Aimhigher Healthcare Strand General Information

May 2007 - Issue 40 ebulletin contents: Welcome Aimhigher Healthcare Strand General Information Events Alternative Formats eBulletin Action on Access

Welcome Welcome to the May edition of the Action on Access ebulletin which focuses on the work of the Aimhigher Healthcare Strand. The Healthcare strand is a unique part of the Aimhigher programme, joint funded by the Hefce and the Department of Health to improve, increase and widen participation in higher education by young people and young adults interested in careers in the health and care sector. Like the Aimhigher programme nationally, the strand works particularly with those groups who are under-represented in higher education, e.g. seeking to address the marked gender differences in some healthcare professions.

The Healthcare programme is organised regionally but with projects and interventions delivered both regionally and locally, often integrated with locally-originating healthcare Aimhigher projects or other healthcare funding initiatives. The strand, with the added Department of Health funding, is able to add health and care sector skills councils, area health authorities, hospital trusts and hospitals to the more usual partners in Aimhigher work. This has resulted in a very work-force and employer-engaged focus to the work, with a massive involvement of health care professionals and significant curriculum development, as is illustrated in this edition of the bulletin.

There is a conference for the strand being planned for November with two main objectives; to ensure that colleagues working in the strand separated across the regions can come together to share and discuss their work; and also so that this particular strand of the Aimhigher programme can be brought to the attention of others working to widen participation. That there is much that WP colleagues can learn from this developed strand of work is evidenced by the wide range of interventions reported in this bulletin. We hope that the conference in November will highlight many more examples of the work of the strand and will reward all who attend.

I hope you will find the information in this bulletin about the Healthcare strand interesting. The strand managers are a committed and innovatory group who have provided information for this bulletin and are organising the November conference as well as delivering their own programmes. Please get in touch with the Healthcare strand regional contacts for more information. You will find contact details on the Aimhigher Practitioner website at http://www.aimhigher.ac.uk/practitioner/who_s_who_/regional_contacts/healthcare_projects.cfm We are also pleased to share the responses we had to Jed O’Neil’s discussion paper, ‘Aimhigher, widening participation, social inclusion and social justice post 2008’, which we featured it in our April ebulletin, and hope you will check these out on our website. If anyone has other comments to make please send them in so we can add them to the discussion.

Andrew Rawson Deputy Director, Action on Access

Aimhigher Healthcare Strand Aimhigher Greater Manchester: Pathways to Healthcare Vic Leyden, Progression Project Manager, Aimhigher Greater Manchester, [email protected]

A programme of activities and events for young people has taken place in Greater Manchester as part of the Pathways to Healthcare Project and the national healthcare strand - Open Road Programme.

Twenty eight students from schools in Salford are taking part in the ‘Open Road Programme’ run by Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust (SRHT) and Aimhigher Greater Manchester. The programme is being undertaken as part of their GSCE Health and Social Care and BTEC First Diploma in Applied Science courses.

The programme brings the curriculum to life with staff from SRHT talking to students about subjects like diabetes, weight management, pathology and infection control; visits by the students to hospital departments such as the Cardio-Respiratory laboratory to see how tests for various diseases are carried out and a week’s work experience in various hospital departments such as Midwifery, Pharmacy and Medical Physics for each student. Students will go on taster days throughout the programme to experience the vast career opportunities available to them within the NHS and also take part in Higher Education Taster Sessions.

The Pathways to Healthcare project has engaged students, parents and teachers in a series of events. Among those, Higher Education Progression Days designed specifically around Level 2 Health and Social courses. This has enabled students to not only get a better idea of university life but to see how it relates to courses they are studying right now. Other progression days have taken place for Healthcare Science and Early Years.

In order to address some of the issues highlighted in the press regarding difficult times in the NHS, a “Parents Guide to Careers in Healthcare” was hosted at The Oldham College. Speakers from both the local PCT and NHS Hospital Trust gave a true picture of recruitment issues within the NHS, followed by advice and guidance from the Widening Participation Lead for the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of Salford.

The project is looking forward to hosting a Discovery Day in July that will include sessions from the NHS, Social Care, Children’s Workforce and Justice. The event aims to show students how these organisations engage with each other and inspire them to progress into further and higher education related to the diverse roles.

Health Professions Strand: London Region Jon Parry, [email protected]

It’s been a busy spring and summer term. We have held health fairs in boroughs across the London region. Of particular significance was the “fair” we organised jointly with SKILL for 40 students with disabilities from the London area. This was held at Kings College and workshops included Nursing, Pharmacy, Complementary Medicine and Medicine. We have completed our DVD on Fair Admissions to the Health Professions. This is a Staff Development tool and is aimed at Admissions, Academic and Advice staff in HEIs but will also be of value to teachers in schools and colleges. It looks at Aspirations, Preparations, Admissions, Progressions, Support and Success.

There is an introductory section where clinical practitioners highlight existing under-representation and discuss widening participation policies and in the final section HEI interviewers reflect on their own performances and give insights into their understanding of widening participation. We hope that staff, whether academic practitioners or WP professionals will find this resource of value in the development of future strategies, policies and practices.

It includes notes and training exercises that those involved with Staff Development can use for internal training purposes. It is available, free of charge, from Jon Parry, Royal Veterinary College, Royal College Street, London NW1 0TU. [email protected]

The Healthcare Strand in the South West Shelley Rider, Aimhigher Regional Healthcare Co-ordinator, [email protected]

What a roller coaster ride it’s been in the SW. We started in 2004/5 and were very green. Two years on there is a whole range of activity ranging from taster days, subject enrichment classes and materials, summer schools and e-mentoring projects.

We started by hosting a drama production “The NHS and U” by the Impact theatre group. This really opened up schools to our activities and they became interested in what we had to offer. We followed up by offering more tailored sessions to suit their needs.

Taster days have been extremely popular enabling young people to develop interest in going to university and generating discussion about what’s on offer in Healthcare.

The allied healthcare professions are about doing practical tasks and our activities have presented information in a practical and active way. For example, the Experiments Roadshow offers three practical hands on activities in radiography, physiotherapy and clinical skills.

Similarly curriculum enhancement activities take a practical approach and Sessions simulate sight difficulties and let young people experience what it’s like to have Parkinson’s disease or another disabling illness.

The Healthcare strand is about tackling disadvantage; our “Boys into Health” events promote positive images to encourage boys to choose a career in Health.

There is a host of other activities, work with adults, and those in the workplace, work with teachers and careers advisors and a range of information on pathways and routes into health. Two years on we really are further ahead but it seems as if we’ve only just started.

Aimhigher East Midlands Healthcare Gail Millar, Healthcare Projects Coordinator (tel.: 01509 222425, email: [email protected])

Boys into Healthcare Science The Aimhigher East Midlands Healthcare strand has been successful in securing funding from the DfES Gateways to the Professions Development Fund for a new scheme entitled “Boys into Healthcare Sciences.” The bid was developed to bring together many of the science initiatives already in existence throughout the region, to raise aspirations of young males towards Healthcare and Bioscience professions. It is also anticipated that the scheme will help raise attainment of participants in GCSE science and future uptake of post-16 subjects and relevant higher education. The project will offer 750 young males from schools across the region a free scheme of healthcare science activities, including:  Sessions delivered by Healthcare Science Ambassadors in participating schools to introduce real life role models to combat misconceptions about healthcare careers  A visit to a Healthcare or Bioscience department of an east midlands university to address misconceptions about higher education, find out more about financial support available and gain insight of academic and social aspects  An interactive session at BioKneX, Nottingham, to explore the practical element of Healthcare Science professions delivered in a industrial environment

Activities will be supported with student information packs and teacher support packs. These will integrate the scheme into school science lessons curriculum and will be utilised between external project sessions and long after the scheme has completed. This project will also compliment the wider Aimhigher East Midlands “Boys into HE” project.

Guide to Health & Social Care Careers in the East Midlands Many people don’t realise the variety of careers and job opportunities there are in Health and Social Care, and there is still a widespread perception that the NHS is only about “Doctors and Nurses.” A guide has been produced by Aimhigher East Midlands Healthcare to help students discover the wide range of career opportunities and qualifications available in the areas of health and social care, and also to find out about ways to work towards the career of their choice.

The guide has been produced with input from HEI admissions tutors, Skills for Care and various practitioners working in Health and Social Care across the East Midlands.

The guide is a taster of all of the information available on the featured careers, including:  A selection of careers and jobs in Allied Health Professions, Healthcare Science and Social Care  Courses and qualifications at various levels including higher education  The benefits of working in Health & Social Care, key information for any students with a disability considering a career in any of the profiled careers, and details about financial support you can access while studying and sources for further careers information  A directory to point students to where they can find out more about specific courses they are interested in

Encouraging potential students to think about the career opportunities in the health & social care sectors, the guide gives information and advice and also answers some of the important questions they may have.

For more information about the Healthcare Strand in the East Midlands contact Gail Millar, Healthcare Projects Coordinator (t:01509 222425 e:[email protected]) or visit the Aimhigher East Midlands website: www.aimhigher-eastmidlands.ac.uk

Aimhigher North East Healthcare Strand Ann Howe, Aimhigher NE Healthcare Strand Co-ordinator, [email protected]

Supporting higher level skills in the North East The Aimhigher North East Healthcare Strand is supporting the development of a regional framework for the existing workforce who do not hold professional qualifications, but whose job roles require increasingly higher levels of skill. This framework will provide identified vocational progression pathways within key shortage areas.

Working closely with the North East Centre of Vocational Excellence in Health, which is a partnership led by the North East Strategic Health Authority, Aimhigher has committed resources to the areas of mental health and disability, endoscopy and haemodialysis. All are making substantial progress in putting in place the learning opportunities which will enable employees to move through Level 3 into higher level work. Partnerships with local universities are leading to higher level skills programmes which combine workplace learning with modular study.

In dentistry, the focus is on CPD for dental nurses, recognising and accrediting current competency, and developing new learning programmes for higher level skills. In addition, a pathway is being developed for dental nurses to enable progress from Level 3 to the HE level required for hygienists and therapists.

Similar work is underway in the field of mental health and disability. The need to attract more entrants into this work is also being supported by Aimhigher in the development of a drama-based tool to raise awareness in schools and colleges of potential career opportunities in an increasingly high-skill area of healthcare.

Aimhigher Healthcare Strand in the East of England Lesley Thompson, Project Director Aimhigher Healthcare Strand in the East of England, [email protected]

At a time when the headlines are full of financial problems and even redundancies in the NHS, it might seem strange to be encouraging young people to consider opportunities in this area. However, this is certainly not the full story. Demographics demonstrate that most healthcare practitioners will be retiring within the next ten years and there is a real need right now for young people to take up jobs in social care. The jobs in the health and care sectors are also changing with new roles being developed. Young people will definitely be needed! It is therefore appropriate that in the East of England we are busy supporting young people to consider and train at a higher level for work in Health and Care. There is currently a range of activities around widening participation in higher education through healthcare projects taking place around the region, with support from Aimhigher East of England Healthcare Strand.

From Apprenticeship to higher education qualifications Currently a regional apprenticeship project is being funded jointly with Skills for Health, the Sector Skills Council. It aims to produce an information toolkit to promote and support the development of apprenticeships in the sector including case studies and regional contact details. A pack will be created which outlines how to set up an Apprenticeship and identifies the benefits from an employer, learner, provider and HE perspective.

In addition, some individual projects are being supported on a pilot basis including a pre-nursing bridging course at Cambridge Regional College which is being developed as a progression route for Advanced Apprentices to Year 2 of the Nursing Diploma and the investigation of an Advanced Apprenticeship for Healthcare assistants led by West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust working with West Suffolk College.

14-19 work and pre Society, Health and Development Diploma preparation In Norfolk a U-Can initiative is being led by Great Yarmouth College, a Care Centre of Vocation Excellence (COVE). The initiative provides curriculum enrichment and awareness raising activities to selected Health and Social Care and Science students in local secondary schools providing the opportunity to meet and find out more directly from people working in the sector.

In various locations across the region, support is being given to the development work being undertaken in preparation for the introduction of the Society, Health and Development Diploma. Only two partnerships in the region are likely to start delivery in September 2008 but there is an ongoing need to build links with employers to ensure that delivery of this and other health and care courses for young people is as relevant and exciting as possible. We are drawing together some of the lessons learned, and good practice established, in engaging health employers in working with local schools and colleges in providing work experience, offering visits etc. Again, working jointly with the Sectors Skills Councils, the production of good practice guides is planned. NHS and Care Ambassadors

Changes to the Strategic Health Authority have impacted upon the NHS Ambassadors programme, a scheme whereby healthcare practitioners act as ambassadors for their profession to young people in school or college. The Care Ambassadors scheme is funded directly by Skills for Care which operates in a similar way, and plans are now underway to consolidate and develop the Health Ambassadors programme with a view to a future joint regional approach to both these schemes.

E mentoring There are now five e mentoring programmes operating across the region using the Brightside Trust’s Bright Journals system (www.brightjournals.org). Health and Care professionals and/or current HE or FE students are recruited to act as e mentors to FE or school students to encourage and inspire children interested in progressing in health and care studies and occupations.

Health and Care Summer Schools The Healthcare Strand is supporting two planned summer schools focusing on Health and Care – one in Luton, led by the Luton and Bedfordshire Aimhigher Area Partnership and one in Thurrock, led by Thurrock Borough Council.

UCAS Examine Your Future Event The Aimhigher East of England Healthcare Strand is currently offering to support those who might be interested in attending the UCAS Examine Your Future event due to take place in June at the Business Design Centre in Islington. It is a joint UCAS and NHS Careers event aimed at students in Year 10, 11 and 12 who might be interested in finding out more about the 300+ occupations available in the NHS and there will be talks, exhibitions, workshops and advice on hand on a wide range of relevant subjects.

Conferences There is to be a conference convened jointly by the East, London and South East Healthcare Strands in London on 6 June: Widening Participation in Health: Who Cares? This conference will examine the importance of widening participation in the Higher Education sector and the Health sector workforce. For further details contact: Hannah Croall [email protected]

A regional East of England conference is taking place on 25 June in Cambridge, ‘Raising Aspirations and Growing the Workforce.’ This event will focus on engaging young people in Health and Social Care and will showcase some of the projects that have been funded from the Healthcare Strand. For further details contact Lesley Thompson: [email protected]

Aimhigher West Midlands Healthcare Strand David Round, Vocational Routes Co-ordinator, Aimhigher West Midlands, [email protected]

Healthcare e-mentoring in the West Midlands Keele University is heading up a regional healthcare strand programme bringing together five of the regions universities to deliver a healthcare e-mentoring programme, supported by Aimhigher and The Brightside Trust (www.thebrightsidetrust). The programme provides learners who are interested in a career in the healthcare sector with an undergraduate student e-mentor. The e- mentors are all current undergraduates studying medicine and healthcare related programmes at one of the five partner universities. Their role is to offer friendly advice and guidance, to share their experiences of preparing for university and to provide the learners with strategies to enable them to achieve their goals. E-mentoring is an excellent means of delivering relevant IAG tailored to the needs of the learner, without the physical and geographical barriers of traditional face-to-face mentoring. The online interaction between mentor and mentee is facilitated through The Brightside Trust’s Bright Journals e-mentoring portal (www.brightjournals.com). Bright Journals is a national programme and is currently being used by more than 30 HEIs and over 300 schools and colleges. Working with the healthcare strand has enabled Keele University to develop its own unique model of e- mentoring; combining online interaction with a series of enrichment activities including university career days, work experience placements and specialist admissions workshops. Keele has also noted the benefit of mentoring learners through the transition period into university and so the programme will be continuing to support mentees through the first semester of university.

The popularity of the healthcare e-mentoring network has been tremendous with over 20 schools and colleges signing up to members. This has led to 250 learners successfully enrolling onto the first cohort. Recruitment for the second cohort is due to take place in September for which there is already a waiting list.

So far, the feedback from young people and widening participation co-ordinators in universities has been extremely positive, showing that this creative approach to raising aspirations, increasing interest and uptake in crucial healthcare subjects is really having an impact on learners.

Healthcare CARD The Healthcare CARD is a sister pilot programme to the HE CARD scheme which is offered in the West Midlands region. It differs from the HE CARD in that it is currently focusing exclusively on vocational students in FE who are following Health and Social Care programmes. The Healthcare CARD operates across the whole of the region and is now offered at 13 FE colleges, following a successful pilot in 2005-2006. The ‘delivery’ partners in the programme include most of the providers of HE-level healthcare courses in the West Midlands, the Regional Health Authorities and UCAS/NMAS. Students on the programme also participate in a session on ‘goal mapping’, provided by an external provider.

The Healthcare CARD ‘promise’ differs from the HE CARD in one key respect: because of the role of the NHS as the purchaser of healthcare education and training, HEIs are not able to guarantee a place on a course for successful students. The promise therefore focuses on the opportunities that the programme offers to explore learning and careers routes, obtain specialist advice and guidance and prepare for applying to HE. Students can currently select from a programme of 53 inreach and outreach activities (tasters, master classes, advice and guidance sessions etc.) delivered by 9 regional HEIs and others. The programme covers many of the HE- related healthcare disciplines (nursing, midwifery, medicine, radiography, podiatry, mental health nursing, physiotherapy, social work) and a number of more general health and social care sessions.

Over 600 students from all sub-regions in the West Midlands region are currently enrolled on the programme. The Healthcare CARD is co-ordinated by the Vocational Routes Co-ordinator in the Aimhigher West Midlands office. For more information about the Healthcare CARD contact David Round, [email protected] or 01902 824185.

Mentoring Plus: Widening Participation in the Healthcare Sciences - University of Manchester

The Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences at the University of Manchester has developed a large scale mentoring scheme specifically aimed at targeting talented individuals from local inner city schools, and motivating them to consider a career in Medicine, Dentistry and other healthcare roles. The Mentoring Plus scheme recruits Year 9 pupils from schools in Manchester and Salford who have little or no family history of higher education and no workplace links to healthcare settings. Link teachers work closely with the scheme managers to nominate five pupils per school, each from social groups 4-7, who display a keen interest in pursuing a healthcare career for which university study is a prerequisite. Pupils are then matched with local doctors, dentists, pharmacists and other healthcare practitioners who have been trained as mentors on volunteering by the scheme.

The ‘Healthcare Mentors’ meet with the pupils on a one-to-one basis at their schools between September and May of Year 10, raising the pupils’ aspirations and awareness of healthcare careers and study routes. Many of these mentors are also able to arrange work shadowing experience for their mentees within the local hospitals and clinics. During Year 10 the Mentoring Plus scheme invites the mentees to attend a Medical and Human Sciences Awareness Day at the university, where mentees participate in hands-on activities such as prosthetic suturing, CPR, audiological tests and have opportunities to learn about the working lives of Midwives, Nurses, Doctors and other healthcare professionals. Pupils are chaperoned throughout the day by current Faculty students, allowing for informal discussion on university life.

If mentees are still keen to pursue a healthcare career by the end of Year 10, they filter onto the ‘Student Mentoring’ strand of the scheme, where they are allocated a current student of the Faculty as a volunteer mentor. Such students are trained by the scheme managers and matched to pupils according to their field of interest. Student mentors meet their mentee at school in much the same way as the Healthcare mentor did in Year 10, but the focus of the sessions is more closely centred around study skills, interview skills, necessary work experience, applications to FE and HE, university life and degree level expectations.

Once the mentees transfer to Further Education colleges or sixth forms in Manchester and Salford, their Student Mentor continues to meet with them at their new college, monthly throughout Years 12 and 13. This allows for a supportive friendship to develop and gives mentees the chance to learn how a current student copes with the demands of coursework and placements as they progress through their healthcare degree programme. The scheme encourages Student Mentors to invite their mentees to shadow them at a lecture, and to meet with them on university premises for some of their mentoring sessions in Years 12 and 13.

In Year 12, the Mentoring Plus mentees are invited to attend a residential Healthcare Summer School at the University of Manchester. This event gives mentees an opportunity to spend a longer amount of time at the university working in groups on a Problem Based Learning assignment, with the support of current students. Mentees also meet admissions tutors from various healthcare subjects and gain an understanding of the entry requirements for these oversubscribed courses. Mentees opt for a selection of available sessions, all delivered by members of academic staff, both within the university and the local teaching hospitals. At the end of the event, mentees present their PBL case to a panel of current medical students and the rest of the event attendees.

In Year 13, mentees make their applications to university, both Manchester and others, and are supported in writing their UCAS application by their student mentors. Mentees’ UCAS forms are highlighted to Faculty admissions tutors on receipt by the University of Manchester, and the Mentoring Plus managers forward a copy of their records for each applicant, detailing the level of their involvement in the scheme since Year 10, and their attendance at scheme events. Mentors’ comments are also taken into account when admissions tutors look at this portfolio of information. Mentees who have shown consistent commitment and motivation throughout the term of the Mentoring Plus scheme are automatically guaranteed an interview for the Faculty course of their choice (dependent on having the necessary predicted grades for entry). For further information on Mentoring Plus and other WP initiatives within the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences at the University of Manchester, please contact Sara Gonzalez or Sue Bates on 0161 275 / [email protected]. Please also visit www.whocares.manchester.ac.uk

General Information

Responses to ‘Aimhigher, widening participation, social inclusion and social justice post 2008’

Action on Access received several interesting responses to Jed O’Neil’s discussion paper, ‘Aimhigher, widening participation, social inclusion and social justice post 2008’, after we featured it in our April ebulletin. We have therefore created a page on our website so everyone can read the responses, visit: http://www.actiononaccess.org/?p=2_5_21

If you wish to join in the debate and submit a response for inclusion on this web page, please email it to [email protected]

Jed’s paper is still available to download from the Action on Access website. Visit: http://www.actiononaccess.org/download.php?f=643

Action on Access Director appears before the Education and Skills Select Committee

John Storan, Director of Action on Access was invited to attend the Education Select Committee on Wednesday 7 March to face sometimes gruelling questions from the members of the committee on WP. In briefing the committee on a range of operation issues and questions, John in highlighted the significant contribution that Aimhigher and higher education institutions were making. The evidence base, he argued, was accumulating at both national and regional level and year on year it was demonstrating how effective the Aimhigher programme had been over the relatively short period it had been operating in its integrated form. Aimhigher was a great success story and there was, for example, growing international interest in the way it worked and the impact it was having. He urged committee members to think more widely than the simple cause and effect approach to judging the impact of WP outreach programmes as these were addressing deep-seated highly complex and persistent socio/economic inequalities. This was a clear challenge for policy makers, funders, institutions and WP practitioners alike but one we shouldn't shy away from. There was a wide ranging discussion about the value for money of widening participation activities during which John stressed the need for a sustained national policy and funding approach to WP which recognised and better understood the systematic and evidence based approaches that are at the core of the national framework for WP represented, for example, by Aimhigher. John stressed the need for WP to be at the heart of the long term viability and sustainability of HE in the UK which is the overall theme of the committee's enquiry.

The committee were very positive on the question of the need to widen participation and address the participation of under-represented groups and were particularly keen to be given "evidence" that the money spent on WP was having a clear effect. The point was clearly made to the committee that WP is about a process of sustained change in the distribution of access to, and success in, HE for the groups targeted by Aimhigher. The net result of Aimhigher and higher education institution outreach was increasingly significant in helping to bring about this change.

Following the select committee session Action on Access agreed to submit a report to provide further evidence on specific questions which it had not proved possible to deal with fully during the oral session. These included for example the impact and effectiveness of WP interventions, particularly by Aimhigher partnerships and individual higher education institutions. Please find below the executive summary of this further written evidence with a link to the full report which is now on the Action on Access and Aimhigher Practitioner websites. We would like to thank all colleagues who were kind enough to contribute to both the briefing information for John and also the written evidence submitted subsequently.

Executive Summary:

1. The success and impact of widening participation, within the clear remit and objective to shift long term ingrained cultural disadvantage, is already beginning to be demonstrated, with higher percentage increases in participation in higher education from socio- economic groups 4-7 compared to those from socio-economic groups 1-3:

 Applications from socio-economic groups 4-7 have risen by 2.2% over the last five years (2002-2006), whilst the corresponding figure for the higher socio-economic groups has seen a decrease of 4.8%.  The proportion of young first degree students enrolling on higher education courses who come from socio-economic groups 4-7 has increased by 2.9 percentage points over the last five years (2002 to 2006), which is equivalent to an estimated increase of 6,000 students.

2. In the period 2002/03 to 2004/05:

 There has been a 3.8% point increase in the number of English-domiciled, first degree students from all categories of neighbourhood, compared to a 10.9% increase in the number of students from the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods.  This increase of 10.9% compares to the much smaller increase of 2.4% in the number of students from the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods.  Almost one third of the increase in student numbers has come from the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England.

3. There is a growing body of local, regional and national evidence on the positive effect of widening participation on raising aspirations:

 Aimhigher is significantly changing perceptions of HE for the better.  Aspirations to HE were 3.9% higher in Aimhigher: Excellence Challenge schools than in non-Aimhigher: Excellence Challenge schools.  Reports from teachers and young people, together with quantitative assessments, show a clear association between Aimhigher and stronger GCSE performance.

4. Widening participation has demonstrably:

 increased participation rates for the individuals, families and communities in the target groups,  influenced what is happening in the schools and colleges they attend,  and has had a cumulative effect by adding value to schools, colleges, communities and to collaborative and partnership working.

5. Widening participation interventions must be assessed in relation to the original overall purpose of policy – raising aspiration, contributing to raising attainment, contributing to increased participation rates particularly of identified target groups.

6. The increases in participation outlined in this report must be given further time to come through, not least because of the type of interventions employed, which have been shown to be most effective within a planned progressive, sequential and differentiated programme which reflects the needs of individual learners over a period of time. HEI programmes of interventions work alongside those of Aimhigher partnerships, leading to an approach that is new and which delivers activity coordinated between a number of partners. This approach can articulate that activity to government policy, whether it is policy on skills, vocational learning or personalised learning.

7. The early indications – the green shoots – of increased progression among target groups are clear and are encouraging. A re-focus on targeting and improved data collection and analysis will give a richer and even more positive picture over time.

Full Report: The full report is available to download from the Action on Access web site, visit: http://www.actiononaccess.org/download.php?f=657

Aimhigher Area Studies Report

The Aimhigher Area Studies report was published this week on the Aimhigher Practitioner Website, visit: http://www.aimhigher.ac.uk/practitioner/programme_information/monitoring_and_evaluation/3___ area_studies.cfm

In 2004 the Aimhigher Evidence Programme commissioned independent consultants EKOS Consulting to give a clear picture of how Aimhigher partnerships work, what ways of working are successful and how the programme could be more effective.

The consultants interviewed students, teachers, tutors and practitioners in 7 of the 45 Aimhigher area partnerships. The research found that Aimhigher is having a significant impact on young people’s aspirations and suggests that the following activities are particularly effective:  visits to higher education institutions, particularly residential visits  curriculum enrichment  mentoring  revision classes  support with writing applications.

The report emphasises the importance of a coherent sequence of activities for learners and recommends that Aimhigher partnerships take an increasingly cohesive approach to targeting their beneficiaries and to evaluating the impact of their work.

John Selby, Director of Widening Participation, HEFCE, said: ‘The Area Studies report was commissioned in 2004, to take place in 7 of the 45 Area partnerships. We expect that the partnerships will have developed their activities since this time. However the report will be of interest to Aimhigher partnerships to inform their own activities and enhance an appreciation for the processes taking place in other areas.’

Aimhigher East Midlands Boys into Higher Education As part of this project, Aimhigher East Midlands are putting together a repository of good practice from around the country. This will consist of case studies which will be accessible on our regional website (in a new ‘Boys into HE’ section) and available to Aimhigher and WP practitioners.

In particular, they are interested in capturing any events or activities that are either targeted specifically at boys or have proved very popular with boys. If you are involved in any such events or activities and would like to share them with them and other practitioners, please contact Neil Raven, Projects Manager, Aimhigher East Midlands, email: [email protected] Tel: 01509 223461. WP: the Changing FE Landscape

The Foster report and the subsequent Further Education White Paper, qualifications reform, and the strengthening of higher and further education partnerships through Lifelong Learning Networks and Aimhigher are together having an impact on the further education landscape. This event provided an opportunity for practitioners and partners in Aimhigher and associated widening participation programmes to be updated on the implications of national policy changes for further education and to share good practice. It also looked at how colleges are working with Aimhigher, Lifelong Learning Networks and higher education, and how the work is being embedded and built into the plans of further education colleges.

To download the speaker and workshop presentations visit: http://www.actiononaccess.org/? p=2_3_8

Events Action on Access Events:

Vocational Pathways for Young People and Adults - 15th May, Birmingham. A joint Foundation Degree Forward and Action on Access event focusing on information, advice and guidance on Foundation Degrees for those advising learners at any age, in school, college, the work-place and wider community. Further information

Embracing Diversity Seminar Series – Various dates and locations. The Higher Education Academy and Action on Access are running a series of four seminars in different locations to bring together staff with an active widening participation or diversity brief. These seminars will form part of the Academy’s Widening Participation Research Service and will assist the development of evidence-based practice as diversity and widening participation becomes increasingly important to HE institution’s mission and strategy. Further information

Other Events:

Learning after Leitch Conference Series:  Learning after Leitch: The roles of Higher Education in up-skilling the workforce - 24th May, London. This is aimed at senior managers and policy makers from the HE sector and will focus upon the strategic implications for HE, dissemination of existing good practice and exploration of ways forward for HEIs and employers in collaboration. Further information

Widening Participation in Higher Education 2007: Improving access, promoting progress routes and responding to new opportunities – 10th May, London. This important annual event will provide an assessment of the current situation and discuss trends, problems and solutions to widening participation. Further information

Beyond the Horizon: Mentoring by HE Students and Business People and the 14 to 19 Agenda – 15th & 16th May, Grantham. The conference is an opportunity for people involved in mentoring in higher education, and their partners in schools and colleges, to network on a national scale. It is also an opportunity for coordinators in EBPs involved in school-business mentoring to network and share good practice with their HE colleagues. Further information

Women in Lifelong Learning Network Conference: Gendered Choices and Transitions: part-time pathways, full-time lives – 19th May, London. The aim of the conference is to bring together practitioners, researchers, students, policy makers and academics to explore gendered choices and transitions in lifelong learning. Further information Aimhigher East Midlands Regional Dissemination Event – 23rd May, Melton Mowbray. The programme is currently being developed but we can announce that Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further Education will be presenting a keynote speech. A programme will be circulated as soon as possible. Further information

Enhancing the student experience in lifelong learning: research and practice – 24th May, Nottingham. Further information

Progression for Work-based Learners into Higher Education – 19th June, Bradford. Further information

Aspire Annual Conference - Motivating learners to meet the demands of the 21st Century – 20th June, London. Further information

Alternative Formats This ebulletin can be downloaded from the Action on Access website under ‘Resources’ then ‘Publications’. It is also available in large print, Braille and CD. Please call 01695 650 850 for alternative format versions. eBulletin

The June edition of this bulletin will focus on activities to increase employer engagement. Please send contributions for the June ebulletin to [email protected] by Friday 25th May.

The July edition of this bulletin will focus on activities with looked-after children and young care leavers. Please send contributions for the July ebulletin to [email protected] by Wednesday 27th June.

If you have received this indirectly and would like to be added to our mailing list, please email [email protected] with the subject line “ebulletin mailing”.

Action on Access Action on Access is the national co-ordination team for widening participation in higher education. We support the development, promotion and enhancement of social inclusion for the broadest possible access to higher education by:  working with institutions and key stakeholders across the higher education sector  working with partnerships including Aimhigher  working to promote inclusive approaches to disability within higher education We are funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland to whom we provide advice and feedback regarding widening participation.

The team is made up of sixteen advisors who are either based in universities and organisations across England or are independent consultants with extensive widening participation experience. Rhiannon Evans, Pro Vice-Chancellor Edge Hill University and John Storan, Director of Continuum, University of East London are Co-Directors and Andrew Rawson is Deputy Director and leads a central team of five specialist staff based at Edge Hill University.

Action on Access works in partnership with the Equality Challenge Unit and the Higher Education Academy to implement the disability strand of the widening participation strategy of the HEFCE. We provide a central point of contact through a helpdesk for disability advice and resources, and a “gateway” to other service providers. We provide advice, information and support to colleagues working to widen participation. Our advisers work both nationally and on a regional basis to support, disseminate and share best practice in widening participation. They provide direct advice and support to institutions, partnerships in particular Aimhigher, and other stakeholders. The central team supports the promotion and dissemination of good practice through conferences, publications, electronic distribution lists, events, and e-Bulletins and through the website.

Download our information leaflet and visit our team members web page.