SCAPP Updates Nov & Dec 2025

SCAPP Open Events Roundup

In November we hosted an Insight Webinar: Plans, Priorities, Processes and People: An Approach to Reporting on Corporate Parenting Plans alongside a Connect with Coffee session led by Amy McDermott from the University of Glasgow where attendees discussed the possibility of setting up a network of professionals who support adults returning to education. To register your interest in a College and University Adult Learner Network, please complete this form for Amy.

Our second annual Conversation with the Commissioner event was attended by over 70 of you either in person or online at the University of Stirling on 3rd Dec. The Commissioner for Fair Access, Professor John McKendrick, shared his views on the progress and challenges facing the sector and engaged in a rich Q&A session with attendees thereafter.

If you missed any of these open events, the recordings of the presentations are now available on the Subscribers page of the SCAPP website.

SCAPP Upcoming Open Events

PLD Space Pilot – Making Time for Your Individual Professional Development Activities

SCAPP is excited to pilot a new initiative designed to support members with allocating time to focus on their own professional learning and development (PLD) priorities.

The PLD Space sessions will provide a supportive environment for members to undertake continuous professional development (CPD) activities such as reading relevant literature, watching recorded webinars, reflecting on CPD, working on DAPP portfolios, or planning future PLD goals. Think of it as an online Study Hall for members.  We will provide the time slot and a dedicated host to help you set, work towards and achieve your PLD goals and you can do the rest!

• Session 1: Wednesday 28th January, 3.00pm – 5.00pm
• Session 2: Wednesday 11th March, 9.30 – 11.30am
• Session 3: Wednesday 22nd April, 1.00pm – 3.00pm

This is a contained pilot, and your feedback will help shape future offerings. If you are interested or wish to make a comment on this idea please click here.

Connect with Coffee – Thurs 15 Jan, 10-11
Come along to find out about My Academic Family’s free university planning and personal statement writing support as well as their on-course mentoring scheme for care experienced, estranged and displaced students.

Find out more and sign up here

Use our anonymous suggestions form to share ideas for themes/topics you would like to discuss at future Connect with Coffee sessions.

SCAPP Insight Webinar – Tues 27 Jan, 3–4pm
Is fairness at risk for young Scots living in remote communities?

Dr Laurence Lasselle from St Andrews University will be presenting her latest research findings on fair access to highly competitive courses for Scottish young people living in “remote” communities.

Find out more and sign up here

Use our anonymous suggestions form to suggest themes/topics you would like to learn about at future SCAPP Insight Webinars or submit a proposal to deliver one: SCAPP Insight Webinar Proposal form.

SCAPP Subscriber Programmes Update

New Practitioner Network (NPN)

The final session of 2025 took place, in-person, at the University of Stirling on 26th Nov. We are currently consulting members to inform our planning for next year’s NPN programme.  Members have been invited to attend two online consultation sessions on the 9th and 11th December and have other opportunities to offer feedback and suggest changes this month.

Want to help shape the New Practitioner Network in 2026?

We’re expanding the NPN Facilitation Team and would love to hear from you!

If you’re interested in this opportunity and want to learn more, please email jill.christie@stir.ac.uk by 16th December.

Evaluation Matters Community of Practice (EM CoP)

Twelve groups are progressing with their work as members of SCAPP’s second EM CoP to develop their knowledge and skills to effectively evaluate widening participation projects.  Our ninth meeting took place, in-person, in Edinburgh on Thursday 27th Nov with members working collaboratively to produce thematic posters. Members worked towards completing these together online, at our tenth session on Wednesday 10th December.

DAPP Accreditation Scheme 

Twenty Two participants have begun working towards gaining accreditation this academic year at Affiliate, Practitioner and Leadership Level.

Help Hub 2 will take place online, from 12noon-1.00pm on Wednesday 21st January.

Find out more about the scheme here.

Resources for Members on SCAPP Website

Recordings of Open events and selected SCAPP Subscriber Programme sessions are available to access on the Subscribers page of the SCAPP website.

This webpage is accessible to SCAPP members working at organisations which pay an annual organisational subscription to SCAPP (find out more about membership types here).

If you’ve forgotten your log in details, a password reset can be requested on the log in page of the website here.

Resources Added this Month
1. 12/11/25
SCAPP Connect with Coffee- Should a network of professionals who support adults returning to education be set up? (24 mins)

2. 25/11/25
SCAPP Insight Webinar –  Plans, Priorities, Processes and People: An Approach to Reporting on Corporate Parenting Plans (25 mins)

3. 3/12/25
SCAPP’s Conversation with the Commissioner 2025 (47 mins)

Stay Informed: Key Newsletters to Join

SCAPP Reminders

SCAPP LinkedIn
Follow us on LinkedIn

SCAPP Articulation Chat Thread
Find out more and sign up here

Suggestions Form
Share your ideas with the SCAPP team anonymously here

Other Sector News Nov & Dec 2025

SCAPP Updates Oct 2025

Our Network Hits 800 Members!

SCAPP now has more than 800 members! It’s a great milestone that reflects the steady growth and engagement across our community. Thanks to everyone who’s been part of the journey—here’s to what’s next!

SCAPP Networking, Learning and Events Roundup
It’s been another busy month at SCAPP HQ – find out more about what’s been happening below.

Open vs Subscriber Events
We now categorise events and opportunities as either Open or Subscriber to help distinguish access.

•     Open events are free and available to everyone.
•     Subscriber opportunities are for those whose employer pays an organisational membership subscription to SCAPP

Find more information about membership types here.

Open Events Update

this month we hosted two Insight Webinars—Maths Matters: Perceptions, Barriers & Bridges to HE and Universities and Colleges of Sanctuary—alongside a Connect with Coffee session exploring how university careers services support widening participation students. We also held a celebration event reflecting on the impact of our first Evaluation Community of Practice.

Thanks to the 150+ members who joined us across these sessions—it’s great to see such strong engagement!

if you missed them, the recordings are now available on the Subscribers page of the SCAPP website.

SCAPP Upcoming Open Events

 Connect with Coffee
Wed 12 Nov, 10 – 11 (online)

Are you passionate about supporting adult returners to education in colleges and universities? The SCAPP team will be joined by Amy McDermott from the University of Glasgow who is keen to explore the idea of launching a sector-wide network for professionals working in this space. She’d love to hear from others who share this interest! Come along to share your experience and ideas to help shape a valuable resource for our professional community.

Find out more and sign up here.

Use our anonymous suggestions form to share ideas for themes/topics you would like to discuss at future Connect with Coffee sessions.

SCAPP Insight Webinar

Plans, priorities, processes and people: An Approach to reporting on Corporate Parenting Plans

Webinar Focus Corporate parenting (or any high level strategic plan) might not be front and centre on a day to day, task to task basis for institutions’ staff and services. A devolved and complex organisation has multiple and competing demands – everything is important. Stef Blum-Stevenson was recently asked to ‘step outside’ her role as the WP Officer responsible for the ACES programme at the University of Edinburgh to create a reporting process for our current corporate parenting plan.  The process Stef developed produced a depth of insight and detail that may be helpful for other corporate parents”.

This webinar is free and open to anyone but may be of particular interest to:

• Staff who work with care-experienced and estranged students
• Staff who have responsibility for writing / evaluating corporate parenting plans
• Staff who are creating evaluation methods on any high level whole institution strategy or plan

Find out more and sign up here.

Use our anonymous suggestions form to suggest themes/topics you would like to learn about at future SCAPP Insight Webinars.

Submit a proposal to deliver one: SCAPP Insight Webinar Proposal form

Other Upcoming SCAPP Open Events

Conversation with the Commissioner & Winter Social
Wednesday 3rd December 2025 from 2pm (University of Stirling or online)

Join us from 2-4pm for the second ‘Conversation with the Commissioner’ for an opportunity to directly engage with Scotland’s Commissioner for Fair Access, Professor John McKendrick. The Commissioner will share his views on the priorities for practitioners moving forward and you will have the opportunity to feedback and ask questions via Q&A.

You are also invited to join us after the session for a winter social at the Meadowpark in Bridge of Allan.

Registration closes Wednesday 19th November 2025. Sign up here.

SCAPP Subscriber Programmes Update

New Practitioner Network (NPN)

We are delighted to confirm that our New Practitioner Network now has 56 members coming from 21 organisations, with 39 new members joining us this calendar year – we welcomed 9 brand new members in Sep and one more this month!  Our next session, online on Thurs 30th Oct will focus on Practitioner Skills.  We also have another online session planned for Tues 4th Nov on Articulation and the final session of 2025 will take place, in-person, at the University of Stirling on 26th Nov.

Registration for the network remains open throughout the year for practitioners with less than 3 years’ experience. Sign up today to benefit from the networking and development opportunities that our NPN can offer.

Evaluation Matters Community of Practice (EM CoP)

12 groups are progressing with their work as members of SCAPP’s second EM CoP to develop their knowledge and skills to effectively evaluate widening participation projects.  Our eighth meeting takes place, online, on Tues 4th Nov. Special thanks to our guest speaker Paula Christie, the College Development Network (CDN)’s Head of Delivery and Engagement, who will be offering a presentation on qualitative data.

DAPP Accreditation Scheme 

We are delighted to announce that 24 applicants have been offered a place on this year’s accreditation scheme. We very much look forward to working with this group supporting their work towards gaining accreditation at either Affiliate, Practitioner or Leadership Level.

Induction training for participants takes place online, from 10.30am-12.30pm on Thurs 6th November.

Find out more about the scheme here.

Resources for Members on SCAPP Website

Recordings of Open events and selected SCAPP Subscriber Programme sessions are available to access on the Subscribers page of the SCAPP website. This area is accessible to SCAPP members working at organisations which pay an annual organisational subscription to SCAPP (find out more about membership types here).

If you’ve forgotten your log in details, a password reset can be requested on the log in page of the website here.

Resources Added this Month
1. 28/10/25 SCAPP’s Celebration of the first Evaluation Community of Practice (1 hr 26 mins)

2. 23/10/25 SCAPP Connect with Coffee: Careers and Employability Support for Widening Access Students and Graduates(18 mins)

3. 21/10/25 SCAPP Insight Webinar: Universities and Colleges of Sanctuary (58 mins)

4. 7/10/25 SCAPP Insight Webinar: Maths Matters Perceptions, Barriers and Bridges to HE (1 hr 41 mins)

SCAPP Reminders

SCAPP LinkedIn
Are you following our LinkedIn page? Join our growing community!

SCAPP Articulation Chat Thread
This has been set up as a pilot this academic year to connect colleagues across Scotland working in or interested in articulation. Find out more and sign up here.

Suggestions for the SCAPP Team
Share your ideas for additions and improvements to SCAPP’s programmes and opportunities anonymously here.

Other Sector News Oct 2025

Scottish Funding Council

1. Evaluation Framework Taskforce: Membership Confirmed

Following an open call for expressions of interest, and in line with the NSP Review Recommendation implementation plan, the NSP Evaluation Framework Taskforce has now been established. This group will support the development of a national impact framework for the NSP, ensuring that sector insights and evaluation expertise shape its design. The taskforce brings together a mix of internal and external members, each contributing valuable perspectives on widening participation and impact measurement.

Thank you to all those who submitted an expression of interest. Please keep an eye out for opportunities to engage with future taskforces or through wider sector engagements. These will be advertised through SCAPP and SFC channels.

Taskforce Membership

• External member – NSP partner representative (SHEP): Dr Bernadette Sanderson, Director of FOCUS West, University of Strathclyde
• External member – NSP partner representative (AHDP – Reach): Rebecca Munro, Education Liaison Officer: Access and Widening Participation, University of St Andrews
• External member – NSP partner representative (AHDP – ACES): Dr Peter Tormey, Head of UK Recruitment & Access, Robert Gordon University
• External member – Active researcher in widening participation: Dr Laurence Lasselle, Senior Lecturer, University of St Andrews Business School, Department of Management
• External members – Evaluation expertise in widening access context:
  • Nicola Mulholland, Dean for the Undergraduate School and Academic Partnerships, New College Lanarkshire
  • Jennie Younger, Communication & Information Manager, LEAPS
• SFC member: Dr Karen Campbell, Senior Evaluation and Impact Officer
• SFC member: Dr Anthea Coleman-Chan, NSP Coordinator
• SFC member: Mary Macgowan, NSP Policy Officer
• SFC member – NSP Evaluation and Impact Officer: To be confirmed

2. The SFC Student Satisfaction Survey 2024-25 and Audit Scotland Report & video show that College student satisfaction rises for 3rd year in a row with 9 out of 10 full-time students satisfied. This is despite what Audit Scotland describe as a 20% real-terms college funding cut since 2021/22.

3. SFC Articulation figures show 3,100 students entered university from college with Advanced Standing (entering 2nd or 3rd year). A record 25.8% of these students were from Scotland’s most deprived areas (SIMD20). See Full Report

AGCAS (Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services)

Please see this link AGCAS Phoenix, March 2024: Social Mobility to the Phoenix Magazine article, written by AGCAS Members about the work carried out to support social mobility.  There are other articles/research that SCAPP members might be interested in accessing too: AGCAS Knowledge Centre – A library of resources, research and publications

Also, the Scottish Careers and Coaching Community is an Informal network in Scotland for Careers/Employability and Coaching Professionals: Scottish Careers & Coaching Community | Groups | LinkedIn. This might be of interest to SCAPP members who work in this area.

University of Dundee Online Teachers and Advisers’ Update
The live event took place online on the 23rd of October – links to related resources are available below for SCAPP Members:

•  Presentation slides – ​Teachers and Advisers’ Update slides.pptx​
•  STEM Day (12th November) – Discover STEM Day for S5 and S6 pupils | University of Dundee, UK
• Open Evening (1st December) – Undergraduate Open Evening – December 2025 | University of Dundee, UK
•  Life Sciences Outreach page – Secondary School and Further Education Engagement | University of Dundee, UK
•  Book a taster day or workshops – https://forms.office.com/e/J8SNskcXWE

If any other organisations are holding a similar event and wish to disseminate information to our members, please get in touch via scapp@stir.ac.uk.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS)

Free Digital training for adults in Scotland, in areas like AI, Cyber Security & Data Science. See MyWoW.

The Sutton Trust

1. Employability Programmes for S5 pupils – apply by 3 Nov

Pathways to Law Online and Pathways to Banking and Finance Online
Both programmes include elements such as online work experience placements, after-school online skill workshops and information sessions, mentoring opportunities, and networking events with universities and leading professionals, all packed full of opportunities to develop skills needed to access your dream career.

2. Teacher Champions Programme

Causeway Education, Advancing Access and the Sutton Trust have joined forces to provide dedicated support to teachers and advisers across the UK to enhance progression to competitive higher education institutions and courses for students from state schools.

This initiative offers a series of free webinars covering key topics related to university applications. These sessions will provide evidence-based advice from experienced practitioners on areas such as writing personal statements and preparing for admissions tests for courses like law and medicine.

Find out more and register for the mailing list here.

College Development Network

CDN has recently launched Elevate LT, a funded professional learning programme developed in partnership with TeachingHOW2s. Designed to support and enhance teaching practice across Scotland’s colleges, Elevate LT will run throughout the 2025–26 academic year.

This three-stage pilot programme offers a practical, evidence-based approach to embedding transformative teaching techniques, supported by the TeachingHOW2s Platform and AI-enabled tools. It aims to help staff create positive, engaging learning environments where both learners and practitioners thrive.
Those currently taking part in the pilot are:

• College lecturers and practitioners seeking to enhance classroom practice
• Advanced Practitioners (APs) supporting professional learning in their colleges
• Teaching teams keen to embed evidence-based pedagogy and collaborate across the sector

Please note that this is a pilot programme currently being offered to colleges.

Find out more here

You may also want to check out the new webpage, with Find a College links to 25 Scottish colleges.

Invitation from City of Sanctuary and STAR (Student Action for Refugees) to Support UCAS Fee Waiver Call

This is a joint campaign asking UCAS to remove the application fee for people seeking asylum.

This campaign directly aligns with the Equal Access to Higher Education work and with a mission to remove barriers to higher education for people seeking asylum to ensure displaced students have a fairer route into higher education.

Find out more here.

UCAS

• 2026 Key Dates
• UCAS adviser portal is evolving, allowing better understanding of an individual’s research and application journey and more targeted groupwork. The portal can be accessed by staff at registered UCAS centres, schools / colleges.
• Discovery Event 2026 all Scottish dates with booking links for 2026 events are now available.
• Blogs: ‘From classroom to career: Helping students make confident choices’ and When the future feels fuzzy: helping students gain clarity – or not

ESgoil Evening Study Support 2025-26 registration is open to Senior Phase pupils (S4-S6). Webinars start from 27 Oct and run through to the SQA exams. Also see: Study Support by Subject PDF.

Education Scotland is changing, the HMIE inspection function will be removed, and Education Scotland will focus on curriculum design, delivery and improvement in schools, as well as supporting professional learning.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES)

NES is delighted to confirm that it will be hosting the Annual Conference online over two days on Thursday 23 and Friday 24 April 2026.

The theme of the 2026 Conference is Collaborate. Innovate. Transform: Delivering change towards improving health, social care and other public services in Scotland.

Seminar Abstract Submissions
We are now inviting submissions for 1-hour seminars, submissions are welcome from across the NHS, integration authorities, voluntary and partner organisations, and other public or private sector organisations.

Closing date: Sun 14 Dec 2025

Poster Abstract Submissions
We are also inviting abstract submissions for an open paper or poster.

Closing date: Sun 1 Feb 2026

Further details can be found on the website here.

SCAPP Updates Sep 2025

SCAPP Networking, Learning and Events Roundup

It’s been another busy month at SCAPP HQ – find out more about what’s been happening below.

Open vs Subscriber Events
We now categorise events and opportunities as either Open or Subscriber to help distinguish access.

•     Open events are free and available to everyone.
•     Subscriber opportunities are for those whose employer pays an organisational membership subscription to SCAPP

You can find more information about membership types here.

Open Events Update

SCAPP 2025-2026 Programme Launch 

We officially launched our programme of open events for the 2025–2026 academic year at our online information session on 10th Sep. The presentation slides and a full recording of this webinar (46 minutes) on the SCAPP website here. Dive in to explore what’s ahead!

Sep 24th saw our first Insight Webinar of the new academic year:

“I shouldn’t really be here”: university students’ perceptions and experiences of transitioning to university with a contextual offer admission

It proved a very popular session with 60 attendees tuning in who rated it an average 4.6/5. You can access the published research article here and if you missed the webinar, the recording is now available on the Members page of the SCAPP website.

SCAPP Upcoming Open Events

Connect with Coffee
Thurs 23 Oct,  10.00-11.00 (online)

Join the SCAPP Team to connect with colleagues across the sector and to find out more about the work being done by universities’ careers services to support widening access students both on course and post-course.

Nic Sutherland, Senior Careers and Employability Consultant at the University of Strathclyde and also co-chair of AGCAS (Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services) Scotland’s Social Mobility Special Interest Group, will join the SCAPP team to offer insights and answer your questions.

Find out more and sign up here.

Please complete our anonymous suggestions form with ideas for themes/topics you would like to discuss at future Connect with Coffee sessions. We are currently seeking a focus for our session on Thurs 12th Nov.

SCAPP Insight Webinar
Maths Matters – Perceptions, Barriers & Bridges to HE

Join us on Tuesday 7th October, 2:00–4:00pm (online) for the next session in our free Insight Webinar series, where we’ll explore the critical role of mathematics in shaping access to higher education.

What we’ll cover:

• Trends in attainment at N5 and Higher Maths, and national efforts to address disparities
• The impact of poverty and disadvantage on attainment
• Understanding and tackling maths anxiety
• How to list courses on the SCQF database and leverage Recognition of Prior Learning
• Alternative maths qualifications and pathways to HE

Speakers include:

• Andrew Brown – National Specialist for Mathematics, Scottish Government
• Professor John McKendrick – Scotland’s Commissioner for Fair Access
• Sally Crighton – The Open University
• Donnie Wood – SCQF
• Lightning talks: Glasgow Caledonian University, Heriot Watt University, Abertay University and University of Edinburgh

This promises to be an insightful and practical session for educators, policymakers, and anyone passionate about widening access to HE through maths.

Find out more and sign up here

Please complete our anonymous suggestions form with ideas for themes/topics you would like to learn about at future SCAPP Insight Webinars or if you’d like to submit a proposal to present at one, complete this SCAPP Insight Webinar Proposal form. We are currently seeking proposals for our Jan-Jun 2026 programme.

Other Upcoming SCAPP Open Events

Celebration of the first SCAPP Evaluation Community of Practice 
Tues 28th Oct, 2.00-3.45pm

SCAPP is thrilled to host this special free webinar marking the success of our first Evaluation Matters Community of Practice (EM CoP) — and it’s happening on World Access to Higher Education Day 2025!

Hear how our first EM CoP unfolded — with powerful reflections, case studies, and lessons from six inspiring participants.

Let’s celebrate progress, practice, and the power of community in widening access to higher education. Don’t miss it – sign up here!

Conversation with the Commissioner & Winter Social
Wednesday 3rd December 2025 from 2pm
University of Stirling (venue details in confirmation email) or online

Join us from 2-4pm for the second ‘Conversation with the Commissioner’ for an opportunity to directly engage with Scotland’s Commissioner for Fair Access, Professor John McKendrick. The Commissioner will share his views on the priorities for practitioners moving forward and you will have the opportunity to feedback and ask questions via Q&A.

You are also invited to join us after the session for a winter social at the Meadowpark in Bridge of Allan.

Registration closes Wednesday 19th November 2025 — and with limited spaces, we recommend securing your spot asap! Sign up here.

SCAPP Subscriber Programmes Update

New Practitioner Network (NPN)

We are delighted to confirm that our New Practitioner Network now has 54 members coming from 21 organisations, with 37 new members joining us this calendar year – we welcomed 9 brand new members this month alone! Our last session, in-person, in Edinburgh, on 16th September focused on support for refugees and displaced scholars seeking asylum in Scotland. Thanks go to Dr Neil Speirs and Josie Pilcher for their insightful and thought provoking presentations.  Or next session is online on Thursday 30th October.

Registration for the network remains open throughout the year for any practitioners with less than 3 years’ experience. Sign up today to benefit from the networking and development opportunities that our NPN can offer.

Evaluation Matters Community of Practice (EM CoP)

12 groups are progressing with their work as members of SCAPP’s second EM CoP to develop their knowledge and skills to effectively evaluate widening participation projects.  Our seventh meeting takes place, online, on Wednesday 1st October. Special thanks to our guest speaker Al Baxter who will be offering a presentation introducing the group to data analysis in Excel.

DAPP Accreditation Scheme 

Applications for this cycle of the scheme have now closed and we are finalising places. Candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application in October.

Induction training for participants takes place online, on 6th November. All applicants have been asked to put a hold in their diaries for this timeslot.

Find out more about the scheme here.

Resources for Members on SCAPP Website

Recordings of Open events and selected SCAPP Subscriber Programme sessions are available to access on the Members page of the SCAPP website. This area is accessible to SCAPP members working at organisations which pay an annual organisational subscription to SCAPP (find out more about membership types here).

If you’ve forgotten your details, a password reset can be requested on the log in page of the website here.

Recently Added Resources:

1. Recording of SCAPP Insight Webinar, 24/9/25 (32 mins):

“I shouldn’t really be here”: university students’ perceptions and experiences of transitioning to university with a contextual offer admission

2. Recording of SCAPP 2025 – 2026 Programme Launch Webinar
10/9/25 (46 mins)

3. Stay Informed: Key Newsletters to Join 
This document brings together newsletter sign-up links from a range of organisations whose work aligns with widening access and participation. Review it to make sure you’re subscribed to everything relevant to your role—so you don’t miss out on important updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Recent Webpage Updates

With thanks to the support of Alison Train and Steph Harkes, representing the Estranged Student Working Group, we have reviewed and refreshed our Estranged Students page.  It now includes background information, advice for practitioners, contact details for relevant practitioner communities and selected legacy materials which were previously available on the Stand Alone Website.  Please feel free to share this widely and update your own organisational links to signpost to our page.

SCAPP Reminders

SCAPP LinkedIn
Are you following our LinkedIn page? Join our growing community!

SCAPP Articulation Chat Thread
This has been set up as a pilot this academic year to connect colleagues across Scotland working in or interested in articulation. Find out more and sign up here.

Suggestions for the SCAPP Team
Share your ideas for additions and improvements to SCAPP’s programmes and opportunities anonymously here.

Other Sector News Sep 2025

New NHS Scotland Careers Website

Your Med Future has been launched to support applicants to medical schools in Scotland.

The Sutton Trust

1. Pathways to the Professions and Access Apprenticeships Programmes 
Applications are now OPEN!

If you or a student you know would love a career in Banking and Finance, Engineering, Law, Medicine, or Veterinary Medicine someday, one of our employability programmes might be just what you’re looking for.

Open to Yr 12/S5 students who meet our eligibility criteria, Sutton Trust Employability Programmes provide opportunities to network with professionals from well known employers, develop key skills and explore next steps with peers in the same boat.

Check if you’re eligible and apply now!

2. Teacher Champions Programme
Causeway Education, Advancing Access and the Sutton Trust have joined forces to provide dedicated support to teachers and advisers across the UK to enhance progression to competitive higher education institutions and courses for students from state schools.

This initiative offers a series of free webinars covering key topics related to university applications. These sessions will provide evidence-based advice from experienced practitioners on areas such as writing personal statements and preparing for admissions tests for courses like law and medicine.

Find out more and register for the mailing list here.
The Scottish Government

The Scottish Government’s consultation on support for part time study and disabled students will close on 9 October 2025.

This is a consultation on support for part-time study and disabled students. It sets out the current system of support available to students in Further and Higher Education along with a rationale for considering change.

Extra support in the classroom: University tutors to provide help for those who need it most

Tutoring staff from two Scottish universities will be working in classrooms across the country to help engage children and young people in their studies and improve attainment. Read more here.

SCAPP Updates July/Aug 2025

SCAPP Conference 2025!

We can’t believe it’s been almost 3 months since over 180 delegates came to GCU for the SCAPP Conference 2025! It was a vibrant and full day of presentations, poster sessions, networking, and more.

Conference Powerpoints & Posters
All presentations and posters are still available to view on this Padlet.

Conference Pledges
At the conference, we asked delegates to share their key takeaways from the day. Now, three months on, we’d like to encourage you to revisit these and reflect on how you might put them into practice, build on them, or use them to support change. View the pledges/takeaways on the conference Padlet.

SCAPP’s Steering Group

The first meeting of the group with its new chair, Laura Cattell, took place on Wed 20th Aug to review progress and discuss plans for 25-26 and beyond. The SCAPP Team would like to thank all who were able to attend for their continued support for our work.

Support for Masters Students Research

A huge thanks to those of you who supported our call for interviewees and survey participants for the research project the 4 Masters students from the University of Stirling were doing this summer on our DAPP Accreditation Scheme. We look forward to hearing their findings

SCAPP Networking, Learning and Events Roundup

New Practitioner Network (NPN)

Our “Breaking Barriers, Fostering Belonging” session ran in-person in Glasgow on Wed 18th June at the Byres Community Hub.  Many thanks got to our guest speaker, Lorraine Moore, Director of the Hub for Success.Our next session is in-person, in Edinburgh, on the 16th of September focusing on support for displaced students.

Registration for the network remains open throughout the year for any practitioners with less than 3 years’ experience. Sign up today to benefit from the networking and development opportunities that our NPN can offer.

Evaluation Matters Community of Practice

12 groups are progressing with their work as members of SCAPP’s second Evaluation Matters CoP to develop their knowledge and skills to effectively evaluate WP projects.  Our sixth meeting took place, online, on the 27th of August.

Mentoring for Access Professionals (MAPs) 

Most partnerships are complete with their aims achieved, thanks to the excellent efforts of our participants. The exit poll was be shared with participants in July and most have completed it now.  Contact Jill if you have any queries about the MAPS programme: Jill.chrsitie@stir.ac.uk.

DAPP Accreditation Scheme 

The deadline for Participant Applications for DAPP has been extended to Friday 29^th August as we are keen to give as many people as possible the chance to apply.

Find out more about the scheme here and apply here.  If you are keen but struggling to meet the extended deadline, please email jill.christie@stir.ac.uk before the new deadline.

Our Connect with Coffee sessions and Insight Webinars were on pause over the summer but are resuming in September – see the SCAPP Opportunities below to find out what’s coming up!

Call for Expressions of Interest: SCAPP Steering Group Annual Secretary 25-26

Our Steering Group is looking for a voluntary secretary to support us till summer 2026 by taking minutes at our 2–3 meetings during that time. This role is a chance to gain valuable insight into the group’s areas of focus, discussions, and decision-making.

Expressions of interest can be submitted here by the end of Monday 15th September.

Call for Presenters

Maths Matters: Perceptions, Barriers and Bridges to HE
2-4pm, Tues 7th Oct 2025 Online

We are looking for presenters for the above online session to share good practice examples (5 min lightning presentations) of approaches that various institutions are taking to bridge the maths attainment gap to enable access to HE e.g. summer schools, additional module/s to be completed during 1^st year at university etc. Find out more and  complete the sign up form here by Friday 19th Sep and the SCAPP team will be in touch.

Further details and the sign up link to attend this session as an observer will be provided at the SCAPP 2025-2026 Programme Launch on 10th Sep and in the next newsletter and SCAPP Updates emails.

Connect with Coffee: Tuesday 16th Sept, 10.00-11.00 (online)

Join the SCAPP Team to:
Connect with colleagues across the sector and hopefully discuss first thoughts on the Commissioner for Fair Access’s 2025 report (we understand  this is being published in early Sep).

Who is this session is for?
Anyone who is interested in or whose work fully or partially connects to widening access and participation. For example, you may be a university or college lecturer, school teacher, careers adviser, education researcher, student etc.

The schedule for future Connect with Coffee sessions will be released at the online SCAPP 2025-2026 Programme Launch on 10th Sep.

Please complete our anonymous suggestions form with ideas for themes/topics you would like to discuss at future Connect with Coffee sessions.

SCAPP Insight Webinars

the next SCAPP Insight webinar will be on Wed 24th September, 3-4pm (online):

“I shouldn’t really be here”: university students’ perceptions and experiences of transitioning to university with a contextual offer admission: 

Webinar Focus: This research study explored the lived experiences of students who received an adjusted offer for university. Our findings suggested that students felt their adjusted offer gave them experiences they might not otherwise have had, but it also impacted negatively on their sense of belonging both academically and socially at university. This suggests that greater awareness of contextual offers and reducing stigma is important for future research, policy and practice.

Complete this form to sign up for this free webinar hosted by SCAPP and delivered by Dr Yvonne Skipper, Dr Charlotte Bagnall and Dr Lucy James.

The schedule of forthcoming SCAPP Insight Webinars will be released at the SCAPP 2025-2026 Programme Launch on 10th Sep.

Please complete our anonymous suggestions form with ideas for themes/topics you would like to learn about at future SCAPP Insight Webinars or if you’d like to submit a proposal to present at one, complete this SCAPP Insight Webinar Proposal form.

Resources for Members on SCAPP Website

Recordings of previous SCAPP  Insight Webinars and Connect with Coffee presentations (amongst other things) are available on the Members page of the SCAPP website. This area is available to all members working at organisations which pay an annual organisational membership fee to SCAPP (find out more about membership types here).

Email scapp@stir.ac.uk if you have any issues logging in.

Recently Added Resources:

1. Recording of SCAPP Insight Webinar 17/6/25 
Widening access to teacher education: how can we use Open University modules and qualifications collaboratively to widen access to teacher education in Scotland (20 mins)

2. Recording of SCAPP Insight Webinar 19/6/25
Accent bias and linguistic discrimination: A student-staff approach (35 mins)

3. Recording of SCAPP Connect with Coffee 22/4/25
Universities & Colleges of Sanctuary (25 mins)

SCAPP Reminders

SCAPP LinkedIn
Are you following our LinkedIn page? Join our growing community!

SCAPP Articulation Chat Thread
This has been set up as a pilot this academic year to connect colleagues across Scotland working in or interested in articulation. Find out more and sign up here.

Suggestions for the SCAPP Team
Share your ideas for additions and improvements to SCAPP’s programmes and opportunities anonymously here.

Other Sector News - July/Aug 2025

SQA Results 2025

Figures released for SQA results day show 17,350 Scottish 17- and 18-year-olds have secured a place this year, compared to 16,650 last year (+4.2%).

The number of 17- and 18-year-olds from the most deprived areas (SIMD Quintile 1) progressing to university or college this year is also at its highest – 2,060 compared to 1,950 in 2024 (+5.5%).

When looking at the proportion of Scottish 18-year-olds who have been accepted, 16.0% of the most disadvantaged (SIMD Quintile 1) have secured a place at university or college, compared to 43.6% of the most advantaged (SIMD Quintile 5). This means there has been a slight narrowing of the gap in progression rates between the most and least disadvantaged compared to last year.

SQA: Attainment Statistics 2025 (published 5 Aug 2025)

UCAS: Record number of Scottish young people placed at university or college via UCAS | UCAS

Universities Scotland: Record number of Scottish young people achieving a place at university

WonkHE: SQA results day, 2025: Results and higher education entry for 2025 in Scotland

Take part in the UCAS Teachers and Advisers Conference 2026 

Preparations are underway for the UCAS Teachers and Advisers Conference 2026, taking place on 24–25 February in Birmingham. This is your opportunity to share insights, strategies, and proven practice with 400+ delegates from across the UK – including Heads of Sixth Form, careers leads, and outreach professionals.

UCAS are looking for sessions that offer practical, ready-to-use takeaways. Find out more and submit your proposal here: UCAS Teachers and Advisers Conference 2026.

HELOA Scotland Webinar Recordings

The 3 recording links below from June 2025 are a series of 5-minute updates from Scottish universities on new courses, changes to entry requirements and key developments. At the start of each session, HELOA highlights changes to UCAS personal statements in 2026 and SCAPP provides an introduction to widening participation and articulation in Scotland.

• Day 1 Recording – University of Glasgow; Glasgow Caledonian; Robert Gordon; Royal Conservatoire; SRUC; St Andrew’s.
• Day 2 Recording – Abertay; Edinburgh Napier; Glasgow School of Art; Queen Margaret; Stirling; UWS.
• Day 3 Recording – Aberdeen; Dundee; Heriot-Watt; University of Highlands and Islands; Strathclyde; University of Edinburgh.

The Estranged Working Group

The Estranged Working Group is continuing to try to improve provision for estranged students in Scotland. Membership now includes 12 Universities, 5 Colleges, The Rock Trust, The Robertson Trust, SCAPP, UCAS and LEAPS. The full group has now met 3 times and here are some updates from us:

Since the last update we have:

• Had a conversation with the Commissioner for Widening Access who was extremely positive about the work we are doing and is keen to follow our progress.
• Been given access to detailed SFC data  and SAAS data on Estranged students to work with.
• Have followed up with all organisations who made a Standalone legacy pledge to check in on any new work and to hold them to account over their promises.
• Have met with Susan Mueller, previously of Standalone, and had a full debrief from her about the work of Standalone.
• Have agreement from Susan Mueller and from SCAPP that we can host any still relevant Standalone research on the SCAPP website.  We will also look to update any of this research that we deem to be particularly useful.
• Been asked to present to the CDN and to staff at Edinburgh College about the group and its aims.
• Have met with the SFC to introduce the group and discuss the work; this was a very positive conversation.
• Had a stand at the SCAPP conference in May to speak to delegates about our work.
• Have created 4 task forces to take forward the work in a more focussed way, whilst continuing to run the full group for those who feel they can’t contribute more time. The Housing and the Policy task forces have already met. The Finance task force will have met by the time of this newsletter and the Data task force will launch from September.
• The chairs of the task forces are as follows:

Finance task force chair – Dan Keenan, University of Glasgow
Policy task force chair – Tracey Kerr, Heriot Watt University
Data task force chair – Nicola Kennedy, Edinburgh Napier University and Peter Tormey, Robert Gordon University
Housing task force – tbc

• Some first actions have been identified and we will report back with any news in future newsletters.

New members are always welcome. Just get in touch with Alison at alison.train@ed.ac.uk

Estranged Students in Scotland Support Survey – can you help?

The group is keen to understand the current picture at different institutions around a number of key policy areas, including accommodation, admissions, funding and student support.

The ask is for colleges and universities to complete this survey to informally share the support they are in the position to provide at present. The group is not seeking to critique individual approaches but rather to understand the landscape and identify any areas of particularly good practice we may opt to explore further as a group. We would anticipate that this form should take no longer than 10-15 minutes to complete. Thank you in advance!

Please feel free to contact Steph Harkes (LEAPS, email – s.harkes@ed.ac.uk) if you run into any issues with this webform or want to check if your institution has already replied.

SCQF Week 2025 to celebrate ‘All Learning Counts’

The SCQF Partnership (SCQFP) has announced that SCQF Week 2025 will run from Monday 15 to Friday 19 September 2025, with the theme ‘All Learning Counts’.

This year’s celebration will highlight the many ways learning takes place throughout life – from skills and qualifications gained in school, college, and university to those achieved through work, volunteering, hobbies or in the community.

The week will showcase how all forms of learning can be recognised and valued through the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), empowering people at every stage of life to keep learning and progressing.

A key highlight will be the relaunch of the SCQFP’s Recognising Prior Learning (RPL) Hub, providing practical tools and resources to help employers, educators and individuals identify and value existing skills and knowledge, reducing the need for repeated learning.

Pauline Radcliffe, Chief Executive of the SCQF Partnership, said: “Learning doesn’t stop when you leave school or university – it’s something we do every day, often without realising it.

“SCQF Week 2025 will shine a light on the many ways people develop skills across their lifetime, and the relaunch of our RPL Hub will make it even easier to recognise and value learning wherever it happens.

“Our theme ‘All Learning Counts’ reinforces the idea that lifelong learning is for everyone, and that no skill or experience should be overlooked.”

Throughout the week, the SCQFP will share inspiring personal stories, practical resources and opportunities to get involved.

For more information, download the SCQF Week 2025 social media toolkit and follow @SCQFPartnership on social media.

Can you share this info from The Why Not? Trust with your care experienced students?

Whether you are currently studying or applying to college or university, if you have care experience, Wee Campus is here for you. Join a space where you’re understood, supported, and connected with others who get it. Here’s how to get involved:  Email us: hello@whynottrust.org, fill out our sign-up form and/or join our Wee Campus Facebook group.

Freshers Online Drop-in: Discover Wee Campus:

Are you a new college or university student with care experience? Join our Freshers Online drop-ins to learn more about Wee Campus, a supportive space to connect, share, and thrive in your education journey.

🗓 Drop-in Dates:
📅 3 Sept | 10 Sept
🕒 3–4 PM
📍 Online at this meeting link

Universities UK – New Speaker Interest Form

Universities UK has launched a new speaker interest form to hear from experts, students, and thought leaders who would like to contribute to our events, podcasts, and wider work.

They are looking for voices across a range of topics including…

·                Student Experience, Wellbeing and Success
·                Marketing and Communications
·                Financial Sustainability / Transformation and Efficiency
·                Sustainability and the Environment
·                Research and Innovation
·                Political Affairs
·                Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

They are especially keen to improve the ethnic diversity of speakers and ensure strong representation from across the devolved nations: Speak at our events

For further information please email internalcomms@universitiesuk.ac.uk 

2026-31 City of Sanctuary (CoS) UK Strategy

CoS are in the process of putting together their next 5 year strategy, and would like to consult with the extensive network of groups across the UK who are affiliated with City of Sanctuary UK.

If you have not already consulted on the planned revisions please complete this survey.

Invitation to Tender

The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland (CTUS) is working with The Robertson Trust to invite submissions from talented researchers and professionals who can help us to map all the activity that is happening across the Scottish higher education landscape which aims to enable fairer access to university.

The data will be used to develop a dynamic online resource for students, funders, policy makers and institutions to better understand what is happening now, what is working and what needs to happen next to drive meaningful, national progress on a more equitable higher education system.

The deadline for applications is 12 September at 5pm.

A full Invitation to Tender and more can be found on the CTUS website here.

Scottish Funding Council (SFC) CoWA Institutional Target Update 

SFC’s commitments to the targets and recommendations outlined in A Blueprint for Fairness is a commitment to recommendation 32.

Recommendation 32 is a set of targets to drive forward the delivery of equal access. One of these targets was that students from the 20% most deprived backgrounds should represent at least 10% of full-time first degree entrants in each of Scotland’s universities.

The minister wrote to SFC’s chief executive on 30 July with a policy change to withdraw this institutional target (please note this does not effect the sectoral milestones targets). It will be replaced with a commitment from each HEI to increase the proportion of SIMD 20 entrants or to match the highest proportion they have achieved since 2013-14.

The Fair Access page on the SFC website includes this information and provides a link to the minister’s letter.

The Scottish Government

The Scottish Government has opened  its consultation on support for part time study and disabled students.

This is a consultation on support for part-time study and disabled students. It sets out the current system of support available to students in Further and Higher Education along with a rationale for considering change.

The consultation closes on 9 October 2025.

SCAPP Updates - May/June 2025

SCAPP Conference 2025!

We were thrilled to welcome over 180 delegates to GCU last month for the SCAPP Conference 2025! It was a vibrant and full day of presentations, poster sessions, networking, and more.

Your feedback shows that it was a valuable opportunity to explore what works in widening access and participation—sparking new ideas, strengthening existing connections, and building new ones.

A big thank you to the 69 people who completed our evaluation survey – your reflections have given us plenty of food for thought to consider over the summer as we look at how best to use it to shape future event plans.

Conference Padlet
All presentations and posters are now available to view on this conference Padlet as well as delegates’ key takeaways/pledges.

Conference Photo Story
View selected images from our conference in this short video here.

New Chair Appointed
SCAPP’s Steering Group is delighted to advise that it has appointed a new chair: Laura Cattell.

Laura is currently Deputy Director for UK Outreach and Widening Participation at the University of Edinburgh. In this role she leads on undergraduate recruitment and widening participation strategies and manages an operational team of outreach, events and transition staff.

Prior to working at Edinburgh she worked in widening participation at universities in Liverpool and London. She started her widening access career running summer schools and primary school outreach programmes in southeast London.

She will be taking over from Kenny Anderson in August who has been Acting Chair since spring 2023.

SCAPP Networking, Learning and Events Roundup

New Practitioner Network (NPN)

Our “Breaking Barriers, Fostering Belonging” session ran in-person in Glasgow on Wed 18th June in-person at the Byres Community Hub in Glasgow.  Many thanks got to our guest speaker, Lorraine Moore, Director of the Hub for Success.

Our next session is in-person, in Edinburgh, on the16th of September focusing on support for displaced students.

Registration for the network remains open throughout the year for any practitioners with less than 3 years’ experience. Sign up today to benefit from the networking and development opportunities that our NPN can offer.

Evaluation Matters Community of Practice

12 groups are progressing with their work as members of SCAPP’s second Evaluation Matters CoP to develop their knowledge and skills to effectively evaluate WP projects.  Our fifth meeting welcomes guest speaker, Dr Emily Flaherty, online, on the 30th of June.

Mentoring for Access Professionals (MAPs) 

Most partnerships are coming to an end with their aims achieved, thanks to the excellent efforts of our participants. The interim survey feedback was extremely positive and the exit poll will be shared with participants in July.  Feel free to get in touch with Jill if you have any queries about the MAPS programme: Jill.chrsitie@stir.ac.uk.

Connect with Coffee

We enjoyed reviewing all 69 responses to the conference evaluation form at our Connect with Coffee session on 18 June. Thanks to those who joined the SCAPP Team to discuss these. We were delighted that the feedback was overwhelmingly positive with most delegates feeling they benefited from attending. Suggestions for improvement included: more time being needed in future for elements like the keynote Q&A session, networking, poster discussions and for presentation sessions too. The SCAPP Team will take these points into consideration when planning future events.

Connect with Coffee will return in September 2025. Please email scapp@stir.ac.uk with any suggestions of themes/topics you would like to discuss at these.

SCAPP Insight Webinars

Thank you to everyone who was able to join our Insight Webinars last week. We’re especially grateful to colleagues from the Open University and the University of Edinburgh for generously sharing their time and expertise to deliver these.

Recordings of both sessions will be available on the Members page of the SCAPP website in July.

Today (Thurs 26 June) is the last day to complete the evaluation forms for these sessions:

Widening access to teacher education: how can we use Open University modules and qualifications collaboratively to widen access to teacher education in Scotland – Tues 17 June
Evaluation Form

Accent bias and linguistic discrimination: A student-staff approach – Thurs 19 June
Evaluation Form

SCAPP Insight Webinars will return in autumn 2025.

SCAPP Opportunities 

DAPP Accreditation Scheme – Applications for participants and peer reviewers are now OPEN!

If you want sector-wide, independently verified recognition for you expertise and experience, apply to participate via the Participant Application Form by 22nd August 2025 to be considered for this year’s scheme.

A second, live, online information session is scheduled for 12 noon – 1pm on Wed 9th July. Email Jill.chrsitie@stir.ac.uk to sign up for this event. Alternatively, a recording of our recent DAPP Information Session is available here.  You can watch our facilitators and coordinator explain everything in depth for potential Peer Reviewers, Participants and Supporters.

SCAPP Reminders

SCAPP LinkedIn
Are you following our LinkedIn page? Join our growing community!

SCAPP Articulation Chat Thread
This has been set up as a pilot this academic year to connect colleagues across Scotland working in or interested in articulation. Find out more and sign up here.

Suggestions for the SCAPP Team
Share your ideas for additions and improvements to SCAPP’s programmes and opportunities anonymously here.

Other Sector News - May/June 2025

Service Children’s Progression Alliance 

SCiP Alliance has launched new research into the higher education experiences of Service children and the state and future of support for this unique cohort. This first-of-its-kind, UK-wide research includes excellent engagement from stakeholders in Scotland and many examples of strong practice, as well as identifying needs and systemic barriers. The research being unveiled plays a pivotal role in shaping the Thriving Lives Project which includes a toolkit for Universities, helping higher education providers ensure equitable access despite the distinct needs of this group.

Additionally, SCiP Alliance are supporting a consultation is part of a project generously funded by Greenwich Hospital which aims to enhance the Alliance’s approach to community listening and action, ensuring our work is informed by an up-to-date understanding of the community’s needs and priorities. They are keen to see the thoughts and needs of Scotland represented in the findings. So, please share your views by taking part and/or sharing the consultation with your networks – deadline 26th of June. They are also looking for some individuals to attend a focus group to explore emerging themes from the consultation questionnaire in more depth. You can sign up at the end of the survey or get in touch directly with myself to book a space – rachel.lad@winchester.ac.uk.

The College Development Network

It’s your last chance to enter the CDN College Awards 2025 – a national celebration of talent and innovation. Entries close on 26th June 2025. The CDN are also preparing to launch Elevate LT, a funded pilot programme to boost teaching practice across the sector, and also spotlight their Leadership Pathways for colleagues at every stage of their leadership journey. CDN’s Management and Leadership Programmes are designed to support you at every stage of your leadership journey. View their Leadership Programmes here.

On 17 June, CDN and Who Cares? Scotland hosted a short webinar to introduce the updated Care Experience and Corporate Parenting in Colleges online course. The refreshed module centred the voices of Care Experienced people and supported college staff in better understanding their role as Corporate Parents — helping to create inclusive, supportive environments where students could thrive. The module will be available via your college’s VLE. If your college would like access, please contact: e-learning@cdn.ac.uk

The Choose College campaign returns in July, and they continue to explore creativity and curiosity with the Ideation: Illuminations series – .Previous series are now available on CDN LearnOnline – and Write On! day.

Building an App for WP Practitioners – Call for Collaborators

The Project

The University of Glasgow has recently been awarded funding from the Robertson Trust to build an open source app that’s geared towards helping WP practitioners run their programmes at scale.

The basic aim is twofold: to try to take away a lot of the common, labour-intensive work that comes with running large-scale WP programmes; and, in doing so, to build a unified, sectoral approach to data – what we all collect, how we collect it, and how we store it.

The hope is that this will save practitioners / teams time that could be better spent focusing on the distinctive aspects of their programmes, or the parts that add the most value for students. On the data side, if we can work towards a future where we’re all using the same system to record the same kinds of data, then there could be loads of potential benefits.

Who & How

The practical aspects of the project will be led by me, Martin Irwin. I’ve been working at the University of Glasgow for 8 years, and for the last 5 years I’ve been helping to run about 10 WP programmes by developing & running a common infrastructure – handling bulk processes, data collection, and long-term data storage & retrieval in a custom database.

I’m not trying to bring about a monoculture where every programme starts to the look the same. Throughout my time in this role, my overriding approach has been to let programmes be as they are and to build systems around them. I’ll be approaching this project in the same way. It might not always be possible, but that will definitely be my aim.

How to get involved

To determine how to support WP practitioners, I first need to speak to WP practitioners! So, if you would like to share your thoughts on the project & its aims, then please get in touch.

Similarly, if you want to get involved in writing the code or inputting into the design, then I would be delighted to hear from you as well.

No matter how you want to get involved, please complete this short form, then I’ll be in touch over the course of the next few months. Or, if you prefer, you can reach me via email at martin.irwin@glasgow.ac.uk.

FREE Open University Course for anyone working with trauma-experienced children, young people and caregivers

A new, free, short, introductory online course has been launched by the OU and the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum (Staf).

The course Foundations of trauma-informed, relationship-based practice is suitable for anyone working with, supporting or caring for children or young people who may have experienced trauma, as well as their families or caregivers. It is also suitable for people who have experienced trauma themselves.

The 4-hour course is available to study now, on the OU’s OpenLearn Create site.

SCQF

The SCQF Partnership,  has welcomed a commitment by the Scottish Government to establish a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) system.

The Partnership has long called for a coherent Scotland-wide approach to recognising previous educational achievements, skills and experience, enabling more people to access shorter routes into further learning and employment.

The commitment was one of many aimed at addressing Scotland’s skills gaps in the Scottish Government’s recently published Programme for Government. The SCQF Partnership will support the Scottish Government to deliver on their pledge.

A national RPL system will allow individuals to have their skills, knowledge and experience – gained through work, volunteering, or non-formal learning – formally recognised, enabling faster reskilling, easier progression, and greater workforce mobility.

This commitment comes at a time when businesses across Scotland are facing skills shortages in key industries, including health and social care, construction, and engineering.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS)

Profile sharing now live
Created in response to educator feedback, learners can now share a view-only version of their profile with educators, parents and carers, careers advisers, or anyone they wish to share their progress with. It’s simple, secure, and gives you a clearer picture of each pupil’s goals, skills, and achievements, which helps you to support them.

Professional practice webinars
If you missed the recent Profiling Achievements webinars, a recording is now available featuring educators and career practitioners who shared how they are integrating profiling into their practice. Look out for more webinars coming in the new academic year.

Young People’s Career Ambitions 
Explore the latest research from almost 3,000 recent school leavers from Scotland. Young people shared their key career influencers, post-school preferences; future aspirations and expectations, as well as potential barriers.

·#ChooseCollege 2025 will launch on Monday 14 July, shining a spotlight on Scotland’s colleges.

Scottish Funding Council (SFC)

SFC has published its Higher Education Student & Qualifiers report. In 2023-24, over 22,405 students entered an HNC/HND, 51,285 a first degree and 50,665 a taught postgraduate. Over 44,180 students were distance learning and 1,330 were Associate Students.

The latest edition of the Tertiary Quality Steering Group (TQSG) update bulletin is now available on the SFC website. It provides details of the Group’s meeting on 21 May where presentations were given on SFC’s evolving use of data and its new approach to evaluation. There are also updates on SFC’s relationship with Education Scotland, the publication of refreshed guidance on quality, and ongoing discussions to finalise guidance around Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review activities.The bulletin can be found under the ‘Tertiary Quality Steering Group’ heading on the TQEF page on the SFC website.

They have also announced the membership of the National Schools Programme Strategic Advisory Group (SAG). The Group’s establishment is an outcome from one of the key structural recommendations of the National Schools Programme Review and its role will be to oversee and monitor the implementation of the Review.

Working Group focusing on improving support for Estranged Students – update

The second meeting of the group happened on the 24th April 2025 on TEAMS. We were delighted to have more college representation and would like to thank the CDN network for helping us to advertise the group. We were also joined by Kate Polson, CEO of The Rock Trust which is a homeless charity working with young people.  Kate is going to be a very useful addition to the group. The group now has members from 25 different institutions and organisations which is great.

We had some good news in the form of notice of a change to the wording of the estranged question on the UCAS form and would like to thank Ellie Rowley of UCAS for her work on this. The question will now specify that estrangement relates to being estranged from BOTH parents instead of the previous wording which was a little vague and could have meant estrangement from only parent. This change should help us to properly ascertain the numbers of estranged students applying to university in Scotland.  We are also hoping to have some college numbers for the next meeting relating to how many estranged students are currently in our colleges.  Finding the true size of the cohort is something that can really help us to push this work forward.

We have decided to split some of the group into three task forces to try to take the work forward in a more targeted way and pulling on the experience of the group members. The focus of the task forces will be housing, finance and policy (including admissions and evidence).   However group members can also chose not to be involved in a task force and still can contribute to the wider group.

The scale of the task is dawning on us. Whilst Standalone had paid members of staff to focus on this work, we are trying to fit this in around our substantive roles.  It is hard. However we do feel a strong commitment to doing whatever we can to improve things for estranged students, no matter how small.

We will have a table at the SCAPP conference at the coffee break so please do come along and have a chat.  It will also be a chance for some of the group to see each other in real life so we are looking forward to that.
If you would like any more information about this work, please contact Alison Train from LEAPS. (alison.train@ed.ac.uk)

UCAS

UCAS launched its new corporate strategy – its ‘Next Chapter‘. The strategy also reaffirms UCAS’ commitment to serving the four nations, being institution and route agnostic, championing the student, and promoting fairness and transparency.

UCAS Discovery Events are happening across the UK to help students decide on their next steps.

You may also wish to listen to UCAS Parents’ Podcast – Careers of the future (35min)

Key resources for the 2026 cycle:
Applying To University With Individual Needs | UCAS
Personal statement for 2026 entry: Classroom resources | Undergraduate | UCAS
Students Eligible for Free School Meals
UCAS dates and deadlines for the 2026 cycle | Undergraduate | UCAS
The Annual Teacher and Adviser Conference 2025 round-up | Undergraduate, Conservatoires | UCAS

For enquiries about the UCAS Fair Access Programme, please email access@ucas.ac.uk.

The Sutton Trust

Applications for their  flagship digital programme, Sutton Trust Online, are now open and close on 26th August at midday.  Find out more here.

It was also recently announced that they will be working with Universities UK and UCAS to improve transparency and consistency in how universities use contextual admissions to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds to build on existing good practice, and deliver lasting, sector-wide change.

The Robertson Trust

Details of the latest awards to be made Twelve projects with potential to lead to big change that lasts on poverty and trauma in Scotland will share just over £2.3 million as part of our latest Programme Awards.

This latest round includes a diverse mix of initiatives – from research into equitable childcare to testing new ways to widen access to higher education.

View the full list of Programme awards here.

To find out more about all our available funds, please click here

The Scottish Government

The Programme for Government 2025-26 has been published, including commitments to set out future school reform priorities by June 2025, to establish Qualifications Scotland to replace SQA and to rationalise Senior Phase qualifications to offer clearer learner pathways and more flexible modular courses. Skills for Success goals (p12-14) include reviewing and improving school-age and adult career support and information.

Useful University Staff Contacts

Teachers and advisers may want to save this useful list of university staff contacts.