North West England

Best Practice

Liverpool John Moores University

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY LJMU and Northern Ireland – tackling 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 opportunities.

And this effort 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.

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.

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.

Best Practice

BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDY Support for Care Leavers

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 recognised the specific barriers to access and participation faced by this emerging cohort of students. The University was first awarded 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; > Targeted outreach activities for care experienced young people in schools and colleges; > Access to 365-day accommodation in an LJMU partner hall; and > A dedicated bursary for Care Leavers studying at LJMU.

Following 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 it has 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 students.

The 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.

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:

> 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; > An annual bursary of £1,000 per academic year (subject to eligibility criteria) and signposting to other forms of available funding; and > Targeted opportunities for further development in collaboration with other LJMU services (Student Futures, Library Services etc.).