“ It ’ s such a big responsibility to take students out of lessons . I have to work so hard and use so much energy with all the paperwork and all that stuff to make things happen . If I know you and think I ' m going to run is going to be really , really good then I will 100 percent do it .” SPoC Bournemouth School
c ) Engagement activity across SUN stakeholders
From the information gathered across this report the below three themes should be encompassed in all SUN funded activity :
i . Attitudes and knowledge of FE and HE – This theme directly links to the OfS focus for impartial information , advice and guidance . In addition to this , from our baseline survey and the SUN Young Researchers survey , young people have told us that their knowledge on post-16 and post-18 choices is low . School and College staff have also commented that staff across institutions with no direct careers responsibility should also receive CPD on progression choices to ensure that messaging is consistent and of quality ii . Attainment – GCSE attainment is known to have a direct impact upon the likelihood of progressing to HE 7 . SUN ’ s own data supports this with NCOP learners who attending our GCSE revision events being more likely to be predicted a Grade 3 than their non-NCOP peers . This small cohort is reflective of wider local authority data which suggests that NCOP learners are not attaining at the same level as their non-NCOP peers . To make significant rapid progress in the number of NCOP learners entering HE SUN should be supporting attainment based interventions iii . Positive Possible Selves – This theme is based upon Markus & Nurius ( 1986 ) Possible Selves conceptual theory which Harrison & Waller ( 2018 ) suggest is used as a step change in widening participation discourses . Harrison and Waller suggest that the current deficit discourses of aspiration are not fit for purpose and instead , practitioners should focus on discourses of expectation of aspiration . This is reflected in SUN data where our baseline survey shows no difference in aspiration of progression between NCOP and non-NCOP however ; their expectations of attainment to achieve progression is less than their non- NCOP peers . Young people have also commented that their engagement in outreach is limited by wider responsibilities they have and the stress and anxiety of this and future choices . By focusing activity on these non-curricular aspects , SUN funded interventions would enable more holistic support for NCOP learners in decision making processes
FURTHER INFORMATION : SUN Research and Evaluation Team SUN @ soton . ac . uk
7 http :// 193.61.4.225 / web-files / our-staff / academic / edward-melhuish / documents / 3 . RR352 _ - _ Influences _ on _ Students _ GCSE _ Attainment _ and _ Progress _ at _ Age _ 16 . pdf
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