This blog has been written by Claire Kirk, AccessHE Membership and Communities Manager at London Higher.
As Membership and Communities Manager at AccessHE, I work closely with universities and other higher education providers to arrange a varied programme of responsive and relevant events around widening participation. This means organising the activities of AccessHE’s seven busy Action Forums.
Action Forums are a large part of the membership offer delivered by AccessHE. Each forum meets several times a year to network, train and share best practice around specific aspects of widening participation. The forums are largely geared around specific groups that are underrepresented in higher education and the frontline staff who support them – the Disabled Students Forum, for example, or the Care Experienced and Estranged Students Forum – but they can be united by subject area, like the Creative Forum, or take a more thematic approach, such as the Research, Monitoring & Evaluation Forum (descriptions of all the action forums can be found on the website).
In all cases, the forums provide valuable learnings for higher education professionals – whether it be through sharing experiences with others in similar roles who might be tackling the same day-to-day issues, or hearing about the latest initiatives and how they can be rolled out in other institutions. Support in terms of equality of opportunity to access and succeed in higher education is crucial in the current climate, as the Office for Students calls for all universities to prepare and implement rigorous and effective Access and Participation Plans.
To give a flavour of what the various action forums cover: In February, the Creative Forum heard from Dr Kate Wicklow, Policy Director at GuildHE, who reported on some on-going research into the graduate destinations of creative students, offering an insightful and nuanced analysis of national statistics. At the Student Ambassadors Forum – a forum designed to support those recruiting and managing Student Ambassadors – participants shared successful approaches to writing codes of conduct and encouraging consistent levels of Ambassador engagement. Going forward, in the summer term, the forums will include training on building inclusive induction programmes, run by the Black Curriculum, and a session exploring how the Disabled Student Commitment can bring about positive change for disabled students and within HE institutions more broadly.
A large part of building a strong and supportive community of practice, is looking after widening participation staff. With this in mind, later this year AccessHE is launching a wellbeing strand of events, aiming at helping student support and widening participation practitioners deal with the unique pressures that come with the role. Wellbeing coach, Shanara Hibbert, will lead the first session, focussing on how to recognise and avoid burnout, how to set boundaries for yourself and how to overcome challenges to your wellbeing.
Something all our members share is their location in the country’s capital city. As home of two of the UK’s ‘Global Top 10’ universities as well as 17 of the top 20 English universities for social mobility, London is unique in its concentration of HE success stories and challenges. Being London-based, all our member institutions share an understanding of the many issues, complexities and opportunities that come with operating in such a diverse, vibrant and international city.
As well as providing an important space for discussion, the networks can also be a place to incubate and trial pilot projects in the field of access and participation. In recent years, the Student Ambassador Forum has created employability resources and a work-skills training programme for Ambassadors, for example.
As the widening participation landscape continues to shift and expand, with more groups identified as needing additional support and consideration in higher education, from young carers and commuter students to young people from military families, so higher education practices also need to change. Through the action forums, AccessHE will continue to flex its approach and programmes to meet the needs of its members, responding swiftly to all their access and progression requirements.
If you are an AccessHE member and interested in getting involved in the forums, please reach out to us on accesshe@londonhigher.ac.uk.
