Widening Participation: Working with parents and communities

Margaret HartAssistant Director, Head of Widening ParticipationJanuary 2009

Widening Participation in The Open University

• Mission

• Open access

• Alignment with HE policy – focus on disadvantaged communities

How are we doing?Proportion of all new OpenUniversity undergraduatestudents that live in the 25%most deprived super outputareas as defined by the Indexof Multiple Deprivation ofthe appropriate UK country, and who have no previous HEqualification

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

2004/05 2006/07 2008/9*

England

N. Ireland

Scotland

Wales

UK total

The policy background • HE – key focus on bridging the social class gap

“Young people living in the most advantaged 20 per cent of areas are five to six times likely to enter higher education than those living in the least advantaged 20 per cent of areas.” (HEFCE, 2005)

• Research shows that participation in HE is determined very early in life, parents are the key influence in this

“Characteristics which are set very early in life – age, gender, family background and initial schooling – predict later “lifelong learning trajectories” with 90% accuracy.” (HEFCE, 2006)

• Links between WP agenda in HE and the government’s wider social exclusion agenda

“Parents’ interest in their children’s education has been shown to have four times more influence on attainment by age 16 than socio-economic background” (Cabinet Office, 2009)

So what are we doing? • Pilot activity across the UK over the last five years has

been evaluated and led to an evidence base of “what works”

• This has been built into a standard operating model now due to be rolled out across the country

• Long term partnerships with community based organisations which have complementary objectives

The unique contribution of The Open University • Part time offer for mature learners

• Distance education model

• Supported open learning – a blended and flexible approach to learning

• The Openings programme

• Can complement the work of other HEIs who focus on transition from school to HE

• Focus on parents and communities reinforces the cycle of learning

What makes this work? • Geographical targeting based on Index of Multiple

Deprivation analysis

• Selection of partner agencies which can reach target groups and have complementary objectives

• Communities of learning – face to face support at neighbourhood level, peer support

• Assistance with finance, child care

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