Widening Participation
As part of the EDI annual report 2021-22, the University of Sunderland show our widening participation helps to raise aspirations and promote social inclusion.
The Widening Access and Participation team have a strong track record of encouraging under-represented groups to access and succeed in higher education. During the academic year 2021-22, we targeted the following under-represented groups:
- Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Showman and Boaters
- Asylum Seekers and Refugees
- Carers
- Students from low-income households
- Mature students
- Students from geographical areas where progression to higher education is significantly lower than the average
- Care-experienced students
- Estranged students
We Care
Our We Care team are a dedicated support team for care-experienced and estranged students. This contact starts at the initial point of enquiry and continues to graduation and beyond. As well as providing personalised support based on individual student needs, additional financial support of £2,000 per annum is available to eligible students in the form of a We Care Bursary.
In 2021-22 we had 146 care-experienced students studying with us and 86 opted in to receive bespoke support from the We Care Team. There were also 139 estranged students, 101 of whom opted in to receive support.
Our annual We Care Student Survey was sent to all students supported by the team in 2021-22. 96% of students rated the support provided by the team as very good or good, with 4% rating it as fair.
We Care support during this academic year
The We Care Team rapidly adapted the support provided to ensure that students had effective and appropriate support throughout the pandemic, including during lockdown periods. Some of the changes to support have continued to be a part of the package offered by the team. For example, all students received an individual check in call at least termly, with some students opting in to receive weekly contact. Online events continued this year including a Netflix Watch Party, We Care Quiz, Easter Competition and Online Cuppas.
The team also planned and delivered 10 in-person social events which were well attended by students. These included an Escape Room, bowling and mini-golf and an end of year celebration meal. The team organised a Wellbeing Lunch for University Mental Health Day on 3 March 2022. All students who attended received a wellbeing goodie bag to take away and a free lunch. We collaborated with The Cultural Spring to deliver a metal embossing workshop to students as part of this session.
We Care at Christmas
In November 2021 we launched our annual We Care at Christmas Campaign for the second year. This was led by our Vice-Chancellor, Sir David Bell, to ensure that our care-experienced and estranged students had a Christmas to remember. £11,145 was raised thanks to generous contributions from colleagues and our wider University community. Each student, and their children, received a hand-written Christmas card from the Vice-Chancellor and a selection of gifts.
We recognise that students can feel lonely during the Christmas break, especially if they are staying on campus or spending time alone. During the University Christmas closure days, we were available on four separate days across the two weeks period. During this time, we contacted students whose birthdays were near that date (to wish them a happy birthday), replied to emails and messages from students, and checked in individually with several students at their request.
We Care Graduations
36 students supported by the We Care Team graduated in 2021-22. All students who had their graduations delayed due to COVID were given the opportunity to attend a catch-up ceremony at the Stadium of Light. Their gown hire and photo package cost were covered by the University.
The We Care team directly supported at the graduation ceremonies of several students. All graduates received a graduation a discretionary graduation bursary of £500 to support with next steps.
Wendy Price OBE
For more than 20 years, Wendy Price, Head of Widening Access and Participation at the University of Sunderland, has worked tirelessly in encouraging and supporting disadvantaged students through university.
Wendy’s extraordinary efforts have now been acknowledged with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) award in the Queen’s Birthday 2022 Honours List ‘for services to Higher Education’.
As well as heading up the We Care team, Wendy is North East Regional Representative for the charity National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) and a member of their National Strategy Group.
She is also Chair of the Board of Governors at Sunderland Virtual School, which provides personalised learning support to ensure that care experienced young people receive the best education and learning experiences to maximise their education outcomes.
Read our articles
-
Sunderland’s ‘We Care’ team shortlisted for inclusion award
The University of Sunderland’s We Care initiative has been shortlisted for the Social Mobility Project award in recognition of their work with students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Read more about about the amazing work the We Care team provides.
-
Veterans shaping a healthier future through art
As we honour those members of the armed forces who have fought and died in the line of duty on Remembrance Day - a project to help veterans improve their own health and wellbeing through arts and creative practice gets underway at National Glass Centre.
Read more about about the seven-month project.
-
Striking a chord for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture
Multi-award-winning storyteller, author and playwright, Richard O'Neill and professional musician and songwriter George Hoyle have shared their unique insights into gypsy culture through storytelling and song at the University of Sunderland.
Read more about about the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month Event Series.
-
Excluded children take centre stage
A new exhibition opens at National Glass Centre this week giving a voice to a marginalised section of society, children who have been excluded from school.
Read more about about the See Me exhibition.
-
University pledges to help find jobs for young people leaving care
The University of Sunderland has formally committed to offer employment opportunities to vulnerable young people leaving care with the Care Leaver Friendly Employer Charter.
Read more about about the Care Leaver Friendly Employer Charter.
-
Armed Forces Day: University's unwavering support for veterans
More than 100 students of our students have connections to the armed forces. We are an institution deeply committed to supporting veterans into a new career. Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University, Sir David Bell, gives his message.
Read more about about Armed Forces Day.
We Care Team – Accolades and Awards
The We Care team continues to be recognised as a national exemplar in supporting students from non-traditional and marginalised backgrounds.
In 2021-22 they were awarded the following in recognition of the support provided to care-experienced and estranged students:
October 2021
Winner – NEON Widening Access Initiative (Retention and Progression) Award
NEON National Awards
November 2021
Winner – Stand Alone Pledge Award 2021 - For ‘Overall Excellence’ (which includes all areas of student support) as nominated by estranged students.
Stand Alone National Awards
April 2022 - NNECL Quality Mark
In April 2022, the University was awarded the NNECL (National Network for the Education of Care Leavers) Quality Mark, a developmental accreditation process which supports higher and further education institutions to achieve the best outcomes for their care-experienced students.
The University of Sunderland’s Quality Mark submission involved a working group of colleagues across the institution to cover each stage of the student’s lifecycle, map current support and identify potential areas of improvement.
The University was rated as ‘exceptional’ in all seven areas of the Quality Mark assessment - the highest possible rating. Awards are made for three years in the first instance, the future actions identified in the process will form the basis for future policy and further improvements.
Care Leaver Friendly Employer Charter
The University of Sunderland has formally committed to offer employment opportunities to vulnerable young people leaving care.
In December 2021 the University signed the Care Leaver Friendly Employer Charter, which has been launched to reduce the number of care leavers not in education, employment or training.
The Charter has been developed by the Care Leaver Covenant - a national inclusion programme that supports care leavers aged 16 to 25 to live independently - in collaboration with recruitment specialists Penna. Often care leavers are not able to access jobs in organisations that do not have tailored support for vulnerable employees, which this charter aims to tackle. By signing this Charter, the University is committed to helping these young people access career opportunities and thrive in the workplace.
Supporting GTRSB (Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showman, Boater) students
The University of Sunderland were one of the first universities nationally to sign the Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boater (GTRSB) into Higher Education Pledge in 2021. This coincided with the launch of our personalised support for GTRSB students, which includes a bursary, separate enrolment categories, and support based on individual needs.
Our GTRSB webpage has been developed and launched within the Student Support section of our website, which outlines the support available to GTRSB students.
We Care celebrates student success
We continue to celebrate the achievements of our care-experienced and estranged students through case studies:
Listen to our podcasts
Real living wage
As you will have seen from the announcements this week, our Board of Governors has endorsed our recommendation to become a Living Wage Employer and to pay the ‘real living wage’ to our UK staff, with effect from 1st April 2022.
We recognise that this is the right thing to do for our lowest paid staff and will be very much welcomed at a time where cost of living pressures are increasing.
I have already spoken to those of you where this will have an impact – predominantly on our lowest paid staff (grade A) where we are proposing to ‘merge’ our current grades A and B to accommodate the real living wage. We will soon be writing to those staff directly.
Please also note that we will be applying the real living wage to other staff who sit outside our pay structure, including, for example: casual workers, student ambassadors and graduate interns (employed by the University).
Cost of living help
Our Schools, Colleges and Partnerships team have continued to embed equality, diversity and inclusion in everything they do. Due to the rising cost of living, this year they offered some travel bursaries for First Choice Summer School participants where this would otherwise be a barrier to attending. They also provided support for travel costs to schools and colleges bringing students on campus for outreach activities.
Our Events and Applicant Experience Team continued to provide ‘online open day’ offers, to support those prospective students who prefer engaging with us via an online platform and for those who are unable to visit our campus due to geographical or financial reasons.
They also provided a travel reimbursement scheme for open days, applicant events and interviews to ensure that on campus events are financially accessible. To ensure that potential applicants aren’t restricted to attending only one event, we have removed within the terms and conditions relating to potential students/applicants only claiming once a year.
North East Raising Aspiration Partnership
The North East Raising Aspiration Partnership (NERAP) is a collaboration between the five universities in the region, consisting of Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, University of Sunderland and Teesside University.
The purpose of the Partnership is to work together to widen participation in higher education in the North East of England, with a focus on vulnerable and underrepresented groups.
NERAP Choices Together Progressive Programme
The Choices Together progressive programme provides support for care-experienced young people and young carers from Years 7 to 13. Activities take place across the academic year to inspire young people to think about their futures and make informed decisions about higher education.
We hosted the on campus Welcome Event in March 2022 for both Years 7-9 and Years 10-11. Two further sessions for the Year 12 and 13 programme were also hosted by the University in March and May 2022.
Supporting Armed Forces students
We presented at the Veteran Support Partnership Event in June 2022. The Veteran Support Partnership is a group of organisations collaborating to help eliminate barriers to opportunities and enable the Armed Forces community to reach their full potential.
Staff attended a British Forces Resettlement Services (BFRS) event at Catterick in March 2022. At this event staff discussed routes into higher education with prospective service leavers.
Sunderland Veteran’s Garden opened on City Campus in May 2022 by retired Major General Paul Nanson CB CBE. The official opening was followed by a lunch at Hope Street Xchange.
Our Armed Forces webpage is being developed and will launch in 2022/23. Our support is being developed further in consultation with current ex-Armed Forces students and staff.
Contact us
We welcome feedback on Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Responsibility.
Please contact our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, justine.gillespie@sunderland.ac.uk or,
the Student Union LGBTQ+ Officer at yoursu@sunderland.ac.uk.