From: aimhigher [mailto:aimhigher@harrisoncowley.com] 
Sent: 21 February 2007 12:12
To: aimhigher
Subject: Aimhigher Practitioner Bulletin - February 2007

Welcome to the February edition of the Aimhigher practitioner bulletin, designed to provide all those working for Aimhigher with relevant programme news and details of national resources.

If you have any comments or suggestions on the content of the practitioner bulletin or website, or any other communications enquiries, please contact the National Communications Resource Team (NCRT) on 0117 929 7096 or email aimhigher@harrisoncowley.com.

February contents:
1. Summer schools funding confirmed for 2008-10
2. Targeting Task Group
3. HEFCE report on Foundation Degrees published
4. NCRT profile-raising activity
5. Aimhigher roadshow – Wreake Valley case study
6. Care Matters consultation 
7. Aimhigher Regional Director awarded an MBE
8. Higher Futures 4U – case study
9. Event – ‘Bridging the divide: Building effective progression agreements’
10. Aimhigher induction pack – updated version now available

1. Summer schools funding confirmed for 2008-10
HEFCE has announced that it will provide £10.5 million over the period 2008 – 2010 to continue and potentially expand the regional summer school programme.

In the recent review of widening participation undertaken by HEFCE for the DfES, 71 out of the 90 institutions that responded (79%) included summer schools in their list of the five most important activities, while 12 (13.3%) rated summer schools as the most important WP activity overall.

In light of their reported success and popularity, HEFCE has allocated £10.5 million to enable the summer schools to continue for a further two years after the current ESF funding ceases in August 2008. During each year (2008-09 and 2009-10), £1.75 million of the total funding will be used to support summer schools that are jointly funded by higher education institutions. If the funds are fully taken up, this could double the size of the current programme.

HEFCE has also issued a letter to regional leads and summer school co-ordinators regarding the collection and sharing of data relating to summer school participants. A copy of the letter can be downloaded from the following page of the practitioner website:
www.aimhigher.ac.uk/practitioner/programme_information/summer_schools.cfm

2. Targeting Task Group
At the request of Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell, HEFCE has convened a short term task group to develop good practice models to help Aimhigher partnerships and HE institutions effectively target their outreach activities, maximise impact and ensure value for money. Chaired by John Selby, Acting Director for Widening Participation at HEFCE, the group is comprised of representatives from schools, colleges, HEIs and Aimhigher partnerships – all of whom have relevant expertise in these areas.

The first meeting of the group took place on 24 January, at which key issues and good practice models were identified and discussed. Since this meeting, terms of reference have been finalised and key objectives and milestones agreed. Further information on the group’s activities, plus a list of members, is available by clicking on the link below:
www.aimhigher.ac.uk/practitioner/programme_information/about_aimhigher/targeting_task_group.cfm
The project continues to welcome comments and examples about the way in which individual schools and/or colleges target Aimhigher resources and activity. Please send information by email to c.leonard@hefce.ac.uk. 

3. HEFCE report on Foundation Degrees published
A new report describing the key characteristics of Foundation Degree programmes and students has been published by HEFCE. Drawing on statistics derived from the data sets collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and through the National Student Survey, the report covers the following:

-          Trends in student numbers
-          Programme characteristics
-          Attributes of students
-          Students’ feedback
-          Progression and qualification rates
-          Progression to further study and employment outcomes
-          Support from employers.

The report highlights that, in 2006-07, over 60,000 students are estimated to have registered, or be registered, on a foundation degree programme. 

With reference to the expectation that foundation degrees were to attract young people from a ‘broader range of backgrounds’ and provide an alternative route into HE, the evidence is highly encouraging on both counts. It was found that ‘young entrants included relatively high proportions of students from socio-economic backgrounds where participation in higher education is low’. While the background of mature entrants is unknown, it was identified that ‘many are entering with non-traditional qualifications and it seems likely that many of them would not have entered higher education at all without the development of foundation degrees’.

Click on the link below to download a copy of the report:
www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2007/07_03/

4. NCRT profile-raising activity
The NCRT is pleased to announce that Teachers’ TV has commissioned a series of three fifteen-minute programmes on Aimhigher, expected to air this autumn. The NCRT is working closely with Graeme Atherton of Aimhigher Central London to deliver the material for the series, which will help to raise the national profile of Aimhigher amongst the schools community. The series, which will be filmed in London and Barnsley, will include interviews with Aimhigher co-ordinators based in schools, as well as looking at a range of student activities and events.

Plans are also underway for a pilot roundtable debate in the North West. The debate will take place in central Liverpool on 19 March, and will bring together members of the target cohort, undergraduates and a representative from the media. The NCRT has also secured the attendance of Bill Rammell MP, the Higher Education Minister, who will be sitting on the panel and contributing to the debate. If the pilot event is successful, the NCRT aims to replicate the debate format in other Aimhigher regions.

Practitioners may have seen an article about Aimhigher in last Thursday’s Independent newspaper. The feature, entitled ‘Talking the dropouts round’, profiled a project in North Yorkshire which involves working with Relate counsellors to raise the aspirations of disaffected young people. The NCRT originally heard about this project at a seminar organised by Action on Access last year and subsequently worked with the local Aimhigher co-ordinator to develop a feature synopsis. This was successfully pitched to Lucy Hodges at the Independent earlier this month and a series of telephone interviews arranged with key spokespeople. Click on the link below to download a copy of the article:
www.aimhigher.ac.uk/sites/practitioner/news/aimhigher_in_the_national_news.cfm 

If you have information relating to a project, activity or student success story that might be of interest to the national media, please contact the NCRT on 0117 929 7096 or email aimhigher@harrisoncowley.com. 

5. Aimhigher roadshow – Wreake Valley case study
This month Wreake Valley Community College in Leicester organised an Aimhigher Day which included several additional HE sessions to compliment the visit of the Aimhigher roadshow. The roadshow facilitator, Shona Mathew, commented on its success: 
 
“The Wreake Valley roadshow worked extremely well. The whole day was used as an opportunity for Year 9 students to research their options for the future, in particular focusing on the benefits of Higher Education. As well as attending the roadshow trailer experience, students took part in sessions with Connexions advisors, Loughborough University students and sixth form students from their own school.
 
Students were given work booklets at the beginning of the day, which they used to record information that they collected during all of the different sessions. The booklets also included examples of questions they could ask, to encourage them to interact fully throughout the day’s events.
 
This was a brilliant day and had an amazing impact on all the students who attended. They left having actively learnt loads about university and higher education, empowering them to make informed choices about their futures. Groups of selected Year 9 students from two other local schools also attended the roadshow, which was fantastic. It was a well-organised day; a really positive event for the students and it was great to be part of it!”

To check when the Aimhigher roadshow is due to visit your area, click on the link below:
www.aimhigher.ac.uk/sites/practitioner/programme_information/roadshow/2006_07_schedule.cfm 

6. Care Matters consultation
The consultation on the Green Paper – ‘Care Matters: Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People’ – has now closed and the DfES would like to thank those individuals and organisations who responded.

The results are currently being analysed and a response will be published in the Spring. The DfES will then set out how they are taking the Green Paper policies forward in a document to be published in the Autumn. 

Four working groups were also set up following the publication of the Green Paper and these will report back in March. The four groups are looking at:

-          Reform of placements 
-          Social care practices 
-          Best practice in schools 
-          The future of the care population 

If you would like to draw the attention of the working groups to any particular issue, please email carematters.workinggroups@dfes.gsi.gov.uk. 

7. Aimhigher Regional Director awarded an MBE
Dr Viv Wylie, Director of Aimhigher West Midlands, has been awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List. Viv was presented with the accolade in recognition of her work and long-term commitment to higher education and widening participation. In addition to her regional role, Viv is also the lead advisor on partnerships for Action on Access. 

Of the award she said: “I count myself very lucky in having such a supportive institution [University of Wolverhampton] and loads of fantastic colleagues past and present – all of whom have carried the torch for widening participation and all of whom deserve recognition. I see this MBE as an accolade for widening participation.”

Click on the link below to read the press release, produced by Aimhigher West Midlands:
www.aimhigher.ac.uk/sites/practitioner/news/index.cfm

8. Higher Futures 4U – case study
Higher Futures 4U is a Greater Manchester partnership project working to raise the aspirations and motivation of Year 4 and 5 learners from the most disadvantaged communities in the area, and where a low percentage of adults progress into HE. Particularly innovative components of the project include interactive family workshops, university visits at which student ambassadors lead speed dating and student bingo sessions, and a graduation day. The project feedback has been highly positive, with only one per cent of participants saying they do not want to go to university.

Further examples of projects designed to raise the aspirations and attainment of pre-Key Stage 4 pupils are available by clicking on the link below:
www.aimhigher.ac.uk/practitioner/aimhigher_activities/work_with_pre_ks4_pupils.cfm

Partnerships are encouraged to continue to submit case studies on their work for inclusion on the practitioner website. A case study form is available to download from the following page:
www.aimhigher.ac.uk/practitioner/aimhigher_activities/index.cfm

9. Event – ‘Bridging the divide: Building effective progression agreements’ 
The West London Lifelong Learning Network, South London Lifelong Learning Network and LSN Solutions are hosting a national event aimed at education professionals, including Aimhigher practitioners.

The event, which will take place in Central London on 15 March, will present a review of best practice approaches, and enable delegates to discuss how progression agreements can be tailored to maximise opportunities for learners in their area. For further information or to book a place, please call 020 7297 9144, email enquiries@LSNeducation.org.uk or visit www.lsneducation.org.uk/events.

10. Aimhigher induction pack – updated version now available
The Aimhigher induction pack has been updated and now includes an extended ‘key messages’ section incorporating the Aimhigher core script. The pack is designed to provide a straightforward introduction to the programme for new joiners and can be adapted for use by regional and area partnerships.

Click on the link below to download a copy of the updated pack in PDF or Word format:
www.aimhigher.ac.uk/sites/practitioner/programme_information/about_aimhigher/induction_pack.cfm