Formed in January 2012, a group of likeminded institutions came together united by the belief that children and young people in and leaving care faced a number of challenges in life, particularly regarding their educational opportunities. The group therefore made a commitment to support the progression of care leavers into higher education and to work in collaboration to help overcome some of the obstacles faced by looked after children and young people.
From an original membership of six institutions, the group has now expanded to eight, including two additional members so that HE providers from East Anglia are also represented. The Eastern Region have held two regional conferences, have facilitated collaboration between institutions to develop resources, deliver outreach events, taster days, summer schools and practitioner training sessions, as well as providing regular opportunities to share best practice. Making use of the collective skills and expertise of member institutions, we have been able to supplement our work as individual institutions to reach more young people than could ever be achieved alone.
The Eastern Region Universities Group have also started building stronger relationships with local authorities including attending meetings with Virtual Schools to raise awareness of the work that local universities are engaged with and the opportunities available. We are currently looking to expand the membership of the group to include local authority representation from across the Eastern Region to facilitate a more regular dialogue with all stakeholders across the region.
The Eastern Region covers:
- Bedfordshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Essex
- Hertfordshire
- Norfolk
- Sussex
Contact: Liz Ferguson, University of East Anglia