Ipsos | Uni Connect Phase 3 : Attainment-raising Activity – Final Report
30 sustained intervention throughout the academic year . As a result , some partnerships stated that the short-term funding of this strand misaligned with the long-term outcomes associated with attainmentraising . This shorter timeframe was also considered a barrier to buy-in from schools and partners , as well as to general relationship-building and maintenance with schools and partners .
3.5 Facilitators to delivery Summary : There were six core facilitators identified across partnerships , relating to : 1 ) Leveraging existing relationships with schools 2 ) Taking a flexible approach to delivery 3 ) Knowledge sharing across partnerships 4 ) Taking a sequential approach across the programme 5 ) Building rapport with learners 6 ) Providing engaging activities outside of the school environment
Leveraging existing relationships was identified as a core facilitator that has supported delivery . Most partnerships selected schools that they had strong existing relationships with to deliver new attainmentraising programmes , which facilitated communication and logistical requirements ( e . g . data sharing agreements ). The majority ( 68 %) of school staff surveyed reported their school having been involved in the Uni Connect programme prior to the attainment-raising strand . This facilitated a more adaptive approach to delivery as the partnerships had enhanced knowledge of school and learner needs , and trusted schools to appropriately select learners . Existing relationships were also leveraged amongst partners and third-party providers , with many partnerships expressing concern over the risk of relying on new providers .
Relationship maintenance and building was a core facilitator that partnerships prioritised to support delivery at all levels . Partnerships sometimes had coordinators based in schools , which helped to facilitate delivery and address the challenges being faced . These coordinators can also improve engagement while understanding the needs and priorities of schools . Their existing knowledge of the school and learners helped them to develop relationships with learners themselves :
“ It ’ s all about relationship-building with young people and it ’ s really hard to do that in a very short space of time [...] So , we would have the same coordinator going out to the school so there is a consistency with the person young people are seeing and we will say at the beginning of our sessions what the purpose is of us being there and the bigger idea of it .” ( Partnership lead )
The most effective examples of positive relations with schools were when partnerships had early communication with schools . This early communication enabled partnerships to understand the nature and extent of the school ’ s needs related to attainment-raising , which in turn facilitated greater engagement amongst school senior leadership and curriculum staff .
As noted previously , partnerships felt that taking a flexible approach was important for successful delivery . For example , many delivery officers moved delivery to out-of-school hours and school holidays . This included learning generated through piloting ( for those that did conduct pilots ), which was applied iteratively to adapt delivery approaches . Delivery staff also recognised that adaptation was required during term-time delivery around ad-hoc commitments ( e . g . mock examinations , school trips , revision days ), so pre-existing plans were changed accordingly .
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 .