS provision, for patients diagnosed with cancer. Patients participating in Marjon’s programmes are in a better physical and mental condition than those who have not engaged, patients have reported that their ability to cope with treatment, including recovery from surgery, is improved. Patient benefits are wide ranging and include improved quality of life, social interaction as well as reduced negative effects of treatment and anxiety levels.”.

NHS Livewell South West report “the impact of Marjon’s research has supported us in achieving our aims of reducing health inequalities across the city, improving people’s quality of life and wellbeing, reducing pressure on front line primary care and to support people in their community.” Livewell South West suggest the partnership with Marjon Health and Wellbeing has supported them to secure funding to deliver new effective services within the community and influenced the delivery approach of their services, for example, “Our routine assessments on the impact of the service, conducted by nurses, indicated 80% accelerated healing rates in people.

For the last three years our wellbeing classes have supported over a thousand people each year and people have reported high levels of satisfaction in measures of quality of life and functional capacity.”

The impact of Marjon's MHW approach has been seen as leading the way for wellbeing within the Police Force.

It is noteworthy that the programmes are accessed by people for free which especially improves long-term prospects for patients struggling financially.

Devon and Cornwall Police testify how the impact of the Marjon Health and Wellbeing Approach has improved health and wellbeing for Police officers and supported their aim to put officer health and wellbeing at the forefront of modern policing.

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the impact of Marjon’s research has supported us in achieving our aims of reducing health inequalities across the city, improving people’s quality of life and wellbeing, reducing pressure on front line primary care and to support people in their community.

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The Future Quest Outreach Hub enables students, parents and carers and school staff to access information and opportunities available in their area as well as creating an axis for sustainable partnership working to shape outreach across the region. This is achieved by:

> Advocating impartiality - Supporting learners to research options and explore possibilities by providing objective information, advice and guidance on the Future Quest website, offering sessions with careers guidance professionals, signposting to a range of information sources, outreach and work experience opportunities and working in collaboration with other providers to facilitate access.

It helps them to understand the skill requirements for study and future life, while encouraging the ability to develop self-awarenessself-reflection,andself-belief.

Cultivating collaboration - Creating networks and facilitating opportunities to enable learners, parents and carers, school staff, providers and partners to work together to co-design new and innovative outreach activity, challenge and improve provision, develop reflective practice and recognise and utilise each other’s strengths.

University of the West of England

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY Future OutreachQuestHub

Building expectations - Challenging the discourse around aspiration-raising and rolemodelling a new language of expectations through outreach activities with learners, workshops with delivery staff and teachers, advisory groups with school leadership and local outreach providers, partnership governance and demonstrating impact through evaluation.

> Personalising experience - Enabling individual learners to build their own personal narratives for the future by developing activity that encourages exploration of strengths, mapping goals and pathways and experiencing the worlds of higher education and work. There will be opportunities to share stories through case studies and through the #IAmFirstGen campaign.

Targeted Outreach Through the targeted higher education outreach programme Future Quest aims to support learners with knowledge of higher education and potential future pathways. It helps them to understand the skill requirements for study and future life, while encouraging the ability to develop self-reflection, selfawareness and self-belief.

> Connecting opportunities - Building connections between existing collaborative partnerships and local providers of education, skills and employment to ensure that all learners have access to a full range of opportunities that supports them to visualise clear pathways for the future. Provision will be targeted to address gaps and tailored to meet the needs of the participants.

A large number of the University’s staff managed the transition to remote working. This has involved many working flexibly around child care or caring duties, with the focus for UWE being on output not hours worked. It continues to have a core team on site supporting its students who remain living on Wellbeingcampus.is a significant focus, with all of its key messages from the Vice Chancellor including a note on wellbeing and it has developed a number of resources to support both students and staff that align to its Mental Wealth First strategy. Staff have demonstrated their ability to adjust to the world of digital. In order to build on this momentum it has provided daily digital skills training sessions to colleagues across the campus with more than 500 colleagues engaged in these so far.

> Advancing a realistic understanding of the role that higher education could play in their future

> Building strong speaking, listening and writing Informedskillsby phase one evaluation findings and research by Harrison (2018) on the lens of ‘possible selves’ and access to higher education, Future Quest created a progression framework which maps onto a learner's educational journey and informs the key outreach intervention points and aims. The framework has progressive phases which follow the learner on their journey to deciding their future. Within these phases are learner outcomes that are measurable goals which can be achieved by the learner during the phases of their progression and which also align to Gatsby benchmarks and Ofsted’s inspection framework.

Using the progression framework, Future Quest created and developed programmes of targeted higher education outreach activities, promoting social mobility among identified postcode areas where higher education progression is lower than might be predicted from GCSE results.

The Future Quest phase one impact evaluation report showed programme successes with learners in:

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By the end of July 2019

Students Teaching for the remainder of 2019/20 was online, and the University remained open, although the buildings were closed. It communicated alternative assessment arrangements for all students and ensured that this crisis did not negatively affect their final grade. It communicated regularly with students, paying particular attention to its most vulnerable students. The UWE Cares cohort of care leavers,

> Developing positive personal traits such as confidence, grit and curiosity

Increasing knowledge of how to get to higher education

CASE Covid-19STUDYresponse

Staff

UWE Bristol responded quickly to the changing situation in March 2020 and quickly put together strategies to ensure its staff, students and wider community were safe and supported during the pandemic.

Future Quest had engaged with 5100 eligible learners as well as another 2800 learners not in the original targeting criteria in 40 schools and two colleges. It undertook 245 different activities which amounted to 6000 hours of interaction.

Some students remained living in University accommodation and it supported them by creating an online community to look after themselves and each other. Students who left UWE Bristol accommodation did not have to pay for their final term’s accommodation.

The University had already developed online and remote mental health support for students and staff and continued to promote its online counselling, the 24/7 crisis textline and to encourage students to use its SAM App to help understand and manage their anxiety. Its employee assistance programme provided staff with additional support during this period. As it moves into the new academic term, UWE Bristol is developing a blended approach to student learning, utilising digital and oncampus activities.

It has created an extended start for new and existing students to help them settle in. The programme will help them to engage with programme teams, their cohort and the University more widely in a low-risk environment, where they are free to experiment with new technologies, enhance their digital capabilities and build the confidence to succeed whether online or face to face. This builds on the University’s experiences of working digitally with its students, and with applicants during the past few months: digital engagement can be a positive step in helping young people to overcome social anxieties and build trust in each other and it saw strong engagement in its online and digital activities during lockdown.

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66 estranged students and carers were all contacted individually to ensure they were safe and able to continue with their studies remotely. The University made sure that students had access to IT and provided financial support to those in need.

Transitions both to university and from year-to-year are critical moments for students and are frequently remembered through their lives. These experiences are usually derived from meeting other staff and students as well as experiencing the culture of the university. Clearly, many students are concerned about what university will be like this year, in particular how teaching will run, how technology will be used and how they’ll interact with each other. Block 0 is designed to allay some of these fears.

South West England UWE Bristol is developing a blended approach to student learning, utilising digital and on-campus activities. Digital engagement can be a positive step in helping young people to overcome social anxieties and build trust in each other and it saw strong engagement in its online and digital activities during lockdown.

Best Practice

> create and sustain new partnerships that promote collective decision making and action amongst education, sport and health providers to increase the quality and quantity of sport, physical activity and health provision on campus and within the local community; > improve the student experience by enhancing ‘The Cardiff Met EDGE’ (a core offering that enables students to develop Ethical, Digital, Global and Entrepreneurial skills, experience, knowledge, confidence and resilience) designed to enhance graduates’ employment and wider life chances; and > use the University’s human, financial, physical and intellectual capital to make Cardiff a world-leading city for sport, physical activity and health, improving the social cohesion and wellbeing of communities in Cardiff and across Wales.

Cardiff Metropolitan University PRACTICE STUDY

The project is being evaluated to inform continuous improvement and it is already clear that the initiative has contributed to improved graduate outcomes and greater engagement in education by both children and their parents.

The Open Campus initiative is integrated with the Cardiff Met curriculum and provides opportunities for students in sport and education to gain work experience including undertaking collaborative applied research in partnership with key stakeholders.

Open Campus delivers sport, physical activity, outdoor play, nutrition, health and wellbeing education and participation opportunities on Cardiff Met’s Cyncoed Campus Best

WalesPractice

BEST

Cardiff Met’s Open Campus initiative was created to foster civic engagement, improve public health and increase access to education. Open Campus is a collaborative partnership comprising Cardiff Met School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Education Partnership (Cardiff Met’s initial teacher education and research partnership with Cardiff University, Oxford University and over 30 schools in the Cardiff Capital region), Cardiff Met Sport (the University’s sports services) and Sport Cardiff (Cardiff Council’s Sport Development function operated by Cardiff Met).

CASE

Open Campus delivers sport, physical activity, outdoor play, nutrition, health and wellbeing education and participation opportunities on Cardiff Met’s Cyncoed Campus and the project welcomes over 6,000 children a year from across the Cardiff Capital region and particularly from the City’s most deprived areas.

The project aims to:

STUDENT CASE STUDY

Cardiff Met is committed to ensuring that everyone with the desire, determination and skills to access higher education should be able to do so. One way the university does this is to provide opportunities for adult learners in their own communities, targeting those who have not previously had the opportunity to study in HE. Cardiff Met understands how important it is to work closely with local communities to help raise aspirations and encourage people who think university is ‘not for them’ to start thinking about the opportunities available.

“I only ever believed that I could ever be a mother and a housewife… The learning hub has enabled me to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It has equipped me with life skills, built my confidence and integrated me into a community that I now feel more part of.

“I have been able to show my children that anything is possible with the right support and structure. I feel it has given a better opportunity in life as a steppingstone towards university. I believe that community courses break down barriers in the community, enable people to have hope and a better life and help to educate our children who are our future. I believe that I could not have learnt what I have learned today, had this been in a college, structured environment.

I have been able to show my children that anything is possible with the right support and structure. I feel it has given a better opportunity in life as a stepping-stone towards university.

Ruth O’Hanlon Ruth, a 31-year-old mother of five, had very low expectations of herself until she was introduced to an Adult Community Learning Hub in Ely in Cardiff which transformed her life.

“I have undertaken a number of courses including Accredited Psychology: Cardiff Met Widening Access, Mentoring Programme, Safeguarding in Health and Social Care, Food and Hygiene, Child Psychology, Welsh, Designing a Game, Counselling Skills, English and Maths.

“I am continuing my journey and hope to enrol on the BA/BSc Social Science degree at Cardiff Met once I have completed my foundation year.”

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“Doing courses at the Hub has been beneficial… the flexible environment that the staff provide has been a lifeline to a parent like myself. By doing free courses at the Hub, I have been able to confidently progress further, with the aim to attend university. This would never have been possible without these courses.

Cardiff Met has an excellent track record of recruiting students from the lower quintiles in the deprivation scale, and has consistently recruited over 40% of students from the lower two quintiles in the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation.

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I only ever believed that I could ever be a mother and a housewife… The learning hub has enabled me to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It has equipped me with life skills, built my confidence and integrated me into a community that I now feel more part of. "

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY

Carmarthenshire County Council, working with Pembrokeshire County Council, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Hywel Dda University Health Board and other service providers, has secured £19.9million to create town centre hubs in South West Wales to benefit local people and businesses and to create a more diverse and sustainable mix of uses for the town centre.

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The Carmarthen Hwb is the first venture of its kind in Carmarthenshire, bringing a range of key public services under one roof and providing convenient access to relax and spend their leisure time. Still in the early stages of development, it is anticipated that the exciting venture will feature state of the art leisure, culture and exhibition space alongside health and tourist information, customer services as well as access to further and higher education delivered by the UWTSD Group, which includes Coleg Sir Gâr as a constituent college. The aim is to improve the quality of life for people and drive economic resilience and growth within Carmarthen and the surrounding area, aligning with the postpandemic economic recovery plan to strengthen and support the vibrancy and sustainability of the town centre.

The Carmarthen Hwb will play a vital role in supporting an active mix of uses in the town centre, supporting its commercial vitality and providing an anchor in the town’s main retail core.

The Carmarthen Hwb project is complementary to a smaller scheme at South Quay, in Pembroke town centre, which formed part of the bid to the Levelling Up Fund. Both projects aim to bring health and wellbeing into the centres of two neighbouring towns, creating an inclusive public service offer that meets changing local needs and which helps drive activity, footfall and environmental benefit.

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

The Carmarthen Hwb (Hub) aims to bring health, wellbeing, learning and cultural services under one roof. The initiative in Carmarthen, West Wales benefitted from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

Samina Zia Samina is just one module away from completing her BA Leadership and Management at UWTSD’s Birmingham campus which forms another step in a long and varied educational journey spanning countries and continents, decades and directions.

“I am now just a module away from completing my degree, and plan to go for an MSC or MBA, and then a PhD in Leadership.

She trained as a Teaching Assistant in 2015 and worked in classrooms across Birmingham and Coventry, gaining huge amounts of experience in schools before deciding teaching young children wasn’t for her. Back to the drawing board, she began researching universities and Higher Education opportunities. “Due to my other commitments, I was struggling to find a university that would suit my personal needs and requirements, and as a result I kept delaying applying to “Butuniversity.in2017, when I heard about the opening of UWTSD Birmingham’s Sparkhill Campus and the course in Leadership and Management, it was a lifechanging moment for me. I’m a leader by nature and have always been comfortable in this role in every situation that I’ve found myself in.

Born in Pakistan, Samina studied a secondary school education there before marrying, moving to the UK with her husband and starting family life with her three children.

I am now just a module away from completing my degree, and plan to go for an MSC or MBA, and then a PhD in Leadership "

“My interview was done by Dr Connie, and I still remember her words... She told me how she could see the determination and motivation in my eyes and told me how she wants to see me become a shining star rising from UWTSD.

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“Right from the beginning of my time at UWTSD I became a Class Rep then Course Rep because of my desire to help and support my fellow students. This resulted in me being chosen as the Student Voice Rep for Birmingham Campus for two years in a row, where I ensured student concerns were heard and taken care of, and that students were supported. My drive and passion to help others was also recognised by the University and I was offered a job as an IT Assistant alongside my studies.”

“I wanted to be a doctor,” she said, “But my studies were interrupted when I got married. Then family commitments and other personal issues kept hindering my attempts to restart my education, although it didn’t stop me selflearning different things online. I love to learn and study, I always have.”

STUDENT CASE STUDY

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