Common use of Outreach Activities Clause in Contracts

Outreach Activities. In 2012/13, the University will expand its programme of well-targeted and high quality outreach activities to which it committed in the 2008 access agreement, with a focus on enhancing applications to Durham University from a specific range of backgrounds. The University recognises that the activities play a broader role in extending educational opportunities to those from non-traditional backgrounds but the specific target is to promote fair access to Durham by increasing applications from students from state schools or colleges and NS-SEC 4-7 backgrounds who do not traditionally apply to Durham. The feedback from participants has shown that activities which work best in raising aspiration and attainment are those where there is direct engagement of students and teachers with the University: in particular summer schools, teacher conferences and the Supported Progression Compact Scheme with its series of residential events. Under the present agreement the University therefore intends to expand all of these activities. It will expand school liaison more broadly, but it will ensure that contact with schools is followed up by invitations to staff and students to engage in day-long and residential events at the University. The University is therefore increasing the volume and coverage of its most successful outreach programmes. The University will therefore continue to use additional tuition fee income to provide: a dedicated team of staff working specifically on realising the aims of the widening access plan, a compact scheme involving regular targeted contact with students from Year 10 onwards, dissemination of financial information to applicants and prospective applicants, residential summer schools, school and college visits, leadership for the Durham Excellence in Education Partnership, the expanded Foundation Centre programme, offering a direct progression route into Durham degrees for LPN, mature, and non-traditionally qualified students , conferences and events for teachers who support higher education progression. The Compact Scheme A priority will be placed on expansion of the Supported Progression Compact Scheme, which is a series of intensive activities focussed on the most able, least likely to apply, disadvantaged students from targeted areas. It is making a significant contribution towards increasing applications from state schooled students from NS-SEC categories 4-7 from a region that has one of the lowest HE participation rates in England. Impact will be achieved both with students participating in the scheme and among their peers at school or college, as one of the intended outcomes of the scheme is removing publicly- held real and perceived barriers to accessing a Durham degree. The expansion of the scheme in 2010-11 to include other existing outreach activity is creating an integrated portfolio of contacts with individual students starting in Year 10 and continuing until Year 13. In the 2009-10 pilot year of the scheme for Year 12 students, 62 participants started the scheme, with 52 attending the assessed summer school. 49 successfully completed the summer school, of which 41 have applied to the University and 39 received an offer for entry in October 2011. 35 have accepted that offer as their firm UCAS choice. In 2010/11, 120 students in year 12 enrolled on the scheme, who will be applying for University entrance in September 2012. In 2012/13, the University aims to expand the number of students participating in the scheme in both the pre- and post-16 age ranges. Selection for the scheme will include the criteria of being from a state school or college and the NS-SEC 4-7 classifications. When the new scheme reaches its full potential, it will be providing 90 entrants per year to the University from these under-represented groups. Contextual Information Durham has worked closely with the organisation, Supporting Professionalism in Admissions, in leading a national group on the use of contextual data in admissions and has already developed systems to use contextual data in its selection process to ensure that applicants with the greatest merit and potential receive offers. The University intends to pursue these developments further by looking at the availability of other predictors of success at undergraduate level as a basis for selection. The University will employ the services of its Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM), which is the largest independent provider of educational monitoring systems in the world and provides specialist research and evaluation services to a wide range of organisations including universities. In its use of contextual information, the University plans to replace POLAR2 data with the ACORN data set as the socio-demographic indicator. This will provide more precise contextual data for the selection of both UCAS applicants and applicants for the Supported Progression Scheme. Student retention and success The University will commit a modest level of resource to ensuring that it maintains its excellent retention levels. Post‐entry support measures will be targeted on study skills support for students in the under-represented groups. The University hopes that these measures will play an indirect role in encouraging under‐represented groups to apply, who may be unnecessarily concerned about their ability to cope with a demanding programme of studies.

Outreach Activities. In 2012/132013/14, the University will expand its programme of well-targeted and high quality outreach activities to which it committed in the 2008 and 2012 access agreementagreements, with a focus on enhancing applications to Durham University from a specific range of backgrounds. The University recognises that the activities play a broader role in extending educational opportunities to those from non-traditional backgrounds but the specific target is to promote fair access to Durham by increasing applications from students from state schools or colleges schools, LPNs and NS-SEC 4-7 backgrounds who do not traditionally apply to Durham. The feedback from participants has shown that activities which work best in raising aspiration and attainment are those where there is direct engagement of students and teachers with the University: in particular summer schools, teacher conferences and the Supported Progression Compact Scheme with its series of residential events. Under the present agreement the University therefore intends to expand all of these activities. It will expand school liaison more broadly, but it will ensure that contact with schools is followed up by invitations to staff and students to engage in day-long and residential events at the University. The University is therefore increasing the volume and coverage of its most successful outreach programmes. The In summary, the University will therefore continue to use additional tuition fee income to provide: a dedicated team of staff working specifically on realising the aims of the widening access plan, a compact scheme involving regular targeted contact with students from Year year 10 onwards, dissemination of financial information to applicants and prospective applicants, residential summer schools, school and college visits, leadership for the Durham Excellence in Education Partnership, the expanded Foundation Centre programme, offering a direct progression route into Durham degrees for LPN, mature, and non-traditionally qualified students , conferences and events for teachers who support higher education progression. The Compact Scheme A priority will be placed on expansion of the Supported Progression Compact Scheme, which is a series of intensive activities focussed on the most able, least likely to apply, disadvantaged students from targeted areas. It is making a significant contribution towards increasing applications from state schooled students from NS-SEC categories 4-7 from a region that has one of the lowest HE participation rates in England. Impact will be achieved both with students participating in the scheme and among their peers at school or college, as one of the intended outcomes of the scheme is removing publicly- held real and perceived barriers to accessing a Durham degree. The expansion of the scheme in since 2010-11 to include other existing outreach activity is creating an integrated portfolio of contacts with individual students starting in Year 10 and continuing until Year 13. In the 2009-10 2009/10 pilot year of the scheme for Year 12 students, 62 participants started the scheme, with 52 attending of the assessed summer school. 62 year 12 initial participants, 49 successfully completed the summer school, of which whom 41 have applied to the University University, 35 accepted their offer as their firm choice and 39 received an 31 enrolled in October 2011. In 2010/11, of the 124 year 12 participants in the scheme, 111 successfully completed the summer school, and 62 have accepted Durham’s offer as their firm choice for entry in October 2011. 35 have accepted that offer as their firm UCAS choice. In 2010/11, 120 students in year 12 enrolled on the scheme, who will be applying for University entrance in September 2012. In 2012/132013/14, the University aims to expand the number of students participating in the scheme and the geographical reach of the scheme in both the pre- and post-16 age ranges. Selection for the scheme will include be on the criteria of being from a state school or college and the NS-SEC 4-7 classifications. When the new scheme reaches its full potential, it will be providing 90 entrants per year to the University from these under-represented groups. Xxxxxx Trust Programme As a national counterpart of the compact scheme’s regional focus, in August 2012 Durham University will host a Xxxxxx Trust summer school for year 12 students. The week long summer schools are designed to give bright students from non-privileged homes an experience of a leading university. The aim is to equip students, most of whom will be the first in their families to go on to higher education, with the knowledge and insight to make high quality applications to highly selecting universities. A high proportion of students from the Xxxxxx Trust summer schools enrol at one of the participating institutions. Visiting year 12 students will be supported by an enthusiastic team of Durham Student Ambassadors, led by an experienced management team. Durham University is pleased to be working with the Xxxxxx Trust and aims to continue this collaborative work in future years. Contextual Information Durham has worked closely with the organisation, Supporting Professionalism in Admissions, in leading a national group on the use of contextual data in admissions and has already developed systems to use contextual data in its selection process to ensure that applicants with the greatest merit and potential receive offers. The University intends to pursue these developments further by looking at all the availability of other predictors of success at undergraduate level as a basis for selection. The University will employ is employing the services of its Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM), which is the largest independent provider of educational monitoring systems in the world and provides specialist research and evaluation services to a wide range of organisations including universities. In its use of contextual information, the University plans to replace is replacing POLAR2 data with the ACORN data set as the socio-demographic indicator. This will provide more precise contextual data for the selection of both UCAS applicants and applicants for the Supported Progression Scheme. Student retention and success The University will commit a modest level of resource to ensuring that it maintains its excellent retention levels. Post‐entry support measures will be targeted on study skills support for students in the under-represented groups. The University hopes that these measures will play an indirect role in encouraging under‐represented groups to apply, who may be unnecessarily concerned about their ability to cope with a demanding programme of studies.

Outreach Activities. In 2012/13The University’s outreach work raises awareness of HE and increases aspirations which, with the attainment raising work undertaken by schools, supports progression through driving motivation. The model of awareness+aspiration+attainment=progression has been developed by the Progression Trust and shows that the first two elements, which are the main focus of the universities’ outreach work, are crucial alongside attainment raising. Separating attainment raising activities from work that increases ambition and motivation is difficult. Attainment can also be measured in a number of ways, with performance in formal examinations being only one such measure. Successfully obtaining a place within higher education is equally a measure of attainment. Within our Access Agreement commentary we have highlighted our core programmes to widen participation of under-represented groups. This includes a range of activities which focus directly or indirectly on supporting and raising attainment and we have highlighted some examples below. Since the Manchester Access Programme (MAP) began 10 years ago, 1,604 MAP students have successfully progressed into The University will expand its of Manchester. Nearly 1000 more have progressed into other HEIs. As the programme works with students in their first year of well-targeted post-16 study, we are able to support students in their university applications to ensure they are making informed decisions and high quality outreach activities to which it committed giving themselves the best chance of being made an offer and attaining their first choice place. Feedback from students shows that increased confidence and the academic skills gained through participation in the 2008 access agreement, with a focus on enhancing applications programme has given them the motivation to Durham University from a specific range of backgroundsrealise their ambitions. The University recognises that the activities play a broader role in extending educational opportunities to those from non-traditional backgrounds but the specific target is to promote fair access to Durham by increasing applications from students from state schools or colleges and NS-SEC 4-7 backgrounds who do not traditionally apply to Durham. The feedback from participants has shown that activities which work best in raising aspiration and attainment We are those where there is direct engagement of students and teachers with the University: in particular summer schools, teacher conferences and the Supported Progression Compact Scheme with its series of residential events. Under the present agreement the University therefore intends to expand all of these activities. It will expand school liaison more broadly, but it will ensure that contact with schools is followed up by invitations to staff and students to engage in day-long and residential events at the University. The University is therefore increasing the volume and coverage of its most successful outreach programmes. The University will therefore continue to use additional tuition fee income to provide: a dedicated team of staff now working specifically on realising the aims of the widening access plan, a compact scheme involving regular targeted contact with students from Year 10 onwards, dissemination of financial information to applicants and prospective applicants, residential summer schools, school and college visits, leadership for the Durham Excellence in Education Partnership, the expanded Foundation Centre programme, offering a direct progression route into Durham degrees for LPN, mature, and non-traditionally qualified students , conferences and events for teachers who support higher education progression. The Compact Scheme A priority will be placed on expansion of the Supported Progression Compact Scheme, which is a series of intensive activities focussed on the most able, least likely to apply, disadvantaged students from targeted areas. It is making a significant contribution towards increasing applications from state schooled students from NS-SEC categories 4-7 from a region that has one of the lowest HE participation rates in England. Impact will be achieved both with students participating in the scheme and among their peers at school or college, as one of the intended outcomes of the scheme is removing publicly- held real and perceived barriers to accessing a Durham degree. The expansion of the scheme in 2010-11 to include other existing outreach activity is creating an integrated portfolio of contacts with individual students starting in Year 10 and continuing until Year 13. In the 2009-10 pilot year of the scheme for Year 12 students, 62 participants started the scheme, with 52 attending the assessed summer school. 49 successfully completed the summer school, of which 41 have applied to the University and 39 received an offer for entry in October 2011. 35 have accepted that offer as their firm UCAS choice. In 2010/11, 120 students in year 12 enrolled on the scheme, who will be applying for University entrance in September 2012. In 2012/13, the University aims to expand the number of students who can benefit from a programme like MAP through the development of our Manchester Distance Access Scheme, the growth of which is embedded within one of our Access Agreement targets. Our School of Social Sciences delivers a programme of pre-university courses to post-16 students in a range of disciplines. The aim of the course is to equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to successfully apply and transition into a social sciences degree programme.7 The course consists of six 2-hour workshops and students who successfully complete the scheme will be eligible for one A-level grade (or equivalent) towards their offer at Manchester. 47 of the 59 students who attended the pre-university courses during 2015/16 passed the course and 28 applied to Manchester. 13 students gained places at Xxxxxxx Group Universities, 8 of which were at The University of Manchester, and 11 gained places at other universities. The programme has now expanded to 100 participants during 2016/17 and covers all 5 discipline areas within the School of Social Sciences. Feedback from teachers shows the positive impact the courses have on student outcomes, ‘It has proven to be a real motivator and has stimulated students’ interest in Economics - focusing their determination to achieve high grades and to adopt a more approach academic to their studies – it’s a must do!’ (A level economics teacher, Oldham Sixth Form College.) The University is one of the biggest providers of Nuffield Research Placements for post-16 students and in 2016 we provided 60 placements. The Nuffield Foundation are currently undertaking a large-scale evaluation of the impact the placements have on exam results, progression into HE and performance during HE. Our Students Union has established LIGHTSS, a student led revision support project which has been running since 2014/15. LIGHTSS operates from a community centre in Longsight and aims to offer local students a place to revise for their GCSE/A-Level English, Maths and Science exams. The project employs a qualified teacher to plan and deliver revision sessions as well as recruiting University students to support skills development on a 1:1 basis. Feedback from participants shows they feel this additional support has contributed to their GCSE success and made them more likely to consider university as an option in the future. Another student-led project within the Students’ Union is Reading Mentors, where volunteers help children who need extra support to become more confident and able readers. Mentors are working in 3 primary schools targeted using the Manchester Prioritisation Model. Teachers have observed an improvement in pupils’ reading ability and confidence following their engagement with the project. The University’s WP and Outreach Team also delivers a primary literacy support scheme supports which leads a small cohort of pupils through a 6 week programme of story writing. The scheme was developed in 7 xxxx://xxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx/connect/schools-and-colleges/courses/ response to requests from teachers who suggested extra support from the University could help pupils in preparation for Year 6 SATS exams. The University has developed a number of strategic partnerships with external organisations which focus on attainment raising activities such as The Tutor Trust8 and the Brilliant Club9. These organisations place current students (both UG and PG) into schools in Greater Manchester and the North West where they undertake tutoring across primary, secondary and post-16 learners. 348 University of Manchester students are Tutor Trust Tutors, which represents 77.68% of the tutors working in Greater Manchester schools. The Trust are currently undertaking evaluation of the impact of their work on pupil progress with randomised control trials which the University will support through our research expertise. The University has been partnering with the Brilliant Club and their Scholars Programme since 2015 where we worked with 70 young people in 7 schools. By the end of 2015/16 academic year, we had worked with 728 students, from primary pupils through to post-16 students. Evaluation of the impact of this work shows that 84% of pupils are able to complete written work at the same standard as a pupil one key stage above after participating in the scheme programme compared with 55% at the start. Progression data shows that students who complete the Scholars Programme were more likely to progress to a highly-selective university. This includes pupils eligible for free school meals of which 58% progressed to a highly-selective university compared with a national progression rate of 11%. Future growth and priorities:  To continue to grow the number of students progressing into the University through our access programmes including the Manchester Access Programme, Distance Access Programme and related activities.  To support the evaluation of the impact of tutoring, working with the Tutor Trust.  To continue to grow the number of pupils engaged in both the pre- and post-16 age ranges. Selection for the scheme will include the criteria of being from a state school or college and the NS-SEC 4-7 classifications. When the new scheme reaches its full potential, it will be providing 90 entrants per year our Brilliant Club partnership through visits to the University from these under-represented groups. Contextual Information Durham has worked closely and contact with the organisation, Supporting Professionalism in Admissions, in leading a national group on the use of contextual data in admissions and has already developed systems to use contextual data in its selection process to ensure that applicants with the greatest merit and potential receive offers. The University intends to pursue these developments further by looking at the availability of other predictors of success at undergraduate level as a basis for selection. The University will employ the services of its Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM), which is the largest independent provider of educational monitoring systems in the world and provides specialist research and evaluation services to a wide range of organisations including universities. In its use of contextual information, the University plans to replace POLAR2 data with the ACORN data set as the socio-demographic indicator. This will provide more precise contextual data for the selection of both UCAS applicants and applicants for the Supported Progression Scheme. Student retention and success The University will commit a modest level of resource to ensuring that it maintains its excellent retention levels. Post‐entry support measures will be targeted on study skills support for students in the under-represented groups. The University hopes that these measures will play an indirect role in encouraging under‐represented groups to apply, who may be unnecessarily concerned about their ability to cope with a demanding programme of studiesresearchers.