Empowering Opportunities: Equitable Recruitment and Widening Participation (E10)

In this podcast episode, Vicky welcomes Dr. William Simms, University Partnership Manager here at Tutor Trust, to the studio. Whilst he now has a PhD, Will says that university wasn’t necessarily on the horizon when he was growing up in Bristol. He talks frankly about his journey into academia and his understanding of some of the challenges the tutees we support may face in seeing university as an option for them.  As a strong advocate for social mobility, when Will joined Tutor Trust he was keen to explore how we could open up tutoring opportunities to university students who shared a similar background both to him, and to our tutees. This episode delves into the concept of widening participation in education and its importance for social mobility. The conversation also explores how Will and team have made our recruitment process more equitable and diverse, with a focus on giving the opportunity to tutor, and develop key career skills, to undergraduates who might be the first in their family to go to university.

Will also chats to Lucy Wharmby, a qualified teacher and tutor with Tutor Trust, who discusses her journey from a working-class background to pursuing a master's degree and becoming a tutor. Lucy reflects on the impact of access schemes and the importance of helping students aspire to higher education. She also highlights the value of her own personal experience in connecting with pupils and inspiring them to explore their potential. She says: “For me, my goal is always that if I can just help my pupils know that they can aspire to do what they want rather than what they think the path is that's laid out for them. That I’ve done it, I've been successful, whether that is university or a specific career. I just want to make sure they know what the doors are and then they can choose the door that they want to go through.”  

If you feel as passionately about creating educational equity as we do at Tutor Trust, please get in touch to share your views and, who knows, you may be a guest on a future Tutorcast episode!

 

Music from: Audio Library  https://youtu.be/JpoEFiAJdxo

'And So it Begins' by 'Artificial Music' (Creative Commons) https://soundcloud.com/artificial-music