EMWPREP NEWS – November 2018 // Issue 10

EMWPREP News Team Team Update Once again, the annual institutional meetings have come around quickly! During November the EMWPREP team have been busy travelling across the Midlands to meet with partners and set priorities for the year ahead. It was great to catch up with so many of you and lovely to meet some new faces too. The EMWPREP team are excited for the coming year. With the continual development of the database and the highest number of partners engaging with it yet, th...
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Unconditional offers used to ‘get people through door’

Some universities are recruiting students with unconditional offers during the application process, says the university admissions service Ucas. They are telling students that A-level grade requirements will be dropped completely if they put the university down as their first choice. It comes as new Ucas figures show one-third of applicants aged 18 received an unconditional offer last year. Education Secretary Damian Hinds said the proportion was "disturbing". He added: "The systematic...
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Too many students left with debts for ‘too little payback’

Too many graduates in England are being left with big debts for too little payback, MPs are warning. Nearly half of recent graduates were not working in graduate roles in 2017, the Commons education committee says. Its chairman Robert Halfon also highlights the excessive pay of some university vice-chancellors, saying that is not value for money. The government is reviewing post-18 education and funding to see how it can ensure that value. The Augur Review, which is due to report early...
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We need to reach children before they decide university isn’t for them

Traditionally, universities looking to widen access have focused on secondary aged children preparing to take their next step in education. This is certainly an important moment in a young person’s life, but in many cases it may be too late to shape their decision-making. Universities are looking to solve problems which can become entrenched far earlier in a child’s education. In 2016, a Ucas survey pointed out that children who know they want to enter higher education by age 10 or earlier ar...
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The students who fear for their ambitions amid college cuts

These six young people are ambitious and determined. They are an aspiring teacher, a future social worker, a would-be accountant, a budding cardiologist, a wannabe pilot and a veterinary surgeon of tomorrow. But they fear their dreams, and those of young people like them, may be thwarted by further education funding pressures. They are all students at New City College in east London, which is closing the doors to its six campuses on Wednesday so staff can join a march against the cuts. ...
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How the Co-op tackled a school with terrible truancy

How does a school go from having one of the worst truancy records in the country to having one of the best attendance records? "No nonsense and no excuses." That's the message that you keep hearing from staff at Co-op Academy Manchester. There is also a very direct approach from the school's attendance team. Even if a parent rings to say their child is poorly, there could still be a knock on the door to check out the story. Jenny Robey, the school's attendance manager, says she migh...
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Ofsted inspectors to stop using exam results as key mark of success

Ofsted plans to overhaul the way it inspects schools in England, downgrading the influence of exam results in favour of a closer look at pupil behaviour and at the breadth of subjects being taught. Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector of schools, outlined details of the new inspection regime, with the current category of “outcomes for pupils” that includes exam performance to be dropped in Ofsted’s inspection reports. “For a long time, our inspections have looked hardest at outcomes, placing t...
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Education secretary demands action on low number of ‘white British disadvantaged boys’ going to university

The education secretary will say that the UK’s schooling system must be challenged over why “white British disadvantaged boys” are the least likely of any ethnic group to make it to university. Officials said Damian Hinds would push university and business leaders to take action over the issue at a meeting on Monday, as he also announces £24m to boost standards in the northeast of England. The Independent reported earlier this year how the number of white people accepted at universities has dr...
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Pupils aren’t being told about lucrative university scholarships and grants

A new app, called GrantFairy, has been created to find scholarships that students are eligible to apply for based on their personal profile. Developers say that, so far, users are typically matched with at least £85,000 in funding opportunities, which they say prospective students are often missing out on because they aren’t told about the cash. Read More.
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DFE school funding claims face watchdog investigation

School spending claims by the Department for Education are being investigated by the UK's statistics watchdog. It follows BBC News reports which showed figures quoted by education ministers defending their record on state school spending included the money spent by university students on tuition fees and parents on private school fees. This has been confirmed by the OECD think tank that compiles the international comparisons of spending figures. Head teachers' leaders have accused the dep...
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