HE Parent Champions

Parents are significant influencers for young people and often showed reticence towards them progressing onto Higher Education. There is lower uptake for student from disadvantaged backgrounds especially where their parents have not attended themselves. We hoped that a supportive network would allow parents to better understand, support and encourage the aspirations of their sons and daughters. 

We worked in collaboration with the Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (NEACO) and the University of Suffolk (UoS) to recruit and train Parent Champions; they developed a plan, recruited and trained parent ambassadors who undertook a minimum of 6 events a year supporting parents at open days and other community events. 

In 2019 we established a team of 15 Suffolk-based parent ambassadors in collaboration with NEACO and UoS. Parents play a major role in a young person’s decision about their future and it’s important to support and guide families who are new to the world of higher education. Our parent ambassadors have helped their children go on to university or a degree apprenticeship and are perfectly placed to give a parent’s perspective on topics like student finance and the Universities  and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). They share their experiences with parents at school, university, and community events in Ipswich, Lowestoft, Haverhill, and Stowmarket.