The ninth annual NEON Summer Symposium took place on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd July.
The theme of the conference was “Access, Participation and the Post-Covid Tertiary System”. Keynote speakers at the event included:
As the higher education system, like the rest of the world, grapples with the Covid-19 and its impact this year’s symposium focused on the how the pandemic will interact with broader social and political trends to shape the work of those in the access and participation field. Alongside the pandemic there is a desire amongst policymakers to re-shape the curriculum at Level 3, extend provision of higher technical qualifications and reform the higher education admission system to ‘level up’ opportunities across the country. In this context the symposium considered how access and participation work can be pivotal to enabling what could be a very different tertiary system to provide opportunities to succeed for students from all backgrounds.
The conference looked at the impact of Covid-19 on access/participation work and innovations in delivery that have emerged as well research and practice with learners undertaking vocational qualifications or studying in further education settings and/or collaborations between further education and higher education. We also examined the relationship between higher education participation/access & participation practice and inequalities associated with region, gender, ethnicity, place and other protected characteristics.
Bringing together key figures from across the education sector, policymakers and employers with organisations from across sectors committed to social mobility through widening access to HE, thus NEON’s ninth Summer Symposium was the most important event for those working in the field in 2021.
MyTutor is the leading platform for online 1:1 and small group tuition, and an approved partner of the government’s National Tutoring Programme. We match the most inspiring, high calibre tutors from UK universities with secondary school pupils, to ensure they have the confidence and grades they need to enter the next stage of education.
Trusted by over 600 schools, our tuition programmes boost pupil confidence and results. On average, just 12 hours of 1:1 tuition through the platform raises attainment by 1 whole grade. As our lessons are all delivered online, it’s easy for universities and Uni Connect organisations to offer MyTutor to a range of pupils, including local offer holders, GCSE students or partner schools, providing a life-changing resource that raises attainment and aspirations in a tangible way for your target pupils.