2019 Yearbook: Social Mobility & Widening Participation Department

2019 YEARBOOK

Widening Participation Department

We're serious about social mobility

OUR ROLE IN SOCIAL MOBILITY

At King's College London we believe in equality of opportunity. A young person, no matter what their background, should be able to have high expectations for their future and  the support needed to achieve them. If that ambition requires a university education, then it is our responsibility to equip that young person with the skills, knowledge, and confidence required to undertake and succeed at degree level study.

Over the past five years, King’s widening participation programmes have supported over 60,000 students to pursue their chosen pathway. In doing so, we have changed the face of our student body. Of our students, 77% come from state schools and 54% are black, Asian or minority ethnic. We also have the fastest growing population of low-income students in the Russell Group. Bringing together diverse groups of people on our campuses and in our classrooms drives our goal to redress inequality and serve society.

This yearbook is a snapshot of our work in 2019.

FOREWORD

This yearbook covers some of our key activity in 2019. It is testament to the hard work of staff from  across King’s. It exists, like all our work, through the enthusiasm and dedication of the learners, parents, teachers, and partners we work with, and to King's overarching commitment to widening participation. We are extremely proud of what it represents and are committed to continuing our  mission to make society fairer and the world a better place by opening up King's to all students and communities who can benefit.

I hope you enjoy reading it and do get in touch with us if you would like to get involved in our work.

MichaelBennett AssociateDirector ofWideningParticipation

OUR VALUES

All of our work is anchored by our three core values. You can use these values to navigate our yearbook.

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We do more, and do it better, when working together. Creating a diverse community of learners at King’s requires collaboration with sector partners, young people, students, and the local community. Listening to those we serve increases our understanding of the barriers underrepresented groups face when accessing higher education. This makes our programmes more effective and tailored to the needs of our community.

COLLABORATION

PARTNER STORY

IntoUniversity

Since2013,wehavecollaborated withIntoUniversity,acharitywhich runslocallearningcentresacross theUKwhereyoungpeopleare inspiredtoachieve.Here IntoUniversityexplainwhythey valueworkinginpartnership.

"University partnerships are central to IntoUniversity’s operational and funding model, providing essential support which helps to raise aspiration and attainment. Working with universities helps us to expand young people’s horizons and ambitions and to support them on the path to university.

King’s College London provides crucial volunteers and services to our Kennington centre, bringing the university into the heart of the local community. University student volunteers and staff have inspired our students through the mentoring programme, supporting them to consider future options and pathways and helping them to reach academic, social, and future goals. Over 6,000 students from across London have visited King’s, giving them the opportunity to explore the campus and speak to university students. Being able to visit a university makes the possibility of going to one seem more achievable and creates powerful, lasting memories, particularly for our primary school students."

EXPANDING THE SUPPORT FOR DISCRETE GROUPS

We are committed to supporting students from discrete groups to access and succeed at university. These students, who may be care-experienced, estranged, or forced migrants, are amongst the least likely to progress to university and often face particularly difficult or unique circumstances. To help navigate the challenging pathway to university, we offer these students support and advice that is specific to their needs. For those who apply to King’s, we ensure that their educational achievements are considered within the context of their life experiences. Where a student’s grades do not reflect their potential, we work with the Admissions team to identify a lower offer. In 2019 we enrolled 60 students from discrete groups, our highest ever number.

This year we have increased our work with students from Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities. We have launched RomBelong, a multi-intervention outreach programme for Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller students. As part of this we have piloted a Year 6 scheme that supports Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller pupils to develop their academic skills whilst learning about university.

As there is limited understanding within the higher education sector of how Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers experience university, we hosted a public lecture by Professor Colin Clark who spoke about his life as a  Traveller and an academic. We also developed videos highlighting Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller students who have successfully undertaken university level study. You can view these in our Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller student section at www.kcl.ac.uk/study/widening-participation.

LATINXCLUDED*

LatinXcluded are three 18-year-old women who want to create change for their community. Formed after discovering that the UCAS application form offers no opportunity to select a Latin American ethnicity, the group are campaigning to alter this. We are collaborating with them to support their call for change.

"We felt like we weren’t represented and that made us angry," says one of the trio, Cecilia Alfonso-Eaton. UCAS advised LatinXcluded that the Office for National Statistics would first need to change the UK census ethnicity codes before those used on their application system could be amended, something which has increased the urgency of their campaign ahead of the 2021 census.

LatinXcluded approached the Widening Participation team to ask us to support their fight for representation. Krishmary Ramdhun, another member of the group, says, “we had heard about K+ and were excited to work with an influential organisation that would support our movement and be open to change.”

King’s has responded and now includes an ethnicity option for Latin American students at the application and enrolment stage. Cecilia explains that, “it was important for a university to recognise the importance of this and it was a big step forward for the campaign.” We have also commissioned research on the university experience of Latinx students so that we can provide better advice and guidance.

“I’ve lived without seeing my community represented in the UK and we are a lot less visible than we are in the USA. It’s important because no one in society should be invisible.”

LatinXcluded are going from strength to strength and, with the support of King’s and Citizens UK, have successfully asked the NUS and Lambeth Council to change their own ethnicity monitoring policies.  “We have come so far in such little time,” adds Cecilia. “Although we are only 18, we feel like we are being listened to.”

*Latinx is a gender-neutral term, sometimes used instead of Latino or Latina to refer to people of Latin American cultural or racial identity

King's Scholars

We believe collaborating with teachers and parents will support more students into university. This is why we have embedded a collaborative approach into our Year 7 – 9 King’s Scholar scheme. School professionals are consulted through our teacher steering group, on which sits representatives from thirteen partner secondary schools. These meetings allow us to obtain constructive feedback on our outreach activities and to understand how we can work with schools to tackle the challenges they face. We consult and work with parents of our King’s Scholar students through Parent Power, a group learning about the education system and taking action to break down barriers to elite universities.

The insight that comes from collaborating with teachers and parents plays a powerful role in the growth of King’s Scholars and has contributed to our success in engaging over 1,400 students. As we continue to develop the programme in accordance with evidence and impact, we will keep calling upon their expertise to shape its direction.

We empower those we work with to bring about the change they want to see. We support individuals to become confident in their own learning and decisionmaking ability. Our programmes give participants the tools they need to meet and exceed their ambitions.

EMPOWERMENT

KHAN'S STORY

Khan is a King's English graduate. Before his undergraduate degree, he completed our  two-year K+ programme. We asked him about his experiences.

What was the main benefit of K+?

Before K+, I’d never heard of the Russell Group. All of these concepts that are really important for applying to university, I’d never heard of them because nobody from my family had been to university. K+ was my only source of important information for choosing a university, a course, a

career, and learning what funding I could access.

Why was the Spotlight Summer School your K+ highlight?

I got to meet people from King’s. It allowed me to hear that I was valued as a person by this big university, and it gave me a lot of confidence to think that I could apply somewhere like that and study there.

How did you feel about coming to King’s after K+?

King’s felt like my second home after K+. I’d visited so much that the campus was really familiar and I had no anxieties about getting lost or meeting new people. I felt really comfortable coming here.

Could you tell us about your future career plans?

I’ve just graduated and I’m heading off to Law school next year. I’ve secured a training contract with Allen and Overy, the law firm I visited for my careers day when I was on the law stream at K+! They’ve funded my law school for the next two years, and I’ll be starting as a lawyer there in 2021. I really hope to drive the firm to do more with widening participation departments. I think that law firms have a lot of potential influence and I want to be able to democratise that power and start some kind of change.

MICHELLE'S STORY

university.

“The possibility of attending a higher education institution like King’s as a student from a widening participation background is considered a pipe dream for many. For care leavers it can seem even more unimaginable as only 6% go on to higher education.

Studying medicine at a prestigious university was my biggest aspiration. I entered the care system when I was five and quickly became aware of the disadvantages it brought. Determined to make a better life for myself, at the age of eleven I began to research how I could get into university. My greatest focus from then on was excelling in my GCSEs and A-levels.

I achieved my aspiration but it wasn’t easy. I faced many obstacles, such as learning English as my second language whilst starting primary school in an unfamiliar environment. You can imagine how difficult it was to make friends! Mathematics was a great challenge throughout my primary school education; I needed additional support during lessons. The main obstacle came during my A-level studies. The medical school application was very extensive, and I had little support from my school and foster carers as they were unfamiliar with the process.

Without the support of King’s Realising Opportunities programme and the Sutton Trust Summer School, I would have been discouraged from applying to medical school. The Realising Opportunities ementoring portal provided continuous support throughout my application. My ementor gave me tailored information and recommendations for my UCAS application, admissions tests, and interviews. Studying medicine for a week at the University of Cambridge with the Sutton Trust gave me insight into studying at university and confirmed I was making the right decision.”

"It still feels surreal to think how far I have come. It wouldn’t have been possible without the immense support I received from King’s and the Sutton Trust, as well as my determination to succeed.”

Michelle is a third year Medicine student and a care leaver. Here she tells us about her experience of progressing to

EMPOWERING PARENTS AND TEACHERS

Parental Aspiration Commitment Trial (PACT)

Along with the Behavioural Insights Team, this year we provided personalised and specific report cards to parents highlighting university courses their children were on track for and might want to consider. This intervention was designed to positively influence parental expectations for their child’s prospects of attending university. We also encouraged parents to pledge to having a series of conversations with their children about university to see if this had an impact on their knowledge and understanding. The results of this initiative have been published in What Work’s two-year report, found at [insert link].

Parent Power

King's Advocate Award

The King’s Advocate Award is a professional development scheme which provides teachers and social workers with information and guidance on university access. Its purpose is to empower participants to better support students into higher education.

Participants attended a series of sessions that focused on barriers to university access and how to overcome them. They also applied for project grant funding from King’s to run widening participation initiatives in their schools and local authorities. By designing and delivering a project, participants put into practice their learning and thought  about how to enact change in their context.

Parent Power won the 2019 Guardian University Award for Social and Community Impact, recognising the success it has had in empowering local parents. It is a scheme which continued to grow this year, with parents of our new Year 7 King’s Scholars attending one-to-one meetings with staff from King’s and Citizens UK, during which they shared their experiences of education. The topics that emerge from these ongoing conversations inform our Parent Power Saturday meetings. These sessions aim to empower parents to become experts in university access  and to lead campaigns for change. Experiencing a variety of university campuses is an important part of this and, in February, 87 parents and children visited Imperial College London for a bespoke open day.

This year we launched Parent Power Oldham. Over twenty parents attended the initial meeting, proving that this model for parental engagement can work outside of London.

ZEBA'S STORY

The Widening Participation Department won the 2019 King’s Internship Provider of the Year award. Zeba, one of our interns, shares her story.

"I wanted to do an internship with the Widening Participation Department largely due to my own experience as a beneficiary. By taking part in the post-16 programme K+, I was exposed not only to university life, but to King’s more broadly. The experience was fantastic and I gained support, guidance, and insight I would not have found elsewhere. Coming from a widening participation  background myself, I know how fundamental and important the work of the department is. The internship was a fantastic opportunity to help give back and gain an insight into what it is like on the other side, in terms of the planning and delivery of such important work.

Working with the Widening Participation Department was a very enjoyable experience due to the extremely friendly and supportive staff.  The department has a wide range of projects in place to cater to students from a diverse range of backgrounds and ages. It has a clear focus and is fully committed to helping to remove the barriers to university access.

Throughout the internship I had consistent support and guidance from the department and my line manager. I was able to request to work on different projects which interested me and put forward the ideas and initiatives I wanted to explore. Working on a variety of projects meant I was able to develop my skills. By helping to plan and deliver summer schools for over 100 students I significantly developed my organisational skills. Leading a focus group was a fantastic opportunity to develop my leadership skills and improve my confidence in presenting to large groups. It was also great to be able to support and work alongside my fellow interns on different projects. Teamwork is a fundamental transferable skill and something I really developed throughout the internship.

From the internship, I not only gained experience and developed my skills, but I also gained a better understanding of widening participation. It reinforced the importance of widening participation work by increasing my own awareness of the different barriers to higher education and, most importantly, from witnessing the real and positive impact it has on the students."

Winner of Internship Provider of the Year 2019 King's Internships

We are committed to improving our work and finding new ways to drive further and faster change. We achieve this by using evidence of impact to enhance our programmes and by testing new, innovative approaches. Strengthening the evaluation of what we deliver  means we can be confident in knowing what works.

INNOVATION

WHAT WORKS

This year we committed to enhancing our evaluation practices. The What Works team designed a new Monitoring and Evaluation Framework which is now being used across our widening participation programmes. This framework guides us through the evaluation of our programmes via the creation of a Research Protocol. This brings together the rationale and supporting evidence for our approach and a Theory of Change. The Theory of Change establishes how the activities and resources that make up a programme will bring about its intended outcomes, as well as the research questions and indicators that are needed to determine its impact. The new framework means we can clearly communicate what we want to achieve, why it is important, the approach we are taking, and how we will know if we are accomplishing it.

STAFF STORY

WhatWorksforScottMcGrory?

"In December 2019 we welcomed over 320 new students to the K+ programme and, for the first time, began to work with another 150 students who make up our K+ comparator group. This development came out of our close work with What Works to develop a Research Protocol for the K+ project and ensure that what we are doing is truly effective in supporting young people from under-represented groups to progress to university. Because of this, we will be able to make sure the future design of the K+ programme is evidence-based and is focused on what really works."

CHILD CITIZENSHIP

The Home Office child citizenship fee: a barrier to social mobility.

In 2017 the Widening Participation Department launched a listening campaign with parents in Lambeth and Southwark. One of the issues parents raised was that their children did not possess British citizenship so could not access a student loan. Despite the fact that many of these children were born in the UK or have lived here most of their lives, they are required to pay a child citizenship fee of £1,012 to the Home Office, of which £640 is profit. Many families in our local communities cannot afford this. We heard stories about young people who had applied to university only to realise too late that they were not entitled to student finance. Parents were so concerned that they asked us which of their children was brightest and should have their citizenship application prioritized.

In desperation, some parents took out payday loans to pay the fee. For us, this is an unfair and intolerable situation that, with an innovative solution, we can help fix.

In collaboration with EdAid and Citizens UK, we have established a charitable Citizenship Payment Plan to offer interest-free support to families in this situation. The payment plan splits the cost into twelve interestfree installments. Repayments are recycled, meaning more families will be able to benefit from the scheme.

King’s staff and Parent Power leaders were part of a 1,200-person political assembly during which the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, pledged his support for the campaign.

A Sense of Belonging at King's

Developing a sense of belonging begins before freshers’ week. This means we need to equip our outreach participants with the knowledge that they can fit in at university, whatever they choose to study and wherever they choose to apply.

To promote a sense of belonging at university, our Outreach For Medicine team have adopted an innovative approach. Hospital Heroes is a Year 7-9 multiintervention programme that aims to increase participants’ understanding of the variety of careers in the healthcare sector beyond Medicine. In 2018, we launched Hosptial Heroes' Year 7 sessions  in four local schools and this year the first cohorts of Year 8 pupils joined us for the next phase of the programme. It is our hope that Hospital Heroes will enable a broader group of students to develop a connection with King’s and to a university degree that feels right for them.

THE BIG 6

The What Works team introduced the Settling Into King’s questions as part of student enrolment this year. These are six questions which give King’s a picture of how student wellbeing and belongingness varies across groups. All students are asked the first three questions (the “Big 3”) while returning students are asked all six (the “Big 6”).

The collected data provides King’s with a cross-sectional snapshot of students’ sense of belonging, as well as an opportunity to track cohorts as they progress through their studies. The questions also serve as a robust outcome measure for the evaluation of initiatives designed to influence students’ adjustment to university.

6 questions

6,000+ responses from new students

10,000+ responses from returning students

Featuredsupporter:CitizensUK

Our partnership with Citizens UK, the UK’s largest community organising alliance, provides access to a network of professional organisers and relationships with local and national organisations that are part of the alliance. Citizens UK organises communities to act together for power, social justice and the common good. Community organising provides a methodology to create change through building relationships and developing leaders.

As a department, we have ingrained community organising into our projects through Parent Power and our work with the Latinx community. This means that when we engage with communities, we listen to what issues need addressing, place people over programme and focus on developing leaders from those communities. It also means we put people, and our place in society, at the heart of what we do.

Adopting aspects of organising methodology such as relational one-to-one meetings has strengthened internal relationships at King’s and created a more open environment where we can work together on big issues that really matter to people.

OUR SUPPORTERS

OUR SUPPORTERS

Amos Bursary

Anne-Marie Canning MBE

ARK Globe Academy

Article 26

Bacon's College

Behavioural Insights Team

Big Education

Bloomberg

British Dental Association

British Museum

Centre for Education and Youth

Citizens UK

City Hall

City Heights E-ACT Academy

CoachBright

EdAid

Evelina London Children's Hospital

Evelyn Grace Academy

Ernst & Young

Fair Education Alliance

Florence Nightingale Museum

Frontline

Future Leader’s Magazine

Governors for Schools

Gowling WLG

Granard Primary School

Guy's Hospital

Harris Academy Bermondsey

Harris Academy Peckham

Harris Girls' Academy East Dulwich

IntoUniversity

Just For Kids Law

King’s Archives

King’s Careers and Employability

King's College London Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences

King's College London Students' Union

King’s Commercialisation Institute

King’s Cultural Institute

King’s Global Mobility Office

King’s Health Partners

King's Library Services

King’s Modern Language Centre

King Solomon Academy

King's Student Advice Service

Lambeth Academy

Lilian Baylis Technology School

London Nautical School

Museum of London

National Centre for Citizenship and Law

National Maritime Museum

Notre Dame Roman Catholic Girls' School

Oasis Academy South Bank

On Purpose

Penguin Random House

Proudly King's, King's LGBTQ Staff Network

Reach Society

Realising Opportunities

Roche

Royal Courts of Justice

Royal Observatory

Saint Gabriel's College

Saint Michael's Catholic College

Salary Finance

Science Gallery London

Science Museum

Seren

Service at King’s

Sir John Cass

Southbank Centre

StandAlone

Teach First

The BE Group

The Brightside Trust

The Brilliant Club

The Champion Agency

The Courtauld Gallery

The Elephant Group

The Key for School Governors

The Shakespeare Globe Trust

The Sutton Trust

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Tougher Minds

Trinity Academy

UNITE Foundation

University Academy of Engineering South Bank

upReach

Wellcome Collection

Welsh Assembly Government

Worshipful Company of Barbers

Worshipful Company of Bowyers

JOIN US

There are many ways to work with us to support more young people from underrepresented backgrounds to succeed in their studies. Email outreach@kcl.ac.uk for further information about the opportunities below.

King’s College London staff

We believe every member of staff has an important role to play in social mobility at King's and in wider society. Staff can get involved in several ways:

Become a school governor and contribute to a school in your local area. You will have comprehensive support from the School Governor Network at King’s.

If you are an academic or PhD candidate, there are lots of ways you can offer support, from delivering sessions at events or providing your expertise to help us design content. We have both paid and voluntary positions so if you would like to get involved, don't hesitate to contact us.

Students

Ambassadors and mentors are a key part of supporting our pre-university students to make informed choices and successful applications. They also provide guidance and advice once new students arrive.  We offer a range of paid summer internships and current students can apply to join the ambassador team in October. We also work closely with KCLSU to support student-led outreach and societies. Volunteers can contact the KCLSU Widening Participation Coordinator to get involved.

Alumni

King’s alumni have the power to inspire and open doors for under-represented learners. There are plenty of opportunities to support students, including mentoring on King’s Connect, being a guest or a speaker at an event, or by brokering a collaboration between our department and your employer.

Parents & guardians

Parents in Greater London can join the 50+ others who are already involved in Parent Power. Over the past two years, our peerparent network has proven to be powerful. Parents have visited the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of Leicester, and Imperial College London, and more trips are upcoming. We are also looking for parents to share with other families their story about  supporting a child to progress to university.

Corporate sponsors

We are proud of the support and sponsorship provided by our key corporate supporters and sponsors. Opportunities to support our work include hosting visits and careers days, providing work experience placements for students, and sponsoring our programmes.

To keep up to date with our work, follow us on:

@KCLWP

@KCLWP

www.kcl.ac.uk/wp

outreach@kcl.ac.uk

© King's College London

Approved by Brand February 2020

Designed by Kirsty McLaren

Photography by David Tett