Doncaster College: EDISTEM

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1 An Excellence Gateway case study Published: 30th July 2012 Doncaster College: EDISTEM Contact person Kathryn Brearley - kathryn.brearley@don.ac.uk Or Denise Eaton - denise.eaton@shu.ac.uk Outline the aim To identify, highlight, share and embed good practice around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in relation to STEM subjects in FE colleges and Work Based Learning Providers across Yorkshire and Humber Project scope: To share tools and techniques that help employers see the benefit of STEM equality and diversity good practice in order to enhance employer engagement. To gather examples of good practice and resources in relation to learner choice and removing barriers for under-represented groups which can be replicated and used by other institutions that will be hosted on the Equality and Diversity Toolkit web resource To create a self-sustaining network of EDI STEM Practitioners in FE/WBLPs who can continue to support the development of good practice across the Region along with lead partners The challenge The main issue was two-fold. Firstly, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion practitioners can feel isolated in their own institutions and may benefit from the opportunity to network with others and share ideas for developing practice. Secondly, FE colleges, HEIs and training providers often struggle to attract and retain a diverse student body to study STEM subjects. The EDISTEM project aimed to gather examples of good practice from across the sector which could be shared across the network. 1

2 Partnership organisations Doncaster College: FE college lead partner, liaison with LSIS regarding project management and reporting, promotion of project through existing networks, host for Launch event, provision of mentoring support, contributor to sub-regional network. Sheffield Hallam University: Centre for Science Education - support to lead partner with project management and reporting, co-ordination of events, identification of participating organisations, co-ordinator of mentoring support including developing guidance for mentors, provision of mentoring support, co-ordinator of virtual sub-regional networks, host for Celebration event. Training 2000: Contributor to launch and celebration events, involvement with virtual networks, provision of mentoring support The outputs Project planning meetings - 2 meetings held in Doncaster College and one in Sheffield Hallam University. Launch event (January 2012) - 19 people from different organisations attended and completed EDI action plans. 2 further people were identified following the launch event and have been working with one of the mentors Mentoring - 6 mentors appointed from the 3 partner organisations. Discussions held between mentors. Mentees - 21 mentees identified. 8 engaged in in-depth mentoring, others requested and received information and advice from their mentors. Continuing relationships between mentors/ mentees/ peer mentors - at least 5 'pairings' will continue beyond the life of the project. Celebration event (21 June 2012) - 13 people attended from 8 different organisations. Posters/ case studies - 8 produced so far and a further 2 in development Top Tips for tutors guide- to be concluded following the Celebration event The impacts and outcomes Project participants have developed enhanced awareness of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion issues (Actual). Participants have developed new networks which will continue to be available for support after the project end (Actual). Participating organisations have benefitted from the enhanced awareness of their staff which has in turn impacted on practice (Actual). 2

3 Participating organisations have bespoke action plans to support their development in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in STEM (Actual). The partner organisations have developed new links and networks and new ways of working which will be of benefit in future, and which will support future project work (expected). Much of the work which the participating organisations have identified in their action plans and through discussions with mentors will take place in the autumn term ( ), so impacts, outputs and outcomes will not be realised until course delivery in the forthcoming academic year and enrolment in learners (learners in this instance mean project participants who were FE tutors/ HE lecturers etc) plus 6 mentors, i.e. 27 people. The impact on the mentors was an opportunity for reflection on their practice, and a chance to develop their own knowledge and understanding of EDI issues further. The 21 learners/ mentees had the opportunity to hear about good practice in other organisations, network with other EDI practitioners, discuss ideas for changes to their own practice and formulate a detailed action plan. The participants reported working with a number of different groups of learners in each of the institutions. The largest focus of interest was on gender and STEM - i.e. girls. Working relationship with LSIS Without the support from LSIS we would not have been able to develop the relationship between the 3 partners or set up the network of practitioners in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. We will be able to use this network as a continuing resource which has the potential for future collaboration and the development of innovative projects. Good value for money 17 different organisations in the FE, HE, Training Provider sector were engaged in the project as active participants. 3 different organisations were involved in delivering the project and enabled efficiencies (i.e. 6 mentors drawn from this partnership). Although this cannot be measured, it is hoped that the project will result in increased student diversity on STEM courses which may in turn have a long-term impact on employability and financial wellbeing for local communities Senior managers involvement Prior to leaving the organisation, the initial project director was Angie Kokes, Deputy Principal of Doncaster College, and she has handed over the project management to another senior colleague. Senior managers from Sheffield Hallam University have been made aware of the project internally and have also attended the celebration event. Although he was unable to attend, the 3

4 Principal Designate of the new Sheffield University Technical College was invited to the celebration event and will be informed about the practice developed through the project which will support inclusive in this new local training institution. Stakeholder involvement 17 other FE/HEI/ Training provider organisations were engaged in the project as participants and have been actively engaged in developing their practice. They have also been involved in the evaluation of the project. Learner involvement Learners were involved in the celebration event through actual attendance, and through the screening of some of their short films highlighting equality, diversity and inclusion Raising awareness The launch event was publicised widely using partner organisations' networks. The Women in SET team at Sheffield Hallam University advertised the celebration event on their own website, and external organisations were invited to the celebration event to share the learning further. All the case studies will be added to the STEM Equality and Diversity Toolkit which is managed by the Women in SET team. Continuity of project, after LSIS funding The EDISTEM project has developed a network of practitioners. We would very much like to continue the project after this LSIS funding has stopped, but apart from the maintenance of a number of mentor/ mentee and peermentoring relationships, it is not possible to sustain the network without funding. Did you experience any difficulties in implementing the project and how did you overcome these? Although we recruited well to our launch event, and participants completed detailed action plans, in some cases mentors reported that their mentees were too busy to devote enough time to implementing their action plan. We have tried to find ways to support the mentees in such a way as to help them see that they are not taking on a huge task, i.e. the project strapline which is 'small changes can make a big difference'. Project partners discovered that the vast majority of participants wanted to focus on gender issues, i.e. getting more girls to study STEM subjects. It was a little difficult to maintain the broader diversity agenda but we have also 4

5 benefitted from a critical mass of people working on the same issues and sharing experiences of what worked etc. Staff changes in the Lead Partner had some impact but this was overcome through sharing duties, effective communication channels etc. Issues that slowed progress faced by participants and identified within the evaluation included - job and role changes, pressure due to Ofsted and lack of interest in equality and diversity within institutions. A few participants did not need a mentor and / or were in a position to complete action plans. The lessons learned A couple of the participating organisations struggled to engage with the project fully. In hindsight, it would have been helpful to talk to all those who responded to the launch event invitation to check that they were the correct people in their organisation to draw up an action plan and take it forward. With some minor amendments (see point above), it would be useful to repeat the project elsewhere because we now have a network of STEM Equality, Diversity and Inclusion practitioners - other regions would benefit from this. The evaluation indicated that there is a need to promote a wider and deeper approach to equality and diversity - other less visible needs can be missed - e.g. different learning needs. Sustainability lasting legacy We have matched mentors with project participants carefully with the intention of establishing long-term relationships, and we are ensuring that all project participants have an opportunity to maintain links with one another for future support etc through encouraging joint working / sharing of best practice. We are also encouraging 'buddy-ing' / pairing of mentees based on geography and/or areas of interest. All the case studies will be displayed on the STEM Equality and Diversity Toolkit to ensure that the findings of the project can be shared with the wider community, and success can be celebrated. We are creating a portal / community on the Science Learning Centre website where participants can keep up to date with the project and access and share resources while they are working in their own organisations. Our Celebration event on 21 June provided an opportunity for continued networking and sharing best practice and the project partners will be maintaining relationships with participants to collect and highlight good practice examples after the project ends. Demonstrating impact evidence of short and long term impact We undertook an evaluation of the launch event and received very positive feedback, and what people valued most was the discussion and networking with others, together with the sharing of ideas and good practice to develop towards E&D in STEM. The Celebration event on 21 June provided an 5

6 opportunity for participants to showcase their achievements and plans to date, and as stated we are adding these good practice examples to our STEM Equality and Diversity toolkit. The evaluation strategy has been designed to capture short and longer-term impacts of the project, not just on the participating organisations and individuals, but also on the partners and mentors involved in delivering the project. The final evaluation questionnaire identified a number of immediate outcomes such as raised profile of equality and diversity within colleges, activities for learners that challenge traditional stereotypes and new contacts to support future activities. The long term impact reported by participants is the support for those driving equality and diversity initiatives from the network. There was a large majority requesting that the network is needed long term for practitioners that need new ideas and for those who need support in unhelpful workplaces. Additional comments Project partners and participants have already identified the need for an 'Advanced Practitioner network' of EDI specialists/ champions working in FE/HE/ Training Providers. The EDISTEM project intends to create a selfsustaining network of practitioners, but continued funding would help the partners ensure that this network could be sustained effectively through an online resource with further training/ networking meetings/ continued updates to the Equality and Diversity toolkit / an online newsletter. Disclaimer The Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) support the development of educational e-practice. We may refer to specific products, processes or services. Such references are examples and are not endorsements or recommendations and should not be used for product endorsement purposes. 6