Nelson College London
Open statement to support the GTRSB Pledge:
Nelson College London (NCL) has embedded widening participation into its mission statement as the College aims to offer access to higher education to people from the widest possible range of backgrounds. This enables them to transform their lives through the acquisition of the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their chosen careers.
In that same spirit, Nelson College London commits to the Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boaters (GTRSB) into Higher Education Pledge and the College welcomes applications from prospective students from these backgrounds. There is a full range of academic and pastoral support to help students through their studies here at Nelson College London.
NCL understands the commitments to the pledge and aims to enhance or implement the following activities as part of our commitment:
- The College currently collects information on Gypsy, Traveller and Roma students through the applications process. The College will expand this to include Showmen and Boaters within the College application form.
- The College commits to monitoring the number of students from this background and will include this within its reporting structure at recruitment which will be reviewed by the College’s Equality and Diversity Committee. The College will aim to increase the number of students from the Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boaters community year on year. The College will investigate the barriers to entry for students from the GTRSB community to ensure relevant support is made available.
- The College will have a designated key named contact for working with applicants and students from this background to ensure support is provided through recruitment to make an informed decision, whilst the students are studying with the College and after they have obtained their intended qualification.
- The key named contact at the Ilford Campus is Petra Aksu who can be contacted at p.aksu@nelsoncollege.ac.uk
- The key named contact at the Gants Hill Campus is Luminita Agache who can be contacted at l.agache@nelsoncollege.ac.uk
- The College will hold regular staff training sessions with key staff to ensure appropriate support is provided and raise awareness of the needs of GTRSB students and staff.
- The community is essential and the College commits to linking with relevant organisations to share good practices on supporting students from GTRSB backgrounds.
- The College will promote the GTRSB Pledge to students to raise awareness of the initiatives put in place to provide an open and safe environment for students of this background.
- Strengthening links with Schools and Colleges will help the College target students during key learning stages where they can make an informed decision regarding Higher Education.
- The College will collect views for current and potential GTRSB students on activities to ensure the outreach activities are appropriate and the right level of support is provided.
- The College has already a commitment to reaching out to students from Gypsy, Traveller and Roma students within its OfS-approved Access and Participation Plan but the College is looking to expand this to include Showmen and Boater communities.
- The College commits to creating a dedicated webpage on the Nelson College London website to highlight the support available and any key links the College deems reasonable.
- To ensure students feel comfortable discussing key areas, the College will have a Student Lead from the GTRSB background that will work with the key named contacts to ensure relevant support is provided.
- Nelson College London wishes to commit to creating a warm and welcoming environment by understanding the culture and learning needs of these community groups.
The College is committed to putting into place cross-college mechanisms to support current and potential staff and students from the GTRSB community.
