Ipsos | Uni Connect Phase 3 : Attainment-raising Activity – Final Report
27
3.4 Barriers to delivery
Summary : There were six main barriers to delivery that were identified across partnerships , relating to :
1 ) Buy-in to the concept of attainment-raising under Uni Connect 2 ) The recruitment of delivery staff 3 ) Logistical barriers to delivery 4 ) Challenges to selecting appropriate learners 5 ) Learner engagement issues within schools 6 ) The short-term nature of the programme and funding .
Buying into the concept of attainment-raising and understanding how this requirement falls within the partnerships ’ responsibilities was a challenge for many during the planning and set-up stages . Most partnerships identify as outreach and ambition-raising organisations , and therefore attainment-raising was rarely approached in isolation . Many leads considered their core responsibility as outreach , and attainment-raising was considered an aspect within this . Buy-in for this new strand was therefore gradual amongst partnerships , and their understanding of how this aligns with their wider strategy continues to evolve . However , partnerships relayed more positive reflections about their role in attainment-raising relative to planning stages , suggesting many have a better understanding of how this aligns with their overall delivery . There was a strong agreement amongst partnership leads that a more “ blended ” approach across the strands would be preferable , where attainment-raising is not “ boxed off ” ( quotes sourced from partnership lead workshop ). Instead , leads felt attainment-raising should be embedded within the wider ambition-raising approach of Uni Connect , in which it has a naturally symbiotic relationship .
“ It can be difficult to get that buy-in to attainment-raising work when schools are attainmentraising institutions , right . The number one thing that schools do is safeguarding , the number two thing that they ’ ll do is attainment-raising . They are there to raise attainment .” ( Stakeholder )
“ Uni Connect was set up as an ambition-raising programme . It wasn ’ t until two years ago that we switched […] raising attainment was to be included in our package of activities . However , that said , although the vast majority of work that we have always done was about raising ambition , we have been engaged in raising attainment by default . Decoupling those two things is really problematic and challenging .” ( Partnership lead )
The recruitment of delivery staff was a challenge for partnerships , and this meant that some lacked sufficient staff to deliver the planned attainment-raising activities within schools . This was particularly the case for tutoring staff , with one partnership stating the recruitment of graduates to deliver a literacybased programme was “ one of the biggest challenges ” they faced during delivery . Partnerships stated that some third-party providers have identified a local shortage in tutor availability , and recruitment challenges are more acute in rural areas that lack sufficient public transport provision . School staff also expressed concerns that the quality of external online tutors was inconsistent and difficult to monitor :
“ The quality of service from some tutors on the [ tutoring ] platform was not as good as it was with others and what we are used to . The platform has been quite difficult to work with after Easter
20-048464 | FINAL | Public | This work was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the international quality standard for Market Research , ISO 20252 , and with the Ipsos MORI Terms and Conditions which can be found at http :// www . ipsos-mori . com / terms .