January saw the first Aimhigher Coordinator meetings of the year, with a morning session at Denewood Training centre for city representatives, followed by an identical format at Edwinstowe House in the afternoon for county coordinators.

After welcome and introductions from Aimhigher Nottinghamshire’s Schools Manager, Elizabeth Tomlin, members of the Aimhigher team talked about specific projects and activities which will be taking place later this year.

Summer schools update

Hannah Ordoyno kicked off by informing coordinators of summer schools which are taking place during the Easter holidays and during the summer vacation. Importantly, Hannah emphasised the need for teachers to accompany students to any summer schools taking place during term time. Details of summer schools for 2009-10 can be found by clicking here. 

Young Applicants in Schools and Colleges Scheme (YASS)

Elizabeth Tomlin then provided an update on the YASS scheme. This post-16 provision from The Open University has been running for many years, delivering accredited science-related higher education short courses to year 12 students. Aimhigher Nottinghamshire is funding 93 places for students from the Aimhigher cohort on this year’s scheme which starts in May.

The programme is open to year 12 students in schools and to first year level 3 students in further education colleges. However, this does mean that there are fewer places available on this year’s programme and potentially more competition for those places. So Liz urged coordinators to ensure that any interested students contact Sue Ball at The Open University as soon as possible. Further details on the YASS scheme, including course and contact information, can be found on the Aimhigher HEPF, by clicking here.

‘Steps into Healthcare’ programme

Hannah Ordoyno then talked about the forthcoming activities taking place as part of Aimhigher Nottinghamshire’s healthcare strand. These include:

‘Hands-on Health’ taster days at Sheffield Hallam University during June and July. The sessions include a game that introduces health and social care professions, practical activities showcasing the facilities and equipment at the university, and a student Q&A session. Click here for more information. 

The ‘organ organiser’, also taking place at Sheffield Hallam University in July. This workshop aims to increase understanding of bioscience professions in health and social care. Based around the role of a hospital organ coordinator and the processes that take place everyday when dealing with organ transplantations and the pairing of donor and recipient patients, this workshop gives attendees the chance to look around the excellent lab facilities on offer at Sheffield Hallam University, utilise the state-of-the-art equipment and get a real taste of studying a bioscience degree at higher education. For more information, click here. 

Vocational higher education taster days

There are a variety of vocational higher education taster days being held by local further and higher education institutions during the summer term. Subjects covered include animal, rural & environmental science, property & construction, health science and criminal justice, to name a few. The focus will be on higher education opportunities in these fields and so will be of interest to a wide range of students in the Aimhigher cohort. Details of venues, dates and subjects can be found by clicking here. 

Maths and english attainment-raising workshops

Joanna Welch took the opportunity to remind coordinators that Aimhigher targeted schools are entitled to a free maths workshop and a free english workshop during this academic year. Workshops are held in school and can be arranged at a time and date to suit the school.

We have received a limited number of bookings so far, and, as this is our first year working with workshop providers Teaching and Learning Associates, we would be keen to get schools' feedback on the content and suitability for Aimhigher students. As exams loom, any C/D borderline students would benefit from taking part.

To book a maths workshop, click here. To book an english workshop, click here.

Higher education progression event

Next, Dave Coppock told the coordinators about a practitioner higher education progression event which will be taking place at Nottingham Conference Centre, located in the newly refurbished Newton Arkwright building at Nottingham Trent University on 30 June 2010. The day’s programme will include keynote speeches focusing on higher education nationally, with the opportunity to take part in a series of workshops throughout the day to discuss the issues at a local level. Dave informed attendees that full details, including an agenda and workshop choices, would be distributed nearer the time, but requested that coordinators put the date in their diaries to ensure they did not miss the opportunity to take part.

Embedding Aimhigher in the school SEF

Towards the end of the meeting, Dave Coppock spoke about the future of Aimhigher. He asked schools to think about ways in which the work of Aimhigher partnerships could be embedded within the ethos of the school, so that, should Aimhigher cease to exist in the near future, the principles of widening participation and the culture of progression could still be regarded as an integral part of schools’ and colleges’ wider curriculum. If Aimhigher can provide data to support schools with the completion of their SIP or SEF we would like to hear from you. If you have any ideas that you would like to share with Aimhigher, please contact Elizabeth Tomlin on 0115 848 4441, email elizabeth.tomlin@ntu.ac.uk.

Aimhigher Nottinghamshire online activity planning tool

The meeting ended with a review of the online higher education progression framework (HEPF) where all Aimhigher Nottinghamshire activities can now be found and planned for the whole of the academic year. We asked coordinators if they had used the site and to suggest ways in which it could be improved. We would like to thank all of those who gave us feedback. We will be looking into the possibility of implementing your suggestions in the near future.

And finally…

Aimhigher Nottinghamshire would like to thank all those who took the time to attend the meeting. We really appreciate your input and ongoing support. It was suggested that the next Aimhigher coordinators meeting would take place in September 2010. We will let you know in due course if this will be the case.