SRHE Members must
Facilitated and chaired by: Dr Rita Hordósy who is the co-conv
enor of the Student Access and Experience Network.
For more details about the network and its activi
ties\, please <
a href="https://srhe.ac.uk/networks/student-access
-and-experience-network/" style="color:#0000FF\;te
xt-decoration:underline\;">click here
The eve nt explores how widening participation (WP)\, fair access and student experiences in English higher education have evolved amid persistent inequalitie s. Current discourses are dominated by institution s\, policymakers\, and culture‑war narratives\, wh ile student and community voices remain marginal. National policies such as Access and Participation Plans have strengthened evaluation and systematis ed delivery but also risk reducing WP to complianc e. Tensions remain between meritocratic framings a nd social‑justice aims\, especially around context ual admissions. A shift from “getting in” to “gett ing on” reflects recognition that belonging\, tran sitions\, and graduate outcomes matter\, though fi nancial pressures in light of the cost of living c risis continue to undermine these goals. Students often experience WP labels as externally imposed r ather than self‑affirming. The conversation will e xplore the need for intersectional approaches\, re newed maintenance support\, and collaborative work across research\, practice\, and policy to create genuinely transformative change.
\n \nSchedu
le <
/p>\n \n
| \n 11.00 – 11.30 \n | \n
\n Arrival\, networking\, coffee & tea \n | \n
| \n
| \n \n
< span style="font-family:Calibri\, sans-serif\;">SA EN Introduction and welcome \n | \n
| \n 12.00 – 12.30 \n | \n
\n Rhiannon Jones: From Social Justice to Risk Management? Re-con ceptualising Widening Participation Across Policy\ , University Culture and Personal Identities \n | \n
| \n 12.30 – 13.00 \n | \n \n
| \n
| \n <
span style="font-family:Aptos\, sans-serif\;"> | \n \n < span style="line-height:normal\;">Lunch & networking \n | \n
| \n 13.45 – 14.30 \n | \n
\n Chris Millward: Re-shaping the meritocracy: access policy in England from Blair t o Starmer \n | \n
| \n 14.30 – 15.00 \n | \n \n
N eil Harrison: How do young people make decisions a bout their future? \n | \n
| \n 15.00 – 15.45< /span> \n | \n \n Discussion \n | \n
< b>Speaker bios
\n \nRhiannon Jones is a PhD researcher at the Un iversity of Cambridge and an Access and Outreach O fficer at Jesus College Cambridge. Her research ex amines how widening participation is conceptualise d and enacted across government policy\, universit y culture\, and individual practice in English hig her education. Prior to her doctoral study\, she w orked as an Evaluation Officer for a Uni Connect H ub\, where she led evaluation and impact reporting for widening participation programmes. She has al so worked as a Learning Assistant in a secondary s chool\, supporting students with special education al needs and disabilities. These professional expe riences coupled with her personal identity as some one from a WP background inform her research inter est in the politics of WP and the tensions between social justice and theoretically hollow performan ce-based accountability. Her broader research inte rests include tackling inequalities in higher educ ation\, reflected in her work on the Lifting the B arriers to Black Academia project.
\n \n
Kimberley B Simms is Head of Widening Acc
ess and Community Engagement at Nottingham Trent U
niversity\, where she leads pre 16 outreach\, staf
f and student volunteering\, community engagement\
, and place based systemic change initiatives. Kim
is committed to improving educational equity thro
ugh data informed\, evidence based\, and innovativ
e practice. Her professional interests span early
years engagement\, community partnerships\, and th
e development of impactful widening participation
initiatives. She welcomes discussion on innovative
\, collaborative approaches to widening access and
community engagement.
Chris Millward
Neil Harrison< /span> a professor of education and social justice a t the University of Exeter. He has worked in wide ning access for over 30 years as a practitioner\, educator and researcher. He is currently leading a study focusing on post-16 educational pathways f or unaccompanied asylum-seeking children\, funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
DESCRIPTION:SRHE Members must log-in to access member registra tion rates \n \n \n \n Facilitated and chaired by: Dr Rita Hordósy who is the co-convenor of the Stu dent Access and Experience Network. For more detai ls about the network and its activities\, please c lick here.\n \n \n \n Overview\n \n \n \n The even t explores how widening participation (WP)\, fair access and student experiences in English higher e ducation have evolved amid persistent inequalities . Current discourses are dominated by institutions \, policymakers\, and culture‑war narratives\, whi le student and community voices remain marginal. N ational policies such as Access and Participation Plans have strengthened evaluation and systematise d delivery but also risk reducing WP to compliance . Tensions remain between meritocratic framings an d social‑justice aims\, especially around contextu al admissions. A shift from “getting in” to “getti ng on” reflects recognition that belonging\, trans itions\, and graduate outcomes matter\, though fin ancial pressures in light of the cost of living cr isis continue to undermine these goals. Students o ften experience WP labels as externally imposed ra ther than self‑affirming. The conversation will ex plore the need for intersectional approaches\, ren ewed maintenance support\, and collaborative work across research\, practice\, and policy to create genuinely transformative change.\n \n \n \n Schedu le \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 11.00 – 11.30 \n \n \n \n \n Arrival\, networking\, cof fee & tea\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 11.3 0 – 12.00 \n \n \n \n \n SRHE welcome & h ousekeeping\n \n \n \n SAEN Introduction and we lcome\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 12.00 – 12.30 \n \n \n \n \n Rhiannon Jones: From Social Justice to Risk Management? Re-conceptuali sing Widening Participation Across Policy\, Univer sity Culture and Personal Identities\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 12.30 – 13.00\n \n \n \n \n Kimberley B Simms: Starting Earlier\, Wo rking Systemically: NTU’s Early Years\, Collective Impact\, and Community Responsive Approaches to S ocial Mobility\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 13.00 – 13.45\n \n \n \n \n Lunch & netw orking\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 13.45 – 14.30 \n \n \n \n \n Chris Millward: Re- shaping the meritocracy: access policy in England from Blair to Starmer\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 14.30 – 15.00 \n \n \n \n \n Neil Harrison: How do young people make decisions abou t their future?\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 15.00 – 15.45\n \n \n \n \n Discussion\ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker bios\n \n \n \n Rhiannon Jones is a PhD researcher at the Un iversity of Cambridge and an Access and Outreach O fficer at Jesus College Cambridge. Her research ex amines how widening participation is conceptualise d and enacted across government policy\, universit y culture\, and individual practice in English hig her education. Prior to her doctoral study\, she w orked as an Evaluation Officer for a Uni Connect H ub\, where she led evaluation and impact reporting for widening participation programmes. She has al so worked as a Learning Assistant in a secondary s chool\, supporting students with special education al needs and disabilities. These professional expe riences coupled with her personal identity as some one from a WP background inform her research inter est in the politics of WP and the tensions between social justice and theoretically hollow performan ce-based accountability. Her broader research inte rests include tackling inequalities in higher educ ation\, reflected in her work on the Lifting the B arriers to Black Academia project.\n \n \n \n Kimb erley B Simms is Head of Widening Access and Commu nity Engagement at Nottingham Trent University\, w here she leads pre 16 outreach\, staff and student volunteering\, community engagement\, and place b ased systemic change initiatives. Kim is committed to improving educational equity through data info rmed\, evidence based\, and innovative practice. H er professional interests span early years engagem ent\, community partnerships\, and the development of impactful widening participation initiatives. She welcomes discussion on innovative\, collaborat ive approaches to widening access and community en gagement.\n \n \n \n Chris Millward is Professor o f Practice in Education Policy at the University o f Birmingham and Interim Director of Fair Access a nd Participation at the Office for Students\, a po sition he also held from 2018-21. Prior to these roles\, Chris was Director of Policy at the Higher Education Funding Council for England and Head of Research Programmes at the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. Chris also serves on the board s of MEDR\, the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research in Wales\, the Academy of Social Scie nces and the Society for Research into Higher Educ ation\, and he is a Marshall Scholarships Commissi oner.\n \n \n \n Neil Harrison a professor of educ ation and social justice at the University of Exet er. He has worked in widening access for over 30 years as a practitioner\, educator and researcher. He is currently leading a study focusing on post -16 educational pathways for unaccompanied asylum- seeking children\, funded by the Nuffield Foundati on.\n \n CATEGORIES:Conference CALSCALE:GREGORIAN DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/London:20260623T110000 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260623T110000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260623T154500 LOCATION:Society House\n 8 Regents Wharf\, All Saints St\n London\, N1 9RL\n United Kingdom\n URL:https://srhe.ac.uk/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=786 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR