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Strategic Group update
Hopefully you have all had the chance to read through our FE and HE guide that was launched at our annual event in December 2013 but for those of you that haven’t, a copy can be accessed here. We are continually looking to improve the information that is made available to practitioners and would value any comments you have for how future editions of this guide could be improved. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please e-mail them through to NNECL@salford.ac.uk
You can find out more about what NNECL and the National Strategic Group do here.
Please can you let your regional reps know about any events you have planned for National Care Leavers Week (26th-31st October). Contact details for your reps are at the bottom of the newsletter!
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Clearing
Summer is upon us and we are heading to that time of year where anxious applicants find out whether they have got the grades they were hoping for. It can be a fraught time for many, especially for those who enter the clearing process. During this fast moving and complicated time it can be even more stressful for students who might not have any support in the background to help them navigate the process or discuss their decision with. It can also be more difficult for universities to ascertain whether a potential student is a care leaver and if so, to ensure they receive the relevant support and any additional consideration they might be eligible for.
Given all of these additional pressures for everyone, we wanted to highlight this now whilst there is time ahead of August and ask whether your confirmation and clearing processes and support are care leaver friendly? If so, can you make further improvements? If not, what can you implement this summer? Click here to find out how you can help 'care proof' this process.
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Buttle UK is phasing out its Quality Mark - what does this mean for regional networks and the NNECL?
Following the ‘By Degrees' research in 2000, the establishment of Buttle UK’s Quality Mark in 2006 aimed to raise awareness of the challenges faced by care leavers and looked after children in progressing successfully to higher and further education.
The Quality Mark has contributed to an increased awareness of the issues around the educational progression of students from care and a change in practice across higher and further education. A vast pool of best practice now exists within higher and further education institutions and collaborative networks including the NNECL have been set up by practitioners to work together across sectors, and to support and learn from each other. These networks will become more important in the future to ensure care leavers remain on the agenda in higher education as the Quality Mark withdraws.
Buttle UK feel very strongly that the emphasis going forward needs to be on embedding of practice into mainstream provision across the sector, without a Quality Mark as a driver, but with the right policies to bring about change and ensure the very best support is in place for this cohort of students wherever they wish to study.
Many stakeholders have endorsed a strong Statement of Commitment to Looked After Children and Care Leavers recognising the importance of incorporating this group in their work, including Rt Hon David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, Matthew Hancock, Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise and Edward Timpson, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families.
Commitment Event 13th June
Buttle held an event in London on 13th June for HE practitioners to discuss with national government departments and agencies, sector bodies and voluntary organisations the way forward for support for looked after children and care leavers in higher education beyond the life of the Quality Mark. The NNECL Strategy Group is gauging and discussing reactions from the sector and participated at this event.
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Care Leaver Progression Partnership (CLPP) Conference
On 4th June, the CLPP held a conference, exploring the impact of emotions on care leavers' educational achievement. You can read the press release here. Papers from the conference are available on their (very new and under construction) website: clpp.eastkent.ac.uk
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Regional Updates - Eastern Region
Higher Education Information Day
On 28th March Anglia Ruskin University, supported by the University of Essex invited students aged 15-18 with their foster carers or other support workers to their Higher Education Information Day. The event included admissions and finance talks, a campus and accommodation tour, a chance to quiz undergraduate students and find out about subjects they were interested in. A care leaver studying at The University of Essex also delivered a talk about student life as a care leaver. Both Anglia Ruskin University and The University of Essex plan to continue to work together to strengthen their links with local authorities and develop their portfolio of IAG events offered to young people in care.
Realise Your Potential
In February half-term the University of Cambridge ran four one-day events as part of their aspiration-raising Realise programme for children in care, welcoming over 50 young people of all abilities between the ages of 11 and 18, and their carers/social workers/teachers to the University of Cambridge. Students came from 20 local authorities and participated in the subject-themed, aspiration-raising days. Young people were invited to experience life as a student, get a taste of studying a subject, find out about university and the support available, and hear from an undergraduate care leaver about their journey to Cambridge. Further information about past and future Realise events can be found here.
Aim4Uni Day
During the Easter holidays, a group of 13-16 year old young people in care had the opportunity to make a radio show, get a tour of the University of Bedfordshire campus and take part in a range of engaging activities. The radio show aired on the university’s radio station on Wednesday 16th April.
Virtual School 16+ Awards Evening
The University of Bedfordshire will be hosting the Virtual School 16+ Awards Evening on 2nd July. Run by the Bedfordshire Virtual School to celebrate the achievements of their looked after children, the event also provides an opportunity for universities from across the region to pass on information, as well as to join in with the celebrations.
Supporting Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Bucks New University will be hosting a training day on 21st October led by the Refugee Support Network. The aim is to help practitioners from across the region to better understand the challenges of working with this vulnerable group of young people and learn how best to support them into and through university. Places are limited, but if you are a practitioner in the Eastern region who would be interested in attending please contact lee.byrne@bucks.ac.uk for further details.
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Your regional representatives
North East - Megan Lunn
North West - Arron Pile
Yorkshire and Humber - Ian Brown
West Midlands - Kirsty Jones/Baljit Gill
East Midlands - Jenny Dunstall/Melissa Page
East of England - Lee Byrne
South West England - Di Stone
South East England - Felicity Dunworth/Sarah Hurrell
London - Kirsty Wadsley
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Sector News
The Department for Business and Skills has just published an update of its Skills Guide for Care Leavers. One section has information for professionals and the other is for care leavers.
MindEd is a new website for professionals that provides information and e-learning modules to anybody working with children with mental health problems.
The 'Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers' statutory guidance has just been updated. It includes revisions to 'Staying Put' and includes expanded guidance on personal advisers to 25, to include young people who are not sure what course they want to take, but do want to return to education.
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1 Minute, 1 Life, 4 Stories
In partnership with Young Devon, Plymouth University Care Leaver Service recently supported (and funded) a small group of young people in care to showcase their everyday lives through a short film they have created and produced themselves - ‘1 Minute, 1 Life, 4 Stories’. Facilitated by film maker Allister Gall, the film aims to give an insight into the lives of the young people they support. To watch the film, click here.
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Regional Updates - West Midlands
The University of Wolverhampton is currently working with the Black Country Local Authority Virtual Heads and a member of West Midlands Police to develop a programme designed to raise the aspirations of local looked after children. It is in the early planning stages, but it is envisaged that young people will be supported and informed about their journey to higher education by taking part in a range of on-going events and initiatives. For more info contact: ian.hart@wlv.ac.uk
Warwick University is working with Coventry LACES team to promote its residential summer schools to looked after children. Warwick is also running the STEM project with Coventry City Council. 18 mentors have been recruited from the university and have been trained to support the project. The project focuses on awareness-raising for young people in care and they aim to identify five year 10s who could go onto HE and offer a package of support. For more info contact: c.l.g.edden@warwick.ac.uk
The University of Birmingham offers a priority award for care leavers worth £4,750 to fund accommodation in university owned halls or alternatively a £3,000 cash bursary for any care leaver living off campus. Care leavers in the West Midlands are encouraged to take part in the University’s pre-induction Access to Birmingham (A2B) programme which helps students get used to the university environment before they arrive. This year they also ran an event in collaboration with the Birmingham Looked After Children Education Service team for Year 12 students in December, and it is planned to make this an annual event.
The University has provided a bursary to enable a care leaver student to attend a summer school at one of their Universitas 21 partners, the National University of Singapore. For more info contact: c.h.mcnicholl@bham.ac.uk
Keele University is running the White Water Writers outreach project for looked after children in years 11 and 12, working with the psychology department. Young people will visit the Keele campus each day for a week, ending the week having written and published a book.
The University ran a 'Uni for You' event for looked after children, liaising with Virtual Heads for Stoke City, Staffordshire, Cheshire East and collaborating with Staffordshire University, Chester and MMU to evaluate it. Two further 'Uni for You' events will take place this year, one for years 7-9 and another for years 11 and 12. For more info contact: i.ronald@acad.keele.ac.uk
Aston University’s annual HE Advice Evening which is targeted at parents/guardians of Years 11-12 students is being expanded to ensure information is available to looked after children, care leavers and their carers. This year the university has decided to offer a session specifically for looked after children and care leavers to provide information on the support available to them pre-entry and on-course.
The university recently hosted a KS4 event for looked after children in year 9 and 10, where they could ‘bring a buddy’. 40 young people attended, with around 18-20 teachers and carers.
Aston was recently successful in its bid for funding to support widening participation in post graduate study, targeting those who are less likely to take it up. Students from a care background are a key priority group for the support package, which includes a scholarship, mentoring, a professional internship and free foreign language tuition. For more info contact: b.k.gill@aston.ac.uk
The West Midlands Care Leavers’ Network is actively developing links with the West Midlands Virtual Heads, with representation from both at respective regional meetings. This provides increased opportunities to share advice and guidance to HEIs on working with schools and to raise awareness of the outreach work HEIs undertake, as well as the support available for looked after children progressing to HE. For more info contact: b.k.gill@aston.ac.uk
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Sign up to the newsletter
NNECL News is intended for anyone working to support care leavers into higher education.
The newsletter will be sent out quarterly and will include information about the work of the executive group and news from across the sector.
If you would like to receive the quarterly newsletter from NNECL then you can sign up here - http://eepurl.com/DFo_9
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