Access and widening participation
Supporting students from all backgrounds to access, succeed in and progress through higher education
At the heart of the University of Plymouth’s vision there remains a clear and continued commitment to access and participation for all student groups.
We believe that all students, whatever their background, should not only have equal access to higher education, but that they should be given the support to succeed and overcome the additional challenges they may face once they are here. We are committed to supporting equality, diversity and inclusion and building an inclusive learning environment in which all students, regardless of their background, can fulfil their potential.
Our Access and Participation Plan (APP) details our current context, our strategic aims and objectives, our approach to evaluation and the eleven targets we have identified to improve our performance based on our own context and national priorities.
Widening Participation in schools and colleges
Through our widening access activities, we raise awareness and understanding of the different options and courses available in post-18 education. We help raise achievement and support students from groups under-represented in higher education to successfully progress into post-18 study.
Workshops and activities to help primary and secondary school children think about what a career in healthcare means.
An empowering mentorship project where students become mentors to Year 10 school pupils.
An award winning STEM outreach initiative based around an annual two-day event held at the University of Plymouth.
Providing opportunities and experiences for school and college students to discover whether University is right for them.
A national initiative where children take part in activities, workshops and sessions outside of school hours to work towards bronze, silver and gold certificates. Their success is recognised with a graduation ceremony held at the University of Plymouth.
It’s likely that writing a personal statement will be a new experience. We share our advice on what we are looking for.
Taking the next step
Having made the decision to pursue higher education, there are still barriers to overcome. We offer support to help prospective students turn an aspiration into an application; support may include contextual offers, financial support and help with personal statements.
Contextual offers
A contextual offer is an offer to study at university that takes into account individual circumstances that are beyond your control, and that can potentially impact your learning and your exam results, or your confidence in applying to university. We recognise that not everyone has had access to an equal standard of education for a variety of reasons, and contextual offers help to make education more accessible for all.
Supporting success
Helping prospective students to make the transition into higher education and supporting their applications may be vital to enabling a young person to arrive on day one, but what happens next, and supporting that person to stay, is just as important. Creating a supportive environment in which to study, live and thrive is crucial.
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I learned a lot about my options and what I like, what I want to do, and how to get closer to my goals. I had very helpful and positive conversations with the mentors. They helped us move forward and kept us motivated to look ahead.
Opportunity Plymouth participant
I was super nervous when I started but honestly, it’s been the best decision ever.
As I declared on my application that I had a disability, I received a call early in my studies from the University’s disability team to see how I was doing and remind me of the practical, financial and pastoral support available to me.
Ash, psychology with criminology student
Explore the support we provide
Every year, students from a wide range of backgrounds and circumstances join the University of Plymouth community. Explore the support we offer to different groups.
Low income households
We believe students with financial barriers should have the opportunity to progress into university in the same way as any other student. We offer a range of advice on financing your studies, including practical help with managing your money during your time at university, while the University of Plymouth Student’s Union offers advice on making the most out of the discounts available to students in the city through rewards and loyalty cards.
If you are from a low income household, you may be eligible for additional funding through our
Mayflower Award (University of Plymouth’s Access Bursary) . Your eligibility for the award will be checked automatically once a full funding application has been assessed and finalised with Student Finance England. The award is paid in two instalments in your first year of study. All eligible recipients will be automatically identified from the systems of the University and Student Finance England and no separate application is needed.
Living with a disability
The Equality Act 2010 defines a disability as follows:
‘A person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'
Within our diverse student community, there are many different circumstances or situations that may affect a person’s experience at university:
- specific learning difficulty or differences for example, dyslexia, ADHD, etc.
- autism
- mental health difficulties
- sensory or physical impairments
- long-term health conditions- for example, chronic fatigue syndrome, asthma, diabetes, cancer, HIV, etc.
- and more
At Plymouth, we aim to remove or mitigate barriers that may cause an unfair disadvantage. Find out about
additional support for students with an impairment, health condition or disability provided by the University.
Students are also supported through the
Student Wellbeing Services and information available through the
Student Hub .
State secondary school leavers who have been eligible for free school meals
Free School Meals (FSM) are defined as free lunches (and sometimes milk, breakfast or fruit) provided at state schools for children of parents on specific state benefits. Whether or not a student has been eligible to receive free school meals during their time at school, is an indicator of a student's disadvantage. Data shows that there is a gap in entry rates for FSM-eligible pupils and other pupils that has remained significant since 2015. Across the rest of the student lifecycle, students who were in receipt of FSM don’t do as well compared to non-FSM students.
At the University of Plymouth we have included a commitment in our
Access and Participation Plan 2025–29 to increase the proportion of FSM students accessing the University.
Ethnically diverse students
Ethnically Diverse students includes students who are Asian, black, mixed ethnicity or of other ethnicity. They experience inequality of opportunity, compared to white students, across the student lifecycle. Data shows that they are less likely to go into higher education, don’t achieve as well while they are there and that fewer of them progress on to post graduate study or into graduate level jobs. Black students do comparatively worse compared to all other ethnicities.
At the University of Plymouth, as part of our
Access and Participation Plan 2025–29 , we are developing activities and initiatives to improve access for ethnically diverse students. We have also committed to reduce the gaps in attainment and completion between black and white students.
Care leavers
We work with young, looked after students, their carers, their schools and the virtual schools in their region to help them into higher education and continue to support them once they are here.
At the University of Plymouth we define a care leaver as a young person who:
- has been in the care of, or been given accommodation by, their Local Authority (LA) for a period of at least 13 weeks before the age of 16
- has not reconciled with their parents between leaving care and starting their course
The term 'care-experienced' is often used for students who have experienced any of a range of local authority care settings.
These can include:
- living with foster carers
- living in a residential children’s home
- being looked after at home under a supervision order
- living with friends or relatives in kinship care, whether through a Special Guardianship order or via an informal arrangement.
The term also includes young people who may have experienced short periods of local authority care, or who may have left local authority care through adoption.
If you're a care experienced person considering applying to the University of Plymouth, we aim to help make the process as clear and simple as possible for you.
As a care leaver you are guaranteed accommodation on campus for 365 days of the year throughout your course and you are also entitled to the
Mayflower Award (University of Plymouth’s Access Bursary) . Further detailed information about the support we provide can be found on our
care leavers webpage.
Students estranged from parents or carers
Estranged students considering university and studying without the support and approval of either parent, can find information and advice on the UCAS website. Estranged students are entitled to the
Mayflower Award (University of Plymouth’s Access Bursary) . Students must have been granted estranged student status from their student funding body to qualify for the award.
Students who are ‘estranged’ have no communicative relationship with either of their living biological parents and often their wider family networks as well. The breakdown in relationship may be because of abuse, forced marriage and/or family rejection because of belonging to the LGBT community or other reasons.
A report by Stand Alone and Unite found that estranged students are more likely to be from groups that experience disadvantage in education compared with the student population as a whole.
Students with refugee status
The University is working with refugees and partners around the South West and beyond and is committed to understanding and collaborating with displaced communities to support a brighter future. We endeavour to provide a supportive educational framework for those who have been displaced from their home country and we are sympathetic to the challenges confronting those seeking sanctuary in the UK. Find out about how we are
working with refugees at the University of Plymouth.
We offer
Sanctuary scholarships for students who may have difficulty accessing home fees due to their immigration status. The scholarship is a financial support package for any refugee students living in the UK (however, priority is given to individuals living in the Plymouth area). Each Faculty offers one scholarship per year, meaning there are three scholarships available annually. Each scholarship includes:
- a full fee-waiver for the entirety of the undergraduate course,
- £1250 per year toward study costs (for the first three years),
- a fully-funded pre-sessional English course (to ensure scholars meet IELTS 6.0 requirements)
We strive to provide a supportive educational framework for those who have been displaced, and are sympathetic to the challenges faced by those seeking sanctuary in the UK.
Service children
The Department for Education (DfE) defines a 'service child' as a child whose parent or carer serves in the regular armed forces (including full-time reserve service on full commitment) or has served at any point during the child's first 25 years of life.
Service children as a group experience a higher degree of mobility than those without a serving parent which impacts on attainment and pastoral support received. In addition, separation from the serving parent due to military duties can impact negatively on educational engagement, well-being and mental health.
At the University of Plymouth we work with the Service Children’s Progression Alliance (SCiP Alliance) which connects educational leaders and practitioners working to improve the life chances of children and young people in Armed Forces families.
Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen or Boater communities
The term ‘Gypsy, Roma and Traveller’ encompasses a wide range of individuals who may be defined in relation to their ethnicity, heritage, way of life and how they self-identify.
This includes:
- English or Welsh Romany Gypsies
- European Roma
- Irish Travellers
- Scottish Gypsy Travellers
- showpeople such as people linked with fairground or circus professions
- people living on barges or other boats
- people living in settled (bricks and mortar) accommodation
- New Age Travellers.
Recognising this diversity is important to identifying, understanding and addressing the needs of individuals within these communities.
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils have the lowest attainment in compulsory schooling of all ethnic groups, which in turn impacts their access to higher education. People from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities encounter a wide range of barriers in accessing higher education, even for those who do complete compulsory schooling and achieve the necessary qualifications.
We help support Gypsy, Traveller and Roma students who enrol at the University of Plymouth by providing them with the
Mayflower Award (University of Plymouth’s Access Bursary) for each of the years they study with us.
Students with caring responsibilities
Students with caring responsibilities are defined as anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who, due to illness, disability, a mental health problem, or an addiction, cannot cope without their support.
There is no definitive data on the number of students with caring responsibilities currently in Higher Education, however, according to the Carers’ Trust, there are over 375,000 young adult carers (aged 14-25) in the UK.
The transition to, through and beyond university can be extremely challenging for young people with caring responsibilities as these may prevent them from entering higher education. For those who do progress to higher education, the additional responsibilities they have can make regular, timely attendance to lectures and classes difficult. In addition, finding time to study while balancing caring responsibilities alongside academic commitments can also be very demanding.
The UCAS website has lots of advice and tips on how to write a successful personal statement, including specific advice for student carers.
At the University of Plymouth, we are committed to supporting student carers, and there is a range of information and advice available to help you. Young adult carers are entitled to the
Mayflower Award (University of Plymouth’s Access Bursary) .
LGBTQ+
Using mental health data from the Student Academic Experiences Survey (SAES) conducted between 2016-17 and 2021-22 shows that the proportion of participants identifying as LGBQT+ rises steadily over the course of time covered by this data. Wellbeing is measured in the SAES using the Office for National Statistics (ONS), four wellbeing questions which relate to life satisfaction, worthwhileness, happiness and anxiety. The analysis finds very substantial inequalities in wellbeing and concludes that LGBTQ+ students in general experience lower wellbeing and higher anxiety than their heterosexual and cisgendered peers. Homosexual men’s experiences are closer to those of heterosexual people overall. LGBTQ+ students, and particularly transgender students, are more likely to experience acutely low wellbeing (high anxiety) than their peers.
Discrimination and harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation or transgender status are unacceptable and not tolerated at the University of Plymouth. We aim to create an environment that welcomes all and celebrates everyone for who they are.
How you’ll be supported while you study
Find out more about the different support services and advice available to you during your studies.
