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Fair Access

What is Fair Access to the professions?

The gender pay gap has narrowed, but the top professional jobs still go to men. The professions seem to have become more socially exclusive, not less:

• 3 in 4 judges and 1 in 2 senior civil servants are still privately educated
• Today's doctors and lawyers grew up in families with incomes two-thirds higher than the average family
• Those from other diversity groups are often under-represented in the professions

100 elite schools – making up under 3% of 3,700 schools with sixth forms and sixth form colleges in the UK – accounted for a third of admissions to Oxbridge during the last five years. Sutton Trust Report on University admissions by individual schools documents the extent to which a few highly socially and academically selective schools dominate admissions to the country’s leading research universities.

How can school students be helped and encouraged to aspire to a professional career? This section provides information on initiatives by the professional bodies, the professions, schools, colleges and universities and other organisations to ensure that professional careers are open to people of talent regardless of background. The role of professional bodies is central to enabling people from under-represented groups to access successful careers. We provide information on initiatives by professional bodies to widen access for those from under-represented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds. Of particular interest is the information on alternative non-graduate routes into professions, which is provided in the Sector Summaries.

Here we provide more information on access to university, general information on access to the professions and some examples of interesting initiatives by organisations working to improve access but you will find further information in Resources.

Access to university

General information

General information on widening participation

Direct Gov

Direct Gov provides some generic information on what your options are and what higher education is really like.

UCAS

Universities and colleges set their own entry requirements, so they vary from course to course. You can check out the requirements for each course on the UCAS website.

The Times   

The Times has an interesting overview of how to get into the university you want and an explanation of the process. 

IntoUniversity

IntoUniversity is a centre-based service offered free of charge at specialist facilities located in London.

The vision of Into University is to provide a national network of high quality, local learning centres where young people are inspired to achieve. Each local Into University centre will offer an innovative programme that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to attain either a university place or another chosen aspiration.

Into University works with children and young people with talent and potential who are at risk of underachieving and are seeking, with our help, to improve their life chances. The majority are from ethnic minority backgrounds and other social groups currently underrepresented in higher education.

Internships available for the summer and also at graduate level.

For further information please contact Gemma Fagbadegun with any general enquiries on 020 7243 0242 or via email at gemma@IntoUniversity.org.

The Office for Fair Access (OFFA)

The Office for Fair Access helps safeguard and promote fair access to higher education.

Many universities run access schemes for applicants who have faced challenges - social, personal or educational - which may have affected their performance in education. To give you flavour of what is on offer we highlight some schemes but check out your chosen university to see what they offer.

The University of York Access Scheme

The University of York Access Scheme

Cambridge Special Access Scheme (CSAS)

University of Cambridge - Cambridge Special Access Scheme

List of funding for university for those from under-privileged backgrounds

List of funding for university for those from under-privileged backgrounds

The Open University - Young Applicants in Schools and Colleges Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (YASS)

The Open University's Young Applicants in Schools and Colleges Scheme enables academically gifted students in Years 12 and 13 to study a wide range of undergraduate modules at first-year level alongside their AS and A levels.

Reach

Reach is an online community designed for University of London students who feel they face barriers to reaching their potential. These may include social background, disability, age, gender and sexual orientation – it all depends on the individual and the career they are aiming to enter into.

General information on access to the professions

Unleashing Aspirations Report

Unleashing Aspirations Report – the final report of the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions. The government response to the Unleashing Aspirations report. Russell Group of Universities response to the Unleashing Aspirations report. 

Entry to the Bar Working Party Final Report

Entry to the Bar Working Party Final Report – recommendations on improving access to the Bar for those from less privileged backgrounds.

Organisations working to improve access

National Black Boys Can Association

The National Black Boys Can Association is a community led organisation providing black boys with educational opportunities, life skills, and the self-esteem, confidence and determination to succeed. It also provides black and minority ethnic (BME) people and employers with awareness of the barriers which many BME applicants face. It also provides knowledge, support and strategies for overcoming those barriers.

Aimhigher Programme

The Aimhigher Programme seeks to widen participation in HE by developing the abilities and raising opportunities available to young people from underrepresented groups.

The “Healthcare Strand” aims to expand access to the healthcare professions through raising aspirations, strengthening vocational routes and encouraging career development.

“Summer Schools” aim to give pupils from Years 9-12, who may only consider a limited range of HE courses/institutions or may not consider HE at all, a taster of HE.

The “Aimhigher Roadshow” allows pupils to talk to recent graduates about their experiences of Higher Education.

National and regional contact details are available.

Brightside Trust

The Brightside Trust is a charity which aims to provide educational opportunities to pupils from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The organisation aims to deliver an online suite of tools and training programmes to help undergrads and professional to mentor pupils from under-represented backgrounds.

The Brightside Trust have a number of initiatives, such as Bright Links, where ementors talk to pupils/students about a variety of subjects, and Bright Journals, where medicine undergraduates mentor underrepresented pupils who are interested in medical careers.

Contact details are available here or email info@thebrightsidetrust.org

Backing Young Britain

Backing Young Britain is a campaign to provide Britain's young people with opportunities to reach their full potential with the support of more than 450 organisations from across the UK.

They provide advice and information about how to offer and run apprenticeships for 16-24 year olds, internships for both graduates and non-graduates, work experience programmes and work trials, all of which will benefit you, the employer, and the young people you are taking on. Backing Young Britain will help you to find eager young people from an often untapped pool of talent through Local Employment Partnerships. If you’re not looking to take anybody on, why not get involved in the mentoring programme and inspire young people to succeed?

The £1 billion Future Jobs Fund is your organisation’s opportunity to create innovative, rewarding jobs primarily for 18-24 year olds and others who face significant barriers in the labour market. The Jobcentre Plus is also offering £1000 for every eligible 18-24 year old you recruit in the Routes to Work programme.

Citizenship Foundation

The Citizenship Foundation is an independent educational charity which encourages individuals to play an effective role in democratic society.

The Citizenship Foundation is committed to ensuring that their resources and programmes can be accessed by young people experiencing, or at risk of, exclusion in those communities that are most commonly excluded from participation and engagement, both locally and nationally.

They seek to enable young people, others in the voluntary and community sector and frontline professionals who work with children and young people to contribute their voice to current debates about Citizenship.

Within their primary beneficiary group of children and young people, they also focus on specific groups, for example pupils excluded from mainstream schools, young asylum seekers and refugees, and those likely to be offered fewer opportunities for participation.

Contact by email at info@citizenshipfoundation.org.uk or by phone on +44 (0)20 7566 4141.

IntoUniversity

IntoUniversity is a centre-based service offered free of charge at specialist facilities located in London.

The vision of IntoUniversity is to provide a national network of high quality, local learning centres where young people are inspired to achieve. Each local IntoUniversity centre will offer an innovative programme that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to attain either a university place or another chosen aspiration.

IntoUniversity works with children and young people with talent and potential who are at risk of underachieving and are seeking, with our help, to improve their life chances. The majority are from ethnic minority backgrounds and other social groups currently underrepresented in higher education.

Internships available for the summer and also at graduate level.

For further information please contact Gemma Fagbadegun with any general enquiries on 020 7243 0242 or via email at gemma@IntoUniversity.org.

Investors in Families

Investors in Families is a new accreditation scheme for school and other settings working with children and families and has been established to recognise and promote the importance of family-friendly approaches, which many schools have already developed.

IiF has established the national standard and works with local authorities to deliver the scheme to local schools and other settings. IiF is building a comprehensive database of good practice to enable participating schools, locally and nationally, to share ideas for working with families. IiF is now being rolled out in unitary and county authorities across England. IiF aims to value and support the role that families play in the life of the child, support families in developing their children's achievement and self-esteem, help families participate in raising their children's achievement and self-esteem and promote social inclusion and a sense of well-being through positive participation in family life.

Contact details
JMC House
10 Honor Road
Prestwood
Great Missenden
Buckinghamshire
HP16 0NJ
T: 01494 890801
E: info@investorsinfamilies.org.uk

National Council for Work Experience (NCWE)

The National Council for Work Experience promotes, supports and develops quality work experience for the benefit of students, organisations and the economy.

Recent research undertaken by NCWE shows that increasingly employers see offering work experience as an effective way of recruiting graduates, since both have a chance to see what each other have to offer. This trend is likely to continue and demonstrates the growing importance of getting some form of work experience before leaving university. Students also benefit by gaining an understanding of what employers are looking for when they come to recruit graduates and can therefore make more informed career choices.

The importance of undertaking a period of work experience, if you are a student, or providing work placement opportunities, if you are an employer, is growing year-on-year.

Employers want to recruit graduates who have some knowledge of the working world and this is something that students are becoming more aware of. A period of work experience can benefit both students and employers offering students the opportunity to put theory learning into practice and employers the opportunity to see what graduates are capable of.

The Quality Mark is an accreditation awarded by the National Council for Work Experience (NCWE) to recognise employers who have reached the required standard of work experience provision.

Contact:
Heather Collier              Director                         0161 277 5267
Anna Tayler                  Executive Assistant       0161 277 5273
Rachel Wood-Harper     Quality Adviser              0161 277 5215

Query form available.

UK Career Academy Foundation

Career Academies UK leads and supports a movement of over 700 employers and over 120 schools and colleges, working together to raise the aspirations of 16 to 19-year-olds. 95% of Career Academy graduates go on to higher education, or an equivalent level of work-related training, compared with a predicted 40% based on their GCSE performance at the start of the programme.

Career Academy students follow a rigorous two-year curriculum equivalent to at least three A levels. It can include vocational qualifications such as BTEC or Applied A levels, as well as the Advanced Diploma, or a combination of these, depending on local need. Importantly, these all feature in the National Qualifications Framework and so are recognised for entrance to university or employment.

The whole Career Academy class follows the same programme of study with its various curriculum enhancements, such as visiting speakers or “Guru Lectures”, mentoring by employee volunteers, employer-led seminars and the “jewel in the crown” six-week paid internship which takes place in the summer between the two years of the course based on a standard working hour week in a real operating environment, aiming to use the skills and knowledge the student has learned in school/college.

Email: info@careeracademies.org.uk
Tel: 020 7986 5494.

Young Foundation

The Young Foundation’s Launchpad develops promising ideas into new social ventures - and supports social entrepreneurs who approach us with promising ideas, by providing early stage funding, social capital and entrepreneurial expertise. Ideas are selected for their potential to achieve high social impact through a new innovative, scalable and sustainable venture. This might be as a business, social enterprise, non-profit or public institution. The Young Foundation also works closely with policy makers, the public and private sector to build markets and form partnerships for ventures.

Projects include:

• “Healthy Incentives”, part of the Health Launchpad, where the aim is to develop and administer a reward scheme to encourage and support people to lead healthy lives.
• “Faking It”, part of the Learning Launchpad and based on the television programme of the same name, allows young people to ‘fake it' in an unknown job with unfamiliar surroundings allowing them to quickly learn skills and adopt appropriate personas, gain a real-world learning experience and open their eyes to different career opportunities.

Internships: Interns work alongside our small and dedicated team of staff at our Victoria Park Square offices located in Bethnal Green. We introduce interns to all aspects of our work and ensure that the input they make during their time with us forms a relevant and valuable contribution to our ongoing projects. Vacancies are available too.

Headstart

Headstart is an education programme whose aim is to encourage students interested in mathematics or science to consider technology-based careers. It provides an opportunity for those in Year 12/S5 to spend up to a week at university prior to making their UCAS application. 

TeachersNet

Examples of innovative practice at schools.