1. University of Wolverhampton
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  3. Widening Participation
The path on St Peter's Walk, near the entrance to the Wolverhampton Art Gallery in autumn.

Access and Widening Participation

The University of Wolverhampton has a strong track record in supporting underreported groups to progress and be successful in Higher Education and was recently ranked number 1 in the UK for the teaching of first-generation students, according to a survey carried out by the Daily Mail.

Due to this strong record, the University chose to be one of the first universities to trial the new Access and Participation Plan (APP) approach, looking at risks to equality of opportunity.

APPs set out how Higher Education providers will improve equality of opportunity to access, succeed in and progress from Higher Education. Please see the link below for the University of Wolverhampton’s APP in relation to access, in line with the Office for Students’ new directive, focuses heavily on supporting schools to raise attainment. As identified in the APP as the only Access risk, the focus for this work will be students from IMD1 and POLAR1 quintiles in the local region, including white working-class males who may not perceive that they have the relevant knowledge and skills to enter and achieve in Higher Education.

To deliver the new APP, we are working closely with the University’s Uni Connect partnership, Aspire to HE, who have already successfully trialed some of this work, as well as delivering other successful Widening Participation initiatives. Click here to view our APP.

Whilst the University currently has no other identified access gaps, we continue to work to maintain strong levels of access for those groups whom the OfS identify as being at risk as listed below. Access Workstream meetings take place monthly and bring staff together from across the University to work in partnership to improve the access, success and progression outcomes for these groups:

  • Refugees and migrants
  • Mature learners
  • Care leavers
  • Student from areas of low Higher Education participation, low household income or low socioeconomic status
  • Some Global Majority students
  • Disabled students
  • Carers
  • People estranged from their families
  • People from Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities
  • Children from military families

Meet the Team

UK Access, Skills and Widening Participation Manager

Natalie has worked in the field of Widening Access for over 25 years. Initially starting her career in FE she soon moved to work, and latterly direct, the Black Country’s national Aimhigher programme before moving to support the establishment the University of Wolverhampton’s Access and Outreach team. Whilst at the University, Natalie implemented numerous projects designed to raise aspirations, support attainment and enable progression including designing and implementing a ground-breaking, progressive programme for Children in Care.

Following on from this, Natalie was approached to work on the DfE's National initiative, the Care Leaver Covenant as the Head of Education Partnerships working with HEIs and FECs across England to help them to improve their access and support to care experienced young people at their institutions and in the wider community.

Natalie has now moved back to the University of Wolverhampton and heads up the Access and Widening Participation Team.

Natalie was the first person in my family to attend Higher Education so this work is very close to her heart.  Fun fact, Natalie once performed live with Take That!

Senior Access, Skills and Widening Participation Coordinator

My career to date has been focused on access and widening participation, enabling people of all ages and backgrounds to dismantle barriers and to access education, employment, or training. I started my career in education as a secondary Modern Languages teacher (German and French). I then moved into a HE role with responsibility for marketing, access and schools’ liaison for a college of the University of Southampton.

Following a move to the West Midlands, she worked in FE as a student services coordinator before training as a Personal Adviser with Connexions. She worked in a range of settings including community work with NEET young people, raising aspirations and supporting students to develop, realise and mobilise their capabilities. Paula then worked as a Careers Adviser and provided advice and guidance on progression (including HE) in schools and colleges across Telford. For five years, she managed University Centre Telford, the University of Wolverhampton’s first Regional Learning Centre. She was responsible for delivering activity to raise aspirations and widen the participation of both mature and younger students in schools, colleges, and the community.

I am now working as the Access, Skills and Widening Participation Coordinator at the University and am delivering activity for those who are under-represented in HE.

Paula enjoys swimming, walking, books, films, travel and spending time with her family and friends.

Access and Children's University Coordinator

Tamara has worked in education for over 15 years. She started out teaching in a secondary school for 3 years, then moving to work at the University of Wolverhampton. For 12 years, she worked as a Mathematics lecturer, any spent a large proportion of my time working with the Further Maths Support Programme to organise and deliver enrichment to students.

In March 2023, she became the Access and Children's University Coordinator, organising events and delivering workshops for local primary schools, and running the University of Wolverhampton Children’s University.

She loves crafty activities, such as cross stitch, diamond art and sequin art.

A2U Senior Project Coordinator

Mel has worked in the education field for over 30 years and her extensive background working with young people includes youth work, running a local authority behaviour service, specialist, adviser, trainer for Head Teachers and senior staff, head of an alternative provider and a school associate. A prolific life-long learner and an advocate of the power of education, Mel is a champion for raising aspirations of all young people she has the privilege of working with.

In her spare time Mel is a house music DJ and plays out in bars, clubs and festivals.

A2U Enrichment Officer

Dipisha has worked in Higher Education for over eight years, including roles organising high profile and university-wide events, developing webpages, and she is now a Participation Officer in the University’s Aspire 2 Uni team (A2U).

In her current role she oversees marketing for the A2U programme, manages programme data and its reporting, organises events including the annual graduation and enrichment events and manages the A2U social media accounts.

She is passionate about ‘giving back’ to others, whether this may take the form of sharing her positive words of wisdom or fundraising for charities. She also enjoys travelling, going on hikes, and running.

Coming soon.

Access and Widening Participation Assistant

Jen started her career in Widening Participation as a volunteer ESOL tutor at our English Café during COVID lockdown. Before that, she worked in fraud and construction. She supports all of our projects and events, data, social media and admin. Jen also manages the University's input in the national School Tasking project

Fun facts: she was a first generation student. In her downtime, she likes eco-resin crafts, video games and weightlifting. She is one of 0.5% of the world's population with an extra rib.

Aspire to HE Senior Programme Office

Aspire to HE Lead for Relationships and Signposting

Young Adult Carers Programme
The team is pleased to be involved in Driving Change in Higher Education with Learning and Work Institute and Carers Federation. We look forward to developing and embedding an organisational approach to supporting young adult carers in the University of Wolverhampton community, as well as young people who might aspire to a university education but who face barriers resulting from their caring responsibilities.

FE Access Programme
We work with students who are studying on Access to HE courses, which are offered in colleges and Councils, such as Telford and Wrekin Council. Support is offered with decision making around Higher Education, subject choices, UCAS applications, personal statements, and student finance. We work in collaboration with staff in the University’s Gateway Team, who provide pre-entry advice and guidance. Some programmes are targeted at certain groups and we are currently beginning a pilot programme with City of Wolverhampton College, targeted at those who are estranged from their families or are Care Experienced.

Disability and Inclusion Support
We hold bespoke events, such as campus tours and talks from University Disability Support Team, on campus for people with physical or learning differences. This can include the voice of current lived experience students. For more information, contact us below.

We organise bespoke events such as campus visits including a tour, lunch, and outreach sessions and input from the Head of Student Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion on the support available to students with mental or physical health needs or learning difficulties. Student Ambassadors with lived experience of these needs support the visits and provide an insight into the support that they have received. We also organise visits to specialist schools and alternative settings to deliver presentations on applying to university. The team also attends SEND events in both Wolverhampton and Telford to provide information, advice and guidance to pupils from local schools who have Education, Health and Care Plans.

Monitoring and Evaluation
We are keen to find out if our interventions and activities are making a difference. In the short term, in relation to attitudes, knowledge, aspirations and attainment. In the long term, in relation to applications to Higher Education. In order to do this, we have developed cross activity Theory of Change documents and aim to track participants via the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT) for our more intensive interventions. Please click here to see our Widening Participation Privacy Notice.

 

Contact Us

Email: AccessandWP@wlv.ac.uk