CPD
Upcoming CPD Opportunities
Tuesday 24th June: Understanding the UCAS Clearing Process (2025), 3.00-4.30pm
Are you an advisor or parent/carer supporting learners who will be using UCAS clearing from the 5th July 2025?
Join Caroline Priestley, Senior Outreach and Recruitment Officer at University of Bradford, who will lead the session which aims to inform delegates about the UCAS Clearing system .
The session will include:
- How to prepare learners for the process
- Thinking about the next steps
- What happens if learners over achieve?
- What happens if learners don’t get the grades they wanted?
- What happens if learners receive an offer and want to defer?
Target Audience – Careers, education, community professionals and parents and carers working with young people or mature learners who will be applying for HE courses through clearing
Register for our free webinar: Understanding the UCAS Clearing Process
Wednesday 2nd July: Spotlight on Access to HE and Foundation Year Courses, 3.00-4.30pm
Are you a teacher or advisor supporting 18+ learners to make the transition into HE? Do you want to know more about courses that FE/HE can offer as progression routes into HE?
In this session colleagues from the FE and HE sectors will broaden and deepen our knowledge of courses that are brilliant progression routes for learners who want to progress into HE but may need extra time, support, UCAS points, skills building or be changing subject areas for further study.
James Bairstow,HE Student Recruitment and Conversion Officer, Bradford College and Caroline Priestley ,Senior Outreach and Recruitment Officer, University of Bradford will go into detail about the benefits of Access to HE courses.
John Lees, External Liaison Officer, Lifelong Learning Centre, University of Leeds will focus on Foundation Year courses.
Session highlights:
- · Overviews of these courses including benefits
- · How to apply
- · Finance
- Signposting to resources you can use with your learners
Target Audience – Careers, education, community professionals and parents and carers working with young people or mature learners
Register for our free webinar: Spotlight on Access to HE and Foundation Year Courses
Care to Go Higher
April - July: 'Care to Go Higher' Online course - Supporting care-experienced young people in accessing higher education (2 cohorts)
Support care-experienced young people on their journey to higher education with our CPD-certified, six-session programme. Gain essential knowledge, tools, and resources to guide informed decisions.
Find out more about ‘Care to Go Higher’ and how to register today!
Upcoming Conferences
Tuesday 8th July: Working Together for Access and Success in Higher Education: Teachers’ and Advisers’ Conference - University of Bradford, 9.30am - 3.30pm
Following the success of our inaugural collaborative conference, Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) are pleased to announce that we will have a 2025 conference! Join us for a day that aims to provide insightful discussions, student voice and networking at Working Together for Access and Success in Higher Education: Teachers’ and Advisers’ Conference.
This is a collaborative event brought to you by a range of Higher Education (HE) providers. By working collaboratively, we can provide a broad range of information about the future HE options for students – from Higher National Certificates and Diplomas, to apprenticeships, and undergraduate degrees. The free conference will be on Tuesday, 8 July 2025, at 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM at University of Bradford. Please share this widely with your contacts.
We are extending a complimentary invitation to professionals dedicated to guiding young individuals, such as teachers, advisers, youth workers, pastoral staff, and local authority staff. Our conference offers a unique opportunity to gain insights into HE pathways and the support mechanisms available through our consortium of 13 members. This diverse group of our 13 members includes HE-in-FE providers, universities, and a small specialist provider.
Delegate feedback from the 2024 conference:
“Fabulous event. So good plus to hear the student voice.”
“Make sure you do another one!”
“Thought provoking, great platform for discussion”
“Very useful to meet people with the same experiences and interests”
“All sessions were excellent, right length + engaging content”
“I’d just like to say thank you for organising such a great event, it was really informative and well organised…Thanks again and I’ll look forward to the next event”
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Catch-up on what you missed
You will need to register a free account as a Teacher/Advisor to access these courses. If you have any difficulties please get in touch.
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UCAS Fair Access Programme Updates
This UCAS Fair Access CPD webinar shares 2026 cycle updates, key data insights on underrepresented learners, and practical tools to support early engagement and informed applications. Aimed at educators and advisors, it offers clear guidance to help ensure fair access for all students.
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Supporting Disabled Learners on their Higher Education Journey
This CPD session helps teachers and advisors support disabled learners transitioning to higher education. It covers accessing support, understanding DSA, key differences between school and university, and introduces practical resources including the Disabled Learners Transition Pack and staff e-learning.
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‘Think and Go Higher’ programme: evidence briefing for strategic leaders
This strategic webinar, held on 2nd April 2025, shared key findings from Go Higher West Yorkshire’s new evidence report Think and Go Higher 2023/24. Aimed at HE leaders, school and college decision-makers, policymakers, and evaluation professionals, the session explored the impact of GHWY’s metacognition programme on learner outcomes and inequalities.
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Student Finance Updates for 2025 Higher Education entrants
Go Higher West Yorkshire, in collaboration with the Student Loans Company, recently hosted an online CPD session aimed at teachers, advisers, and practitioners supporting learners on their higher education journey.
Sammie Hutchinson, Funding Information Services Account Manager at the Student Loans Company, delivered a comprehensive update on student finance for 2025 HE entrants—essential for anyone advising KS5 learners on how to apply for student finance.
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Changes to UCAS Personal Statements (academic year 25-26)
Go Higher West Yorkshire, in collaboration with Advancing Access, hosted a CPD session on the recent personal statement reform, outlining the new process and offering expert guidance. Jennifer Barton, Student Recruitment Manager at Durham University, shared insights on supporting students through these changes. This webinar recording is ideal for professionals assisting post-16 learners with higher education applications in the UK.
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Supporting Care Experienced Learners on their Higher Education Journey
GHWY hosted a free CPD session on supporting Care Experienced learners in Higher Education. In collaboration with Inspiring Choices, we explored key challenges, collaborative approaches, and vital resources, including the Care Experienced Learners Transition Pack. Guest speakers shared insights and introduced the Destinations Festival, an exciting outreach opportunity for 2025.
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Creating Successful Outreach Projects for Males on Free School Meals
This webinar, hosted by Go Higher West Yorkshire Uni Connect, explored strategies for creating impactful outreach projects targeting males on free school meals (FSM). The session featured Andy Griffith, an educational consultant and co-author of The Working Classroom, who shared insights on social mobility, engagement techniques, and best practices in outreach programmes.
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Post 16 Qualifications Landscape
Boost your confidence in supporting young people with our free self-paced CPD webinar on the evolving post-16 qualifications landscape, including T Levels, BTECs, and key updates.
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E-learning for HE staff to understand and support disabled students
An online course that will provide you with knowledge, understanding and confidence to empower you to support disabled students in Higher Education (HE).
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Understanding the Clearing Process
This webinar delivered by The University of Bradford, provides an in-depth overview of the clearing process, key dates, preparation tips for students, and strategies for supporting students through the clearing process.
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UCAS Fair Access Programme- Understanding Underrepresented Groups and Progression Data
In this Webinar, we are joined by Ellie Rowley, Fair Access Programme Lead at UCAS. In this session, Ellie will highlight key progression data and trends amongst learners from underrepresented groups, highlighting research and lessons learnt to support best practice when working with young people from underrepresented groups. This will take both a national and regional focus.
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Exploring Career Opportunities in Professional Services for Young People
Delivered in collaboration with West Yorkshire Combined Authority, this Webinar provides an overview of the Professional Services sector.Joined by Lloyds, KPMG and Gordons LLP, these employers highlight key progression options and routes at post 16 and 18, as well as career paths and what employers are looking for in the sector. -
Student Finance Updates for 2024-25
In this Webinar, The Student Loans Company provide key updates and an overview of Disabled Students Allowance.
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Understanding Careers in Digital & IT
Delivered in collaboration with West Yorkshire Combined Authority, this Webinar will provide an overview of the Digital and IT sector; highlighting key progression options and routes at post 16 and 18, as well as career paths and what employers are looking for in the sector.
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GHWY Attainment Raising Programme: Successful delivery in the classroom (30 Jan 2024)
This webinar is for teachers and practitioners who would like to know more about the Go Higher Attainment Raising programme and how they can deliver it in their own school. We provide an overview of the 6 session programme, key activities and lessons learnt to help inform your delivery of these resources.
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Introduction to GHWY/WYCA Resources (Monday 22nd January 2024)
In this webinar we welcome teachers and practitioners who want to learn more about the range of resources on offer through WYCA Future Goals platform and Go Higher West Yorkshire.
These two organisations offer a wide range of free activities and resources for secondary schools and colleges, and this session is an opportunity to explore some of these in depth.
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Harnessing lived experiences and stories to empower marginalised voices (Thursday 11th January 2024)
In this Webinar, Syra Shakir, an Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching at Leeds Trinity University reflects on a student & staff co-creation project which used storytelling as a decolonized pedagogy to educate high school GCSE age young people on the 1947 Partition of India.
Join us in redefining education for a brighter, more inclusive future!
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Alternative Routes into Healthcare - 16 Nov 2023
This CPD session brings together three of Go Higher West Yorkshire’s member institutions. The University of Bradford, University of Leeds and University of Huddersfield present on a range of their healthcare courses, offering an insight into suggested routes for learners who may not be progressing onto medicine or dentistry. This session is useful for any teachers or practitioners who want to develop their knowledge on different healthcare courses and support young people into a variety of routes in this sector.
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GHWY Attainment Raising Dissemination
The Uni Connect programme based in West Yorkshire piloted an attainment raising programme in five schools across the academic year 2022-23. In this session the team share their overview of the programme as well as the key outcomes.
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Updates on the UCAS Referencing Process. 14th Oct 2023
UCAS has recently changed the reference writing process. Instead of submitting a single piece of prose, referees must now provide responses in three different sections. In this CPD session, delivered by Advancing Access, you will learn how to write references in the new format and will gain insights into what more selective universities in particular are looking for from the new reference.
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Personal Statements with Advancing Access (Oct 2023)
This session will enable teachers and advisers to effectively support students with the UCAS personal statement writing process.
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Medicine and Dentistry Routes & Alternative Routes - Oct 2023
In this session, we’ll be joined by Mark Patterson, Educational Engagement Lead Officer at the University of Leeds, who will give an update on changes to the admissions landscape across the sector, as well as sharing some useful hints and tips for supporting your aspiring Medics and Dentists to successfully apply to HE this year.
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Preparing learners to access careers support in Higher Education
This online CPD session is designed for career and guidance professionals, offering crucial information about Careers support for learners transitioning to Higher Education. It provides an overview of available resources from first-year to post-graduation, including special assistance for underrepresented groups.
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Understanding the HE Clearing Process
The University of Bradford hosts this webinar session to educate attendees about the Clearing process, offering guidance on preparing students and their families, addressing potential outcomes, and discussing options like deferring offers.
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Understanding and Supporting Care Experienced/Estranged Students
By the end of this course, you will have the knowledge, understanding and confidence that will empower you to support care experienced young people and estranged students in Higher Education (HE). The course may also be of interest to staff that work in counselling, careers or marketing in HE so they can better communicate with and/or provide support for these students.
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Supporting Disabled Learners (25th May 2023)
This session is aimed at practitioners who support and work with learners with a disability or additional needs.
Please join us for an inspirational session focusing on increasing the confidence of students who may have additional needs when progressing into further/higher education and employment.
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How to use and communicate Labour Market Information within schools: a focus on LMI and LMI education, within West Yorkshire
With a focus on LMI and LMI education within West Yorkshire, this session is aimed at teachers and careers advisors who are involved in designing and delivering careers education, advice and guidance to young people aged 11-18.
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Spotlight on Creative Arts and Industries’ session 4: Employers Perspective- Hear Straight from the Creative Sector
In our Employer focused session, we are joined by two professionals within the creative industry to explore different careers within the sector.
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‘Spotlight on Creative Arts and Industries’ Session 3: Overview of Higher Education Opportunities
Designed for teachers and advisors, this session will provide an overview of Higher Education courses and opportunities within the creative arts. We will be joined by two local universities within West Yorkshire, the University of Bradford and University Centre Leeds; to hear from a range of creative arts courses and discuss the opportunities and benefits available to learners at this level.
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'Spotlight on Creative Arts and Industries' session 2: Overview of Level 3 Opportunities
Designed for teachers and advisors, this session will provide an overview of Level 3 courses designed to help young people to enter the creative arts. We will have speakers from a range of institutions focusing on creative apprenticeships, T levels, and BTECs- as well as highlighting work opportunities and experiences open to learners whilst on these courses.
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'Spotlight on Creative Arts and Industries' session 1: Introduction and Overview of the Creative Industries
This session is the first of four sessions designed to provide teachers and advisors with up-to-date information and the knowledge to advise on post 16 pathways and opportunities within the creative arts.
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Understanding the lived experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students
A CPD session aimed at teachers, careers advisors and higher education staff. Funded through Go Higher West Yorkshire Uni Connect Programme and delivered by Shames Maskeen, Lecturer in Developmental Psychology, Leeds Trinity University.
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GHWY Uni Connect CPD: Student Finance Updates for 2023
Organised by Go Higher West Yorkshire, this session will cover all of the key updates teachers and advisors need to know in order to best advise their young people on student finance for 2023, including covering disabled learners allowance.
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GHWY Uni Connect CPD: Preparing students for additional admissions tests and interviews
This training session will help develop your knowledge and ability to prepare students for upcoming HE interviews and additional tests.
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GHWY Uni Connect CPD: Exploring Apprenticeships (02/02/23)
This training session will help develop your knowledge and ability to advise on the current apprenticeship process and opportunities.
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GHWY Uni Connect CPD: Supporting Students to Make Choices at 18 (16.01.23)
This session will focus on helping teachers and advisers to support students to make higher education choices. Participants will be encouraged to consider the best support for students deciding on a suitable degree subject, by thinking about career ambitions or pursuing areas of academic interest.
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GHWY Uni Connect CPD: Disabled Learners Transition Pack Launch (17.11.22)
Find out more about the GHWY Disabled Learner Transition Pack to support learners with additional requirements and support.
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GHWY Uni Connect CPD: Basic Social Media Training - Jul 2022
Learn about different types of social media platforms and understand the latest trends.
