The Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (neaco) is a collaboration of universities and colleges in our region funded by the Office for Students (OfS) as part of the Uniconnect programme.
Together we work with students at secondary schools and sixth forms/colleges, who live in areas identified by the Government with low rates of progression to higher education and students who are from groups that are underrepresented in higher education, including adult learners.
Our partnership includes five Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and eight Further Education Colleges (FECs) in East Anglia. We provide a wide range of impartial, collaborative outreach activities to equip students from Year 7 through to adult learners, to make an informed choice about their options in relation to the full range of routes into higher education and to minimise the barriers they may face when choosing the option that will unlock their potential, including barriers relating to academic attainment. Our activities are delivered through the Take Your Place programme.
Uni Connect
The Uni Connect Programme is a national incentive funded by the Office for Students (OfS) to support their strategic goal that students’ access to higher education is not limited by their background, location or characteristics. neaco is one of the 29 Uni Connect Partnerships across England.
Aims of the Uni Connect Programme: Uni Connect - Office for Students
- Contribute to reducing the gap in higher education participation between the most and least represented groups.
- Equip young and adult learners from underrepresented groups to make an informed choice about their options in relation to the full range of routes into and through higher education and to minimise the barriers they may face when choosing the option that will unlock their potential, including barriers relating to academic attainment.
- Support a strategic local infrastructure of universities, colleges and other partners that can cut through competitive barriers, offer an efficient and low-burden route for schools and colleges to engage with higher education outreach, enable schools to engage with attainment raising activity, and address outreach ‘cold spots’ for underrepresented groups.
- Contribute to a stronger evidence base around ‘what works’ in higher education outreach and strengthen evaluation practice across the sector.
What we do
At the centre of our approach is our Take Your Place programme of activities and our offer is designed to be tailored to the individual needs of the school. Our work focuses on three core strands:
Targeted outreach
A progressive programme designed for students in Years 11 – 13 to improve progression to higher education. The programme includes a progressive framework of termly outcomes addressing our target students’ identified needs. The framework focuses on:
- Improving our student’s understanding and preparedness to enable them to make informed choices about the specific requirements through which students can realise their aspirations for transitions between Key Stages
- Improving their passion and ambition enabling students to explore, identify and articulate their passions and aspirations giving positive incentives for choosing post-16 and post-18 pathways
Strategic outreach
Similar to our targeted outreach offer, but also includes working with students from Year 7 upwards, including adult learners. Our strategic outreach aims to carry out activities in areas identified by the Office for Students as ‘cold spots’ and with underrepresented groups in higher education.
We provide a range of activities which includes information, advice and guidance as well as collaborative programmes, bringing together the expertise and specialisms from our University and College partners, as well as third sector organisations. These activities are often bespoke and tailored for individual needs.
Attainment Raising
The Office for Students (OfS) has asked Uni Connect Partnerships and their higher education providers to do more to raise the academic attainment of pupils in Years 7 – 11 through access and participation activities. We have therefore created a range of activities that support raising attainment.
These include, but are not exclusive to; Study Skills workshops for Year 11 students, debating clubs, academic research projects, subject specific programmes and teacher CPD. These activities have been co-designed with our university partners.
Delivery
To deliver this work, neaco employ a team of Higher Education Champions, who are all experienced education and outreach professionals based in schools and colleges. The team facilitate sessions in schools, organise external speakers and events and coordinate trips to university campuses. They also work with parents and carers and the local community to ensure young people are fully supported. Some of our activities are co-designed or co-delivered with academics from our university partners and we often support these activities with student ambassadors as we believe they provide an inspirational role model to young people.
Some of our activities are supported by third sector organisations, this includes facilitating workshops, supporting the design of programmes and providing specialist support.