Care experienced young people from across Kent & Medway spent the Easter holidays exploring university life.
The University hosted an inspirational free event for care experienced young people, designed to open doors to Higher Education.
‘Spring School’ was part of the Opening Doors project, a collaborative outreach programme delivered in partnership by the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University and the University for the Creative Arts, through the Kent and Medway Progression Federation (KMPF).
The free, 3-day non-residential outreach programme provided a unique opportunity for care experienced young people aged 14-19 to learn more about what it means to be a university student.
The schedule was full of creative, practical ways to learn about university life, and explored the theme of ‘What does education mean to me?’. Activities exploring this topic were delivered across all of the three partner university campuses during the three days.
On our Canterbury campus, students participated in a zine making workshop from the University’s Holly Callaghan – who also runs the Queer Zine Library – and a mini-freshers fair activity, involving circus skills, British Sign Language (BSL), business, music and film.
Shauna-Aine O ‘Brien, Outreach Manager at Kent, commented: ‘Spring School has been a fantastic opportunity for the universities to work together and share the idea of university as a possibility. The best part of the collaboration is seeing the ambassadors working together and sharing insights into university life, which has been hugely beneficial to the participants as they think about their next steps.’
Alongside subject-specific insights and a session on taking ownership of their education, the three days offered plenty of opportunities to build friendships and connect with others. Students were also able to get introductions to various support initiatives from Become, the charity for care-experienced students, and exploring career options and pathways with CXK.
Laura Charter Development Manager at KMPF said: ‘Spring School is all about giving young people a real taste of university life. It’s a chance for them to meet student ambassadors, picture their future selves, and explore how higher education can be a part of this.’
Essential to the programme are the care-experienced Targeted Outreach Ambassadors as they share some of the issues that participants are currently navigating. It provides experience for the ambassadors, as well as a source of paid work to supplement their living expenses. Shauna describes their contribution as ‘core to all that we do’ describing them as ‘collaborators in development, delivery, and casting a critical eye over the work we do to ensure it is authentic, relevant and keeping the young people at the centre.’
One of the student ambassadors, Phoenix, summed up the week: ‘I really enjoyed working with the students, and I found that their overall understanding of university became more positive, with higher education being an achievable goal for them. There were loads of fun workshops that were very crafty, where everyone was engaging and having fun, which made the spring school a positive experience. They were immersed in the campus, which I think is really important as it allows you to start thinking about it and to imagine yourself there.’
Find out more about upcoming care-experienced and estranged young people’s outreach activities.