Progress to Success Framework

Progress to Success (P2S)

The University of Derby’s Progress to Success Framework (P2S) - targeting 34 secondary schools in areas of disadvantage and low progression across Derby city and Derbyshire - has been developed in response to government drivers around widening the participation in higher education (HE) of under-represented learners.   

P2S is a vital component of the University of Derby’s mission to improve social mobility across the region. This research-informed, long-term, multi-intervention, outreach programme is delivered in partnership with schools to achieve sustainable change. Through this framework, the Widening Access Team work with young people on an individual level to find what fires their imagination, develops their self-belief, and fills in knowledge gaps. 

The key objective of P2S is to facilitate the realisation of ambitions for learners through a series of research-informed experiences. Exploration into ‘what works’ informs core activities, including summer schools, visit days, classroom workshops, and virtual sessions, which cover a breadth of learning styles. 

P2S provides progressive touchpoints for pupils from Year 7 to Year 11. In 2021/22, 71 P2S activities were accessed by 4,025 learners. 

Targeting

Targeting is fundamental to ensure those who would benefit most access the programme. Of those who participated in 2021/22: 

• 84% were from areas least likely to progress to higher education using the POLAR4 dataset 
• 72% of participants’ parents had no experience in higher education 
• 68% were from the most deprived areas using the IMD dataset  
• 39% were eligible for Free School Meals. 

Impact

A robust mixed methodology evaluation and theory of change model are embedded. The longitudinal nature of this ensures outcomes are tracked, not only through school but into and beyond HE. 

Evidence of tangible impact: 

• Decision-making: a 49-percentage point (pp) increase in those reporting they had the knowledge to make informed progression choices.
• Motivation: reflective journal evidence highlighting increased motivation to study. 
• Sense of belonging: a 33pp increase in those stating they feel they would fit in at university.
• Progression to HE: 63% of the trackable learners come from the lowest POLAR quintiles (the least likely to progress to HE), and of these, 43% progressed to HE, far higher than expected for low POLAR quintile students.
• HE achievement: Of all the full-time entrants from the trackable learners who have now graduated 76% achieved a first degree, with 78% of those achieving a good degree (First class or Upper second class), 6pp higher than the whole University full-time population.    

These statistics, compelling as they are, pale into insignificance when learners tell us the legacy of taking part in P2S:

• “I've got a little sister and now I've got this knowledge, this cultural capital, I can pass it on to her.”
• “I am usually not the cleverest person in the room but people come to me and ask for help."

Supporting learners to develop their own pathway to success is what really matters.