Issue - meetings

[ Report of the Assistant Director for Schools and Learning. To be introduced by the Leader of  the Council.]

This paper considers recent existing university bursary schemes and  how they work (what they offer, eligibility criteria, etc) and sets out a proposed offer for Haringey young people with an associated budget.

The Leader was pleased to introduce the report which sought agreement to fund a Local Authority university bursary scheme for young people from low income families (under £30k PA total income) from the academic year 2021. The scheme was intended to support an increase in the percentage of those students from low income families who can go on to university at the end of year 13 and graduate.

The scheme would, among other things, support a monthly (Sept to June) bursary of £300 for the duration of the degree course, mentoring from year 13 (or before) through to graduation, the cost of the UCAS application and visits to two university open days during year 12/13.

It was proposed that the scheme run year on year, supporting up to 10 students through university at an eventual annual cost to the Council of £120k. The scheme would also make available a period of work experience within the Local Authority or one of its partners, aimed at the summer recess in the second year and based on two days a week for a period of eight weeks at London Living Wage.

The Leader spoke about education being unequal and opportunities at school or university skewed by where you come from. Children from the most deprived families tended to do less well at school and were less likely to go on to university, or any other form of higher education. Among those that do go to university, the most deprived students were more likely to drop-out and less likely to secure a top class degree.

The Leader described that inequality persists beyond graduation day. The most advantaged graduates were more likely to be in a high-skilled job after graduating, and BAME Russell Group university graduates are more likely to be unemployed than their white peers.

It was noted that no single injustice is responsible for the gap. Income and financial security were a major factor, but there were wider and subtler causes behind the gap too . The Leader outlined that ethnicity, class, health and household dynamics were just some them.

The Leader expressed that a lot of the inequalities that distort educational opportunity were deep-set and would take wide-ranging interventions to overcome. The Council could not reverse the government’s 2016 decision to abolish maintenance grants for low-income students for example. However, the leader felt that there was a clear role, indeed a leading role, that a local Council could play to improve opportunities and outcomes for the most deprived residents in its borough.

The scheme was central to that ambition and set out a slate of interventions to support children from some of the most deprived families in Haringey.

Following questions from Cllr Cawley- Harrison and Cllr das Neves, the following information was noted.

• The Council were aware of the university application timetable and were aiming to have the scheme ready before year 13 to allow the work experience opportunities to be accessed and also to dovetail with other schemes that will be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 265