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The First Campus partnership works towards the targets listed below. First Campus has made considerable progress in developing strategies, researching and aligning with other organisations, for example, 14-19 networks which will enable the partnership to successfully contribute to the WAG targets for Reaching Higher Reaching Wider. Communities First The Communities First catchment areas of all schools in the partnership have been identified. First Campus has consolidated its involvement with schools and communities to interact with large numbers of young people, their families and adults primarily in Communities First areas, the Heads of the Valleys (80% of Merthyr Tydfil’s districts are CF) and those in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. First Campus will contribute to Reaching Wider targets which seek to motivate and raise the aspirations of school students to work towards ensuring: “The percentage of all full-time and part-time Welsh domiciled undergraduate new entrants to HE courses at UK HEIs and FEIs who are domiciled in economically disadvantaged areas to rise from 8.9% to 11.4%” by 2010”. In order to work towards achieving this target First Campus will continue to work closely with the schools, Communities First officers, voluntary groups and youth centres within the partnership, building on the good relations it has developed. Black and other Minority Ethnic Groups (BME) First Campus continues to promote and implement designated programmes for supporting ethnic minorities to consider long term progression routes into HE. First Campus will thus support WAG to reach its initial target regarding minority ethnic communities where-in those aspiring to HE should reflect the proportion of the total population (2.21% Census Statistics 2001, Office of National Statistics). The First Campus partnership welcomed the South West Wales Reaching Wider Partnerships, All Wales Widening Access Wales (WAW) project. First Campus has a high proportion of black and other minority ethnic groups in the demographic area and the WAW proposal has allowed the First Campus partnership to extend its current work with black and other minority ethnic families, enabling us to reach and work with more groups. The aim is to bring HE participation levels up to proportional levels and offset the additional disadvantages of poverty, disability and social exclusion. The WAW project and the high influx of migrants from the eight eastern European countries – known as A8, into South East Wales (approx. 5,000 registered workers) identified a need within the First Campus partnership for a BME coordinator. Having a dedicated BME coordinator made a significant impact in helping partner universities to achieve and exceed their HEFCW benchmarks for Black and other Minority Ethnic participation. Welsh Medium First Campus has made significant progress in the delivery of Welsh medium activities. Through working closely with Welsh Language Officers in partner HEIs we have identified HE modules delivered through the medium of Welsh and established possible developments in the delivery of further HE modules being delivered through the medium of Welsh which would complement our activities programme and assist in, “increasing the number of Welsh medium students in HE from 3.4% to 7% by 2010” It is our intention to develop further links with HEI Welsh Language Officers, The Urdd, schools, colleges and Careers Wales. First Campus has continued to respond to the needs of the second language speakers and will be developing further Welsh Medium E-resources at Key Stage 4 to support the science curriculum, the All Wales Hands on Science project and to encourage blended learning. In 2008-2010 First Campus will be engaging with the All Wales Mentro Iaith e-learning project as currently our work in the Welsh Medium area is limited and this will enable us to develop and extend our work for the Welsh Medium Reaching Wider target. Disability In the absence of a specific target for disability, First Campus continues to encourage and support pupils with disability to achieve their potential. In dealing with the challenge of making provision for people with disability, the project team has worked closely with SkillWales and each HEI’s Disability Officers in order to produce a ‘First Campus Disability Statement’ (see Appendix A). The ‘Disability Statement’ is adhered to following a set of baseline rules and checklists, which ensures inclusive events. This procedure has helped FC practitioners to pursue an integrated and inclusive agenda for children who have a special learning requirement. First Campus will emphasise its open policy to all those with special requirements. All partners have loop systems for the hearing impaired, dyslexia support, wheelchair access etc. The University of Glamorgan has a mobile planetarium for the disabled which will be available to First Campus, UWIC has a sports centre for disabled, RWCMD provided workshops for sight impaired pupils and UWN provide workshops for hearing impaired pupils. |
