UCAS Progress: Summer 2016

Overview

Introduction

Birmingham City Council Full Participation Team is consulting with providers to collate views and evidence about the value of UCAS Progress in supporting young people and their advisers in researching and applying for learning and training opportunities post-16. This is to evidence a business case as to inform future funding of the system.

This consultation starts week commencing 20th June 2016 and will run for two weeks until 1st July 2016.

Background:

UCAS Progress (www.ucasprogess.com) is founded on the concept of a local area prospectus and provides a national web based system to give young people information to research post 16 provision both locally and nationally. UCAS Progress includes an online application system for young people and providers to manage internal and external applications for Key Stage 5 choices.

The Local Authority has funded UCAS Progress since 2013 to ensure that all Birmingham young people have access to the resource. This has supported our duty to ensure that young people are made aware of opportunities in training and education since the change in the law (2008 Education and Skills Act) that pupils must participate in some form of education or training until at least their 18th birthday. To facilitate ongoing implementation and effective usage of the system, training has been scheduled throughout the academic year.

We have seen an increase in usage since the system has been Local Authority funded with a number of providers becoming advocates of the system. Currently over half the Year 11 cohort has been imported into UCAS Progress that now includes a facility for young people to self-register.

There remain a number of providers who are not using UCAS Progress which is preventing the full value of the system being realised and as the licence is due for renewal in the Autumn, we are inviting providers to respond with appropriate evidence and information from a user’s perspective to enable officers to make an informed decision about funding UCAS Progress in the future.