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Uni Connect (NCOP) - Linking London Update

Our most recent data confirms that we have now delivered 1093 activities with 793 learners, of whom 489 learners live in Uni Connect target wards. We have worked with 34% of learners in target wards, far surpassing our goal from the Office for Students of 20%

As the lifting of all restrictions has been delayed, unfortunately our planned non-residential but in-person Summer School campus visit with the University of East London was cancelled, with small group campus visits being offered as an alternative, as learners are very keen to visit universities in person this summer. Additionally, University of the Arts London were able to deliver an Insights Summer School webinar that learners from Coulsdon College studying arts subjects were glad to attend.

In brighter news, based on the success of our innovative Transition Week event working with Level 2 and 3 learners, London South East Colleges are planning to repeat the event twice in the next academic year, beginning with an event in October focusing on Level 3 Year 2 learners. In all hubs, one-to-one sessions, e-mentoring and virtual recorded or live streamed group sessions have continued, including some sessions from Middlesex on CV writing, interviews and employability, and others on degree apprenticeships and UCAS, all delivered at Havering FE College. At Coulsdon College, Middlesex delivered a subject specific session on applying for Health and Social Care courses. At Havering Sixth Form, our Engagement Officer has been working with MindMapper to initiate a project with a focus on wellbeing and mental health support for young adults, and this is in direct response to requests from learners for more support in these areas, due to the impact of wellbeing on learning, educational and career aspirations and decision making.

As Phase 2 draws to a close, planning for Phase 3 is well underway, and our team will be reconfigured to bring colleagues together to work on three strands: adult learners, young learners in target wards, and signposting and strategic outreach. We are pleased to be continuing our successful model of delivering one-to-one support in colleges with Engagement Officers and supplementing this with e-mentoring schemes and tailored group sessions delivered by HEI partners.

Outreach Hub update

Our four projects are in the wrap up stages having supported a total of 63 students so keep an eye out for evaluation highlights over the coming months. A summary of top tips from our webinar for college staff supporting students into nursing, midwifery, and healthcare subjects can be found here, a pull together of relevant resources here and the recording here. Our three guides for learners on a T Level course in Digital, Construction, or Education and Childcare are on the website. Our T Level guides for HE admissions teams are also available for Construction, Education and Childcare, and Digital. You can see the most recent edition of our monthly bulletin and subscribe here. Any questions about or feedback on our resources, please get in touch with Jess.