SCAPP Updates - February 2025

 

Plans for the SCAPP 2025 Conference are now well underway.  Thank you to those of you who offered ideas to help shape the conference focus through the online suggestions form last month.

Our call for session proposals is now open! Submit your proposal here by close on Friday 7th March.

Conference tickets will go on sale in early March – watch out for the notification email in your inbox!

 

SCAPP Opportunities

 

SCAPP seeks a new Chair!
Could you be the new Chair for the SCAPP Steering Group to help lead SCAPP through the next phase of its development as it works towards a more sustainable future? See the SCAPP Jobs & Opportunities page on our website for full details of the position and application process. The deadline to apply is 28 March 2025.

 

SCAPP Events Working Group
Thanks to those who have joined our short-life SCAPP Events Working Group. We are looking forward to the first online meeting on Thurs 6th March – your support with preparations for the May conference is very much appreciated.

We are still looking for volunteers for the day to help register, direct and generally support the smooth running of the event. Please email scapp@stir.ac.uk if you are available.

 

SCAPP New Practitioner Network 2025 Launch Event 

Wed 5th March 1pm – 4.30pm, (University of Stirling)

Any interested practitioner with less than 3 years experience (including members of NPN 2024) can register here to join the network at any time. Those who register before 26th February are eligible to attend the Launch event. Please encourage your colleagues to get involved!

 

SCAPP Connect with Coffee

Wed 19th March 10am – 11am (Online on Teams)

The next free ‘Connect with Coffee’ session will provide an opportunity to find out more about the fair access work at UCAS to support applicants and advisers. Special guest, Ellie Rowley, UCAS Fair Access Programme Lead, will join the SCAPP team to offer insights and answer your questions. Come along with (or without!) a cuppa to learn, share and network with others.

Register here to attend.

Forthcoming Connect with Coffee Dates:

Thurs 24 Apr 10 – 11am
Tues 20 May 10 – 11am
Wed 18 Jun 10 – 11am

If you have any suggestions for themes to discuss at future Connect with Coffee sessions, please let us know here.

 

Roundup of SCAPP Networking, Professional Learning and Events

 

MAPS (Mentoring for Access Professionals)
18 pairs started work towards implementing mentees’ action plans this month. We continue to check in and offer support if necessary.

 

Evaluation Matters Community of Practice
12 groups are progressing with their work as members of SCAPP’s second Evaluation Matters CoP.  The first online meeting was on 28th January with the next on 27th February.

 

New Practitioner Network
26 members have registered for SCAPP’s NPN and more are welcome.  Our launch event will take place at the University of Stirling on Wed 5th March. We look forward to welcoming new and continuing members alike!  Registration is still open.

 

Connect with Coffee
11 members attended our February Connect with Coffee session to discuss WA & WP in colleges. Thank you to our special guest, Paula Christie from the College Development Network, for joining us for this insightful and thought-provoking session.

 

Professional Learning and Development DAPP Sub-group

A sub-group of SCAPP’s PLD Working Group met this month to start reviewing and renewing our DAPP (Developing Access and Participation Professionals) accreditation scheme resources in preparation for a third iteration later this year. We are very grateful to all involved for their time and support with this.

 

 

SCAPP Reminders

SCAPP LinkedIn
Have you started following our LinkedIn page yet? Join our growing community!

 

SCAPP Articulation Chat Thread
This has been set up as a pilot this academic year to connect colleagues across Scotland working in or interested in articulation. Find out more and sign up here.

 

Suggestions for the SCAPP Team
Share your ideas for additions and improvements to SCAPP’s programmes and opportunities anonymously  here.

Parliamentary Inquiry into Widening Access

Message from Education, Children and Young People Committee at the Scottish Parliament – Widening Access to Higher Education Inquiry
The Committee is currently running an inquiry into widening access to higher education. As a part of that, the Committee will be hearing from: students and pupils not yet in Further or Higher Education from SIMD 0-20 backgrounds; disabled, minority ethnic and care experienced pupils and students; and widening access practitioners (staff who work on widening access to higher education).
The informal meeting with the Committee will be online on Monday 3 March between 5.30pm-7.30pm with a short break.

We are still looking for representation from three disabled students or pupils wanting to access higher education to attend the online session with the Committee. We would be grateful if you could contact Patricia Anderson at SCAPP (scapp@stir.ac.uk) by Tuesday 25 February if you have any students or pupils that would be willing to talk to the Committee. The Participation and Communities Team at the Scottish Parliament would be happy to arrange a call to discuss this further and speak with students or pupils willing to attend ahead of the meeting.

The meeting will be on Zoom, in private and not recorded. We will have other students and pupils, support staff, Committee members, and Scottish Parliament staff to be on the call. A note will be taken during the meeting, but this will be anonymous. We will share this note with participants before it is published on the Scottish Parliament website. In case of high interest, the three spaces on the call will be allocated on first come, first served basis.

 

(Added Feb 2025)

SCAPP Member Receives MBE - Congratulations Claire!

 

(Added Feb 2025)

UCAS Updates

UCAS announced Tariff points rollout for apprenticeships in 2025. The aim is to ensure students are aware of all the pathways available into higher education. This will be in place for those applying to UCAS for 2026 entry and onward. Size bands and grade bands will be aligned across all four UK nations.

Dates and Deadlines for 2026 – UCAS is re-introducing the end-of-March advisory deadline, when applicants should submit their forms to schools or colleges for review / submission before official deadlines. The reject-by-default (RBD) deadline for 2026, when applicants must reply to offers, will be 13 May 2026.

Note: deadlines for 2025 entry are unchanged, see UCAS – What happens next for RBD 2025 deadlines.

UCAS undergraduate end of cycle data 2024 showed 17,835 Scottish 18-year-olds accepted an offered place (up +6% from 2023) and 2,145 students from the 20% most deprived areas accepted a place (up +12% since 2023). UCAS Data Dashboard January 2025, shows 39,310 Scottish applicants have been accepted so far (up +2,470).

‘Where next? Who applies for Level 4 and 5 qualifications?’ covers Scottish SCQF level 7 and 8

 

(Added Feb 2025)

The Sutton Trust

Applications for Summer Schools Programmes are now open for 2025!

This completely free programme will provide S5 students with the opportunity to explore life at a Russell Group university.

Students will walk away with the confidence and skills needed to: choose where to apply and what to study, be competitive applicants wherever that is, and find support with a network of like-minded peers.

Individuals can apply here.

The new Sutton Trust Contextual Offer Tool for UK Universities covers a large range of UK universities

The 2025 Contextual Offers Tool for UK Universities currently has data and weblinks for 50 UK universities, including 5 Scottish institutions:

• University of Edinburgh
• University of Strathclyde
• University of Dundee
• University of Glasgow
• University of St Andrew’s

This new tool will be useful to advisors in conjunction with the SCAPP Introduction to Widening Participation Resource (see particularly section 8 on Admissions & Policy Landscape) to enhance and refresh your Contextual Admissions knowledge.

 

(Added Jan 2025)

The Robertson Trust

Building a scholarship for the future

In response to a recent evaluation carried out by Scottish Centre for Social Research, we share details of a range of developments to our scholarship programme.  More details here.

New fund now open: Community Spaces

We’re excited to launch Community Spaces, a new fund providing £5,000 to £20,000 per year for up to three years. This funding supports community centres, hubs, and anchor organisations that deliver or host a range of services and activities to meet local needs. Full details here.

To find out more about all our available funds, please click here.

Useful University Staff Contacts

Teachers and advisers may want to save this useful list of university staff contacts.