- The University of Sheffield is working with a series of charities on an initiative to support the education of children who are under protection plans (CPPs)
- Project aims to draw sector focus to an under-served student community with some of the lowest school attainment and HE progression outcomes, and almost entirely absent from access interventions and contextual admissions processes
- First phase is listening to stakeholder voice, in consultation with social workers, teachers and former students with lived experience of education while under a protection plan
- Consortium gathered in Sheffield (7-11 July) to discuss early findings and begin to plan support to launch from January 2026
Children under protection plans could soon receive support in accessing higher education, as part of a project led by a group of charities and the University of Sheffield.
Funded by the Office for Students’ Equality in Higher Education Innovation Fund, the first-of-its-kind initiative sees Sheffield partner with The Brilliant Club, London Academy of Excellence Tottenham (LAET), and Frontline. Their goal is to explore how best to support children under protection plans – those identified as at risk of significant harm – in education.
Children who are being safeguarded have some of the lowest school attainment and HE progression outcomes in the UK, however they are almost entirely absent from university access schemes and admissions processes that aim to help underrepresented groups progress into higher education.
In 2024, approximately 49,900 UK children (41.6 per 10,000, or 1 in every 240) were subject to a CPP ‘risk of significant harm.’ In 2023-24, only 8.9 per cent achieved a grade 5 or above in GCSE maths and English, comparable to 8.2 per cent for children in local authority care. Their average Attainment 8 score - a performance indicator used in England to measure the academic achievement of students in secondary schools - was 17.0, compared to 17.3 for children in care.
Progression to HE for this group is so low that government data is suppressed for confidentiality.
Protection plans typically end when a young person turns 18, which means they wouldn’t remain under a plan during their time in higher education, but the consortium feels it is important that universities consider the influence that those earlier experiences can have as the impact of safeguarding can continue well beyond the formal end of a plan.
The consortium gathered at the University of Sheffield (7-11 July) to discuss early findings and plan possible support after listening to stakeholder voices, which includes former students who were previously subject to a protection plan during their childhood or adolescence, social workers and teachers. It is hoped that a first wave of support could be launched by January 2026.
Possible support includes bespoke access intervention for Key Stage 3 students on CPPs, to be delivered in South Yorkshire and London in 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years. Imperial College London have recently joined the project to help enable a wider geographical spread for the initiative.
Professor Mary Vincent, Vice-President for Education at the University of Sheffield, said: “We understand that not everyone has an easy journey through school and that some children have different circumstances and barriers to overcome, however this shouldn’t mean that these children miss out on fulfilling their potential in education and later going on to university if they have the potential to do so.
“Universities across the UK have made some real progress in supporting more students from underrepresented backgrounds in accessing higher education, but one group that doesn’t receive any support are children under protection plans. We are looking forward to working with specialist charities and partners to explore how best we can support their education.”
The initiative combines the work of the University of Sheffield, which has extensive experience of working with care-experienced young people, with two third sector organisations. The Brilliant Club brings expertise in attainment raising and supporting university self-efficacy for less advantaged students. Frontline brings a deep understanding of social care and supporting affected young people. The inclusion of LAET (and its feeder secondaries) is illustrative of the power of higher education providers actively listening to the needs identified by schools in supporting equality of access for all children and young people.
Susie Whigham, Interim CEO of The Brilliant Club, said: “The Brilliant Club exists to support students from less advantaged backgrounds to access and succeed at university. One of the most underrepresented groups in higher education are children on child protection plans, who are accessing higher education in vanishingly small numbers, lower even than young people with experience of care.
“We are proud to be working in partnership with the University of Sheffield, Frontline and London Academy of Excellence Tottenham to bring our combined experience, and the lived experience of young people, into the conversation on how the sector can support students on protection plans to succeed in education and beyond.”
Elaine Brown, Deputy Headteacher at the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham, said: “Our unique experience of working with young people on a child protection plan has revealed that they are an extremely under-served group as they approach adulthood. In contrast to their care leaver peers, there is no official recognition of their status from HE providers and they receive no support from local authorities once they turn 18. As a consequence, they represent an extremely vulnerable group. We are excited to collaborate with all of our partners in this programme in order to raise awareness of this disparity, explore potential solutions and improve destinations for these young people.”
Lisa Hackett, chief social worker at Frontline said: “At Frontline, we know that, far too often, children under protection plans are overlooked in conversations about educational opportunity. This work is a crucial step towards recognising young people's potential, listening to their lived experiences and ensuring the difficulties they've faced do not define their futures. We're proud to stand with the University of Sheffield and our other partners to help change the story for children at risk of harm.”
For more information on the support available for students from underrepresented backgrounds in higher education at the University of Sheffield, visit our Access pages.
