Beyond the Barracks, a project to promote equality of opportunity in higher education, has been awarded funding from the Office for Students (OfS).
The partnership between York St John University, higher education partnership Inspiring Choices, Askham Bryan College, York College, Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT) and the Service Children’s Progression Alliance (SCiP Alliance) aims to more effectively address the needs of students from armed forces families.
The OfS identified service children as an at-risk group after research highlighted the risks that frequent school moves posed to their higher education access.
The project will look at current post-16 interventions supporting students from armed forces families and aims to build knowledge and evidence of what works when supporting them.
Director of the SCiP Alliance, Philip Dent, said: “Service children can benefit from the unique nature of armed forces family life, but disruption to learning, relationships and support can harm their wellbeing and education.
We are delighted to be working with York St John and other partners to address a known gap in knowledge and support through this innovative project.”
The funding will help set up a pilot scheme with colleges and universities in the York and North Yorkshire region and assess its effectiveness before it is made available across the UK.