External CPD report

IF staff:Jane Johns
Title, date and timings of external CPD attended:
University of South Wales Teachers’ and Advisers’ Conference-21/22 January 2016
What you learnt and how it will enhance your work for Inspiring Futures:
Useful up to date information when talking to school staff, parents + during H.E presentations and guidance interviews.
Lots of facts from UCAS.
Extra detail to go with presentations involving the E=QxSxWExC formula
A useful website helping students look at degree course options-
Some useful facts from Student Finance wales for myself as a parent!
Ideas and content to share with colleagues: - see below and
Resources from the conference can be found at:

Summary of external CPD:
Dr Paul Redmond-University of Manchester
  • The first year students are at university is crunch year, not the last year.
  • Experience not just qualifications are needed and strategic placements count, not all of them.
  • Employers are targeting students via Linkedn
  • Graduates salaries haven’t changed in 5 years
  • Graduate jobs are divided into: 2% elite/fast track, 9% professional entry, 25% public sector, 64% eare in jobs that graduates end up doing, but not necessarily where a degree is needed.
  • 35% of current jobs in the UK are at a high risk of computerisation over the next 20 years.
  • 50% of UK students fail the numeracy tests when applying for jobs
Mary Curnock Cook-UCAS
  • 84% of applicants are accepted. In 2015 390k applied and 329k were accepted.
  • 80% acceptance for BTEC only and 88% acceptance with A levels
  • 29% of students go to the higher tariff universities, 32% middle and 38% lower
  • Only 62% are progressing onto university with 3A levels
  • 44% of students with 3B’s were placed in higher tariff universities compared with 20% in 2011.
  • Students with reasonable A levels are in strong demand because there are fewer students, fewer students with A levels, and fewer with high grades.
  • 4% of students at higher tariff universities have BTEC
  • Students can afford to be bolder in their applications. Insurance offer should be seen as safe and firm as a stretch and aspiration. And if all goes wrong then clearing is available, and there is much greater choice than ever before.
  • Advice to students: go through A-Z list of courses at universities of choice and look at the less obvious or popular courses, read course descriptors
  • UCAS are going to be publicising the grade boundaries that students have been accepted with onto individual courses.
Deborah Stretford-Personal statement workshop.
  • For Oxbridge and medicine applications 80% of personal statement needs to be academic. For others 70%.
  • Some universities will allow students to submit up to 5 personal statements, if applying for different courses-Durham, Exeter? Ring and ask, and say they will submit 100 words on a new statement. And Exeter are happy to receive phone calls about arranging individual courses if students want unusual combinations.
  • If students are turned down for vocational courses they should get some work experience then phone and tell the university they will now send another personal statement. No need to go through UCAS
  • A good PS for medicine: start with a generic paragraph-why do I want to do it, what is the subject and use no quotes-8 lines. Middle-2/3rds work experience, understanding needs to be demonstrated of what has been seen.
  • A good PS for humanities-get under the skin of the subject-lots of knowledge needs to be demonstrated
  • Conclusions need to be one liners
  • English-don’t talk about you’re a level books, talk about others or compare with a book read at school
  • History-talk about something outside of the periods you have studied at school.
  • Durham-PS is very important. Need to be passionate, different and outside the box.
  • Manchester are starting to interview everyone and they have the PS there
  • How to write it: Start by drawing up a shopping list-on one side what do I know and on the second-what do I do.Triage the points-1. Goes in the PS, 2. Not sure and 3. Give to the referee to use. Do the first and last parts first. Get the students to walk round reading their PS aloud!
Social work courses at USW.
  • New course starting Sept 2017-BA hons working with children and families-developed because of the welsh policy for 8-18 developments. Will be a literacy and numeracy element to the course, so that practitioners can support families. Will be in practice from year 1.
  • Social work degree. 35 students only, as all are employed at the end by partners they have been with throughout the courses. Average age is late 20s/early 30s, but ages ranges from 18-50+.
  • 20 days placement in level 1-observational, 80 days in level 2 and 100 in level 3. At level 2 and 3, students have cases to work on.
  • Personal statement should include: why social work, demonstration of an understanding of the social workers role, linked to any experience of social work, a consideration of how social work impacts ion service users and carers.
  • Useful resource:

Please send this form to Jonathan Hardwick (Professional Development Manager) and Natalie Kaplanski (Human Resources Manager) as soon as possible after the CPD.