Alongside our partners, the University of Sheffield, Frontline and the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham (LAET), we held an Insights Symposium as part of a wider Office for Students-funded project focused on what works for supporting children on a child protection plan on their educational journeys.
The project aims to draw sector focus to an under-served student community with some of the lowest school attainment and HE progression outcomes, who are almost entirely absent from access interventions and contextual admissions processes.
Natalie Day, Director of University Partnerships at The Brilliant Club, with a quote on screen: “It was like a dream to go to university, but just as much of a dream to be, like, a Disney Princess. You know it wasn’t going to actually happen because, you know, people like me, you know, we don’t get to go to university… we don’t get to do that kind of stuff.” – Young Adult
The half-day stakeholder voice event was the culmination of phase one of the project, which included interviews, focus groups and surveys with social workers, teachers, designated safeguarding leads, Virtual Schools colleagues, HE professionals and young adults with lived experience of education while on a child protection plan.
The Insights Symposium comprised of two panel discussions: Supporting Success in School, and Accessing and Thriving in Higher Education.
Panel from left to right: Angie Baker, Head of Teaching and Learning at The Brilliant Club; Carrie Wilson-Harrup, Doctoral Researcher at Loughborough University; Rachel Denton, Designated Safeguarding Lead at Aston Community Education Trust; and Lisa Hackett, Chief Social Worker at Frontline.
The first panel, on Supporting Success in School, included discussion points about:
Panel from left to right: Alex Owens, Senior Access and Success Project Officer at The Brilliant Club; Lucy Scheinkonig, Access Officer at Sheffield University; Elaine Brown, Deputy Head of Pastoral at LAET.
The second panel, on Accessing and Thriving in Higher Education, featured Lewis, a student at The University of Sheffield; Elaine Brown, Deputy Head of Pastoral at the LAET; and Lucy Scheinkonig, Access Officer at The University of Sheffield. Discussion points included:
The Insights Symposium also featured a cross-sector roundtable session to collaboratively map the student journey, as well as opportunities for networking.
Contributions from the Symposium will be included in an Insights Report, alongside those insights gathered through our research earlier this year. The full Insights report will be published later this month.
The Brilliant Club’s Interim CEO, Susie Whigham, said: “Today’s insights symposium has been a fascinating event, and we have gained so much vital information about the education journeys of a group so underrepresented in higher education. I’m looking forward to seeing where the next phase of this important project takes us.”
Professor Mary Vincent, Vice-President for Education at the University of Sheffield, said: “We understand that not everyone has an easy journey through school and that some children have different circumstances and barriers to overcome, however this shouldn’t mean that these children miss out on fulfilling their potential in education and later going on to university if they have the potential to do so.
“Universities across the UK have made some real progress in supporting more students from underrepresented backgrounds in accessing higher education, but one group that doesn’t receive any support are children under protection plans. We are looking forward to working with specialist charities and partners to explore how best we can support their education.”
If you are interested in finding out more about the project and reading the Insights Report, register for updates here.
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