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Widening Participation - Why?. In the UK parental wealth overwhelmingly remains the predominant factor in determining a child’s academic achievement. Just 24% of school children receiving free school meals achieved the benchmark 5A*–C grades at GCSEs – less than half the average rate.
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Widening Participation - Why? • In the UK parental wealth overwhelmingly remains the predominant factor in determining a child’s academic achievement. • Just 24% of school children receiving free school meals achieved the benchmark 5A*–C grades at GCSEs – less than half the average rate. • At the same time just 16% of young people on free school meals progress to university, compared with 96% from independent schools.
The Leaky Pipe • Disadvantage starts to effect academic attainment at a very early age. By age seven those who are in the bottom quartile of parental income but the top quartile of IQ will have been overtaken academically by those in the top quartile of parental income but the bottom quartile of IQ. • The missing 360,000 -Those who are in the top 20% in their school age 11-14 but subsequently drop down. • The missing 3,000 - Those individuals who leave school at 18 with the grades to enter a Russell Group institution but don’t enter one!
Why Inspire is needed • The crucial age is 11-16. This is when children lose interest in applying for Higher Education and this is when they often make bad choices that preclude them from applying later. • The only body that provided unbiased information, advice, and guidance (IAG) to children at this age was AimHigher which has now been cut. • Government expects Universities to provide outreach, but they are not equipped. They tend to focus on a subset of 16-18 yr olds who are going to apply anyway. They often look to recruit, rather than sustain the aspiration of those who may not have thought of applying.
From 2012 tuition fees will be £9000 per year– creating a big disincentive for students from low income families which are often much more adverse to taking on large debts. • Warwick runs some good schemes, but with AimHigher cut, Inspire should and will expand.
Introduction to the project • Partnership between Warwick SU and Teach First. • Access to education as an important part of a Student Unions’ strategy. • Started 2 years ago by my predecessor Mo Surve who went on to found a similar project at LSE. • It takes Warwick students into schools with some of the most disadvantaged young people in the region. The schools Inspire goes into have disproportionally high numbers of children on free school meals which sadly translates into very low rates of continuation into Higher Education
The scheme consists of an number of days in which we send out several minibuses to the schools full of Warwick Students. • We will be working mainly with children from years 7-11. • At the schools the students will work with Teach First staff to run workshops that get the children to think about applying to Higher Education. They also discuss their life as a Warwick Student and their perceptions of the University experience.
Workshops– Road Map Exercise • Aim: think about the options available to you, where you want to be in the future and what you need to do to get there. • Looking at University courses. • Looking at what it takes to get to University. • Making pledges to achieve pupils goals. • Hurdles and sign posts.
Our Volunteers – Student days exercise • Aim: to get a realistic picture of the variety of experiences student life offers and the responsibilities of having this independence • Getting to know each other • Comparing University and school life
Project Benefits Schools • Challenging schools with few University links benefit from new partnerships. • School pupils receiving face to face advice and guidance. • Opportunity for all school pupils to benefit from role models! • Schools involved are very grateful the opportunity. Students • Develop skills and experiences useful when applying for jobs or further study. • Chance to make a difference and give something back to the community. • Flexible and minimal time commitment. • All participants will receive a certificate and will be encouraged to apply for the Warwick Advantage Award.
Who should apply? • Anyone! - We aim to take a full minibus to each session and we would love a wide range of students from across our diverse student body. • Undergraduates and postgraduates from any discipline are more than welcome to apply. As long as you have an interest in the scheme and that you are willing to try and inspire local school pupils.
The Application Process • You can apply from today at www.warwicksu.com/inspire • The deadline for applications is 15/02/11 • All you have to do is fill in your details, write 150 words or less on why you want to take part, and indicate whether you are available for at least 2 of the school visit days and the training session. • Depending on the numbers that apply there may be a short and very informal interview with myself and another Sabbatical Officer. This will depend on whether we have more applications than places which may not be the case.
The Key Dates • Deadline for applications – Tuesday 15th February • Training – 6pm, Wednesday 23rd February • School Visits • Wednesday 2nd March • Wednesday 9th March • Wednesday 16th March • Wednesday 23rd March • There will be extra sessions in June. The exact dates have not been finalised with schools and will depend on the numbers applying.
Inspire + • Inspire has worked the last few years exclusively in the Birmingham area because this is where Teach First operate in the Midlands. This year’s visits will be to the same schools. • However, Warwick SU received extra funding for the project this year and we hope for the first time to be able to visit schools in Coventry and Leamington that are equally disadvantaged. • Work will be needed to build up the relationship with these schools and gain the trust of the staff and students. • Furthermore Warwick SU will have to develop it’s own workshop materials with the support of Warwick Volunteers.
Inspire + • This extra arm of the project will be called Inspire + and will involve meetings with myself and some SU and Warwick Volunteers staff, planning, and possible visits to schools outside the dates agreed with Teach First. • Nevertheless, the time commitment needed will be kept reasonably low to avoid impacting on academic work • This will be an exciting opportunity to build on Inspire’s success and reach out to more schools that would be very grateful for Inspire visits. • If you’d like to get involved with Inspire + then tick the box on the online application form and I will be in touch shortly to tell you the details of a planning meeting.
Are you ready to inspire the next generation of University students?
