Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, we have made arrangements for all of our activities to be offered virtually. However, from September 2021 we will be able to offer some face-to-face delivery of a small number of select in-school activities. You can find out more about what events and activities we are offering here: gmhigher.ac.uk/events-and-activities/

To discuss the option of face-to-face delivery, please contact your hub manager.

Live delivery

• We have made arrangements to deliver activities to learners who are in a classroom where there is only one PC, as well arrangements for activities to be delivered where each learner has their own device as we recognise this may not be possible.
• Live delivery will take place either using a school-nominated platform, Microsoft Teams (for activity where learners are in the classroom with only one PC), or GoToWebinar (for activity where learners are at home/have access to a device each).
• Where we are using the school platform, you will take responsibility for safeguarding arrangements and our staff will comply with any policies and procedures you have.
• For activity taking place in a classroom the support of teacher/advisor is needed to facilitate activities, detailed briefing provided in advance and option to discuss over the phone.
• We can also deliver to multiple classrooms simultaneously.
• Please see our teacher guidance below:

GoToWebinar: https://gmhigher.glasscubes.com/share/s/idudai1go355neukqu7848208h

Microsoft Teams: https://gmhigher.glasscubes.com/share/s/nschf8bpo0qum3tk7b89o39ls0

Asynchronous delivery

• For some activity pre-recorded content will be available and/or lesson plans and resources for teacher/advisor-led sessions and this is most likely to be the case for subject-based activity.

Safeguarding

Our online safeguarding guidance can be found here: https://gmhigher.glasscubes.com/share/s/idudai1go355neukqu7848208h

Our risk assessments can be found here:

School platform https://gmhigher.glasscubes.com/share/s/lnl1ohmsntmiaq65pfnnqibi5i

GoToWebinar https://gmhigher.glasscubes.com/share/s/3hu1qrkoo4tm8rintkmlsv9kct

Microsoft Teams https://gmhigher.glasscubes.com/share/s/6hibqcqid8moogp2mkr7uduv8k

Evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation remains crucial in proving the impact of GMH activity and support the case for further funding.

There are three options, and this must be agreed upon in advance:

• 1. Learners complete online evaluation directly using link provided (preferred)
  2. Teacher/advisor prints paper forms and scans back to GMH (preferred)
  3. Hub drops off and collects paper forms

We are exploring a printing bursary to support financial and time implications for schools re. option 2, to be confirmed following our project steering group in late October.

If you have any questions please contact your hub manager or for non-target schools the outreach hub team via gmhigher@mmu.ac.uk

Target Postcode schools and colleges will be supported by a Hub Manager who will facilitate a structured needs analysis and planning process.

All schools/colleges will be supported by our GM Higher central team, who will help you access relevant GM Higher activities for your learners, as well as signposting to various events and activities at our partner institutions.

You can also use our Regional Progression Framework as a tool to help map activity across the learning outcomes for your learners.

If you require additional support with planning your engagement or have questions about any of our activity please contact gmhigher@mmu.ac.uk

Our Target Postcode programme is for year 9-13 learners only. If you are a target postcode school/college please review our core programme brochures for Pre-16 target postcode learners and Post-16 target postcode learners.

Our all schools programme includes activity for year 9-13 learners and available to all state schools in Greater Manchester. Please see the All Schools programme.

We also signpost all schools to other activities taking place at our partner institutions, which are targeted at a wide range of ages from Primary to Post-16.

We offer tailored activities for targeted learner groups (looked after children, care leavers, disabled learners, young carers) and their supporters, please see the targeted learners programme.

Please review our Event Booking Checklist.

Please also be aware of our Cancellation Policy.

Find the events you would like to book onto via our Events & Activities page.

You can use the search tool, or filter by selecting your school name.

For more information, please see: event booking guidance doc

All of our activities are fully-funded, therefore, there is no charge to schools, colleges or learners.

We need schools and colleges to support the monitoring and evaluation of our work so that we can evidence impact and comply with our funding requirements. The standard requirement is to provide learner registers prior to all activities and complete activity evaluation.

A requirement of our Office for Students funding is to track learner destinations so that long-term impact can be measured.

We ask learners to opt-in to the collection and processing of their personal data for tracking and evaluation purposes via our Destination Tracking forms. We require Destination Tracking Forms to be completed for all learners who take part in our activities.

All processes are fully GDPR compliant. Further information about our data collection & GDPR compliance can be found GMH Data Collection & GDPR Compliance document 

Greater Manchester Higher aims to support the government’s social mobility goals by increasing the number of young people from underrepresented groups who go into higher education.

The Uni Connect progamme focuses on target wards, which are identified by areas where higher education participation is lower than might be expected given the GCSE results of the young people who live there.

Pre 16

For any school-organised 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:
o Looked after children/care leaver
o Disability (including long term health condition and additional needs)
o Young Carers
o Free School Meals
o First-generation HE
o Asylum seeker/refugee status
o Military family/service children
For activities where individual learners sign- up (summer schools), those who meet postcode criteria will be prioritised, followed by those who meet additional WP criteria.

For 1-2-1s we expect 100% of the learners to be from a target postcode due to the intensity of the intervention.

Post 16

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

For the remaining 50%, learners from the following groups should be targeted:
o Looked after children/care leaver
o Disability (including long term health condition and additional needs)
o Young Carers
o Estranged Students
o First-generation HE
o Asylum seeker/refugee status
o Military family/service children
For activities where individual learners sign- up (mentoring and summer schools), those who meet postcode criteria will be prioritised, followed by those who meet additional WP criteria.

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

You can find out more via our target postcode tools:

Pre 16

Post 16

We are committed to offering free outreach activities to all state schools in Greater Manchester which include campus visits, in-school activities, parent talks and CPD for teachers and advisors.

For some activities, we may ask schools to select learners who are underrepresented in higher education such as those who are the first in their family to progress to higher education, are in receipt of free school meals, who have been in local authority care, who have a disability, learning difficulty or long-term health condition or have caring responsibilities.

Some schools will be proactively supported by GM Higher in accessing these activities based upon priority criteria.

To find out more information about what support your school can receive, contact gmhigher@mmu.ac.uk

We can provide CPD sessions for teachers and advisors to provide impartial information around key higher education themes.

We can deliver sessions ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours either as a twilight session or as part of an INSET day.

This activity is available on request and can be tailored to your school/college requirements. Please email gmhigher@mmu.ac.uk for more information.