Pillar One – Student
Definition; LSME’s definition of care experienced students encompasses individuals who have hadexperiences within the care system, whether through formal arrangements like foster care or residential care, or informal arrangements with relatives or friends. LSME provides support for all students who have experienced care at any stage of their lives, including those who have been adopted.
Outreach; Through our LSME-NTLTL project, LSME aims to provide Care Leavers (18+) with academic support in Foundation Year and facilitate their progression to higher education. LSME recognises that spending time in care can have an impact on the opportunities and outcomes for Care Leavers, and therefore LSME Access and Participation and Admissions Teams provide pre- entry and on-course support to students who spent any time in care.
Application; Our LSME-Not Too Late To Learn (NTLTL) outreach project aims to provide Care Leavers with academic support in Foundation Year and facilitate their progression to higher education. As progression options, we offer degree programmes in Business Management and Health and Social Care, in addition to Diploma in Education and Training. Student enrolment under the LSME Access and Participation Plan is through a Contextualised Admissions process.
Contextual admissions can positively reduce the gaps in admissions between the least and most represented groups of students. The contextual admission forms part of the LSME’s commitment to ensuring that all students with the potential to succeed have equal opportunity to enrol in academic
programmes of LSME.
Foundation Year is an optional year at Level 4 for those who fall short of the minimum requirements and also a fantastic opportunity for those considering higher education as an option but facing various barriers to learning. Care Leavers will find Foundation Year a great way to build skills, knowledge, and confidence to prepare them for a degree course. Furthermore, it will help them
remove academic gaps and improve literacy. In addition, Care Leavers will get the chance to experience university/college style teaching as well as gain practical experience to help them progress to undergraduate degree courses. Induction; Induction is an important part of the students’ academic journey, which spans over two weeks with one common half-day of welcome and introductions. Care Leavers will be provided with an initiation to the Welfare and Pastoral Care support services, the College rules and regulations aligned with the academic provision including the importance of attendance, punctuality, and timely submission of course work. Also, they will be encouraged to familiarise themselves with the policies and procedures outlined in their Students Handbooks and Programme Handbooks. In addition, they will get to know the admin support services and will have the opportunity to ask relevant questions to clarify any doubts they may have in relation to their expectations. This induction process lasts for two weeks and covers teaching essential study skills including time management, plagiarism, academic referencing using the Harvard System, understanding course specifications and assignment briefs and introduction to the Virtual Learning Environment and Turnitin anti-plagiarism software. Furthermore, lecturers will work with Care Leavers on an individualised learning plan to meet their diverse learning needs. On course support: LSME offers the following support for Care Experienced students who joined LSME’s courses or have been referred to us via our outreach projects: – Tutoring – Mentoring – Career Guidance – Employer Engagement – Transferrable Skills Development – Raising Aspiration – Confidence Building – Foundation Year Scholarship and Bursaries – Tailor-made Individual Support LSME welcomes applications from Care Leavers whose academic qualifications do not meet the University entry requirements but meet the eligibility criteria for the contextual offer. LSME Admissions and the AP Team will provide the best advice to the potential applicants (AP students). Furthermore, they will encourage the potential applicants to complete all the relevant forms (Admission Form, Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form and LSME APP Referral Form) in full, as it is critical to assessing the eligibility for the support provided. In addition, both teams will make sure that potential applicants are informed about disability and mental health support as well as the potential financial support they might be entitled to. Moreover, potential applicants, based on a contextual confirmation decision, will have access to the same support services as all other students and the Academic Team will be dedicated to supporting the students’ learning requirements and development. Finance: At LSME, we offer a range of Bursaries and Foundation Year Scholarships through an assessment process for all Care Experienced students. This includes Foundation Year Scholarship, Discretionary Bursary, and means-tested Hardship Fund. LSME will support all students to access Students Finance and all other eligible benefits. Email: app@lsme.ac.uk Phone: 0208 594 8462 Accommodation: LSME does not have a residential accommodation option. Careers and Employability inc. named contact; LSME’s Employability and Enterprise Hub (EEH) is geared towards equipping our students with basic employability skills (soft skills) and demonstrating these skills in their applications, interviews, and in the role, they play in the workplace. Care Experienced students will be provided with tailored support through EEH according to their specific needs. EEH will support Care Leavers with employability skills to enhance their career opportunities and also encourage them to become future entrepreneurs. They are given exposure to the corporate environment and chance to interact with potential employers through various activities. They get the opportunity to develop various transferrable skills through dedicated online training sessions and resources.
Student employment: LSME EEH is designed to support every student, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain necessary skills and prepare themselves for the professional job market. LSME aims to ensure that every student of LSME, at the end of the academic journey embarks on a graduate-level job or starts their own enterprise. There are a number of engagements for students from the time of their joining to the end of their studies designed to make them market-ready for highly skilled jobs. Graduation; LSME will provide all support necessary for every care leaver student based on the individual requirements in attending their Graduation Ceremony. Alumni: All care leavers who complete their studies with LSME will become part of the Alumni community and will receive the benefits and the opportunity to contribute to the development of the LSME community. The benefits will include opportunities to attend specialised lectures, training sessions and events planned for the Alumni community.
End statement: The implementation of the Access and Participation Plan and its activities are monitored and evaluated by the AP Committee regularly and hence the regular monitoring and review of the actions under the Care Leavers Covenant will be under the purview of the AP Committee, which reports to the overall Academic Committee. The activities will be constantly reviewed for its effectiveness and impact. LSME also generates synergy through developing partnerships and extending networks with organisations that have experience in the area of work. LSME is currently reviewing its Access and Participation Plan (2020-21 to 2024-25) in preparation for its new Access and Participation Plan.
Pillar Two- A robust employment offer
LSME is keen to explore how, within our organisation, we could respond to this aspect of the Covenant.
Pillar Three – Community
LSME Access and Participation Team aims at supporting young people in the category of in-care or Looked After Children (LAC), who would become care leavers upon reaching the age of 18. The LSME-Inspire outreach project is expected to develop the pipeline for care leavers to enrol in LSME programmes; this would need to be coupled with the development of wide-ranging programmes to cater for their interests.
To intensify our efforts for the recruitment of Care Leavers, LSME Access and Participation Team plans to:
– Establish partnerships with Virtual Schools to provide additional academic support to looked after children using online tutoring;
Support AccessHE with IAG events for Care Leavers and Care Experienced Students to communicate the support available to care-experienced students when they are applying to university, and while they are at university, including application and financial support;
– Attend AccessHE Care Experienced and Estranged Students Forum Meetings to share good practices with other providers and understand specific needs of Care Leavers to support them accordingly and attract them to start studying at LSME; – Being a member of the National Network for Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) broaden our horizon for learning from and sharing our experience in supporting Care Leavers;
– Having a college profile on Propel (part of BECOME) providing information on the support available to them;
– Keep updating information on LSME website regarding Care Leavers including the support available through our LSME-NTLTL project.
LSME would like to build relationships and engage with the local community as well as relevant organisations by offering venue hire, participating in local care leaver networks and training with the Local Authority.
As a member of NNECL, LSME signifies its commitment to the care-experienced agenda. Care leavers are a priority target of LSME’s Access and Participation Plan, and we endeavor through our academic provision and outreach projects to provide access, retention, and progression activities for care leavers.
