Ipsos | Uni Connect Phase 3 : Attainment-raising Activity – Final Report
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Partnerships seek advice from one another across the Uni Connect programme , which supports knowledge sharing and examples of best practice . Partnerships regularly meet with other partnerships to discuss delivery , which helps them understand what is going well and less well and potential solutions to challenges . Examples of both pre-established working groups and Uni Connect-level meeting opportunities were evident , however knowledge sharing was more apparent through informal , selfinitiated collaboration .
Programmes were particularly successful when they had a sequential approach that was designed to gradually build on learners ’ skills and knowledge throughout the individual activity . Some partnerships had developed their programme provision from Year 8 up to Year 11 ( Key Stage 3 through to Key Stage 4 ) so younger learners were able to develop and advance their skills ( e . g . revision skills , oracy skills , metacognition ) as they approach Year 11 . Some school staff thought this was effective forward planning :
“ We feel as though the longer the students engage with the programme , the more they will take from it . Those that have taken part in Year 8 and Year 9 [ activities ] will be able to further cement the skills learnt this year and make them part of their working practices .” ( School staff )
Though schools received the content ’ s buildable approach well , some staff felt that more guidance on how to consolidate and embed this learning into the curriculum moving forward would be useful . This could be a potential opportunity for partnerships to ensure the activities ’ impacts have greater longevity in learners ’ academic journeys .
Taking steps to develop rapport with learners was a key facilitator , particularly for small group and 1:1 activities . Delivery staff across partnerships and school staff emphasised the importance of consistent delivery staff for building rapport and ensuring that a relationship can be developed to improve engagement with learners . This was particularly important for mentoring activities and other programmes that demand open communication .
In some partnerships , teachers attended activity sessions to manage learner behaviour , which allowed delivery staff to focus fully on activity delivery . Amongst school staff surveyed , over half attended attainment-raising activities either for behavioural management purposes ( 59 %) or to support with delivery ( 55 %), as demonstrated in Figure 3.2 . Having school staff present in these sessions also acted as an informal CPD , as it enabled school staff to learn about the attainment-raising techniques and consider how they could incorporate them into their lessons . Amongst school staff interviewed and surveyed , some suggested that more guidance on how to repurpose and apply attainment-raising approaches into their own curriculum lesson time would add additional value to the programmes .
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 .