NNECL[i] is delighted to announce its latest Quality Mark[ii] awards to:
- The University of Law;
- Sheffield Hallam University; and
- NCG[iii] (a collaborative award covering Carlisle College; Kidderminster College; Lewisham College; Newcastle College; Newcastle Sixth Form College; Southwark College; and West Lancashire College).
All institutions provided strong submissions with examples of valued and evidence-based practice to support their care experienced learners.
Morag Duffin from the University of Law highlighted the benefits of going through the process:
The Quality Mark process has been really useful, a great way to pull together a complete view of our provision for care experienced students and identify areas for development. Our assessor was brilliant, helping us step by step through the submission process.
Patricia Ambrose, NNECL Director, said:
The diversity of this latest set of awardees continues to demonstrate the applicability of the Quality Mark framework to very different types of institutions.
The University of Law submission ably demonstrated how a specialist, multi-campus university can provide proactive and personalised support to its students and applicants.
At Sheffield Hallam University, we were impressed by the richness of evidence provided, including its support triangle of three dedicated advisers covering the areas of academic, student support and careers advice.
For the NCG award, we were delighted to work collaboratively with the seven colleges and the Care Leaver Covenant which has been working with them to enhance the support offered to care experienced students.
Steve Wallis, Executive Director of Quality at NCG, commented:
NCG is delighted to have been awarded the NNECL Quality Mark in recognition of our commitment to supporting care experienced learners across all of our seven colleges nationwide.
Our mission to enable social mobility and economic prosperity reflects our dedication to creating the workforce of the future by enabling all people, regardless of their background, to develop the skills that our local communities need to be successful and sustained.
This includes our care experienced students, and over the past three years we have worked in close partnership with Spectra (Care Leaver Covenant) to deliver dedicated support and guidance to ensure the success of our care experienced students and help them to thrive in their local communities.
Natalie Latham from the Care Leaver Covenant[iv] added:
It has been a pleasure to work with NCG for the past three years in enhancing their support for care experienced students. We are also absolutely delighted to have worked with NNECL on the Quality Mark award which means that not only will that work be recognised, but a process for continuous improvement has been enabled.
NNECL continues to collate the learning from submissions as a resource for other institutions looking to develop their practice. Further details are available on our Quality Mark web pages.
ENDS
Notes
[i] The National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) is a community of education and other professionals working together to transform the progression of care experienced people into and through further and higher education. Our mission is to support, connect and empower our community, with the ultimate goal that more care-experienced people will be able to access and progress through further and higher education into fulfilling careers. We have grown from a volunteer network and became a registered charity in 2018 (Registered Charity Number 1180793).
[ii] The Quality Mark is an accreditation framework for universities and colleges to evidence their support for care experienced learners.
[iii] NCG is a group of seven colleges committed to creating inclusive communities of excellent learning and teaching which benefit from sharing best practice developed across the Group.
[iv] The Care Leaver Covenant (CLC) is a national inclusion programme that supports care leavers to live independently.
Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash
