Widening Participation Database Aimhigher West Midlands

Transcription

1 Widening Participation Database Aimhigher West Midlands The Aimhigher database has been developed as a targeting, data storage, monitoring and reporting tool for the widening participation (WP) activities of Aimhigher member HEIs. The system can store data on HE outreach activities, the organisations and learners attending and their WP targeting characteristics. The database has been developed to ensure that it is flexible for HEIs to report on progress towards both institutional and partnership targets (e.g. WPSA and OFFA Access Agreements). Widening Participation targeting measures incorporated into the database allow users to assess the socio- economic make- up of school and college cohorts (all England school/college profile lookup tool) and measure the targeting effectiveness of activities delivered to schools/colleges and learners. The database also includes a postcode lookup tool which can provide the targeting characteristics of all England postcodes and an NS- SEC tool to classify parental occupations. The WP measures incorporated into the database include IMD, POLAR 2 (Youth Participation Rate and Adult HE participation), parental HE experience and NS- SEC, eligibility/take up of FSM, disability, ethnicity, care status, EMA (educational maintenance allowance), Bursary, school type, and attainment at GCSE and A level. These measures are often used to monitor widening participation work with traditionally under- represented groups within higher education. Aimhigher Database Overview Module 1: Planning tools for outreach work School/College WP profiles Learner WP postcode profiles Module 4: Reporting AH Database Module 2: Data storage Access agreement reporting WSPA reporting Institutional reporting Planning Data Storage Monitoring Reporting Activities Organisations Learners Module 3: Monitoring Activities delivered + targeting Organisations engaged + targeting Learners engaged + targeting

2 WP targeting tools On the left hand side of the home screen there are three lookup targeting tools which can be used to perform the following functions: Identification and Selection of WP learners the database can be used to identify the WP characteristics of learners postcodes (all England postcode lookup tool) assign the NS- SEC for a parental occupation (NS- SEC lookup tool) or the WP profile of learners within English schools 1 /colleges or training providers 2 (school/college lookup tool). This allows schools and colleges to be prioritised according to the extent to which their cohorts experience various measures of disadvantage. Measuring targeting effectiveness the database can be used to store information about learners and their engagement in WP activities. Targeting data from the postcode lookup and the school/college lookup is used to measure learner and activity targeting effectiveness. This data is summarised within each learner and activity record and can be exported to an excel report for further analysis and manipulation. Example activity report Organisation Audience group Priority activity School A Yr 12 Master Classes College B Yr 12 Campus Visits School C Yr 9 Mentoring Number attending IMD NSSEC POLAR 2 YPR POLAR 2 AHE FSM Academy D Yr 10 Summer school School E Yr 10 Information, Advice and Guidance Similar reports are also available at learner level Postcode Lookup After clicking on the postcode lookup tool you will be taken to the following screen (see below). The tool holds WP targeting data for all 2.4 million English postcodes. You can either type in individual postcodes or paste in postcodes from an excel spreadsheet into the white box area. Once you have added the postcodes press the submit icon and this will generate an excel report that you can open, save or cancel. This report provides data on the WP characteristics of the postcode(s) pasted. The postcodes and resulting data within the Excel report appears in exactly the same order as you pasted it in and in turn can be pasted back to you original source Excel sheet if required. 1 Schools - refers to all England and schools and academies (maintained, grammar and independent but excluding special schools). Independent schools are not under local authority/dfe control and in turn are not required to return census data. In turn it was not possible to obtain much targeting data for these organisations. 2 ILR data for colleges and training providers is based on year olds in full- time full year programmes on roll from January 1 st 2011.

3 Example postcode report FSM Pupils GSCE 5 A* to C Inc M & E Postcode Region Local Authority IMD Rank Polar2 YPR Polar2 AHE NS- SEC 4-7 TF75UG West Mids Telford & W TF32HR West Mids Telford & W WS108P West Mids Walsall Q WS29XE West Mids Walsall B323UH West Mids Birmingham B323PB West Mids Birmingham B95EF West Mids Birmingham B83BF West Mids Birmingham NS- SEC Lookup After clicking on the NS- SEC lookup tool you will be taken to the following screen (see below). This tool can be used for identifying whether a learner meets targeting criteria for an activity as part of the selection process (based on their parent s occupation). A full explanation of how to use the NS- SEC lookup tool is provided in section 5 and guidance on targeting thresholds is provided in section 9. School/college Lookup As described earlier this lookup tool provides data on the WP profile of learners within English schools/colleges and training providers. This allows schools and colleges to be prioritised according to the extent to which their cohorts experience various measures of disadvantage. Currently school priority levels are based on the Birmingham and Solihull Aimhigher targeting model (see appendix 1). After clicking on the tool you are taken to the following screen. Here you can explore the WP profile of individual schools by typing the name in the free text area (Keyword) or explore the WP profile of schools within a given region or local authority. To view the data you will need to search and then click on Export to Excel. This will allow you to open, save or cancel the report. The report provides data on the WP targeting profile of the schools/colleges/training providers selected.

4 Example school/college profile report Organisation Name School A College B LA Learner # Priority Level IMD NS- SEC 4-7 Polar2 (YPR) Q1 Polar2 (AHE) Q1 Bham 730 High Bham 885 High School C Academy D School E Bham 1225 High Bham 1155 Medium Bham 910 Low Other data in this report also includes eligible for FSM, SEN, and KS4 ansd 5 attainment levels

5 Guidance on WP Targeting Measures This section provides guidance on the Widening Participation (WP) measures of disadvantage used in the Aimhigher database to assess the socio- economic make- up of school and college cohorts and measure the targeting effectiveness of activities delivered to school/college learners. The measures outlined are often used to monitor widening participation work with traditionally under- represented groups within higher education. The Aimhigher Database The database has been developed to ensure that it is flexible for HEIs to report on progress towards both institutional and partnership targets (e.g. WPSA and OFFA Access Agreements). The WP measures incorporated into the database include IMD, POLAR 2 (Youth Participation Rate and Adult HE participation), parental HE experience and NS- SEC, eligibility/take up of FSM, disability, ethnicity, care status, EMA (educational maintenance allowance), Bursary, school type, and attainment at GCSE and A level. As a targeting tool the data base can perform the following functions: Identification and Selection of WP learners the database can be used to identify the WP characteristics of learners postcodes (all England postcode lookup tool) assign the NS- SEC for a parental occupation (NS- SEC lookup tool) or the WP profile of learners within English schools 3 /colleges or training providers 4 (school/college lookup tool). This allows schools and colleges to be prioritised according to the extent to which their cohorts experience various measures of disadvantage. Currently school priority levels with the Excel report are based on the Birmingham and Solihull Aimhigher targeting model (see guidance located on the home screen of the Aimhigher database). Measuring targeting effectiveness the database can be used to store information about learners and their engagement in WP activities. Targeting data from the postcode lookup and the school/college lookup is used to measure learner and activity targeting effectiveness. This data is summarised within each learner and activity record and can be exported to an excel report for further analysis and manipulation. Figure 2: Aimhigher database targeting tools Identification and selection of WP cohorts School/college WP profiles Learner level postcode WP profiles Targeting effectiveness of activities and learners WP targeting measures at learner and school level include: IMD, POLAR 2 (Youth Participation Rate and Adult HE participation), parental HE experience and NS- SEC, eligibility for FSM, disability, ethnicity, care status, EMA (educational maintenance allowance), Bursary, school type, attainment at GCSE and A level. 3 Schools - refers to all England and schools and academies (maintained, grammar and independent but excluding special schools). Independent schools are not under local authority/dfe control and in turn are not required to return census data. In turn it was not possible to obtain much targeting data for these organisations. 4 ILR data for colleges and training providers is based on year olds in full- time full year programmes on roll from January 1 st 2011.

6 Once audience groups (organisation and year group) have been added to an activity the WP targeting data for learners attending that event is summarised on the activity screen. If more than one school / college or training provider attended the activity, then the WP targeting data for these orgnasistions is combined to provide an overall targeting value on each WP measure (organisation based profile). If individual learner data has been collected and associated with the activity, this will be used to populate the learner based profile within the table. The learner based profile data should only be used as a measure of targeting effectiveness if data is available for the majority of those who attended the activity. Sources of data and geographical coverage Targeting data held on the database within the lookup tools was obtained from a number of sources including the DFE (school census and attainment), ONS (IMD), HEFCE (POLAR2), ILR Data Service (college and training provider data). The tables within the next few pages outline these various data sources and WP measures, and define their geographical or demographic coverage. The diagram on page 2 is a useful illustration of geographical coverage of WP measures: Communities Average Population ** *GOR = Government Office Region IMD Rank Indicator Description: The Index of Multiple Deprivation (2010) combines a number of indicators covering a range of economic, social and housing issues, into a single deprivation score for each small area in England. This allows each area to be ranked relative to one another according to their level of deprivation. Postcodes are ranked in terms of deprivation against all super output areas (LSOAs) in England. The most deprived is ranked 1 and the least deprived area is ranked 32,482. Learner Level Targeting The postcode lookup tool provides data on the IMD rank of postcodes. HEFCE guidance used by Aimhigher partnerships suggested that at least 66 of participants in Aimhigher activities should reside in the 13,000 most deprived LSOAs, representing the 40 most deprived areas in England. Postcodes ranked at or above 13,000 are classified as advantaged areas. School/College Level Targeting IMD rank is not provided within the school/college lookup tool. Instead IMD (see below) is provided to identify the proportion of target learners. Data source: Learner postcodes were sourced from: The national school census (Department for Education - DFE) Jan 2011 for all pupils on roll in year 7 to 13 College and WBL provider data from obtained from the Data Service ILR (May 2011) release and

7 covers all full- time / full year 16 to 20 year old students on Level 1, 2 or 3 programmes. All learner postcodes were then converted to IMD values using ONS (Office for National Statistics) IMD data (2010). Geographical level: LSOA (Local Super Output Area) IMD Indicator Description: The school/college lookup tool provides data on the of learners that live within the 40 most deprived postcode areas (IMD ranks of 13,000 or below). Learner Level Targeting IMD is not provided within the postcode lookup tool. IMD ranks are provided to identify target learners (e.g. a rank of 13,000 or below). School/College Level Targeting The of learners living within disadvantaged IMD areas is available within the school/college lookup tool and summarised within activity records held on the database. Within the Aimhigher targeting model a threshold has been set where schools/colleges/training providers with 61 or more learners living disadvantaged IMD areas are regarded as the most disadvantaged (WP target cohort). These thresholds have been set at an all England level to approximately include one third of schools into 3 bandings (low, medium and high priority). The England average is 35.3 of learners within schools/colleges and training providers live in disadvantaged IMD areas. Data source and Geographical level: See IMD rank Polar2 YPR and AHE Indicator Description: POLAR2 provides information on participation rates of young people aged 18-20yrs in higher education (YPR) and adults aged 16-74yrs (AHE) with a HE qualification. Quintile 1 represents the lowest participation rates and quintile 5 represents the highest participation rates. The thresholds for each quintile are set out below: Quintile 1 under 16 participated in HE Quintile 2 16 to 24 participated in HE Quintile 3 24 to 32 participated in HE Quintile 4 32 to 43 participated in HE Quintile participated in HE Learner level Targeting Within the postcode lookup tool data is presented in the form of which quintile a given postcode belongs to. Postcodes added to learner records are used to automatically assign individual leaner YPR and AHE quintiles. The Aimhigher targeting model regards learners in quintiles 1 and 2 as disadvantaged. HESA benchmarks are based on quintile 1, whilst HEFCE institutional WP funding is provided for both quintiles 1 and 2. School/College level targeting Within the school/college lookup tool data is presented on the of learners that live within each quintile area. Within the Aimhigher targeting model a threshold has been set where schools with 67 or more learners living in POLAR2 (YPR) quintile 1 or 2 are regarded as the most disadvantaged (this measure is used on the activity record targeting summary on the database). In terms of POLAR2 (AHE) 58 or more learners living in quintile 1 or 2 are regarded as disadvantaged. Data source: HEFCE (2007) Geographical level: CAS Ward

8 NS- SEC Indicator Description: The National Statistics Socio- economic Classification (NS- SEC ) is an occupation based classification. Classes and occupations are grouped as follows: 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations - comprising 1.1. Large employers and higher managerial occupations 1.2. Higher professional occupations 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 3. Intermediate occupations 4. Small employers and own account workers 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 6. Semi- routine occupations 7. Routine occupations 8. Never worked and long- term unemployed. Additionally there is an Unclassified group which includes, for example, full- time students. Learner Level Targeting The postcode lookup tool provides data on the of learners within a given postcode area within each NS- SEC group. This data if collected can be added to individual learner records using the NS- SEC lookup. Generally those falling into classes 1-3 are viewed as advantaged and those falling within classes 4-7 (HESA) or 4-8 (Aimhigher model) are viewed as coming from a disadvantaged background (NC refers to those not classified). Aimhigher model: target WP learners School/College level targeting The of learners within each NS- SEC group is available within the school/college lookup tool and summarised within activity records held on the database. Within activity records data is summarised in terms of the of learners that fall into groups (4-8). Within the Aimhigher targeting model a threshold has been set where schools with 47 or more learners living in NS- SEC 4-8 are regarded as the most disadvantaged. Data source: Census (2001) Geographical level: OA (Output Area) FSM Indicator Description: Free School Meals (FSM) is a strategically useful measure as school pupil premium funding is based on the number of pupils who have taken up FSM. DFE guidance states that schools should use this money for activities to raise the attainment of disadvantaged FSM pupils. Learner Level Targeting

9 FSM take up data is available within the postcode lookup tool. This data if collected can be added to individual learner records. School/College level targeting of learners taking up or eligible for FSM is available within the school/college lookup tool and summarised within activity records held on the database. Within the Aimhigher targeting model a threshold has been set where schools with 17 or more learners are eligible for FSM are regarded as the most disadvantaged. Data source: School level data was sourced from DFE performance tables (2010). Learner level data was sourced from the ONS and DFE data is provided at an MSOA geographical level (DFE data included learners LSOAs for all schools in England and was converted to MSOA and matched to ONS data on attainment). EMA Indicator Description: The school/college lookup tool provides data on the of learners taking up Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA). EMA has been replaced by the bursary. The bursary will be much more targeted and available to fewer learners. Until new data is available EMA will provide a useful source of WP data. Learner Level Targeting EMA data is not available within the postcode lookup tool. However, this data if collected can be added to individual learner records. School/College level targeting of learners receiving EMA is available within the school/college lookup tool. Within the Aimhigher model no target threshold has been set for EMA as this has been replaced by the bursary. Data source: School level data from school census (DFE) Jan 2011 for post- 16 pupils only. College Level data from data service ILR (May 2011). NB: EMA withdrawn to new claimants from 2011/12 to be replaced incrementally by Bursary Geographical level: School/college learner level data Disability Indicator Description: Data within the school/college lookup summarises the of learners who are disabled. This includes learners statemented with a Special Educational Needs Statement (SEN) and excludes those on action plan and action plan plus. Learner Level Targeting Disability status is not available within the postcode lookup tool. However, this data if collected can be added to individual learner records. School/College Level targeting of learners with an SEN disability (statemented) is available within the school/college lookup tool. Within the Aimhigher Model no target threshold has been set at school/college level for the of learners with a disability. The School/College lookup excludes special schools (that do not offer mainstream provision) as all learners are target in terms of disability. Data source: School level data from school census (DFE) Jan College Level data from data service ILR (May 2011). Geographical level: School/college learner level data

10 Attainment Data Indicator Description: Both the postcode lookup and the school/college lookup tools provide data on learner attainment GCSE and GCE. Within HEFCE guidance partnerships were encouraged to target learners who had the potential to progress to higher education. This applies to learners who are estimated to achieve 5 GCSEs or equivalent at A- C* including English and Maths but could also include borderline learners who are in need of more encouragement. Learner Level Targeting The of learner s achievement at GCSE level is available within the postcode lookup tool for 2007 to Attainment can also be added to a free text field within learner records. School/College Level targeting The of learners attaining different levels at GCSE and GCE is available within the school/college lookup tool for Within the Aimhigher Model no target threshold has been set at school/college level for the of learners and their GCSE and GCE achievement. Data source: School level data was sourced from DFE performance tables (2010). Learner level data was sourced from the ONS and DFE is provided at an MSOA geographical level (DFE data included learners LSOAs for all schools in England and was converted to MSOA and matched to ONS data on attainment.

11 Appendix 1 - The Aimhigher West Midlands Targeting Model This paper outlines the Aimhigher targeting model to be used for selection of learners/schools and measuring targeting effectiveness of activities. This paper is split into two sections: Section 1: outlines the proposed Aimhigher model for selecting disadvantaged learners to participate in Aimhigher intensive activities and to measure the targeting effectiveness of these activities. Section 2: outlines the proposed Aimhigher model for selecting priority schools/colleges to participate in activities and measuring the effectiveness of targeting within less intensive activities. Section 1: Intensive Activities and Learner Level Targeting Aimhigher Model: Selecting Target Learners The modeled outlined below has been developed to provide a standardised methodology for identifying and selecting target Aimhigher learners. For selection purposes learners attending Aimhigher activities (Summer schools, Mentoring and Work Experience) should meet at least 2 WP target criterion, 1 from both categories A and B as illustrated below (figure 1). Learners who are disabled/in care (Category C) are high priority and do not have to meet any of the above criterion. Figure 1. Selection Criteria Target Learner A B C IMD* Eligible for FSM Receipt of Bursary No Parental HE NS- SEC 4-8 Disabled In Care Meets at least 1 category A criteria + Meets at least 1 Category B criteria. No parental HEI families are automatically target OR Disabled/In care learners are automatically target *IMD threshold employed - 40 most deprived postcode areas. Within the mentoring scheme and work experience placements school/college staff are provided with guidance and data collection forms outlining what criterion learners need to meet in order to be eligible. Selection is devolved to the school/college and in turn targeting effectiveness can only be measured at the end of recruitment and not as part of the selection process. For Summer Schools the Aimhigher Central office assess applications and select learners that meet targeting criteria (Appendix 1 outlines how criteria are scored and weighted).

12 Aimhigher Model: Measuring Leaner Targeting Effectiveness Table 2 shows how targeting effectiveness can be measured for local and OFFA reporting. Table 2: Measuring Targeting Effectiveness of Summer Schools, Mentoring and Work Experience Category Criteria of target learners NA POLAR2 (YPR)* IMD ** A Eligibility for FSM In receipt of the new Bursary No parental HE B NS- SEC 4-8 Disability C In care NA Meets Aimhigher target criteria*** Note that within the Aimhigher learner selection and targeting effectiveness model POLAR2 YPR is only used in measuring targeting effectiveness and not for selection purposes. This is because POLAR is a Ward- based indicator, and is not fine- grained enough to use for selection purposes. The Aimhigher model differs to the thresholds set by HESA and used to assess widening participation. HESA define the WP target cohort as learners who are in quintile 1 whereas, our model includes quintile 2 (Q1 and Q2 - progression <24). HESA also defines NS- SEC 4-7 as the target cohort whereas, our model includes NS- SEC 8 (unemployed parents/carers). Table Footnotes: **IMD measure includes the 40 most deprived. ***Aimhigher target criteria learner must at least meet 1 criteria from both category A and B. Learners who are disabled or are in care (Category C) are given high priority and do not have to meet any of the other criteria. Section 2: Less Intensive Activities and School/College level Targeting In the past we have identified whether local schools/colleges are high priority depending on the proportions of learners within a given school that live within disadvantaged postcode areas (IMD). High priority schools/colleges and well targeted activities were those with 66 or more learners who lived within disadvantaged areas. We have re- developed this model an improvements to it s: Coverage by encompassing all England schools/colleges and training providers Flexibility, so that a varied range of WP measures can be used to assess targeting at an institutional level Robustness, as high priority schools/colleges have to meet at least two WP criteria instead of one Figure 2. Aimhigher School/College Priority We are adding all England school profiles onto the Aimhigher database to support the processes of: Selection - Identify which school/colleges/ and training providers to work with depending on their priority levels (high, medium and low). Within the Aimhigher Model priority levels are set depending on the proportions of young people within the organisation that meet the WP criteria thresholds (see appendix 2). These thresholds have been set to ensure that 1/3 of organisations fall into high, medium or low priority bands on each WP measure (see figure 3). Figure 2 shows the criteria that a high priority organisation would need to meet.

13 Measuring Targeting Effectiveness - Once an activity is added onto the Aimhigher database selecting a school will populate the activity in terms of variety of targeting data ( IMD, FSM, POLAR YPR and AHE, NS- SEC 4-8). Figure 2. Aimhigher School/College Priority Model - Identifying and Selecting Target Organisations Selection Criteria Thresholds High Priority Organisation A B 61 + disadvantaged IMD 17 + eligible for FSM 67 + Polar AHE (Q1 & Q2) 58 + Polar YPR (Q1 & Q2) Meets at least 1 category A criteria + Meets at least 1 Category B criteria 47 + NS- SEC 4-8 Note that within the learner targeting model (basket A) included in receipt of Bursary. This is not included within the Aimhigher School/College Priority Model as national data sets at school/college level not yet available. Figure 3: the proportions of all England schools, colleges and training providers and their priority level. 29 High Priority 27 Medium Priority (Meets 1 targemng criteria threshold for category A or B measure or two thresholds for category A or B) Meets at least 1 category A criteria 61 or more learners disadvantaged by IMD 17 or more learners are eligible for FSM AND meets at least 1 category B criteria 47 or more are NS- SEC or more are in AHE POLAR Q1 and Q2 58 or more are in YPR POLAR Q1 and Q2 44 Low Priority (meets none of the targemng criteria thresholds) Within this model 1101 schools/colleges/training providers are high priority, 1192 medium and 1516 low priority. Just under 2000 organisations had to be excluded from the model as they did not have sufficient data. This was mainly due to issues in obtaining data for independent schools (1891). Appendix 2 shows the WP variables and thresholds for high, medium and low priority that were used to formulate this model.

14 Figure 4: the proportions of Birmingham and Solihull schools, colleges and training providers and their priority level. Figure 4 below shows that significantly higher proportions of Birmingham and Solihull school/colleges and training providers are disadvantaged and deemed high priority than at a national level. The previous model to identify high priority schools/colleges was based on a 66 learner IMD threshold. 68 of local schools/colleges were target against this threshold which is similar to the current model (66) High Priority (66) Medium Priority (10) Low Priority (24)

15 Appendix 2 Table 1: Summer School Selection Methodology - Criteria Weightings Category Criteria Scoring Weighting IMD 1 A Eligibility for FSM 1 In receipt of the new Bursary 1 B No parental HE 7 NS- SEC C Disability 7 In care 7 Total 0-20 Target learners score 2 or more with at least 1 criteria in both category A and B. Learners who are disabled or are in care (Category C) or learners whose parents have no HE experience are given high priority.

16 Appendix 3 WP Measures (Basket A): Thresholds and Priority Levels IMD Priority level Threshold Number of organisations of organsations Low Less than Medium 24 to High 61 or more Total England Average 35.3 IMD eligible for FSM Priority level Threshold Number of organisations of organsations Low Less than Medium 8 to High 17 or more Total Data is not available for colleges and training providers(514) WP Measures (Basket A): Thresholds and Priority Levels NS- SEC (4-8) Priority level Threshold Number of organisations of organsations Low Less than Medium 39 to High 47 or more Total Total POLAR2 Q1 and Q2 (AHE) Priority level Threshold Number of organisations of organsations Low Less than Medium 19 to High 67 or more Total Total POLAR2 Q1 and Q2 (YPR) Priority level Threshold Number of organisations of organsations Low Less than Medium 23 to High 58 or more Total Total