Improving support for sixth form students' post-school choice making and transitions into further study and work

This fellowship aims to contribute to research-informed policy, practice and public debate to ensure that all school sixth formers receive high quality support for their post-school destinations, whether that choice is university, vocational education or employment. This will be achieved through the production of academic papers, engagement with a diverse range of professional and non-academic audiences for the collaborative generation of policy proposals and the creation of a Sixth Form Policy Network (SSPN).
School sixth forms tend to be overlooked in educational research and policy-making. In contrast to the wide research interest in the earlier years and lower secondary stages of education, the final years in school tend to be treated merely as a transition stage to students' post-school destinations. In policy debates too, the focus tends to be on post-16 education generally, or access to HE. As a consequence, the distinctiveness of school sixth forms is not recognised with little attention given to how school sixth forms organise and deliver the curriculum and support for students' post-school choosing.

My recent doctoral study of school sixth forms uncovered a range of formal and informal selective practices which impacted on the levels of support given to students when choosing their post-school destinations. Schools were found to invest disproportionately in high attaining students' applications to 'elite' universities. Although moderately attaining students formed the majority, they and their post-school aspirations tended to be maginalised. A lack of high-quality careers advice meant students who sought alternatives to HE were the most disadvantaged of all, especially in sixth forms where progression to university was particularly valorised.

The primary aim of this fellowship is to share insights from my research and exchange knowledge with a range of audiences to a) enhance understanding and raise critical awareness of the inequalities in the quality of support for students' post-school choice-making, b) generate proposals for reform, and c) work collaboratively with key policy and practice constituencies and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen policy in this area.

The fellowship will allow me to engage with research audiences through the presentation of conference papers and publications in peer-reviewed academic journals. In addition, public talks, panel debates and presentations will be organised to reach a wide range of non-academic audiences interested in sixth form reform. Working collaboratively with teachers, parents, students, school governors and other interested groups, ideas for ensuring all students have equal access to high quality support for their post-school choosing will be generated and critically evaluated. Popular support for emerging policy proposals will be achieved through writing for non-academic publications and engagement with journalists sympathetic to sixth form reform.

The SSPN will be created to address the absence of a specific focus on school sixth forms in policy making, and with a remit to develop and support the implementation of policy for sixth-form reform. Comprising representatives of key policymaking groups, teacher and student unions, academics, employer groups and university admissions staff, the SSPN will share knowledge and expertise on school sixth forms and play a key role in the co-generation of policy proposals for sixth-form reform. Through engagement with the Education Select Committee (ESC), the Department of Education (DfE), and interested MPs, the SSPN will develop policy proposals elicited from a range of audiences and work towards their implementation.

By the end of the fellowship, the SSPN will have started to engage in fruitful dialogue with senior policy makers and politicians. It will also have secured sponsors to ensure the continuation of its work beyond the lifetime of the fellowship.