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T Levels Week – Taking Vocational Education to the Next Level?

This week sees the latest National T Levels week celebrated across the country. There has been much activity amongst advocates and supporters of this ‘Next Level Qualification’, but in terms of wider consciousness around T Levels and what their implementation means for the Level 3 qualification landscape, there remains much to do. Since 2017, ministersContinue reading “T Levels Week – Taking Vocational Education to the Next Level?”

‘Juxtaposed with U’ – The problem with Social Mobility and Levelling Up

3/3. Written by Chris Bayes. “talent is spread equally across our country, opportunity is not” and seeks to redress this “giving everyone the opportunity to flourish.” The ‘Brave New World’ of Levelling Up At a recent NEON Summit on Regional disparities in widening access and higher education’s contribution to levelling up, one speaker (Stephen Pomfret,Continue reading “‘Juxtaposed with U’ – The problem with Social Mobility and Levelling Up“

‘Juxtaposed with U’ – The problem with Social Mobility and Levelling Up

2/3 Written By Chris Bayes. The industry of Social Mobility Over the course of the two past decades, Social Mobility has increasingly become intertwined with WP. This is perhaps unsurprising, given it has been championed successively by New Labour and Conservative administrations and is easier to reconcile the below definition with the values of neoliberalsContinue reading “‘Juxtaposed with U’ – The problem with Social Mobility and Levelling Up“

‘Juxtaposed with U’ – The problem with Social Mobility and Levelling Up

Article Piece 1/3 Written By Chris Bayes Shifting Sands The political landscape does not stand still for very long. Labour’s most successful 20th century Prime Minister, Harold Wilson (Yes, he won four elections to Tony Blair’s three and unlike BLiar managed to avoid tarnishing his legacy by keeping Britain’s involvement in Vietnam to lukewarm verbalContinue reading “‘Juxtaposed with U’ – The problem with Social Mobility and Levelling Up“

(Vocational) Education (reform) is over-rated and T Levels are the monster it created

Written by Chris Bayes. Like many of my practitioner brethren, it would be fair to say my journey to becoming a widening participation (WP) practitioner was not exactly linear. Prior to commencing a career in WP in 2007, I worked (in chronological order) as a paperboy, a factory worker, a retail assistant, a barman cumContinue reading “(Vocational) Education (reform) is over-rated and T Levels are the monster it created”

‘This Is How It Feels’ – Personal reflections during Mental Health Awareness week

Chris Bayes This week marks Mental Health Awareness week. As stated on the Mental Health Foundation’s website here, “The week will explore the experience of loneliness, its effect on our mental health and how we can all play a part in reducing loneliness in our communities.” Loneliness affects millions each year and is commonly recognisedContinue reading “‘This Is How It Feels’ – Personal reflections during Mental Health Awareness week”

‘’There’s nothing more dangerous to power than a working class person with a thirst for knowledge”

It was a very proud day for both myself and my family when I was accepted to study BSc (Hons) Public Sociology at Queen Margaret University in Musselburgh, which is located outside of Edinburgh. When I attended my first day, I was, I have to say, reminded of the theme tune from the tv sitcomContinue reading “‘’There’s nothing more dangerous to power than a working class person with a thirst for knowledge””

Unlocking Opportunity: Accessing Higher Education with a Criminal Record

Charlotte Brooks Doctoral Researcher, University of Nottingham A criminal record can be devastating, lifelong and far outweigh the harm caused by the official punishment itself. For instance, people with a criminal record can be subjected to discrimination within employment and experience challenges when accessing housing and education. Yet restricted access to opportunities and basic rightsContinue reading “Unlocking Opportunity: Accessing Higher Education with a Criminal Record”