34 minute read
The Midlands
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University of Lincoln
BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY National Centre for Food Manufacturing
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 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 begun construction of the first building, the Centre of Excellence in Agri-Food, following a £7m 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.
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 2,500 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. 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 the development of thousands of industry employees, but also to drive forward research innovation and skills.
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The Centre supports over 350 apprentices in 70 businesses including Sainsbury’s 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 Level 7 Research Scientist Apprenticeship.
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. STUDENT CASE STUDY 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.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
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University of Derby
BEST PRACTICE CASE 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. 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.
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. > Improve pupil confidence, self-awareness, and esteem > Helps pupils to achieve the grades that match their potential and fulfil their ambitions.
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. Of the 2,830 pupils who participated in P2S in 2019/20:
> 67% were from low progression 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. 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.
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.
Evidence of impact: (1) Pupils’ positive decision-making: > 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. > 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. > Pupils who engage in multiple activities are more likely to enter higher education. 44.5% of
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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 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.
“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.
“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.
“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!
“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.”
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University of Northampton
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.
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. 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.
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. BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY University pulls out all the stops to provide community support during the COVID-19 pandemic
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.
A campus car park was used as the local polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing centre and a further car park was used as a drivethrough 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 drive-through 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%.
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. Over 70 homeless individuals were supported, with 40 being helped to move into settled accommodation.
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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.
BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY 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.
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. BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY 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.
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.
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BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY 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. 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.
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. BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY University commits to zero carbon by 2030
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.
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.
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BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY 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.
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.
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Staffordshire University
BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY 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 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. 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 self-confidence.
The Step Up course 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.
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YEAR UG PG PCDA STUDENTS STUDENTS STUDENTS
2015/16 9 - 2016/17 48 - 2017/18 55 - 2018/19 54 2 2019/20 60 6 12 2020/21 65 11 7 TOTAL 291 UG 19 PG 19 PCDA
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 education.
Step Up widens 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. STUDENT CASE STUDIES 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.
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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.
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.
CASE STUDY Covid-19 response 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
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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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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University of Worcester
BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY Civic university
Worcester hasreimagined 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.
THE HIVE LIBRARY 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”. (Teacher, St Clements Primary School, Worcester)
“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.’ There is no more important message to say”. (Professor Michael Rosen)
BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY Overcoming barriers
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.
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. The University of Worcester is eighth out of 132 UK universities for ensuring that people from all backgrounds have the chance to study at university.
Throughout 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
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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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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%. 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.
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BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY Accessibility at its core
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).
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 university. “Worcester 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.” 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 disabilities. Writing in The Guardian, 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 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.
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.
