Widening Participation: The Role of Schools and Colleges 

Aim of session: 

To increase the understanding and subsequent implementation of the fundamentals of widening participation at a classroom level.  

Presenters: 

16:00 Welcome Address: Becky Tomkins. Project Lead GROWS Uni Connect Partnership 

16:10 The Brilliant Club: The positives and pitfalls of online outreach and learning for widening participation students

16:30 Reena Kaur: Widening Participation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students. 

16:50 Sarah Howls: Office for Students:  Making informed decisions: what works in higher education outreach.      

17:20 Grahame Atherton: NEON – Can we widen access to higher education without BTECs?     

17:40 Panel Q & A 

17: 50 Closing Address: James Seymour – University of Gloucestershire. Outlook on admission for WP students 

Schools and colleges play an important role in widening participation as these activities can be embedded into the academic calendar to ensure students are gaining a full picture of the higher education landscape during their time in compulsory education. It is becoming an increasing priority in schools to provide a stable careers education curriculum and support encounters with higher education providers to meet the Gatsby benchmarks. However, it is not just the responsibility of the careers leader in school to embed a culture of higher education progression in a school. All teachers and staff with a responsibility for young people have the power to influence the students they work so closely with and having an understanding of the higher education landscape can mean they are well placed to support young people in making informed decisions in their role.