Guidance on the future for Aimhigher and higher education outreach clearly signals the Government’s expectation that we prioritise 14-19 learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, and provide them with progressive programmes of HE-related activity. The challenges involved in meeting these expectations are considerable, and will require effective coordination and support for staff in organisations that use Aimhigher funding.

In response Aimhigher and The University of Birmingham have produced the a toolkit for practitioners. It contains:

• Guidance on the new criteria for targeting learners involved in Aimhigher and HE Outreach activities
• Information on effective activities and how these may be sequenced to form progressive programmes that link to other frameworks such as Citizenship, PSHE and Careers Education and Guidance
• Guidance on how to evaluate the impact of activities
• Details of the national Aimhigher information resources for learners, parents and practitioners, and how to obtain further supplies
• A detailed statistical analysis of trends in HE participation across the West Midlands

Copies are available on request, and you can download “Getting it right” in pdf format at the bottom of this page.

We will be augmenting this toolkit and providing other forms of practitioner support over the coming years.