Nine months ago, when John Blake was appointed as the Office for Students’ new Director for Fair Access and Participation in the slipstream of new priorities from the ministers that appointed him, a holding position was established on a promise that something more radical would follow.
Access and Participation plan variations were “invited” during the spring to address four new priorities – making them more understandable and accessible to students and key stakeholders, partnering with local schools, getting on as well as getting in, and creating more routes into higher education through the expansion of degree apprenticeships and flexible level four and five qualifications – all overlaid with an “evaluation is crucial” mantra to stop people patting themselves on the back for effort over attainment.
