Supporting the Progression of Looked After Young People to University: Evaluation of the Choices Together Programme

Laing, K.; Mazzoli Smith, L.

Abstract

Choices Together is a programme for Looked After Young People (LAYP) in years 10 and 11, designed to introduce the concept of higher education. Choices Together has run since 2006/7 and this is the third year it has been run under the banner of the Raising Aspirations Partnership, a joint programme of widening participation activity directly funded and delivered by Newcastle University, Northumbria University and the University of Sunderland. The Partnership has recently expanded to include both Durham University and Teesside University, becoming the North East Raising Aspiration Partnership as part of the National Networks for Collaborative Outreach funded by the HEFCE to work with students, teachers, parents and carers to support the progression of disadvantaged young people into higher education. The aim of the Choices Together programme of activities is not only to raise the aspirations/knowledge of LAYP and their carers about university, but also to raise the awareness amongst university admissions officers and staff more broadly about the needs and real-life circumstances of LAYP. In 2014 the Choices Together programme ran for seven weeks with a welcome event at Newcastle University and a celebration event at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. In the intervening weeks the students attended four sessions at the three partner universities. Parents/carers were sent an information sheet in advance of the programme and there was a group of 30 regular student attendees, with 10 who came intermittently and 15 who dropped out. In addition there were up to 50 carers, parents and local authority advisers in attendance at the welcome and celebration events. These figures are good relative to other years. Six student ambassadors were provided with training and supported all the events. This is a report of the evaluation that was carried out as part of a Catherine Cookson Foundation funded research project looking at the progression of LAYP to higher education in the north-east of England.

Citation

Laing, K., & Mazzoli Smith, L. (2015). Supporting the Progression of Looked After Young People to University: Evaluation of the Choices Together Programme. [No known commissioning body]

• Report Type: Project Report
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Oct 19, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 19, 2019
• Publisher: Newcastle University
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1629493
• Publisher URL: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/cflat/publications/
• Additional Information: Publisher: Newcastle University; Type: monograph; Subtype: project_report