Careers support for schools expands online

An outreach programme, funded by the @officestudents – which has supported 16,000 young people in Lancashire to think about higher education, is expanding its offer to all secondary schools, sixth forms and colleges with their new online signposting service.

Future U, which aims to increase the numbers of young people considering university, further education or degree apprenticeships, has increased its offer to deliver their range of activities to more young people to help them think about their future careers.

The expanded offer includes a database of activities which schools can access from the Future U website. Activities in the expanded service signpost to activities that are offered by higher and further education providers in Lancashire including introductions to student life, guides to student finance, interview skills and personal statement support, through to revision skills and mentoring

In addition to running activities in school and hosting online education challenges during the lockdown, Future U has previously organised and funded school events including visits to potential future workplaces such as technology warehouses, tourist attractions, commercial kitchens and sports colleges. In total, the programme has delivered over 800 activities totalling 2,500 hours of support to students so far.

Theo Blackburn, Programme Manager at Future U, said: “We play a crucial role in supporting young people across Lancashire by raising their aspirations and removing barriers to them progressing on to university, as well as higher and degree apprenticeships. Working with four universities as well as 10 colleges and other stakeholders means we can deliver meaningful support across the region.”

Juliet Duncan, Assistant Headteacher, Our Lady’s Catholic College, Lancaster, added: “The students really enjoy the sessions from Future U. The delivery from all staff is relevant, clear and constructive and students are engaged, participating fully and wanting to know more information. The students really do get a huge amount out of it.”

The full list of activities can be downloaded from Future U’s website.

Future U is part of the national Uni Connect Programme, funded by the Office for Students, and involves institutions and organisations across the county including University of Central Lancashire, Lancaster University, Edge Hill University and the University of Cumbria. Our list of partners include: Blackburn College, Blackpool Sixth Form College, Blackpool and the Fylde College, Burnley College, Edge Hill University, Inspira, Kendal College, Lancaster University, Myerscough College, Nelson and Colne College, Preston’s College, STEMFirst, Runshaw College, The Lancashire Colleges, University of Central Lancashire, University of Cumbria, West Lancashire College.

Lancashire’s Future U works with a network of schools, in addition to colleges, higher education providers and local agencies to create tailored activities to meet the needs of students for now and the future.