New ‘Let’s Talk About’ Portal at RCS

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) is delighted to share with you the Let’s Talk About portal which has been in development over the past six months. This brings together the inspiring care experienced and estranged projects we have been privileged to be involved in, highlights the excellent practice of Artists and participants seen in these, and shares the research papers associated with it.

It’s been a huge piece of work, but we believe it’s a rich, though provoking and joyful representation of the brilliant things that the contributors do.

With the ‘Latest News’ page, the portal will continue to be updated regularly, so please if you have any information about the creative work or projects you have coming up in this field, we’d love to know. We hope that we will be able to add resources and build networks of people interested in working with and supporting care experienced and estranged young people in Scotland (and beyond!)

Our next step in this journey will be hosting a symposium at RCS on 1^st April 2025 all about working with care experienced and estranged students and artists – we’ll keep you posted of opportunities to get involved or attend.

Please share with your colleagues and networks who might be interested.
https://portal.rcs.ac.uk/lets-talk-about/

The Fair Access team at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is developing a brand new community arts focussed degree programme called BA Arts with Community. It is ideal for Fair Access learners.

They are keen to engage with potential students who are just as interested in creativity as they are in making a change through the work they do.

To find out more about the new programme click here and here.

If you know anyone who fits the bill, do get in touch via fairaccess@rcs.ac.uk .

Prospective students can also sign up for one of a series of discovery sessions (online and in person) via this link. The upcoming sessions take place on Thursday 5th December (at RCS) and Tuesday 7th January (online).

These sessions will:

give potential students time to meet the team and ask questions
provide more information about the course
facilitate discussions around community engagement

Uni Myths Busted!

UCAS has teamed up with University Alliance, Uni Taster Days, the Sixth Form Colleges Association, and Bright Young Things to launch the Uni Myths Busted campaign to tackle common misconceptions about going to university. The campaign features free resources for schools to help you support your students when making their post-school choices.

UCAS undergraduate application data from the 15 October deadline shows UK applications increased by 1.3% (+990 applicants). Overall, applications from 18-year-olds decreased across the UK by 0.9% (-370) but in Scotland the number of 18-year-olds applying increased by 8% (+110 applicants).

There are also recordings on the UCAS website of its recent ‘Ask Us Anything’ online Q&A sessions for advisers and teachers, including New Personal Statement for 2026 and How to support students taking admissions tests – available to view in Ask Us Anything: Resources.

Also, see the Adviser Lives webpage for an overview of upcoming webinars including some on 4th of December and 14th January.

This month we extend our appreciation to Muriel Alexander as she embarks on her well-deserved retirement. Muriel has been a been a wonderful colleague and friend to those who have worked with her over her career at various institutions in the higher education sector.

She has been a remarkable leader for SCAPP, taking the helm from its infancy and guiding it through an incredible evolution. Under her stewardship, SCAPP grew to over 600 members and she established four working groups dedicated to providing networking, events and professional development opportunities for the widening access and widening participation sector in Scotland. Her commitment to inclusivity and collaboration is reflected in an active network which thrives across higher education, further education, and the third sector.

Congratulations, Muriel, on your retirement! You leave behind a community that is stronger and more connected than ever. Enjoy this new chapter!

(added October 2024)

Our new SCAPP LinkedIn page has been set up to keep you up-to-date with news and developments across the WA & WP sector in Scotland as and when things happen and will complement our monthly newsletter and emails.

Please join our growing community of followers!

UCAS also have a new LinkedIn showcase page for Advisers which you can follow for:

🎓 The latest updates on UCAS and educational developments
📚 Expert tips to help students explore their career paths
📝 Essential resources to assist with supporting applications
💼 Guidance on apprenticeships, CVs, and more!

(added October 2024)

We are delighted to announce that a third cycle of the SCAPP staff mentoring programme – MAPS (Mentoring for Access Practitioners) – will run from December 2024 – May 2025.

It is designed to bring together practitioners to support one another and provide space and time for discussions, personal development and cross institution/organisation working.

You do not need to be in a management position to be a mentor, and SCAPP members could consider being both a mentor and mentee. The time commitment will be at the discretion of each mentor/mentee pair however we suggest an hour per month, per role would be suitable for the duration of the programme.

Participating in a mentoring scheme can be extremely rewarding and fulfilling and an important and valuable part of personal and professional development whether you are at the beginning of your widening participation career or an experienced practitioner.

The deadline for applications is Friday 22nd November 2024. Please submit your application(s) using the links below:

Application Form for Mentors
Application Form for Mentees

Information Session:
We invite those of you who would like further details before applying, to attend a free information session from 1.30 – 2.30pm on Wednesday 6th November (online via Teams).

Sign up here to attend this free event.

(added October 2024)

Are you starting or planning an evaluation of a WP initiative in 2025?

Would you and your project team benefit from the support of a group of colleagues from across the sector who are evaluating their own initiatives?

If so, you are invited to apply to join the 2025 SCAPP WP Evaluation Matters Community of Practice!

The Community of Practice will comprise individuals or small project teams from across the Scottish WP sector who are carrying out WP evaluation and want to work together to learn how to do it better. The group will commit to sharing experiences and good practice, whilst supporting each other to use the SCAPP WP Evaluation Guide and to progress their own evaluation projects.

The group will meet approximately once every 4 to 6 weeks, beginning with an in-person launch on 8th January 2025 at the University of Stirling and then mainly online throughout 2025 (with some in-person sessions too). It will be facilitated by Alison Browitt (University of Glasgow) and Jennie Younger (LEAPS).

Further support will be provided by SCAPP in addressing training needs identified by the group as they work through their own evaluations (e.g. through a series of sessions with experts). The Community of Practice will agree a final output which will be of use to the group and the sector more broadly.

Why take part?
After a successful first iteration in 2023-2024, SCAPP is launching the 2025 WP Evaluation Matters Community of Practice in a similar format but learning from the evaluation of the first iteration. The first cohort of participants said:

it was an inclusive community for sharing practice with reassurances gained from working with other like-minded practitioners,
the level, amount, and depth of the continuing professional development on offer within the community of practice was above expectations
knowledge and skills developed through the community of practice increased confidence in carrying out WP evaluation.

Application Process
To apply to join the Community of Practice, please complete this online application form by Friday 22^nd November 2024.

Save the Date:
What: Introductory Meeting of the SCAPP WP Evaluation Matters Community of Practice
When: Wednesday 8^th January 2025 (time tbc)
Where: University of Stirling
NB: Please note if you are unable to make the in-person introductory session this does not preclude you from applying to join the CoP.

Please do get in touch with us at scapp@stir.ac.uk if you have any questions.

(added October 2024)

We are currently inviting applications to join SCAPP’s Articulation Working Group.

The group is an active community of practice which supports practitioners who have an interest or role in articulation and the pathways between school, college and university as part of the broader learner journey.

Full details about the remit and current membership of the group can be viewed on the SCAPP website.

Meetings:
The group meets 3 times a year (twice online and once in person). The next meeting is on Tues 10th Dec 2024 from 3-4.45 online.

How to apply:

Please provide a short summary (200 words max) of your relevant skills and experience and why you would like to be involved in the work of the group by close on Fri 15th November 2024 to scapp@stir.ac.uk.

For further information or an informal discussion, please contact Patricia Anderson, SCAPP Development Manager (patricia.anderson@stir.ac.uk).

(added October 2024)

Do you ever wish you could quickly connect with colleagues working in similar roles in WP at other institutions but don’t know who they are or where to find out?

At last month’s Connect with Coffee session which focused the conversation on articulation, we launched our pilot MS Teams chat thread: SCAPP Articulation Chat.

The aim of the SCAPP Articulation Chat is to connect colleagues across Scotland working in or interested in articulation through an instant messaging space where they can ask questions, share information and tap into the hive mind quickly!

We hope this chat thread will prove useful and provide proof of concept for chat threads on other WP themes to be set up too.

Sign up to join the chat thread on MS Teams here.

(added October 2024)

Carole Mooney is leaving Edinburgh Napier University after 15 years. She started with ELRAH (Edinburgh, Lothian, Fife and Borders Regional Articulation Hub) in 2009 under Andrew Comrie as Director and Heather Sanderson as Project Manager. It was the first of its kind in Scotland, and made a real impact. The model, which was ground-breaking in placing Advisers in Colleges as well as Universities, laid the now well-trodden path of college to university articulation and was an example of true partnership working.

Carole was based in Forth Valley College and West Lothian College. All who worked with her there, and in subsequent years at Edinburgh Napier, would attest to her meticulous nature and professionalism at all times. She has a great ability to develop relationships and working partnerships both internally and externally.

Carole also served on the SCAPP Steering Group for almost four years and was Co Chair of SCAPP’s Articulation Working Group offering her expertise, experience and wisdom to the activities and events of this group. SCAPP would like to thank Carole for everything she has done to support SCAPP and widening participation.

Carole is a real believer in widening participation, over access, having worked in this field for over 20 years. She has positively impacted the lives of so many students.

An Adult Returner herself, it won’t surprise us that she was the first in her class who secured a job after graduating from her computer science degree to take up post at Stirling University. She also achieved her Masters in Blended and Online Education while at Napier. A statement to her own drive for learning as well as CLD around effective and engaging learning in different contexts and formats to enhance wider accessibility.

She balances her strong personal values, against knowing when to speak up against injustice. She has a heart of gold.

Not all work and no play, she is also fabulous in a quiz, at putting PowerPoints of travel escapades together and has been known to belt out a few soulful tunes in folks pubs.

Carole wants to continue working part time and we know that her expertise enthusiasm and zest for life will continue to carry her far. We thank her for just being authentically Carole, for her contributions, and wish her every happiness in the future. A future where she is looking forward to spending more time with her grandson, travelling, and living life at a slower pace.

(added September 2024)

Click here to access the resource

It has been designed for Widening Access and Widening Participation practitioners including teachers, lecturers and other college and university staff who may engage with students from disadvantaged backgrounds and support underrepresented learners.

It aims to build knowledge and understanding of widening participation theories which inform practice, as well as past and present policies and priorities of the changing higher education landscape in Scotland. It will encourage you to critically reflect on successes and ongoing challenges in the sector and how they relate to your own practice.

Sections of this new resource include:

Theories and terminology in WP
History and Timeline of WP in Scotland
Types of WP Interventions: Pre-entry, Post-entry and Alternative pathways
Considering Evaluation
Information on WP cohorts
The skills needed by a Widening Participation Practitioner
Reflection Points
Case Studies and the sharing of professional journeys

It has been developed by industry professionals: Gill Ryan and Alison Train, in collaboration with a working group of new practitioners, consultation with SCAPP’s Learning & Development Working Group, and from contributions with numerous professionals and projects across the Scottish Sector.

Thanks to everyone who has been involved!

If you have any comments of questions please email scapp@stir.ac.uk

(added 29th August 2024)

Elsbeth joined Aspire North as a Development Worker in October 2007 following a varied career, throughout which advocacy for young people has featured strongly. Previously holding roles which involved work with young offenders, educating young people on sexual health, work with Careers Scotland (now SDS) and successfully setting up and sourcing funding for several youth work projects, her move into the world of widening access utilised all her skills and experiences.

Over the past 17 years Elsbeth, now Regional Coordinator, has led the Aspire North Highlands team, inspiring countless young people through her engaging workshop ideas and experiential activities, to consider a path into HE but always with the knowledge and experience to advise on alternatives so they could choose the right path for themselves. This has not been without its challenges!

How do you bring young people from all over the Highlands, including Shetland, on residential to experience a university campus? Or redevelop of a whole programme in 2 days – no problem! Her unwavering ability to find a solution, and meticulous attention to detail, has always got her through the biggest of challenges.

To ensure that the young people of the Highlands have been able to reach information and experiences across Scotland, she has developed a network of colleagues, some of whom have been able to sample the Highland hospitality that she enjoys providing.

In the past few years Elsbeth has been instrumental in the setting up of SCAPP, being a founding member of the working group which took forward the SCAPP proposal, and has been on the SCAPP Steering Group since it was established in January 2020. She took great interest in assisting with the set up of the Professional Accreditation scheme for SCAPP as the professional development of people is something that she is highly skilled at, as I am sure all those that have worked for her would attest to.

Elsbeth has many interests and hobbies, most recently bee-keeping, so will not be without something to fill her time as she retires. Thanks for all you have given to the widening access community and the young people of the Highlands, Elsbeth, and thanks for everything you have done to support the professionalisation of the Widening Access and Widening Participation community.

Now go and have some real adventures!

(Added August 2024)

”Thank you and bye-for-now!”

Thank you for your well wishes as I set off on my travels to South and Central America. It has been a huge privilege to undertake the role of SCAPP Learning & Development Coordinator, I’ve learned so much and I’ve been inspired by the brilliant and meaningful work of our access and participation colleagues across Scotland.

I’d like to thank the SCAPP Steering and Working Groups for their guidance, and each of the SCAPP members I’ve had the pleasure to collaborate with during this role. A special thank you to the incomparable Muriel Alexander as SCAPP Development Manager for her support, trust, direction and encouragement – and our many laughs!

I look forward to seeing Patricia and Jill take SCAPP forward into the next successful chapter. My last day is 29th August, but this is just bye-for-now! I’ll be returning to Scotland in 2025 and I hope to work with you all again in the world of Widening Participation.

Please keep in touch and feel free to add me on LinkedIn in the meantime.

Best wishes and hasta luego! Laura.

(Added August 2024)

We are delighted to announced that Jill Christie has been appointed as the new SCAPP Learning and Development Coordinator and took up her role on 1 August 2024.

Originally for the Highlands, Jill came to Glasgow, as the first in her family to attend university, and never left! Her first experience working in Widening Access and Participation came as an undergraduate working as both a LINK student for the GOALS project and as a mentor at the original Summer Academy at the University of Strathclyde.

Jill holds a Master of Arts in Social Policy from the University of Glasgow and a PGCE in Modern Studies from the University of Strathclyde. Jill spent a decade working in secondary schools progressing to Principal Teacher and Deputy Head positions. She undertook a secondment with Education Scotland, before returning to Higher Education to focus on Widening Participation.

Jill was involved in the Advanced Higher Hub at Glasgow Caledonian University from the very beginning, in 2013, establishing the Hub and working directly with key stakeholders and pupils from schools across Glasgow and, most recently, the South West of Scotland. In addition, Jill has contributed to various initiatives, including developing materials for the Discover Meta-skills Course for Skill Development Scotland and designing the GCU Uni5y programme, which mentored senior pupils in disadvantaged areas across Glasgow.

As the SCAPP Learning and Development Coordinator, Jill is eager to bring her expertise and enthusiasm to members. Her goal is to support the ongoing and future professional learning needs of the SCAPP community, ensuring that it continues to foster a more inclusive and equitable higher education landscape in Scotland.

“I am honoured to join such a dedicated team and look forward to collaborating with members!”

Congratulations to Jill on her appointment and we hope that she is already enjoying her role with SCAPP.

To enable handover for Jill and for Patricia Anderson, the new SCAPP Development Manager, Laura Kwiatkowski has been working full time in August and Muriel Alexander part time during August and September. We hope that this has provided a good opportunity for them to learn the ropes of SCAPP as begin to engage with colleagues across the sector.

(Added July 2024)

We are delighted to announce that Patricia Anderson has been appointed as the new SCAPP Development Manager and will take up her role on 5 August 2024.

Patricia started working in widening access as a student mentor for the GOALS (Greater Opportunity of Access and Learning in Schools) Project in the third year of her English and Sociology degree at the University of Glasgow.

Upon graduation, she became the Wider Access Co-ordinator at Bell College (now Lanarkshire Campus, UWS) where she set up various programmes for school children and adult returners all aimed at widening access to HE. She then taught English as a foreign language in Sicily before teaching secondary English in Lanarkshire for a decade.

Patricia returned to working in widening participation in 2017 at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) where she mentored S5 and S6 students in schools in disadvantaged areas of the city. More recently she has been managing the Advanced Higher Hub at GCU, working predominantly with pupils from schools with low progression rates to HE.

“I am very much looking forward to starting the SCAPP Development Manager role in August. Sterling work has been done to establish this cross-sector community of practice over the last five years and I am keen to build on this while continuing to offer relevant learning opportunities and support for members across the country.

Sharing good practice through SCAPP of the most impactful interventions to improve participation in HE is crucial if we are to meet the 2030 target of 20% of HE students coming from the 20% most deprived postcodes. I am confident that by working together and learning from each other through this essential professional network, we can achieve our goal of a fairer society where your background doesn’t determine your future.”

While Patricia and the new Learning and Development Coordinator, once appointed, learn the ropes of SCAPP, Muriel and Laura will be around during August (Laura) and August and September (Muriel) to support them.

(Added June 2024)

UCAS have released the updated guidance for 2026 entry personal statement changes. This includes the new questions:

Why do you want to study this course or subject?
How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

The full guidance and information can be found here: Personal statements for 2026 entry onwards | Undergraduate | UCAS

As a reminder for 2025 entry students in receipt of free school meals are also eligible for an application fee waiver and the details of this can be found here: Advisers: Free school meals application fee waiver guide | Undergraduate | UCAS

(Added August 2024)

On behalf of the EAN Conference organisers at Abertay University – Jack Hogan, Julie Blackwell-Young and Luke Millard – we would like to thank everyone who came along for one or both days, and to the social events on the Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. It was great to see you all and we are sorry if we didn’t get much time to chat with you.

We welcomed more than 260 delegates from 13 countries across the world, including 108 SCAPP members.

SCAPP, as you may remember, were part of the organising committee, which selected more than 106 presentations, workshops and Show and Tell activities over 2 days, and were included and involved in the planning and implementation of the event.

There were just under 120 workshops, presentations and Show and Tell activities and the SCAPP and Scottish community supported these activities enthusiastically delivering 53 separate sessions covering topics such as Articulation, Learning Pathways, Student Wellbeing, Preparation for HE, Adult Returners, Access Programmes, Student Success, Co-Delivery, College-University Partnerships, Care Experienced partnerships and much more.

We would like to thank everyone who supported the conference as presenters, undertaking Chairing duties or by simply attending.

Personal thanks to Jack Hogan, Luke Millard, Julie Blackwell-Young and the EAN team for delivering such an inclusive, smooth running and well executed event. Organising conferences is not for the faint hearted and your hard work, humour and patience was demonstrated and rewarded in this conference!

Skills Development Scotland have recently refreshed their My World of Work Webpage, with a variety tools for skills discovery, training and pathways information and practical help.
This webpage and tools can be useful to advisors and the students they work with, from primary through to adult learners.

Take a look: https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/

(Added to News June 2024)

UCAS have announced new measures to support students from low income backgrounds, or those who may disregard applying due to entry requirements.

These include:

The UCAS fee will be waived for students in receipt of Free School Meals (or who has been in receipt of FSM in the 6 years prior).
Applicants will also be able to view Historic Grade Data and Offer Rates for each course, to help increase transparency about the admissions process.

The fee waiver will be implemented from September 2024.
Read more on the UCAS News page.

You can also find the 2025 UCAS Advisor Toolkit on the UCAS Website.

(Added to News May 2024)

Universities Scotland has launched a new campaign on widening access called “40 Faces”, which profiles 40 non-traditional students and graduates who share their experience of university and shares their views on what is key to achieve Scotland’s access targets by 2030, that by 2030 20% of Scottish entrants to University will be from the 20% most socioeconomically disadvantaged postcode areas.

40 Faces looks at the narrative and experiences of these learners and highlights key themes which will be key to any further progress.

They are

Start young on self-belief. Schools and universities must continue to cultivate a strong and inclusive sense of belonging amongst underrepresented communities.
Join things up. Achievement of the 2030 goals will only be possible with a holistic approach that sees progress at school, college and university level, including significant progress in the poverty-related attainment gap in schools.
No wrong path. Multiple routes into university need to be available to suit diverse needs and offer second chances and equal access to chances later in life.
Money matters. From the perspective of student finance, which focused more on non-repayable grants and bursaries, and the funding available to universities to support access initiatives and investment on a per student basis.

Find out more at Universities Scotland

(Added to News April 2024)

We are pleased to announce that the Scottish Funding Council has awarded SCAPP further funding from August 2024- July 2025.

We welcome this award which will allow SCAPP to continue to develop and shape activity which is practitioner led, focusing on professional learning and development activities, including the MAPS mentoring programme and the growing Professional Standards Framework and Accreditation Scheme, and the development of evaluation capacities, support and activities for the SCAPP community, while continuing to scope out a sustainable way to achieve this.

Thanks are extended to the Scottish Funding Council, and to the Scottish Government, for their continued financial and personal support and interest in SCAPP.

In addition, we appreciate the continued support and guidance from the SCAPP Steering Group, and the in kind support from many practitioners, all of which has helped in the shaping of SCAPP activity.

(Added to News March 2024)

SCAPP hosted a Practice Sharing event on Wednesday 13th March to bring together the participants of our Evaluation Matters Community of Practice (CoP) which was launched in December 2022.

As part of SCAPP’s commitment to supporting evaluation practice, build capacity of WA/WP practitioners and help to establish ‘what works’ in Access and Participation, the CoP received support from a range of guest speakers providing training sharing practice, with a full schedule of meetings throughout a 12 month period. CoP members produced case studies on their evaluation work alongside a collaborative report.

Our Sharing Event provided an opportunity to have meaningful discussions around our CoP outputs, reflect on the evaluation of this CoP and consider future steps.

SCAPP would like to thank all of the participants for engaging so productively in this CoP, and the professionals who provided their time and expertise to make this CoP a success, particularly our co-facilitators Alison Browitt (University of Glasgow) and Jennie Younger (LEAPS).

You can find out more about Evaluation Matters here on on the Fair Access website

(Added to News March 2024)

In Autumn 2023, SCAPP commissioned an independent consultation to seek the views of members about SCAPPs work and activities and to better understand the value members may derive from SCAPP.

The insight from this evaluation has been used to:

learn from the membership and contribute to the future planning and development of SCAPP and its services
provide services and activities which most effectively use SCAPPs resources

We were pleased that the large majority of respondents derived value from their SCAPP membership and reported a positive impact on their role and on their organisation.

Please see a summary of the results, and how we will have implemented the feedback from this consultation in the attached Summary and ‘You Said We Did’ document.

(Added to news February 2024)

Wee Campus is an online digital community that has been developed and co-designed with students with experience of care to be a safe place to engage, share experiences, advice, find information, and encourage others through their higher education journey. They are open to all and believe everyone wants to be the best they can be, wants to be there for others, and with the right support can excel.

What Wee Campus offers:

Connect with other higher education students with care experience
Share experiences and guidance
Find Information and seek advice
Encourage others through their higher education journey

Find out More:
Website: https://whynottrust.org/the-wee-campus/
Instagram: @thewhynottrust
Facebook: @thewhynottrust
Email: hello@whynottrust.org

(Added to News March 2024)

It is with great sadness that Susan Muller, Director of Stand Alone, has announced the charity’s closure:

”After 12 successful years in the context of rapidly changing circumstances and a challenging wider environment hampering our efforts to raise additional funding, we have had to make the hard decision to close. Stand Alone will cease its operations on 31 March 2024 and will be officially dissolved by 30 April 2024.

This is not a decision Stand Alone’s Board of Trustees have taken lightly.

While we are all very regretful that Stand Alone charity has reached the end of the road, we are immensely proud of what we have achieved. And we want to take this opportunity to celebrate the changes we have effected for estranged students since launching our higher education work in 2016.

Now that Stand Alone is closing it is time to hand over the baton and for higher education sector bodies, higher education providers and other third sector organisations to keep advocating for and driving forward the development of support for estranged students in higher education.”

Stand Alone invite institutions and organisations to join in a social media legacy campaign #ESLegacyPledge during 18-20th March and a final ‘Passing the Baton’ for the Higher Education Sector event on 21 March, which you can sign up to attend, here.

Please read the full announcement from Stand Alone, here.

(Added to news February 2024)

SCAPP seeks a new Chair

SCAPP is seeking a new Chair for its Steering Group to help lead and steer SCAPP through the next phase of its developments as it works towards a more sustainable future.

The Chair performs an important strategic leadership role for SCAPP and the Steering Group, providing focus and direction for its activities, working closely with SCAPP staff members and the Steering Group, acting as a spokesperson for SCAPP as appropriate, and ensuring effective governance arrangements are in place to support the operations of SCAPP. As SCAPP continues to work within a challenging financial landscape, income generation and sustainable operations will be important for the network going forward.

Please see below and on the SCAPP Jobs & Opportunities page for full details of the position and application process.

The College Development Network have relaunched the College Action Inquiry Research Network (CAIRN) Journal. The Journal aims to be an important voice in the scholarship of the Scottish college sector. It aims to provide a forum to disseminate innovation, knowledge and critical insights through a variety of scholarly submissions. These will include: featured research articles, personal reflection articles and book reviews. In addition, we also seek short thoughtful descriptive narrative articles highlighting innovative practices aimed at enhancing and supporting educational core activities.

Preparing to receive NextGen Learners – What you Need to Know

Please share with your networks.

(Added to news January 2024)

Please be aware that the Carer Support Payment will replace Carers Allowance in Scotland, and is planned to be launched nationally in Scotland in Spring 2024.

With this change, there may be impacts on Higher Education Students with caring responsibilities, who are eligible for these payments.

You may also like to read further information on our Student Carers page.

(Added to news December 2023)

Please be aware that SAAS have updated their definition of Students Estranged from their families.

SAAS will not ask estranged applicants for their parents’ income when assessing their student finance package.
Read more on the SAAS website

Estrangement can occur at any time. According to SAAS data a third of students don’t identify / apply to student finance as estranged until their 3rd year.

You may also like to read more on our Estranged Students Page.

(Added to news November 2023)

The SCAPP New Practitioner Network aims to build the knowledge, confidence and networks of practitioners who are new to roles in Widening Access and Widening Participation.

After the success of the 2023 Network, we are pleased to open registrations for the SCAPP New Practitioner Network 2024!

The Network will be co-facilitated by Laura Kwiatkowski (SCAPP Learning & Development Coordinator) and Nicola Kennedy (Senior Outreach Officer – Schools, Edinburgh Napier University). Topic sessions will be run by guest speakers and specialists throughout 2024.

Please read more and register to take part on the SCAPP New Practitioner Network Page.

(added to news October 2023)

If you have an interest in developing the foundations for student success, then you might be interested to know that the Scottish First Year Experience Network has just been launched. This network arose out of the European First Year Experience conference held at Abertay University in June 2023.

Over 40 staff and students attended the inaugural opening, online event. At the session, we agreed on the parameters for our operation and started to identify some of the key areas we could focus on as a collaborative community of practitioners, students and researchers.

In the first instance, our activities will focus on setting expectations for student success across three different targeted activity groups (TAGs): mature, international and articulating students. To join a TAG please complete this short Microsoft form and register your interest.

We welcome anyone who might be interested, from universities, colleges, student organisations or elsewhere.

If you want to get involved, please drop us an email at scottishfye@abertay.ac.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter, @ScotFYEN.

(Added to news October 2023)

UCAS is launching a new service in Autumn 2023. The UCAS Outreach Connection Service will help schools and colleges navigate opportunities offered by HE providers and third-party organisations. Providers and third party providers can showcase their outreach and engagement activities via an online tool, promoting opportunities to support students from underrepresented backgrounds into higher education.

All UCAS registered centres in the UK will have automatic access to this portal.

You can find out more about it here on the UCAS website

(added to news September 2023)

The ICAS Foundation is a registered Scottish Charity which aims to widen access and increase diversity, creating employment routes into the accountancy sector for talented young people from low-income backgrounds. The Nurturing Talent Programme is their key initiative and provides ongoing support for up to 4 years including bursary funding, individualised mentoring, and help in securing internships and graduate jobs. They also provide practical support in areas including interview skills, CV writing and employer engagement.

Please see the document from ICAS with further information.
You may wish to share the information with your finance and bursary teams, and those advising current or prospective students.

The ICAS Foundation team are actively seeking new university partnerships, particularly in the Glasgow region – although the team welcome all enquiries. For more information or to have an informal discussion about how your institution can work with the ICAS Foundation, please contact Sanjay Singh, Director of the ICAS Foundation, at Ssingh@icasfoundation.org.uk

(added to news August 2023)

SCAPP Membership Subscription update

From August 2023, SCAPP is introducing annual membership subscriptions.
Paid SCAPP members are eligible for additional benefits, including access to a dedicated Members area of the Fair Access Website.

If you are a SCAPP member and part of an institution with paid SCAPP membership, you will receive an email from SCAPP. This will provide your SCAPP username and a password, giving you access to sections of the website which will be exclusive to paid members. Please check your junk mail folder as the email may arrive there.

We are currently consulting on membership options for individuals who belong to charities or third sector and voluntary organisations, public sector and private sector organisations, and for individuals who have registered with SCAPP. At this stage they will be considered as Nonpaid Members while we contact them to explore options.

Please see our Paid Members and partners listed here.

A list of benefits for both Paid, and Nonpaid, members can be found on the SCAPP Website.

We will continue to provide useful, purposeful and impactful activities to serve the widening access and participation community and ensure that we are implementing a system that is fair and enable engagement with SCAPP and the wider community.

If you would like to discuss membership please contact scapp@stir.ac.uk

Thanks to everyone who came along to our conference on 16th May. We welcomed just under 140 delegates on the day who took part and inputted to keynote sessions, a Question Time Panel and 12 different workshops, as well as opportunities to network throughout the day.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who attended, and supported the conference in the various roles and capacities on the day. We hope you found it an ideal may to meet new or existing colleagues after more than 3 years when face-to-face meetings and events were simply impossible or challenging to attend.

Thanks to everyone who has completed the conference evaluation survey so far. The deadline is Tuesday 30th May at 17:00. Your feedback will help us plan future events so if you’ve yet to complete you can find the link to the Conference survey here, which should take no more than 5-7 minutes to complete.

We will be uploading presentations from the workshops and on our Conference page together with photos from the day. See Conference Page for more information

If you have any ideas for future events or conference topics and themes please contact us at scapp@stir.ac.uk

Professor John McKendrick from Glasgow Caledonian University, has been appointed as the new Commissioner for Fair Access, succeeding Sir Peter Scott who held this role until June 2022.

Professor McKendrick is co-director of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit and is Professor of Social Justice at GCU.

Further information about this role and Professor McKendrick can be found here

SCAPP would like to congratulate Professor McKendrick on his appointment and look forward to engaging with him as part of the Framework for Fair Access

(Added to News January 2023)

Check out the latest news from across the sector

If you have any news that you want to share, please contact scapp@stir.ac.uk

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New from the Open University

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Farewell to Muriel Alexander, SCAPP Development Manager

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Farewell to Elsbeth Neil, Regional Coordinator Aspire North

Good Luck and Haste ye Back - Laura Kwiatkowski

”Thank you and bye-for-now!”

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New SCAPP Learning and Development Coordinator

New SCAPP Development Manager

UCAS Updated Guidance for 2026 entry Personal Statement changes

EAN Conference - Thanks

Updated My World of Work Resources

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40 Faces

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Closure of Stand Alone

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Changes to Carer Support Payment

EAN Conference - SCAPP Site Visit to Abertay University

SAAS Estranged Student Definition Update

SCAPP New Practitioner Network 2024

Scottish First Year Experience Network

SCQF Guide to Ukrainian Qualifications

UCAS Outreach Connection Service

ICAS Foundation

SCAPP Subscription Update

SCAPP Conference 2023

New Commissioner for Fair Access is appointed