Widening Participation Activity Guide 2024/25

Welcome

Welcome to our 2024/25 Activity Guide, which outlines our programme of free workshops and events for Years 5 to 13.

Much of our focus is raising awareness of and channelling aspirations to higher education, however, you will also find events and activities designed to raise attainment and support students with their study skills and wellbeing.

Learning Objectives

In order to support you with your careers strategies, we have identified the Gatsby Benchmarks our activities are linked to and have produced a framework of learning objectives that highlights the key messages in our activities.

To book onto any of our events, please email wpteam@derby.ac.uk or get in touch with your Widening Participation team contact.

Learn more about Widening Participation at Derby

year 11 pupils receiving additional maths support
Progress to Success (P2S)

Progress to Success (P2S) is a widening participation programme that offers activity at every stage of your students’ learning journeys.

Two parents reading a document with two children
Data Collection

The University of Derby’s outreach activity is recorded in the EMWPREP database, which allows us to record events and participant information and monitor the impact of outreach activities.

Widening Participation Target Groups

The Widening Participation team is committed to supporting young people in partner schools to access information, advice, and guidance that will support them to make a well-informed decision regarding their future progression post-16 and post-18. Alongside our Progress to Success activities, the team is happy to support you with (depending on staff availability) careers fairs, mock interview events, options evenings, and explore subject-specific requests.

In particular, we prioritise young people from widening participation backgrounds and therefore priority places will be awarded to young people meeting this criteria: 

  • Students who are eligible for Pupil Premium 
  • Students in receipt of free school meals 
  • Some ethnic groups including White males from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and young people from Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities 
  • Disabled students 
  • Young people with mental health concerns, specific learning difficulties and/or who are on the autism spectrum  
  • Care-experience students (those who have recently left or are in local authority care)
  • Young people with caring responsibilities 
  • Young people estranged from their families 
  • Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boater children 
  • Young people who have parents/carers in the armed forces 
  • Refugees 
  • Those that live within the 40% most deprived wards based on IMD postcode data 
  • Those from Young Participation Rate quintile 1 or 2 based on POLAR4 postcode data 

We can check postcodes for you using the EMWPREP postcode checker: you are welcome to send us an anonymised list of postcodes over email or via your One Drive folder with your main Widening Participation contact.

A student and a parent standing in the Atrium at the University of Derby.
Access and Participation Plan

The Widening Participation team also runs supplementary activities for specific targeted widening participation cohorts in line with our University's Access and Participation Plan.

A prospective student reading a prospectus with a family member in the cafe.
Annual Report

View our 2022/23 Annual Report.

students taking notes in a lecture
BAME Learners

Learn more about the support the Widening Participation team provides for BAME learners.

A prospective student reading a prospectus with a family member in the cafe.
Care Experienced Students

Learn more about the support the Widening Participation team provides for care experienced students.

A group of people standing during the family forces event in the University's atrium
Service Children

Learn more about the Widening Participation team's support for children who have had parents/carers in the armed forces.

Three primary school students sat at a table in a classroom completing a craft activity.
Primary School Students

Learn more about the events the Widening Participation team runs for Year 5 and 6 primary school students.

Events and Activities

Two students working with a Student Ambassador on a table to complete a maths problem.
Year 7-9 Activities

Explore the Widening Participation team's activities in-school, on-campus, and virtually for Year 7-9 learners.

Six students on summer school lifting up another student in a classroom.
Year 10-11 Activities

Explore the Widening Participation team's activities in-school, on-campus, and virtually for Year 10 and 11 learners.

Two male students sat at a table with one student writing
Year 12-13 Activities

Explore the Widening Participation team's activities in-school, on-campus, and virtually for Year 12 and 13 learners.