The Widening Participation Innovation Initiative grant scheme aims to enable academic and professional services staff to enhance our students' experiences and work in new or different ways to meet our Access and Participation Plan targets and commitments. We are very pleased to confirm that this will be continued for 2026/27 and we plan to support up to 25 projects in this academic year, with grants of up to approximately £1,000 available for each project.
These projects should be focused on one or more of our target population groups and can address any stage of the WP lifecycle, including outreach work with schools and colleges, recruitment, student retention, student attainment or progression to graduate employment/further study. Priority will be given to new initiatives, but we will also consider the extension of a previous project for one further year, if impact can be demonstrated.
The term ‘widening participation’ (WP) refers to the drive to improve access and outcomes for students from disadvantaged backgrounds or from groups traditionally under-represented in Higher Education. The OfS has challenged all HEIs to reduce and eliminate any gaps in participation, retention, attainment and progression between different minority groups and the wider population, within the next five to 10 years. Our Access and Participation Plan (below) outlines the objectives that St Mary's has set itself and some of the measures we will take to address these targets.
If you are interested in applying for one of these grants, please familiarise yourself with our APP intentions, please read:
If you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to contact Nikki Anghileri, Head of Widening Participation, at nikki.anghileri@stmarys.ac.uk.
For questions regarding WP initiative impact evaluation please contact Nicola Smith-Wilson, WP Research and Impact Evaluation Officer, at nicola.smith-wilson@stmarys.ac.uk.
Past grants were awarded for a wide range of fantastic initiatives, including:
- Social Anxiety and Student Engagement with Employability and Careers Activities Project
- Hang Out and Paint Wellbeing Project
- Research Led Forum for School Teachers and Leaders - enhancing inclusion and belonging of minority groups within school populations
- Goalball UK School Leaders Award - delivering inclusive sport and physical activity for school students with visual impairments
- Preparation for the Workplace Event
- Kin-Ball qualifications to address an identified need in the profession
- Weekly drop in Football session to encourage male students to attend sessions which support their social, emotional health and wellbeing
- Innovative workshops at Strawberry Hill House for PGCE students from underrepresented backgrounds