What is ed lecture

Hey all! Yesterday we had lecture with Alice Davies who is involved with South West Wales Reaching Wider Partnership. She described Widening access (WA) as increasing opportunities for people from a diverse range of backgrounds to benefit from HE.  
Why?

• Social classes A, B and C1 dominate HE, and Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) shows that poverty persists.  
• black and ethnic minority communities
• disabled
• low income families
• looked after children and care leavers
• Communities first wards - WIMD (2000) looked at income, employment, health, education, housing, and access to services. Found that 100 areas were most deprived.

HEFCW (HE Funding Council Wales) and WA funding

• fee planning
• WA premium (disabled or low income)
• WE strategy funding
• Reaching wider - established in 2002 by HEFCW - to look after young people, deprived areas, care leavers, disabled, ethnic and welsh speakers

3 Regional partnerships: North and Mid, 1st campus North East and South East. Members: HE, FE, LEA's, carers wales, 3rd sector and communities 1st

Aims:

• encourge progression to HE
• assist achievement
• severe social advantage
• raise aspirations
• raise attainment

progressive programme

• primary > arts in action, STEM workshops (science)
• year 7 > literacy support
• year 9 > ACE days (Aiming for College Education), mentoring, saturday clubs and technocamps
• year 10 > spring school in uni for the comprehensive schools, STAR days (Study To Achieve Results), taste of uni or college life days and saturday clubs
• year 11 > GCSE revision, college taster days, study skills sessions and mentoring.
• year 12 > subject specific summer schools (law, modern foreign language through the medium of welsh and medical engineering), summer uni (4 weeks, range of subjects, skills for HE, 60 UCAS points/grade reduction), retention focussed activities, and insprational talks.
• year 13 > UCAS support for summer uni cohort 

Enhancing the undergraduate experience: work experience, paid work and volunteering, sign posting function and student residences in schools.

LAC (look after children) and care leavers: homework clubs, wellbeing courses, performing arts / communication workshops, talks to foster carers and social workers, and publications.

BME (black and ethnic minority) communities, gypsy and travellers, local community group > eyst (ethnic youth support team), african community centre.

Outcomes:

• GCSE results
• attendance
• retention in FE
• progression to HE
• impact measurement

Future:

• Contextual admissions? (your area, uni etc)
• more HE in FE?
• more part time study / distance learning?
• more adult education?