Introduction Throughout Tranche 3, Next Steps South West (NSSW) Staff Worked Across Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset to Deliver A
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Activity Name NSSW Core Workshops Primarily delivered to Key Stage 4 students (pp. 2-8 of this report) Student Life; Level 3 Options Primarily delivered to Key Stage 5 students (pp. 8-19 of this report) Choosing an HE course; CV Writing; Higher & Degree Apprenticeships; Intro to HE; Personal Statements; Preparing for UCAS; Student Finance Date ≈250 individual workshops delivered throughout Tranche 3 (September 2018 – July 2019) Location 56 target schools and colleges across Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset (see schools involved) Total number of ≈13,000 Students students ≈6000 Key Stage 4 Workshops (Years 9, 10 and 11); ≈7000 Key Stage 5 Workshops (Year 12 and 13 and College Level 3 Learners) Number of target ≈3500 Students, 27% of total participants students (≈1500 Year 9, 10 and 11; ≈2000 Year 12 and 13) Schools involved Bishop Fox's School, Bridgwater & Taunton College, Bridgwater College Academy, Bucklers Mead Academy, Callywith College, Cape Cornwall School, Chilton Trinity, City College Plymouth, Clyst Vale Community College, Coombe Dean School, Cornwall College, Cullompton Community College, Eggbuckland Community College, Exeter College, Fowey River Academy, Great Torrington School, Haygrove School, Hayle Academy, Heathfield Community School, Hele's Trust, Holyrood Academy, Humphry Davy school, King Edward VI Community College (KEVICC), Marine Academy Plymouth, Mounts Bay Academy, Paignton Community and Sports College, Plymouth School of Creative Arts, Penrice Academy, Pilton Community College, Plympton Academy, Preston School Academy, Redruth School, Richard Huish, Richard Lander School, Robert Blake Science College, Scott College, Sir John Hunt Community Sports College, South Devon College, St Cuthbert Mayne School, St Ives School, Stoke Damerel Community College, Strode College, Teign School, Teignmouth Community School, The Blue School, The Castle School, The Ilfracombe Academy, The Spires College, Tiverton High School, Tor Bridge High, Torpoint Community School, Torquay Academy, Truro & Penwith College, West Somerset College, Whitstone School, Yeovil College Introduction Throughout Tranche 3, Next Steps South West (NSSW) staff worked across Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset to deliver a range of NSSW Core Workshops to target and non-target students in years 9-13 across 56 target schools. All sessions were designed to provide students with key information that would support them in understanding their HE options, facilitating their access to HE and addressing barriers to HE progression on the NSSW Theory of Change. The workshops run during Tranche 3 were led by the NSSW delivery team (Institutional Officers (IOs) and County Outreach Officers (COOs)), with many sessions supported by Student Ambassadors (SAs), who helped facilitate activities and provided additional information regarding their experiences of higher education. The majority of sessions were run as workshops with groups of students (~25 students per group), although some content was delivered as whole-year assemblies or presentations to larger groups, particularly for sessions such as ‘Level 3 Options’, and ‘Intro to HE’. As an integral part of the NSSW core offer during Phase 1, these sessions were offered to whole year groups in target schools. As a consequence, in Tranche 3 a mixture of target NSSW Core Workshops Report Tranche 3 Eleanor Hodgson (Evaluation Specialist) Page 1 NCOP students and non-target students engaged in sessions, enabling NSSW to support a large number of students (≈13,000) across all three counties, and ensuring engagement from a large number of target schools. Finally, it should be noted that two Careerpilot workshops (one focusing on Job Sectors with Key Stage 4 students, and one exploring HE skills mapping with Key Stage 5 students) also form part of the suite of core offer sessions delivered by NSSW staff. However, given the large volume of data collected for these workshops, and the distinct nature of these sessions as relying on the third-party resource, ‘Careerpilot’, these interventions have been analysed in a separate report. Aims The primary barrier addressed by NSSW Core Offer workshops is Knowledge of HE, as the sessions aimed to increase students’ understanding of and ability to access relevant higher education options. Some workshops had particular additional focus on the barrier of Finance, with others supporting students to develop their Soft Skills relating to career planning and writing applications or CVs. Given the diverse nature of the workshops, the individual aims for each one will be outlined in the respective sections of this report. Evaluation Design and Data Collection Evaluation of the Core Offer workshops discussed in this report consisted of asking students to complete a post-activity evaluation survey that was designed for each individual workshop, according to their content and aims, and which collected both quantitative and qualitative data for analysis. Overall, evaluation surveys were collected from 445 participants in Key Stage 4 workshops, and from 1011 participants in Key Stage 5 workshops, giving a total of 1456 evaluation surveys for the NSSW Core Offer workshops. Further information regarding each survey’s design and data collection will be provided in the individual sections of this report. Evaluation Results and Analysis The following sections present data from the different Core Offer workshops that were evaluated during Tranche 3. These workshops have been divided into two types, those primarily delivered to Key Stage 4 students (Student Life and Level 3 Options), and those delivered primarily to Key Stage 5 learners (Choosing an HE course, Personal Statements, Student Finance), with each section presenting data from the workshops Key Stage 4 Workshops Student Life The Student Life workshop, run primarily with Year 9 and Year 10 students, aimed to increase students’ understanding of the wider benefits of HE study and of student life and what to expect as an HE student. It thus primarily addressed the barrier of Knowledge of HE, although it also sought to raise students’ aspirations for HE study, thus also addressing the barrier of Socio- economic factors. The evaluation of this workshop, for which 66 responses were collected in Tranche 3, began by measuring students’ increase in their knowledge of student life and the wider benefits of HE study (Figure 1). NSSW Core Workshops Report Tranche 3 Eleanor Hodgson (Evaluation Specialist) Page 2 As a result of today's workshop... 80% 74% 68% 70% 59% 60% 52% 50% 40% 30% 23% 18% 18% 18% 20% 20% 14% 9% 8% 10% 2%2% 5%2% 3%2% 5%2% 0% I understand the different I can identify different I can identify aspects of I can make a more aspects of student life experiences available student life which appeal informed decision about during HE study through HE study to me whether HE study is for me Strongly agree Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly disagree Figure 1 – Students’ increased knowledge of student life 83% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they understood the different aspects of student life as a result of the workshop, with 77% agreeing that they could identify aspects of this that appealed to them. Furthermore, over three quarters (76%) agreed that they could identify experiences available to HE students, thus indicating that they had learned about the broader benefits of HE study. Finally, 72% of respondents felt they could make a more informed decision about their own HE progression after the session. This data suggests that the workshops successfully increased students’ understanding of student life and the benefits of HE study, helping to address the barrier of Knowledge of HE. Figure 2 shows the aspects of the Student Life session that students found most relevant. Which aspects of the day did you find most relevant to you? Hearing insights about student life from actual 29 students Finding out about the extra support services 17 available Finding out there is more to being a student than 27 just studying Thinking of accommodation and spending needs 35 Thinking about location and travel 39 Thinking about course types and study options 38 Figure 2 – Aspects of the workshop students found relevant It should be noted that for the data in Figure 2, students were able to select as many elements as they wished. Respondents selected an average of 2.8 aspects each, with over half of respondents (52%, N=34) selecting at least three elements. This indicates that students found many aspects of the workshop relevant, with particular interest shown in information regarding the location of HE courses (39 responses) and discussions focusing on course and study options (38 responses) and on accommodation and student spending (35 responses). These results suggest that the Student Life session also helps to address the barriers of Geography and Finance, dispelling any myths or helping students to question any concerns they may have regarding these barriers to HE progression. NSSW Core Workshops Report Tranche 3 Eleanor Hodgson (Evaluation Specialist) Page 3 One new element of evaluation of Core Workshops during Tranche 3 was the inclusion of some ‘knowledge test’ questions (multiple choice) to investigate whether students had retained key information covered during the sessions. Figure 3 presents the results from the ‘knowledge test’ question in the Student Life survey, and shows that the majority of respondents (87%) were able to correctly define the key term ‘Freshers’ Week’. From this data it can be suggested that the majority of participants in the Student Life workshops increased their Knowledge of HE (student life). Thinking back over the session, which of the following is a definition of 'Freshers' week'? A week of activities and social events to help you decide on your accommodation 8% A week of activities and social events to meet new people A week of exams to and find societies decide which to join subject you will 87% study 5% Figure 3 – Definition of the term ‘Freshers’ week’ In order to gather further evidence regarding what knowledge about higher education students had gained from the session, survey respondents were asked to provide two key points about student life that they had learned.