The University of Bath has been awarded the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) Quality Mark, achieving enhanced ratings across all areas and exceptional ratings in the 'Wellbeing/Mental Health Support' category and 'Student Success for our Care Experienced and Estranged Students (CEES)'.
This award is a reflection of the incredible work being done across the university to support CEES students, with a special mention for Imroze Sahota, Student Retention Team Leader, and Joanna Newman, Student Retention and Success Adviser, for their outstanding support in this area. Their dedication has made a meaningful difference in students’ university experience and contributed significantly to this achievement.
We are also pleased to share that the NNECL will be promoting our work nationally to showcase the impactful support we provide, including a series of videos that bring some of our CEES students' stories to life. Watch Nellie's story below and check out Chris and Morgan's stories on YouTube.
Sian Edwards, Programme Manager NNECL, said:
We are pleased to award the University of Bath the NNECL Quality Mark in recognition of a strong and well evidenced submission. The evidence provided clearly demonstrates the University’s sustained commitment to supporting care-experienced and estranged learners. Notably, Sections 5 and 6—focused on student wellbeing and success—stood out as particular strengths. Congratulations to the team and colleagues across the University. It is evident that students at Bath benefit from a supportive environment with robust measures in place to help them thrive.
Below is a summary of some of the positive assessor feedback we received. A huge congratulations again to everyone across our university community who is responsible for achieving this incredible result.
Category: Student Wellbeing
Rating: Exceptional
Wellbeing for CEES students at the UoB is comprehensive and thoughtful. The team have really considered the needs of CEES individuals and how best they can support them through their journey at the university. Future plans at the UoB are also detailed and ambitious when it comes to wellbeing for CEES students.
Category: Student Success
Rating: Exceptional
The evidence put forward by the UoB shows that they have an extremely strong set of systems in place to support CEES students’ success at the university in terms of their careers, what content they are taught and assessed on, and developing their social network. Action plans are also ambitious but achievable.
Category: Admissions Process
Rating: Enhanced
What pushes section 4 into the ‘enhanced’ rating is the varied amount of pre-entry programmes and methods in which CEES students can initially get involved with the UoB. I believe ‘Pathway to Bath’ in particular is a very well-considered opportunity for CEES students and it is a model other universities could follow to be more inclusive of the CEES group. It is positive to see how the submission process has informed the future plans and acknowledges which areas are key for development.