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As part of the EDI annual report 2022-23, the University of Sunderland shows how our widening participation helps to raise aspirations and promote social inclusion.
In the last year, 178 students were supported by our dedicated We Care team at Sunderland and London campuses. Of these, 85 were care-experienced, 90 were estranged and three were from a Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showman or Boater (GTRSB) background. 118 of these students also received the We Care Bursary.
We carried out the annual We Care Student Survey between May and July 2023, and 96.4% of students rated support provided by the We Care team as very good or good, with the remaining 3.6% rating it as fair.
The support we have provided this year includes scheduled student check in meetings at least termly, enabling us to identify new or ongoing support needs, and make referrals to other teams, such as Wellbeing or Student Financial Guidance, where appropriate.
A range of social events were held for students throughout the year to create a community with their care-experienced and estranged peers as well as staff from the We Care team.
We keep in touch with our students regularly throughout the year and celebrate important dates and successes with them. Each student receives a birthday card and phone call from the team, with cards and gifts sent at Easter and other religious festivals and provide chocolate advent calendars for students and their families.
We provide specific support for care-experienced and estranged students during the Christmas period, recognising that this can be a difficult time for many, including those who may be alone. We hosted a lunch on campus for students between Christmas and New Year, and an online social event via Teams.
In October 2022 we launched our annual We Care at Christmas Campaign for the third year. This was led by our Vice-Chancellor, Sir David Bell, to ensure that our care-experienced and estranged students had a Christmas to remember. £4,926 was raised by our staff and our wider University community. Each student received a hand-written Christmas card from the Vice-Chancellor and a selection of gifts. We also provided gifts for their children and pets.
53 care-experienced and estranged students graduated in 2022-23. The University covered the cost of the graduation gown hire and photography package for each of our students, recognising that this could be a barrier to attending. Each of our students could also opt to have a member of the We Care team with them for support on the day of the ceremony.
A discretionary payment of £500 was provided to care-experienced and estranged graduates to support them with next steps into employment or further study. We also have a named contacted in the Centre for Graduate Prospects for our We Care students, supporting them to achieve their full potential when they graduate.
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The University of Sunderland joins five universities across the north-east to become the first regional Higher Education partnership to collaboratively sign up to the Care Leaver Covenant, a national inclusion programme that supports care leavers aged 16-25 to live independently.
Read more about the Care Leavers Covenant.
The University's We Care team teamed up with Madlug to provide two free pack-away travel bags for our care-experienced applicants joining the University from September 2023. This is to help all applicants feel that they have value, worth, and the right to move with dignity.
Read more about the collaboration with Madlug.
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A project that supports students who have experience of the care system to succeed at university has won a national education award. The five universities who collaboratively form the North East Raising Aspiration Partnership won the Widening Access Partnership of the Year at the National Education Opportunities Network (NEON) awards.
Read more about the NEON awards.
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We provide a platform for our care-experienced staff and students to share their experiences with others to increase awareness of barriers, challenges and opportunities within their student journeys. As well as providing two ‘How to be an ally to care-experienced and estranged students’ workshops for colleagues, we ensured that those with lived experience contribute to national conferences, webinars and other events so that their voices are heard and celebrated.
For more than 20 years, Wendy Price, Head of Widening Access and Participation at the University of Sunderland, has worked to encourage and support disadvantaged students through university.
Wendy’s extraordinary efforts were acknowledged this year with an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award in the Queen’s Birthday 2022 Honours List for services to Higher Education.
Along with her family, she attended Windsor Castle in February where she received her OBE from King Charles.
Emotional Wellbeing Support for estranged students
November 2022
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Social Mobility Project Award
November 2022
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Best Event Experience (Bronze)
July 2023
We've continued to provide dedicated support to those who have served in the Armed Forces this year, as 194 students with connections to the Armed Forces enrolled at our University. We're extremely proud to be holders of the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Awards, demonstrating our commitment to ensuring that service personnel and their families are supported as they transition into life at university.
Our Armed Forces webpage launched this year, and this support is being developed further in consultation with students and staff who have served in the Armed Forces.
In November 2022, we remembered the service and sacrifice of all those that have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life with a Remembrance Day event. This was held in our Veterans' Garden which was opened earlier this year and symbolises the University’s regard and respect for those from the city who have served their country over the years.
We also held an event in our Veterans' Garden to celebrate Armed Forces Day in June 2023.
Current students, staff and alumni were invited to design a new sculpture to provide a central focus point in the Veterans’ Garden, that celebrated the contribution made by the people of Sunderland in support of our Armed Forces.
Designs were shortlisted by the University's Veteran and Reservist’s Network with the final design decided by University Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Sir David Bell and renowned architect, Mike Davies CBE.
The winning design was submitted by Anja Atkinson, who graduated from the University in 2009 with a foundation diploma in art and design.
The National Armed Forces and Emergency Services Event in April was the first occasion the armed forces and emergency services have come together to hold a large-scale event of its kind.
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The Child and Young Person-Led Conference was held in November by Sarah Martin-Denham, focusing on childhood adversities, Special Educational Needs and Disability and school exclusion.
Your Freshers 2023 held a family fun day in September, with students bringing their children and family onto campus to get their faces painted, compete in egg & spoon races, and other activities.
We continue to develop our GTRSB into Higher Education Pledge commitment. This year we invited staff to an online training and awareness session, 'Gypsy and Traveller Inclusive Services Training', led by the charity 'Friends, Families and Travellers'.
The training session aimed to celebrate the contributions of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities in British society, disseminate knowledge of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture and heritage, and to challenge stigmatisation and discrimination towards the communities.
Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller History Month, which takes place annually in June, holds significance in raising awareness about the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities in the UK. These communities, with a population of over 12 million across the European Union and approximately 300,000 in the UK, are the largest ethnic minority group in the EU.
We raised awareness through events and sharing communications with our staff to help encourage understanding.
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The University of Sunderland welcomed back multi-award-winning storyteller, author and playwright Richard O’Neill, and professional musician and songwriter George Hoyle, as part of its Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) History Month celebrations.
The pair returned to the University to deliver an array of events to hundreds of school pupils, teachers, University staff and students at Hope Street Xchange on City campus. This included an online interactive ‘Story Into Song’ masterclass, which was streamed to schools across the country, including Kent, Cheshire, Wiltshire and Hertfordshire, as well as the north-east. In total, 990 pupils registered to attend.
We welcome feedback on equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Please contact our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team, inclusion@sunderland.ac.uk or the Students' Union at yoursu@sunderland.ac.uk.