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Research & Evidence

HEAT Track Impact Reports

HEAT publish annual reports for members and the public which examine the impact of outreach on participants’ educational outcomes from Key Stage 4 through to higher education progression and subsequent employment.

Icon of a clipboard with data analysis displayed, representing the HEAT Track Impact Reports.

We draw on the longitudinal tracking data compiled by all HEAT members to produce evidence and insight into the impact of outreach at an aggregate level.

Find out more about our latest impact reports below.

Our latest HEAT-Key Stage 4 Impact Report explores the KS4 attainment outcomes of the 2021 GCSE cohort and found that:

  • The majority of all learners engaged by HEAT member providers in attainment-raising outreach had ‘average’ or ‘low’ prior attainment at Key Stage 2. This shows effective targeting of outreach by HEAT member providers to those students most at risk of failing to achieve at Key Stage 4
  • Uni Connect partnerships engaged more learners in the ‘low’ prior attainment band than higher education providers, both in absolute and relative terms. This suggests that Uni Connect is reaching the most educationally disadvantaged learners, which higher education providers may not reach on their own
  • A larger proportion of Free School Meal learners with ‘average’ prior attainment, who participated in attainment-raising outreach, achieved standard and strong passes in Maths and English than their non-participating peers. This suggests that learners eligible for Free School Meals with ‘average’ attainment at Key Stage 2 benefitted the most from participating in attainment-raising outreach

To find out more, please see the HEAT-Key Stage 4 Impact Report (last updated April 2024).

Read the abridged Key Stage 4 report

We are in the process of creating the latest HEAT-Key Stage 5 Impact Report, which will be shared within the HEAT membership in due course.

This report will be based on aggregate data of individuals who have been entered into the HEAT Track by our membership, and will share key findings and other insights.

Our latest HE Provider HEAT-HESA Track Impact Report (based on HE entry up to 2021/22) found that:

  • Students who took part in an intensive package of outreach consisting of at least eight contact hours are 12.5 percentage points more likely to enter higher education than a closely matched group of students who took part in less than three hours of outreach
  • In particular, Further Education students appear to benefit from participating in intensive outreach with those in receipt being more than 17 percentage points more likely to enter higher education than their peers in receipt of little to no outreach
  • Once in higher education, outreach participants show similar continuation and degree attainment success rates to the national average

To find out more, please see the HE Provider HEAT-HESA Track Impact Report (last updated November 2023).

Read the HE Provider report Read the Uni Connect report