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The work of the Service Children’s Progression Alliance (SCiP), founded and funded by the University of Winchester, has received a boost in the form of a £173,958 grant.
The sum comes from the Office for Students' (OfS) Equality in Higher Education Innovation Fund and will support work to create a Thriving Lives Toolkit for colleges to help improve the prospects of children from Armed Forces families.
The SCiP Alliance already provides a successful toolkit for schools which is engaged with more than 20,000 Service children but the organisation aims to provide similar kits for all providers from early years through to higher education.
The Bulk of the award will go to project leaders York St John University and its Inspiring Choices programme - long-standing partners of the SCiP Alliance having established the first of the Alliance’s 12 hubs in 2018.
Funding will help set up a pilot scheme with colleges in the York and North Yorkshire area and assess its effectiveness before it is made available across the UK.
Director of the SCiP Alliance, Philip Dent (pictured) said: “Service children can benefit from the unique nature of Armed Forces family life, but disruption to learning, relationships and support can harm their wellbeing and education. We are delighted to be working with York St John and other partners in the Alliance community to address a known gap in knowledge and support through this innovative project and are grateful to the OfS for their support.”
Louisa Dobson, Head of Inspiring Choices, said: "Work to improve Armed Forces students' outcomes in FE and HE presents a significant and enduring challenge because we know very little about their experiences in this phase of education.
“With thousands of young people from an armed forces background living and studying in North Yorkshire, this funding will empower local partners to support Service Children within FE and HE settings through the design and delivery of impactfull interventions, and development of evaluation tools."
The OfS identified Service children as an at-risk group after University of Winchester research identified the risks frequent school moves posed to their higher education access. As such universities are urged to include them in their widening participation plans for targeted support.
Following collaboration with the Alliance, UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) has introduced a new flag that will immediately identify to universities and colleges whether an applicant is from a UK Armed Forces background. This flag will be generated by students ticking a box on the UCAS application form.
The SCiP Alliance is supported by the Ministry of Defence and its work received praise in the latest Armed Forces Covenant.
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