How to use the Toolkit for Access and Participation Evaluation for strategic outreach targeting

In 2023, Dr. Matthew Horton wrote a Member Spotlight article on his work developing the Toolkit for Access and Participation (TAPE) at the University of Wolverhampton, a validated toolkit which seeks to provide an evidenced-based method to measure the impact of outreach interventions on learner’s behaviours and views about higher education.

Since then, the TAPE has been peer reviewed within the Education Review Journal, and Dr Horton has provided updated insight on the practical ways the toolkit can be used to understand the efficacy of the widening participation (WP) work to support learners in their access to higher education (HE).

Going beyond evaluation

“Too often, outreach activities are designed around who to support, using socio-economic or demographic markers, without enough insight into what support those learners actually need”, writes Dr. Horton.

“In my latest journal article, I introduce the TAPE, the first validated WP toolkit shown to predict pupil progression to higher education (e.g., pupils with lower HE expectations were less likely to enter HE in the future).

The TAPE goes beyond evaluation as it enables practitioners to assess learners actual needs, so outreach is not just targeted but tailored, more efficient, and more effective.

The TAPE includes validated measures of learners:

• HE knowledge and expectations
• Attitudes and sense of belonging
• Academic confidence and motivation

This resource enables outreach to be tailored, not just targeted, reducing waste and increasing the likelihood that your activities will enable more students from disadvantaged backgrounds progress to higher education. Using the toolkit will also support Office for Student’s expectations, by improving the quality of your outreach evaluation.”

How to use the toolkit

Dr. Horton has provided an infographic to explain the traditional targeting approaches to WP and the new advancement made with the TAPE, which empowers providers to not only identify who to support, but also understand what support is needed. In addition, he offers guidance on how the toolkit can be optimised to deliver evidenced-based interventions.

“To get the most from the TAPE, assess pupils’ needs early (before summer or at the start of the academic year). This ensures that programmes can be aligned to individual, cohort, and school-level needs. Of course, the toolkit can also be employed as a pre and post activity toolkit to evaluate the impact of activities.”

This precision positions the TAPE as a valuable resource for the sector, helping providers target strategically and reach those learners who are most in need, and improve standards of evidence for meaningful impact reporting.