Empowering access for equitable futures
We are a dynamic Community of Practice that brings together practitioners, strategic leaders, and organisations committed to promoting social mobility and equality of opportunity by making higher education accessible to a diverse range of students.
The network connects professionals from education, business, charitable organisations, and non-profits, committed to making higher education participation more inclusive. By sharing knowledge, resources and best practice, we strengthen efforts to improve access to, and success in, higher education for underrepresented groups and beyond.
Why join the WP Network?
As a member, you will benefit from:
Sign up now to join the Network and stay informed about upcoming meetings and events.
Whilst the Network is hosted by staff from Manchester Metropolitan University and Greater Manchester Higher Uni Connect partnership, it is intended to be impartial and inclusive.
Voice, identity, and language-based prejudice
How we speak is a core part of who we are, but it’s also something people judge us for. In this session, Rob Drummond (Professor of Sociolinguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University), explores accent bias: what it is, why it happens, and how it shapes people’s opportunities, confidence, and sense of belonging. Drawing on sociolinguistic research, it challenges the idea that some ways of speaking are “better” than others, and highlights the importance of valuing linguistic diversity.
Session title to be confirmed
Embedding Inclusive Education
Join us for a conversation with Cardiff University’s Professor Helen Williams (Dean for Student Success) and Rachel Johns (Education Developer for Inclusion) as they introduce how they have taken a relational approach to embedding Inclusive Education. The session will explore Cardiff’s university wide approach to inclusive education, exploring the three dimensions of fostering a sense of belonging, empowering students to fulfil their potential and developing inclusive mindsets. Building on five years of sector-leading work, we’ll hear how their evidence based enhancement tool supports discussion, reflection, action planning, and meaningful change.
Supporting Commuter Students: Insights and Next Steps
This session will feature David Gilchrist, a Careers Adviser within the Arts & Humanities faculty careers team at Manchester Metropolitan University. David will share the highlights of his recent activities engaging with commuter students across Manchester Met, including the origins behind this work and its significance in the context of the modern student university experience. He will outline the ongoing and planned next steps to ensure Manchester Met commuter students feel seen and able to extract the value of their experience as commuter students and how to apply that to their career decision making and ultimately obtaining positive graduate outcomes.
Creative Expression, Youth Voice and Participation
This session will feature Rajesh Patel, an experienced higher education practitioner specialising in youth and community work. Drawing on years of practice with young people in diverse settings, Rajesh will explore how creative expression can be used as a powerful tool to amplify youth voice. He will discuss how creative methods can enhance participation, strengthen agency, and support young people to influence the decisions that shape their lives.
We’ll also hear from Liam Graham, an MA Illustration student at Manchester Met. Recently, Liam was challenged to ‘live scribe’ a major teaching and learning event at the university – capturing the ideas, discussions and energy of the day through visual storytelling. Liam will share his educational journey, his experience of live scribing, and how creativity is opening new pathways and opportunities as he develops his emerging career.
This session offers a rich opportunity to consider how creative approaches can deepen engagement, nurture confidence, and strengthen young people’s involvement in their own learning and decision making. Join us to learn from practitioners and creatives who are shaping more expressive, participatory and youth centred practice.
Supporting Young Carers: Insights, Practice and Impact
This session will feature Professor Saul Becker, internationally recognised as the leading expert in young carers’ research, policy and practice. With over 30 years’ experience working with children and young adults with caring responsibilities, Saul will share insights into his role and the core elements of the training he delivers across the sector.
We’ll also hear from staff at Adelaide Heath Academy, a SEMH alternative provision that recently undertook Saul’s training. They’ll discuss how the programme shaped their thinking, the actions they implemented as a result, and their plans for continuing this work to better support young carers in their setting.
This session offers a valuable opportunity to deepen understanding, reflect on practice and learn directly from leaders driving meaningful change for young carers.
Being a Boy project
This session will explore the birth and evolution of the Being a Boy project, creative workshops for young men across Dorset on Free School Meals hosted at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB). The Being a Boy project inspired the first CPD Conference, Learning to ‘Level Up’?, addressing how we can better support working-class boys’ educational attainment and progression to Higher Education. This conference hosted 60 delegates at AUB in 2022, with the latest conference hosted at Manchester Met University welcoming over 200 delegates with contributions from over 80 speakers. The 2022 conference inspired the establishment of Boys’ Impact and it’s regional Hubs starting with the creation of the Dorset Boys’ Impact Hub, built up with a network of education providers, non-profit organisations.
This session will chart the development of the Being a Boy project, which has now been established as best practice example through the growth of Boys’ Impact, shaping national conversations and policy around boys’ engagement and representation in education. Participants will gain an insight into the drivers behind the movement and the particular impact of the Being a Boy project, which focuses on giving voice to the young men, exploring themes of masculinity and identity through creative activities following the Taking Boys’ Seriously Principles. Participants will see exclusive clips from our latest project documentary, Being a Boy: Transform, following the young men that took part in the 2025 Special Effects Make-Up workshop.
Careers Differential Outcomes
The session will provide an overview of the university’s Careers Differential Outcomes work and explore how students contribute as partners in shaping careers support. Attendees will hear about key initiatives, insights from students, and practical examples of embedding student voice in our careers provision.
Active & Impactful Allyship
In this session, participants will learn how to move beyond awareness into meaningful allyship by leveraging privilege, listening intentionally, amplifying under-heard voices and intervening when bias occurs.
Patrick Ottley-O’Connor will exemplify his evolving journey as an ally & share how we can encourage, engage & empower more people to step into the space as active and impactful allies.
How Educational Environments Shape Connection and Engagement
In this session Mâir Bull and Eileen Pollard from the University Teaching Academy (UTA) will explore how educational spaces shape our experiences of learning and connection. This session will consider the emotional impact of design, from surveillance – style layouts to playful, creative environments – and reflect on how space can support or hinder engagement. Graduate Intern in the UTA, Phat Tran, will also join the session and share his experiences of school and university life.
Psychosocial and Academic Trust Alienation Theory (PATA): Exploring the relationship between social mobility and disadvantage through the lens of alienation, trauma, and trust.
Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking online session with Manchester Metropolitan University academic Caroline Jones, as she introduces her emerging work on PATA.
This session will provide an accessible introduction to the theory, which explores how experiences of alienation and trauma impact trust in educational contexts, and how these dynamics shape the broader journey of social mobility and disadvantage.
Caroline will outline the core concepts of PATA, discuss its relevance across the entire educational journey, from early years to higher education, and invite participants to consider its practical applications in research, policy, and practice.
The session will conclude with an open Q&A, offering attendees the opportunity to explore the theory further and reflect on its implications for their own work.
Co-production: A Taste of Design Thinking
Led by Inca Hide-Wright, Warwick Graduate Management Trainee and Co-Lead of the WIHEA Building Belonging Project and Learning Circle.
This interactive session explores how co-production principles can support mental health awareness and belonging in higher education. Centring on the #GetWarwickTalking initiative at the University of Warwick, the session will provide you with experience of how co-production principles could and can be used, including the challenges you may encounter by working through the design thinking process.
Participants will:
Digital Exclusion and Strategies for Inclusion
We’ll be joined by Rod Cullen, Reader and Digital Education expert at Manchester Metropolitan University, who’ll be discussing digital exclusion and strategies for inclusion.
Balancing the needs of their learning with the demands of complex home lives is increasingly challenging for students, especially those from non-traditional backgrounds. This interactive session will explore some of the dilemma’s faced by students and examine data from recent national surveys that emphasise the scale of the challenges faced.
The role of digital tools as enablers of flexibility in provision to support engagement with learning, teaching and assessment will be examined. Complex issues that can result in digital exclusion will be discussed along with possible strategies to address these and promote inclusion.
We’ll also be joined by a Manchester Metropolitan scholar who’ll share his journey into higher education as a WP student.
Enhancing WP Impact: Collaborative Strategies Between Educators and Employers
In this session, Orlagh McCabe from Manchester Metropolitan University and Paul Colman, Chief Executive of South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce, will discuss a case study on Area Based Initiative (ABI) development, explore key challenges and benefits of collaborations between educators and employers, and outline key recommendations for effective partnership working in a local context to support Widening Participation.
Launch meeting
Join us for our launch meeting where we will explore the latest developments in Widening Participation, share insights from across the sector, and discuss how we can work together to create more inclusive opportunities in higher education.
Be part of a growing community that is shaping the future of higher education for under-represented groups. Sign up now to join the Widening Participation Professional Network and stay informed about upcoming meetings and events.