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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.