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Who we are

Greater Manchester Higher is a collaborative network.

The partnership is a part of the Uni Connect programme, which delivers a nationally coordinated approach to working with schools, universities, and colleges to help people access higher education.

Our Year in Brief provides an overview of the activities delivered and the key achievements and successes during 2020/21.

 

Our vision

We aim to improve the provision of information, advice and guidance about progression routes to higher education (HE), alongside offering a menu of activities to raise the aspirations of young people in Greater Manchester.

Our team

Central Team

Ian McGarry, Advice and Guidance Manager

Ian McGarry

Operations Manager

Mark Burke Monitoring and Evaluation Manager

Mark Burke

Monitoring and Evaluation Manager

Jess Edington Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Jess Edington

Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Hub Managers

Andrea, Hub Manager for Salford and Trafford

Andrea Dapoto

Salford and Trafford

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Chris Delaney, Hub Manager Manchester

Chris Delaney

Manchester

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Colin Stanfield, Hub Manager Wigan

Colin Stanfield

Wigan and Leigh

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Vicky Sinfield, Hub Manager Stockport Oldham and Tameside

Vicky Sinfield

Oldham, Stockport & Tameside

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Elin Bowker-Stewart, Hub Manager Bolton Bury and Rochdale

Elin Stewart-Bowker

Bury, Bolton & Rochdale

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Safeguarding

We take the safeguarding of the young people we work with very seriously, please find our safeguarding statement here.

Download Safeguarding PDF

Cancellation Policy

All of our events are free for schools and colleges to participate in, however we have a cancellation policy in the event of less than 14 days notice being given.

Governance

Manchester Metropolitan University are the lead institution for the network.

Greater Manchester Higher is governed by a steering group who oversee the strategic and financial aspects of the project. This group meets three times a year and each institution has a representative on the steering group.

Download Governance PDF

Targeting, Monitoring & Evaluation

The overall aim of the Uni Connect programme is to support the government’s social mobility goals by rapidly increasing the number of young people from underrepresented group who go into higher education. The programme is collaborative, impartial and targeted.
Our targeting is predominantly based upon learner postcodes. The government has identified 45 electoral wards within the Greater Manchester area where Higher Education participation is lower than expected based on KS4 attainment and this is where we apply the government definition for underrepresented groups.
Please see our GMH targeting section below for more info.

Pre-16 & Post-16 targeting

For any school organised pre-16 activity (subject-specific, hub-funded, projects) 66% of learners need to be from a target postcode.

For the remaining 33%, learners from the following groups should be targeted:

  • Looked after children/care leaver; Disability (including long term health condition and additional needs); Young Carers; Free School Meals; First-generation HE; Asylum seeker/refugee status; Military family/service children

For any school/college organised post-16 activity (subject-specific, hub-funded, projects) 50% of learners need to be from either a target postcode or POLAR 4 Q1 or Q2 postcode.

For the remaining 50%, learners from the following groups should be targeted:

  • Looked after children/care leaver; Disability (including long term health condition and additional needs); Young Carers; Estranged Students; First-generation HE; Asylum seeker/refugee status; Military family/service children

For activities where individual learners sign- up, those who meet postcode criteria will be prioritised, followed by those who meet additional Widening Participation criteria.

For 1-2-1s, we expect 100% of the learners to be from either a target postcode or a POLAR 4 Q1 or Q2 postcode, due to the intensity of the intervention.

Our postcode tool will help you determine which of your pupils are applicable.

GMH Postcode Tool