Uni Connect Virtual Conference

The Southern Universities Network, working alongside a group of volunteers from different partnerships, hosted the 2021 Uni Connect Virtual Conference on Wednesday 31st March 2021.

This event followed the same premise as the 2018 NCOP Conference which was hosted in Birmingham and sought to give Uni Connect staff the opportunity to share best practice, hear case studies from other partners and network with colleagues.

This virtual event consisted of webinars with examples of projects, programmes, events or activities that different partnerships have run over the past few years.

The case studies presented at the event have been recorded, edited and uploaded below so that participants and those who may have missed the event can watch any case studies that they were unable to see on the day.

Workshop library

EVALUATION TOOLKIT DEVELOPMENT – Shaping Futures

Over the course of lockdown 1, Shaping Futures worked to create a framework for activity design and data collection, using Theory of Change methodology. Practitioners discussed the aims of the project as a whole, what learners needed to achieve in order to meet those aims, and what activities we already had developed that would link to these easily. This led to the identification of over 100 “outputs” – short or immediate term objectives of activities, which have been associated with measures. Using these, activities for 2020/21 have been developed objective first, rather than activity first, and there is now consistency across the team when developing and measuring the impact of activities, something we previously struggled with. This project has streamlined the evaluation process as practitioners are able to identify their objectives, see if other activities we or partners deliver align with the same objectives, and use consistent measures across activities with the same objectives. Further development is planned to align this work and our progression framework, fill any gaps identified over the course of 2020/21, and simplify the outputs to be more teacher friendly.

EVALUATION YOUTH PANEL – Aspire to HE

As part of the ongoing evaluation between Aspire to HE and the Centre for Education and Youth, we launched an Aspire to HE Youth Panel. The aims were to build a stronger youth voice element into our programme, the panel will be supported to meet throughout the year, sharing their insights into the programme and identifying changes that can be made to improve delivery. The students involved will be trained as ‘mystery shoppers’ and have co-produced evaluation tools in order to observe the impact that a particular session is having on themselves and their peers. These tools will be designed to support young people to identify different indicators of impact, such as levels of engagement and participation. After each session, the young people will also take part in a debrief interview with a CfEY researcher. Aspire to HE have recruited 2 Y10 students and 4 college students and we aimed for the panel to be from different backgrounds, ethnicities, genders and attainment levels to ensure a range of perspectives. Students will be supported to reflect on the skills that they have gained whilst taking part in this initiative and consider how the experience can be articulated in personal statements and CVs. In addition, students will be provided with three vouchers totalling £60 throughout the evaluation to reimburse them for their time.

EVALUATING DIGITALLY – Hello Future

Hello Future has adapted their interventions to be digital, with VLE style access. We have adapted our evaluation framework. To access online interventions, learners create an account, submitting personal information and preferences for HEAT; negating excess form-filling. We effectively evaluate each intervention through compulsory post-evaluation surveys; containing process and impact evaluation. Learner engagement in our E-courses has produced acceptable sample sizes to review the impact of the courses on aspiration, attitude, knowledge and intentions. Our Virtual Fair enabled us to gather learner, teacher & advisor and partner voice to evaluate impact and ROI. Pre-Covid-19 we used a single paper-based consent form and have since implemented 12 new processes to export data for HEAT tracking and to conduct impact analysis. Hello Future continues to adapt to accurately assess what works and what doesn’t in our new digital outreach offer. We aim to submit CFE submissions on our digital outreach. We commission research projects, and developed interventions based on the findings and recommendations. For example our piece on the Voluntary Community Sector as Assets for Young People’s Decision-making has been adapted into CPD training sessions for community organisers to provide impartial tailored HE outreach.

PATHWAYS – Lockdown diaries: an enabler for developing reflective practice during the pandemic

At the start of the first lockdown in spring 2020, the Pathways Evaluation Officer instigated the use of staff ‘lockdown diaries’. The purpose of these was two-fold: to capture our successes whilst we were locked out of schools, and to encourage professional reflection. A template was developed which included questions that were based around this rationale. Over time, and informed by the Evaluation Officer’s reading of the diaries and discussions with the team, this template evolved to include more prompts to aid reflection, analysis, and staff utility. In addition to these ‘step-changes’, other temporary questions were added and removed over shorter periods of time, such as ‘shout-outs’ to staff members, requests for feedback, and requests for useful tips that could be shared in future diary templates. Data from the staff diaries are coded weekly using both a deductive approach based on the questions asked in the diary templates, and an inductive approach grounded in the response data. This paper reports the findings from a code called ‘lockdown-specific’ and presents a narrative of staff’s successes and challenges over the past year.

LOCKDOWN LEARNING FESTIVAL – Make Happen

The Lockdown Learning Festival from the 1st-5th of February 2021 was hosted via zoom. The Festival included sessions for students in years 7-13 and some for parents/carers. All sessions were self-sign up and all zoom links and passwords required were on the Festival webpage for ease of access. The week offered 24 student sessions covering topics like motivation, resilience, post 16 options, subject tasters, our Workplace Wednesday series, apprenticeships and more. The week also included 4 sessions for parents/carers “Helping your children study at home”, “Marginal Gains”, “Digital Skills” and “Opening positive dialogue with your children”. Pre-recorded videos were also available ‘on demand’ throughout the week for students to access and watch at any time. These were Make Happen recorded sessions covering Study Skills, Why go to Uni, Mind Palace, Students Life videos, Cooking skills and sessions from some of our providers “Secrets to staying focused”, “Finding your passion” and “COVID hassles”. The festival reached a total of 671 students though live sessions and on demand videos and 22 parents.

ROLE MODELS – Sussex Learning Network

The Role Models peer-led mentoring project works with students from universities and colleges in Sussex. The student Role Models create interactive workbooks and films based on what they wish they’d known when they were younger for learners in secondary schools and colleges to use. In 2021, the team has created workbooks for students aged 14-plus, films and teacher resources on the topics of Climate Emergency and Worry, and resources on four other themes will be available later in the year. In March 2020, the team developed three activity books to be used at home: Wellbeing and Covid-19, covering emotional wellbeing, resilience-building and creative craft ideas; Gender and Sexuality, offering activities on language, history and definitions around LGTBQ; and Futures to help young people explore their future aspirations and goals.

HELLO FUTURE E-COURSES – Hello Future

As we move in to virtual working, Hello Future explored ways in which we could continue to support learners, either studying from home or at times when as practitioners we were unable to go in to school. To do this, a small project team started to explore ways in which we could take our face to face provision and turn it in to an engaging online provision. We did this by taking the majority of our face to face content and created a series of E-Courses, which would support learners with a range of topics throughout Year 9 – 13. The courses created have been well received, with virtual launch sessions being offered to schools to help learners through the sign up process. As well as supporting learners, we wanted to continue supporting our Teachers & Advisors, by creating courses that would continue to support learning outcomes of learners in school, able to a solid part of the curriculum and support meeting Gatsby Benchmarks. We effectively evaluate each E-Course through compulsory post-evaluation surveys; containing process and impact evaluation. Learner engagement in our E-courses has produced acceptable sample sizes to review the impact of the courses on aspiration, attitude, knowledge and intentions.

HIGHER HORIZONS – Zoom to Mars: Launched in Lockdown

Working with the charity 4wardFutures, the Higher Horizons Hub match-funded the Constructing and Visualising a Life on Mars projects during the first lockdown of 2020 for Y7 & 8 students from LPN in Ellesmere Port. The project was run virtually whilst students were working from home, and it introduced them to careers of the future in the space industry, using the concept of humans settling on Mars to pique students’ interest. Students were set a challenge to either construct a settlement on Mars using materials found around the house, or to depict what settling on Mars would be like for humans in an artistic manner. Students had access to a number of modules to help them understand travel to Mars and what we’d need to consider to settle there, with links to relevant progression pathways through FE and HE to careers in related industries. Students also took part in regular webinars with current undergraduate students studying subjects related to the space industry, and those working in the industry from all over the world, including an expert in at NASA in the United States. This award-winning project was match-funded through our Outreach Hub.

MAKE HAPPEN – The U Can UCAS! programme: how a small group project created a big impact on Year 13 students during lockdown

The U Can UCAS! programme was an intensive small-scale five-week programme run in November 2020 and aimed to support a cohort of Year 13 students with their UCAS applications. The programme was developed using the NERUPI Framework objectives and covered the following topics: 1: UCAS during Covid-19 2: Navigating UCAS and searching for courses 3: The art of crafting a personal statement 4: How to find bursaries and scholarships 5: Discuss University Life with our University Ambassadors The programme was delivered over Zoom with Make Happen staff, third-party providers and student ambassadors in 1hr long evening sessions. Students were required to complete an application to participate, including a reason why they wanted to join the programme. All students agreed that the programme was helpful, they would recommend it to a friend and they learnt something new. All students strongly agreed that they understood the UCAS process and knowledge of all aspects of HE increased. There was a strong correlation between their increased knowledge of university types and financial support with their intention to apply to HE. Going forward, this shows the impact of small-scale intensive programmes like this and the value of building relationships with students within sustained activity.

HEON – The Book Quest

The Book Quest was a virtual Book Club delivered during the school lockdown to provide access to books when schools and libraries were closed. There were a series of online activities posted each week to enrich the students understanding of the books. The presentation will look at: Logistics – looking at the practical elements of the project from books chosen to the activities included. Innovation – present the virtual aspect of the programme and the use of the Learner Management System. The branding of the scheme would also be assessed. Uni Connect Aims – Analyse how the project supports the aims of the Uni Connect Programme. Evaluation – Look at the success of the programme and what impact it had on the students. Further Developments – Access what was learnt from the first time running the programme and what changes were made to the second launch.

HUMBER OUTREACH PROGRAMME (HOP) – HOP and The Pay Index – aligned to support future pathways

HOP signed up with The Pay Index in November 2021 as it is perfectly placed to feed in to a wider careers’ strategy, exploring all pathways level 5-7 and aligned to the expanding remit of UniConnect for Phase 3. It is a flexible resource which empowers young people to reach decisions based upon data and intelligence and encourages students to move from ‘passive consumer’ to an ‘engaged participant’! TPI is fully integrated in to school and college delivery plans and can be teacher-led or by the outreach, either classroom based or virtually. It allows for independence and remote access via mobile phones and helps facilitate parent/carer involvement too. Detailed analytics are provided and there is integrated HOP evaluation and TPI feedback to continue development. The two reports, My Future: University and My Future: Apprenticeships are supported by organic, dynamic resources as a result of working with other UniConnects and establishing a network of sharing and cooperation. This reflects the essence and positivity of collaboration and shared values and objectives.

DANCOP – Adapting large-scale delivery in the face of COVID-19: what we’ve learned

In a normal year, DANCOP’s Central Team usually delivers a programme of large-scale and/or intensive activities for our target schools and colleges, but the last year has been anything but normal! Over the course of the last 12 months, we’ve learned a lot as we’ve adapted our activities, creating sustained and progressive programmes that fit better into an already over-stretched school day. In this session, we’ll explore how we’ve adapted three of our projects – Girls into STEAM, Discover the Dramatic Arts and Inspiring Futures – and what we’ve learned along the way, which we hope will support us as we move into a (possible) phase 3.

LONDON HIGHER – Access HE Coffee Mornings

Our Friday Virtual Coffee Mornings were introduced in March 2020 in response to Covid-19, as a means to support career’s leaders and teachers during an uncertain time, and to offer CPD opportunities. The aims of the Virtual Coffee Mornings were established as:

To convene virtual steering groups, to share solutions and best practice
To share resources for students and career’s advisers
To provide advice and guidance on supporting underrepresented groups to make informed
decisions about post 16 pathways
To update attendees on outreach activities of AccessHE’s HEI members
Keeping teachers and careers leads up to date with the latest developments in a quick changing landscape, for example the impact of Covid on GCSE and A level examinations and results

Since launching the Virtual Coffee Mornings in March 2020 we have hosted 12 webinars, covering a range of topics including School and University Partnerships, Centre Assessment Grade Bias and Contextual Admissions, Personal Statement support, Pre and post entry support for Looked After Children, and Student Finance focus. The webinars have proven a success; we have an average of 15 teachers attend each session from schools across the AccessHE Uni Connect network. We encourage attendees to provide feedback and suggestions to help shape future sessions, to ensure the webinars continue to be of value. We have found it particularly valuable to bring in guest speakers and experts in their field to each session, to support teachers with their CPD.

POSSIBLE SELVES: DEMISTIFYING SUBJECTS FOR FAMILIES – London NCOP

Possible Selves is a programme of sustained online engagement with parents of Year 9 and Year 10 learners. The aim is to inspire parents with a palette of possible selves their young people could actualise through higher education. Informed by research into the psychological concept of possible selves, the programme has two strands:

Interactive workshops with youth development agency Revolution Hive exploring concepts to support young people to stay open to possibilities, including topics such as growth mindset
Demystifying subjects that can be studied at higher education level and the futures they can lead to. Our next session will focus on creative coding

Possible selves sessions take place monthly during evenings on Zoom. Parents are encouraged to attend as many sessions as they like or feel curious about. Sessions are marketed through schools, but also directly to parents as relationships have been built over time. Communication is maintained through tailored follow up resources, and encouragement of co-collaboration via feedback forms. We are also working with an independent evaluator to interview parents who have attended two or more sessions to find out what works about the programme and to contribute to a wider conversation about sustained and progressive parental engagement.

HE FAMILY ZONE: ENGAGING PARENTS AND FAMILIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC – NEACO

During the COVID 19 pandemic, our parent champion at the University of Suffolk set up a facebook page called HE Family zone to engage families during the lockdown. This has been a continuation of the parent champion work that had been going on in 2019/2020, we have recruited a bank of parent ambassadors of whom children have attended university. These PA are utilised by attending open days and school parent events to talk to parents, peer to peer. The project has been hugely successful. During the pandemic, this work has moved online. HE family zone was born and contains info videos aimed at parents and families. We have run two successful online competition this year for local schools to encourage parents and their children to engage together around HE themes; ‘Design a University’ and ‘Design a course’. The uptake has been impressive, and we received some wonderful and heart-warming submissions.

SUPPORTING PARENTS AND CARERS TO MOTIVATE THEIR TEENAGERS – Make Happen

Parents/carers are often key influencers when students are facing decisions about their next steps in career and education. To help inform and inspire this important group, two parent/carer webinars were organised and facilitated by members of the Make Happen team. To plan these sessions, Make Happen asked parents/carers to complete a survey indicating the best content and timing of these webinars to suit their needs. For the first half of each webinar, Make Happen Officers provided IAG to parent/carers on options for students, one focused on the KS4 transition for Y11, whilst the other was about decisions after KS5. In the second half of each webinar, third-party providers discussed how to help their child/young person with their studies and motivation. There was a great turnout for both events, 61 parent/carers attended the first session on 1 December 2020 and 104 on 2 February 2021. The surveys given to the participants afterwards had 23 and 50 responses respectively. Overall, their answers were very positive with 100% and 86% of the respondents saying they ‘strongly agreed or agreed’ that the webinar they attended was helpful. A majority of respondents also indicated that they felt more confident in supporting their child/young person afterwards.

BUILDING REMOTE RELATIONSHIPS – DANCOP

For various reasons, DANCOP’s outreach hub wasn’t fully established until April 2020, just as the UK went into a national lockdown. This case study will explore the use of marketing and communications in engaging with school and college staff throughout the pandemic, ensuring that they’ve been made aware of the offer available to them whilst respecting their priorities and time constraints.

VIRTUAL SATURDAY ARTS CLUB – Higher Education Outreach Network

In Winter 2020, HEON partner institution, University for the Creative Arts delivered a six-week Virtual Saturday Art Club for Year 9 students from target wards in Surrey and Hampshire. To reach our audiences more directly, we engaged with local educational charities and community groups. We also promoted the club via own channels and liaised with schools to include in their newsletters and social media. Our collaborative efforts resulted in ~50% increase in sign-ups. Students were sent an art pack in advance containing different art materials to try out. The workshops were structured to minimise the amount of screen time. Short live sessions ensured that they spent most of the day getting creative. These fun and interactive workshops were delivered online via secure platform, Blackboard Collaborate, comprising demonstrations, discussions about art and artists and what it’s like to study art at university. The students shared their artwork on secure media sharing platform, Padlet where they could also access resources posted by the tutor. The students also learnt how to collate an art portfolio with the opportunity to gain an accredited Arts Award qualification. Virtual Art Club achieved our outcomes to help students develop their creative and critical skills and increase their confidence in their creative abilities, with 100% stating that they would consider studying art in the future.

THE USE OF VIRTUAL REALITY WITHIN OUTREACH – Aspire to HE

For the majority of students we work with, attending our events in person was the first time they’d be in a HE environment where they see and feel that they do fit in and people that look and sound like them can attend such institutions. COVID-19 has of course stopped all in person delivery and showing 2d videos of campus isn’t the same. We’ve invested in VR headsets which host a walkthrough of all campuses and will soon develop to have “what a day in the life of nursing student or performing arts student or science student” videos added on. These get sent to schools to aid our virtual sessions, or when allowed, we take them and deliver in schools (as our campus is closed). Response has been very positive, not only is it a new and novel thing for students to engage with, it immerses them in the HE environment and they can visualise all they might be find and feel like they are still in that space and have visited a HE institution.

USING CROSS-PARTNERSHIP COLLABORATION AND PODCASTS TO RAISE AWARENESS OF DEGREE APPRENTICESHIPS – NEACO

Using a team of neaco Higher Education Champions from across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, who specialise in apprenticeships, we have taken advantage of collaborative opportunities to develop a variety of provision to raise awareness of higher and degree apprenticeships amongst our students. Where normally we’d be able to go into schools and colleges to speak to students face-to-face about apprenticeships, including inviting employers and current apprentices, the present way of working has forced us to rethink this approach. In our first foray into podcasts, the team created a series of episodes chatting with employers, apprentices and training providers across a number of different sectors, from healthcare and the NHS to policing and engineering. The idea was to use a platform we hadn’t used before, but also create something that students or parents could listen to in their own time. This resulted in one of our Suffolk schools being so impressed with the format that they have set up their own podcast series! The team also curated various resources to be delivered digitally during National Apprenticeship Week this year (8-12 February 2021) combining live webinars, pre-recorded videos and live drop-in sessions.

JUST THE JOB: DELIVERING ALTERNATIVE HE PATHWAYS – HeppSY

Just the Job is a headline HeppSY project. It delivers a sustained and progressive programme for students considering Higher and Degree Apprenticeships. The case study will outline the approach taken and the innovative incremental model. It will describe the delivery sessions including the assessment training element and the impact and evaluation findings

HIGHER AND DEGREE APPRENTICESHIPS – Aspire to HE

A session about how to host Higher and Degree Apprenticeships IAG in three different ways.

REACH OUT – Aimhigher West Midlands

This case study will look at the Aimhigher Reach Out project, developed by our team at Newman University. Focusing on Bartley Green and its surrounding areas, the Reach Out project applies youth and community work practices to widening participation work with an overarching objective to engage the most ‘hard to reach’ learners. The Bartley Green ward not only boasts a university on its doorstep but also an Ofsted Outstanding school yet was initially identified as one of the wards with the highest gap between observed and expected participation in higher education in England. The Reach Out project takes a different approach to conventional outreach activities, bringing together detached youth work in public places with innovative and highly focused in-school provision such as mentoring, all delivered by professional qualified youth workers. We can categorically see the transformation in the attitudes and motivation of our Uni Connect Reach Out cohort. We are witnessing learners, who would traditionally dismiss education, now willing to have conversations and explore it as an option. We are seeing learners voluntarily taking part in half-term sessions and actively seeking out our Reach Out practitioners. The project is currently undergoing an impact evaluation, due for completion by summer 2021.

LOST IN TRANSLATION – FutureHY York and North Yorkshire

FutureHY collaborated with Inspired Youth to create short films exploring aspirations and challenging stereotypes of young people in our wards in Selby, Harrogate and Colburn. The Lost in Translation project was founded on the misunderstandings around aspiration that arise between young people and interested adults, an issue that was raised by the young people during initial consultation. The project was driven by ideas devised through creative workshops which explored the themes, such as the world / media view of young people; who young people really are, through the eyes of young people; Young people and aspirations; aspirations and expectations and the value of community projects. Inspired Youth worked with the young people to create a narrative and voiceover script for the films. These sessions were a creative approach towards developing literacy skills and informal discussion around future selves. The practical sessions creating the film gave the young people an insight into the media and creative industries. A blog was created for each project and the films were premiered in local cinemas, where families, friends, teachers and councillors were invited to watch and celebrate in the achievements with the film ‘stars’.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD: COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS – NEACO

In 2018, ISCRE (Ipswich & Suffolk Council for Racial Equality) wrote a report, commissioned by neaco, based upon interviews with families from under-represented communities in Suffolk which put forward some actions that universities and schools could take to improve engagement with the BAME communities. A significantly lower percentage of people from BAME communities consider or progress into HE than is the expected from both the local and national populations. Some BAME communities are hard to engage with and this includes both the students and parents. neaco at the University of Suffolk and ISCRE have set up a programme of listening and engagement activities with a range of communities in Suffolk to inform both students and parents of the HE opportunities available and assist with accessing them. In addition, the project will help train community leaders and champions to enable then to support families in their communities with a target of 10 per champion. The training and information will build on the work that Jack Massie developed as part of the neaco/IOA project last year, and ISCRE’s It Takes a Village to Raise a Child. This project will be based on listening to the concerns, issues and responding to the questions that under-represented communities in Suffolk have about HE, with an aim to widen participation in HE. The project will create a legacy of trained community champions with ongoing support from ISCRE and neaco colleagues at UoS.

THRIVING LIVES TOOLKIT – FutureHY

The Thriving Lives Toolkit is an evidence-based self-evaluation tool which enables schools to reflect on their practice and to identify improvement priorities. In collaboration with the SCiP Alliance and iCeGS (International Centre for Guidance Studies) a research project, which was funded by six Uni Connect partnerships, was established to produce an extensive literature review, survey of schools and qualitative cases studies including focus groups with stakeholders in order to develop and create a new improvement framework and set of CPD modules. This improvement framework was piloted by practioners and evaluators from all 6 Uni Connect Partnerships, and the final toolkit was launched at the SCiP Alliance Conference in October 2020.

SPOC CONFERENCE – SUN

Yearly, the SUN bring together their Single Point of Contacts (SPoC) within schools and colleges for a day of CPD, alongside our SUN Progression Mentors. Combined with a variety of sessions hosted by external speakers, the SUN also uses this conference to discuss any upcoming changes for the year in regards to the Uni Connect programme and help to field any questions school and college contacts may have. The day also enables SPoCs and SUN Progression Mentors to share best practice regarding innovative uses of SUN funding and examples of bespoke projects they have delivered in collaboration with the SUN.

PROFESSIONALISING OUTREACH – HeppSY

HeppSY has always continuous professional development as part of its programme both with teachers and other influencers as well as with its own staff team. This case study will describe the well-established and valued monthly development day programme for G3/4 staff and outline new developments. These include Masters level accreditation and professional body membership.

WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH PARTNERS: SEND WORKING GROUP – Shaping Futures

Bringing together colleagues from our partner FE and HE providers to create collaborative outreach is undoubtedly valuable, but can also be logistically challenging. The Shaping Futures team oversee 4 working groups, each with the aim of supporting an underrepresented group in our region. Each group includes representatives from our partners who contribute their expertise, ideas and resources. Working virtually has provided us with a unique opportunity to enhance our collaborative outreach. It has been considerably easier to organise meetings and maintain regular communication. The SEND working group took advantage of this new way of working to produce a virtual CPD event for teachers. The event ‘Supporting Inclusive Transitions’ provided attendees with the information and skills required to support learners with additional needs to research and apply for further and higher education. Following the success of this event, we are now planning a series of outreach events for students with additional needs and their supporters. This case study will provide an overview of how the working group was formed, maintained and developed over a period of time, and is able to thrive virtually.

ADDRESSING INTERNAL PRACTICE WHEN ENGAGING WITH BAME LEARNERS IN HE – DANCOP

This case study outlines the work that the WA team at the University of Derby have put in place in order to begin to understand the challenges that Black and Asian learners face when engaging in HE outreach. It takes a deeper look into the work we are doing internally with the hope of addressing detrimental practice and engage in reflective practice through a variety of methods

LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN PROJECT – Study Higher

Collaboration with Swindon Virtual School to put together a programme of events for looked after children. With the objective of increasing awareness of FE, HE, student life etc, for both the young person and carer. It will also support young people with wellbeing and give them more confidence in knowing where to go for support. The monthly sessions are virtual and began in January, they are outside of school hours (6pm). The sessions include an introduction, wellbeing, post 16 options, post 18 options and a session the young people can choose. The programme will finish with a campus visit in July, where students will experience student life. This will also include an awards ceremony. To accompany each session students receive packs in the post containing relevant literature and some ‘goodies’. A care experienced student ambassador supports each session, alongside SH staff and external speakers e.g. HE & FE staff/students. We achieved a 60% attendance of LAC at our first session, and expect this to continue. For evaluation we will have baseline surveys, midpoint snapshot discussions, survey and focus groups. We also hope to make this a progressive programme and continue to work with the same students next year.

ENGAGING WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS – Aspire to HE

Dealing with the challenges of online outreach and engagement with college students. Sharing some good practice taking place using available online platforms.

ACCESS TO HE SUPPORT PACKAGE – London NCOP (Linking London)

In October, Linking London’s Uni Connect Outreach Hub, in collaboration with several university partners, put together a series of videos for Access to HE Diploma students to help them in the early stages of their university applications. Our university partners produced recordings on a variety of topics, including personal statements and study skills, all tailored to Access to HE Diploma students. Please see below a list of the different topics and the contributing university partners.

Personal Statements (health professions, incl. Midwifery and Nursing) – Middlesex University, Kingston University
Personal Statements (Law) – New College of the Humanities, University of Westminster
Personal Statements (all subjects) – University of Westminster, Middlesex University
Study Skills – University of Greenwich
Transition to university as an Access student – LSBU

We asked students, tutors, and careers advisors to sign up to receive the package, and then we emailed it out as Youtube links and included a few resources, such as entry requirement mapping and tips for personal statements. You can see the email we sent out below. We also then held a live Q&A event with 3 student ambassadors who were Access to HE students and the recording was then uploaded to Youtube.

THE ROLE OF THE BIPOC AMBASSADOR: PROVIDING A VOICE FOR STUDENTS OF COLOUR – Sussex Learning Network

This case study explores our recent appointment of Sami Read, our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) alumni ambassador, the role that she will be playing within GB MET and how we can use the insight Sami will provide to improve the experiences of students of colour within the college. The role of the BIPOC Ambassador was created following feedback from students, highlighting that the voices of people of colour within the college need to be listened to and actions need to be made to make the college a more inclusive place for everybody. Sami will provide a safe space for students of colour to discuss their ideas, experiences and concerns and to help do something about it. She will provide regular group sessions, 1:1 support and peer mentoring for both FE and HE students of colour. Sami will also work on the University of Brighton BAME Insights programme which provides a framework within which to explore the student experience; contribute to the development of the BIPOC outreach events for our Theatre and Music Departments; and sit on the college’s Equality and Diversity committee, acting as a direct conduit between the students and the Senior Leadership Team.

FESTIVALS OF INDUSTRY – SUN

Based on labour market information, SUN identified some industries where there was a real need for growth locally and two of these were Creative and Digital industries, and Engineering and Manufacturing industries. To give students the opportunity to gain experience of these areas, SUN hosted events called “Festivals of Industries”. These events bought together local employers from the SUN region to host interactive workshops for students in Year 9 and 10. Each employer setting students a mini-project to work on in teams, which they then shared with their cohort at the end of the day. Employers also provided more information about their work in the sector, and what a typical day might look like for them. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have moved these virtually, with employers providing videos and setting projects virtually for students to work on.

VIRTUAL WORK EXPERIENCE – Go Higher West Yorkshire

Following the outbreak of coronavirus and the required adaptation of work practices, thousands of young people are at risk of losing out on careers education activity, including experiences of the workplace. The risk of the divide indicated by the Youth Employment Census is at risk of growing wider. Employers are similarly losing out on opportunities to develop their skills pipeline and attract future talent, thereby potentially exacerbating future skills gaps in the region. In response to this, Leeds City Region LEP in partnership with Go Higher West Yorkshire developed interactive Virtual Work Experience resource, featuring filmed workplace tours, employee ‘spotlight’ videos & a sector challenge project. The resource, aimed at Year 9 students upwards, gives young people the opportunity to prepare for the world of work and allow employers across the region to attract & engage with the next generation of talent. The resources are based on the key skills growth areas in the Leeds City Region (construction, manufacturing, health-tech and digital/creative) and nationally. The resources feature a range of professional and management role models from a variety of background describing their HE journeys, the challenges they face and the essential skills required to do their job. This innovative project developed in response to the pandemic and schools/employers demand, showcases the dynamic work happening across many key industry sectors and provides the opportunity for young people from all backgrounds to gain essential work experience and progression skills, knowledge and confidence.

EXPLORE YOUR FUTURE: MY WEEK OF WORK – NEACO

Explore Your Future is a week of online activities to help year 10 students explore the world of work. Featuring daily live sessions with a variety of employers and a suggested timetable of asynchronous content, the programme guides students to research careers, learn about labour market information, plan next steps and receive tips and insights into the working world. Flexibility is a key element of the programme design, with schools able to attend the whole or part of the week and access the recorded sessions on neaco’s website after the event in order to make the week as accessible as possible for students with potential technology issues and to accommodate schools timetables and priorities. Open to Norfolk target schools, the programme supports them to reach their Gatsby benchmarks (3-7) with an additional project for a smaller number of schools (Gatsby 6) Explore Your Future was created and piloted in July 2020 in response to Covid-19 and the associated absence of work experience opportunities. The programme was supported by Norfolk County Council and the Careers and Enterprise Company, and included some employer videos. 2628 unique visitors accessed the online content. This years Explore Your Future is running May 2021.

SCHOOL RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT – Shaping Futures

School relationship management has been a key component in ensuring that Shaping Futures has maintained a level of school engagement across the Liverpool City Region during the Covid-19 pandemic. Adaptability and an innovative approach have been essential for continuing to provide delivery in a period of school closures, reduced available engagement time and remote working. School engagement has altered to fit these changing circumstances. A new framework for activity and evaluation has led to engagement that focuses on 3 key themes and aims to provide a well-rounded and sustained package of support for priority schools and colleges. A new resource website has complimented this approach. Both developments have supported the management of school and college relationships. In addition, the introduction of a school relationship management scale has provided a reference point, and method for considering and improving relationships in a more strategic way. This case study will outline the changes in approach to school relationship management undertaken this year, considering the framework of activity and new methods of delivery that have supported this. Specific examples will illustrate how relationship management has supported sustained school engagement under the current circumstances.

CREATIVE COLLABORATION WITH SCHOOLS – Higher Education Outreach Network

As we are delivering more and more activities on-line, we have been encouraging a more collaborative approach within each school, rather than historically liaising through one advisor only. This approach is taken in many ways, always starting first with our point of contact but then actively involving HODs, HOYs or Subject leads. The engagement from additional staff has been mainly initiated through the design and delivery of our on-line mentoring classes however this has further developed into teachers contributing during activities and taking an active role in the engagement of their students. Once the ‘buy in’ commences, this often follows with increased communication, and ideas and opportunities being raised at internal school meetings. This has raised the profile of the Uni Connect Programme and HEON within the school/college, leading to increased recognition of the benefits (as well as take-up) of sustained & progressive programmes of delivery. This has given us more opportunity to present during curriculum times, high student engagement and further opportunities given from the professionals engaged once they see the benefits from our programme.

AIMHIGHER COLLABORATIVE WORKING GROUPS – Aimhigher West Midlands

At Aimhigher we have developed a range of focussed, collaborative working groups to enable us to meet our targets and, more importantly, support young people across the West Midlands. We recognise the importance of consulting with young people and run a Student Voice working group to find out what really works. Student representatives in Year 9-12 from schools across our partnership meet to share their feedback and input into future developments. We also recognise the importance of supporting young people’s key influencers. During the pandemic our Parents & Carers and Teachers & Advisers working groups have been working hard to adapt Aimhigher’s offer and ensure these key groups remain supported. Recently we engaged over 130 parents and carers at a live after-school webinar focussed on supporting the transition from Year 11 and have several more events booked for the remainder of the academic year. We believe that our collaborative partnership approach and our adaptability have been key in making a success of these events.

SUBJECT SATURDAYS – GROWS

A range virtual experiences for Year 10 & 11 enabling learners to get a hands-on experience of a range of subjects linked to HE and careers. Each session is run by academics, leading graduate employers, HEI’s and local businesses with additional GROWS careers and courses advice particular to the subject being covered. Excellent feedback from attendees (8.9 out of 10) and an increase in likelihood to go to University (from 7 out of 10 before the event to 8 out of 10 after) In addition a 34 percentage point increase in knowledge of the qualifications needed to their career of choice. Overall 97% felt studying a university level course was a good thing to do (up 17% from the pre-evaluation).

YOU CAN – HeppSY

You Can builds on the key successes of He Cand and She Can – HeppSY’s headline projects for targeted male and female students. You Can is an 8 module interactive digital product that includes a management information reporting function on student usage and automatic register completion linked to HEAT. The case study will showcase the modules, the MIS system and the approach to evaluation.

CONFIDENCE TO ARGUE – Study Higher

The Confidence to Argue programme is a partner university project aiming to build Year 10 pupils’ confidence to produce good spoken arguments. Research literature demonstrates a link between oracy and confidence and educational outcomes, and the NERUPI framework identifies confidence and critical thinking as key elements of habitus and skills capital that influence likelihood to access higher education. The narrative evidence and Theory of Change identified a need. To address this gap, last year we collaborated with an academic in Philosophy and a teacher cum stand-up comedian to develop a workshop and conference programme. It culminated in a challenge to formulate and present the best group argument, with real money at stake going towards whatever the winning argument said. The current year’s programme has been redeveloped for remote delivery, including live webinars, a resource toolkit, and later in the year an online competition. This presentation outlines our experiences and learning in building and deploying this programme.