Executive Summary
Background
The Office for Students has tasked The Southern University Network ( SUN ) to become a central point for all schools within Hampshire , Dorset , and the Isle of Wight and support them in achieving Gatsby Benchmark 7 “ Encounters with Further and Higher Education Providers ”. The expansion of SUN ’ s remit now includes schools in the North Dorset area who are currently not receiving any outreach provision from pre-existing University outreach nor SUN . The purpose of this research was to make contact with identified schools in North Dorset , to understand their existing careers / HE outreach provision , challenges in delivering a programme of activities , gaps in provision , and to provide recommendations to SUN .
Methodology
A qualitative approach to data collection was adopted . An online questionnaire was distributed to staff at each of the schools . In total there were four responses . All respondents were staff responsible for careers . These respondents were then invited to take part in an online semi structured interview to expand upon and discuss responses to the online questionnaire . In total three participants were interviewed .
Key Findings
• Each school offers a programme of events and activities across different year groups , covering HE , FE , and apprenticeships .
• Provision has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic , but schools have attempted to run some form of careers programme .
• Financial challenges in running a careers programme have been experienced , and these had been exacerbated by the pandemic .
• The increase in online information has brought its own challenges , such as determining the most valuable resources to share with students , the repetitive nature of some information , and the reliability / accuracy of the information provided .
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