The Widening Participation team works with S4-S6 pupils from state secondary schools who meet one or more of following criteria:
- live in a priority postcode area
- are care experienced
- are a young carer
- are estranged from their parents or legal guardians
- are a refugee or seeking asylum in the UK
- are a young Black person or young Person of Colour (BPOC)
- live in a very rural or island community across Scotland
- are eligible for FOCUS West support
Please note, supporting evidence may be requested to verify eligibility.
Defintions of our eligibility criteria are outlined below.
Priority postcode
The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) classifies residential postcodes into one of five groups called 'quintiles'. Priority postcode areas are those which are quintile 1 and 2. You can use our Priority Postcode Checker to find out if you live in a priority postcode area.
Care experience
Young people who have been looked after by a local authority for any length of time, including adoption, foster care, residential or secure care, formal kinship care or looked after at home with support from social work.
Young carer
Those who care for someone, who due to illness, disability, mental health issues, or an addiction, cannot cope without their support.
Estranged from parents or legal guardians
Young people who are studying without the support of their parents or legal guardians through an irreconcilable breakdown in relationships or through being disowned. Young people in this position often have no verbal or written contact at all with both of their parents or legal guardians for a significant period of time and this would be very unlikely to change.
Refugee or seeking asylum in the UK
Someone who is forced out of their country to escape war, indiscriminate violence or persecution. A person who is seeking asylum has also fled their country for their own safety but is still awaiting the outcome of their application to be recognised as having refugee status by the Government.
Young Black person or young Person of Colour (BPOC)
Someone who identifies as belonging to a racial or ethnic group that is not white or has experienced discrimination based on their ethnicity or race.
Very rural or island community
The Urban Rural Classification assigns postcodes into one of eight categories to provide a consistent definition of urban and rural areas across Scotland. Most very rural and island areas have postcodes which are a 7 or 8.
FOCUS West
See www.focuswest.org.uk
