Uni Connect (NCOP) - Linking London Update

Young Targeted Uni Connect update

It has been an extremely busy November with all Engagement Officers and our Programme Officer providing tailored support to ward learners with their UCAS applications and in particular giving detailed feedback on multiple drafts of their personal statements. This is time consuming but vital work, plugging gaps where there otherwise would not be the level of one-to-one support that many ward learners need for this daunting process, especially around decision-making and shortlisting of HEIs on the application form.

As well as this, our Engagement Officer at Havering FE and Barking and Dagenham has taken Production Arts students to Rose Bruford to see show rehearsals, organised a Creative Careers day with UAL and Ravensbourne, and arranged support from Middlesex University for Health and Social Care students, focusing on interviews for HE entry. MindMapper skills workshops have taken place at Havering FE and Havering Sixth Form, and at Coulsdon College there has been some work engaging parents with UCAS. At Coulsdon a need for Student Finance guidance has been highlighted by some learners in their one-to-one sessions, and in response to this we have planned to refresh and improve our resources on this topic ready for the new year. At LSEC, Royal Central has delivered workshops in acting, dance and theatre, Middlesex has provided pathways workshops for Health and Social Care students, and the London Institute of Banking and Finance has provided a group session on careers and employability. Across all colleges we are continuing to promote our Brightside schemes which are now around three weeks in, and we have been pleased to see very high quality IAG being delivered by mentors from all four partners.

Adult Targeted Uni Connect update

The team has been busy fielding personal statements this month from adult learners at several Linking London partner colleges, both via our Uni Connect targeted offer and our ad-hoc support request service.

We held a forum to discuss working with adults on lower level courses and have now opened up our bidding round for awarding match funding for innovate projects working with adults on Level 2 and below courses. We are hoping these projects will support a range of adult learners across our partner colleges and give our university partners some experience working with adults at this level.

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