NEON Widening Access Partnership Award – Commendation
Partnership is built into every aspect of the project – their Take Your Place programme is delivered by 28 Higher Education Champions (HECs), each employed by the partner universities. HECs are based in schools and colleges across the region, forging links with target schools and showcasing the broad variety of higher education options available to young people. Working in partnership has ensured workshops, resources and mentoring are tailored and relevant to each school’s needs, from staff room to class room.
The project is on an unprecedented scale, bringing together hugely diverse institutions that have never before worked together. Focussing on the expertise and experience each partner brings to the table, the partnership shows the region’s targeted young people the enormous array of higher education options available to them. Representatives from partner institutions collaborate on decision making and consensus building.
The project is led by the University of Cambridge, brings together four universities as well as eight further education colleges. Of the 29 NCOPs throughout England, neaco is one of the largest, with 74 target wards, representing 23,045 students. neaco also partner with organisations working to improve social mobility in East Anglia, including schools, communities and organisations with similar aims to neaco’s.