Lancaster University is one of the UK’s top universities.
They run an award-winning social mobility and student success initiative called the Lancaster Success Programme; a targeted coaching-led programme for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Martin Walker, the Student Success Manager, tells us how they started working with Inclusive Futures, what we’ve done and the impact it is making.
Getting started – Coaching Skills workshops in 2022 and 2023
Martin describes the first and second workshops Inclusive Futures have delivered to Lancaster University:
“The first workshop, which we experienced in September 2022, was a one-day event. In the morning, the focus was a ‘back to basics’ session, ensuring everyone had a solid grasp of the fundamentals of coaching.
“In the afternoon, we went into much more detail, learning a full armoury of coaching techniques. It was enough to leave us feeling that we could handle any circumstance – as just one example, being sensitive to multi-cultural barriers to effective coaching.
“This year, in 2023, we fully understood the value we would get and wanted to scale it up. So, the second workshop was a two-day event.
“Day one was a refresh and looking at how we can support people at university if they are going through a major life event. On day two, we explored the tailored needs of our team, how we can evaluate coaching and looking ahead to our approach for the 23/24 academic year.
“Inclusive Futures structured the workshop so that there was a range of individual and group work which helped to keep it engaging. Interestingly, they used Lego as a prop, and while I was initially a little sceptical, it quickly became apparent that this was a super-effective tool.”
This year, we fully understood the value we would get and wanted to scale it up
A paradigm shift
Martin tells us about the impact that the Inclusive Futures workshops has had on his team and the students they coach:
“There has definitely been a ‘before Inclusive Futures’ and an ‘after Inclusive Futures’. In fact, they have instigated a paradigm shift in how we operate and that is entirely down to the expertise of Rose and Jess.
“The very nature of the LSP has most definitely changed from coaching-informed to coaching-led due to my team’s new-found confidence in their coaching ability.
“One evolution is that we have done a deep dive into what we actually mean by success for students at an individual level. With the help of the techniques learnt, we have enabled the students to define their own success – just one example of how coaching-led the programme has become.
“Day one was a refresh and looking at how we can support people at university if they are going through a major life event. On day two, we explored the tailored needs of our team, how we can evaluate coaching and looking ahead to our approach for the 23/24 academic year.
“But beyond the LSP, we are seeing a ripple effect into the wider university community. Our volunteer coaches are taking what they have learnt and are using it in their broader workload. For instance, one of our team applied Inclusive Future’s ideas and techniques to a mature student action learning set outside of the LSP’s 1:1 coaching sessions and the feedback we received from the students was incredible.”
They have instigated a paradigm shift in how we operate and that is entirely down to the expertise of Rose and Jess
Looking ahead
The work with Inclusive Futures is not stopping there. Martin shares what’s coming up:
“The workshops with Inclusive Futures have a lasting impact. We have team meetings fortnightly and not a meeting passes when one of us doesn’t refer back to something that came out of a workshop. So, it makes total sense to continue with them annually.
“Now we have such a solid platform, we can really fine-tune our coaching. One gap which we have identified is in coaching neurodiverse students, around which there is growing awareness. Therefore, we have asked for this to be on the agenda for our 2024 workshop and everyone is really excited to expand their understanding in this area, among other things.”
The workshops with Inclusive Futures have a lasting impact
Advice on choosing CPD partners
Martin gives his take on working with external CPD partners:
“It has to be said: there is often a bit of a culture in higher education around CPD and box ticking. And it has been known for participants to not properly engage with sessions
“It is quite the opposite with Inclusive Futures. Rose and Jess are two amazing people. They are very passionate and experts at what they do. They are two of the best professionals I have met at explaining what they will do and then delivering it.
“The Inclusive Futures workshops are without doubt the best CPD I have attended, worth every penny and have delivered genuine improvement and impact. When the second workshop came around, the whole team was greatly looking forward to it. And, as mentioned, this is by no means always the case with CPD more generally.
“Every higher education institution is under budgetary pressure, so when looking at CPD it is about finding the value. Without doubt, Inclusive Futures offer tremendous value and their transformative impact will be felt for years to come. When it comes to considering working with Rose and Jess, I’d say ‘Don’t hesitate, it will be the best decision you make!’”
The Inclusive Futures workshops are without doubt the best CPD I have attended, worth every penny and have delivered genuine improvement and impact
Supporting social mobility in higher education through coaching
At Inclusive Futures, we are currently working with more than thirty higher education institutions.
We love delivering our Coaching Skills workshops to staff teams and student supporters, as we have done for Lancaster University. And we have a number of other leading programmes and workshops to help you support your student body and the career development and skills of your staff.
For a no-obligation exploratory chat, please get in touch.
