Working in partnership as a collective voice for small, specialist and new providers is key to SEER’s success.
“We sometimes need to look outside of our own setting to challenge ourselves, learn from others and move forward and we believe that SEER will give us those opportunities.”
Head of Widening Participation, St Mary’s University , Twickenham
seer members
The Academy of Contemporary Music
The Academy of Contemporary Music has been training artists, producers, and business entrepreneurs for careers in the creative industries since 1995. With its state-of-the-art facilities, world-class faculty and extensive connections within the music industry, ACM offers music courses that develop students to their highest potential and, most importantly, immerse them in the creative industries. ACM understands how the music industry works today and has created an immersive and comprehensive learning environment, which connects directly with the industry.
The institution’s learning by doing ethos helps simplify how the industry works and produces a clear view of career paths and options. This clear and practical approach accelerates learning. The detailed exposure to all aspects of the industry as it happens reveals options and destinations, which greatly assists students in making clear choices and building the maps they need to guide them there.
A key institutional objective, as outlined in ACM’s mission and values, is to empower individuals from diverse backgrounds, to maintain accessibility, and provide an inclusive organisational culture. ACM seeks to reach out to students who feel that higher education is not for them, through creative and practical applied learning which aims to address the students differentiated learning needs within the classroom, supporting students who may have not previously engaged with traditional academic delivery methodologies.
BIMM Institute
BIMM provides university-level education courses in modern music, performing arts, and filmmaking to over 8,000 students across 12 colleges in the UK, Ireland, and Germany. It has established itself as the market leader through a long-standing commitment to providing the highest quality creative arts education, allowing students to maximise their career potentials.
The BIMM Group is made up of BIMM Institute, Institute for Contemporary Theatre, Performers College, Northern Ballet School, and Screen and Film School. This wide network of colleges provides unique opportunities for students to collaborate creatively on projects with others working in music, performing arts, and film.
Bloomsbury Institute (BIL)
Bloomsbury Institute is a higher education provider delivering accounting, business and law undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
Founded in 2002, we are located in the heart of Bloomsbury, central London’s academic and intellectual hub.
Having recently re-designed our programmes, our degrees are practical, innovative and contemporary. With a strong applied and vocational focus, our students are equipped with the key transferable skills that are required by a range of employers upon graduation.
When students join Bloomsbury Institute, they are offered a warm welcome into an inclusive community committed to supporting them on their learning journey.
We believe that education has the power to transform lives. A student’s potential, not their past, is what secures a place at Bloomsbury Institute, and our degrees with a foundation year require no formal qualifications. That’s why we are recognised for our strong commitment to breaking down barriers and offering everyone access to higher education.
Central school of ballet (Csb)
Established in 1982, Central School of Ballet is a world-leading professional dance training organisation based in Southwark in the South Bank arts community in London. Central offers both undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses for professional dance training alongside regular classes and courses for children, young people and adults, to learn dance for skills development, fitness and wellbeing.
Central’s ethos is based on the premise that talented, dedicated young people should have access to the highest quality of training, whatever their economic, social or cultural background. The school is committed to addressing issues of under-representation in ballet and Higher Education as a whole. This is achieved by identifying and targeting prospective, talented students from groups that are currently under-represented, particularly students from low-income backgrounds, from postcodes where participation in Higher Education is low and from those in under-represented ethnic backgrounds.
Central recognises that some individuals and communities in our society face obstacles and experience unfair disadvantage. In line with our vision to be an institution which supports an increasingly diverse and innovative, internationally recognised culture of dance in the UK, we are committed to finding ways to address these barriers where we can. Applications to Central’s Higher Education courses are especially encouraged from individuals with the talent, potential and dedication to develop the skills required for a professional career in dance regardless of their background.
Central offers a two year Foundation Degree in Professional Dance and Performance and a further year that completes a BA (Hons) Degree. Students follow a comprehensive programme of Ballet, Contemporary Dance and Choreography. Final year students join the touring company Ballet Central providing first-hand experience of professional performance to ticket-buying audiences. The aim is to create versatile and highly accomplished dancers who, on graduation, are fully prepared for employment by international dance companies and in renowned musical theatre productions. Central’s MA Choreography degree provides professional choreographers with the opportunity to develop their choreographic profile and professional skills through critical reflection and research linked to the creation of works while continuing to work as either a freelance dance practitioner or a dance company member. All of Central’s Higher education degree courses are validated by the University of Kent.
Falmouth University
Falmouth University has a history of more than 100 years of creative thinking and design innovation. Established in 1902 as Falmouth School of Art, it has grown over a century to become a digital innovation hub. Today, its portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate courses represents the breadth of the Creative Industries, the fastest growing sector in the UK economy.
The University has recently experienced a period of rapid growth, with its on-campus student population tripling in size since 2001 to nearly 5300 students today. These students study on two campuses in Falmouth and Penryn. As well as the courses that are delivered on-campus in Cornwall, Falmouth also provides groundbreaking online distance learning and exciting collaborative partnerships with industry-leading bodies including WaterBear in Brighton and the Fashion Retail Academy in London.
Leeds Conservatoire
Leeds Conservatoire has a national and international reputation for creativity, innovation and being a truly contemporary specialist teaching institution. Its staff and industry partners are at the cutting edge of their creative disciplines, and its students are encouraged and supported to explore their individual artistic identities in an environment that is rich in diversity and free of aesthetic and stylistic limitations.
We’re the largest UK conservatoire in terms of student numbers, with 1500 undergraduates, 50 postgraduates and 100 young people in its Junior Conservatoire, but small enough to form a close-knit and welcoming community with a strong focus on inclusivity.
The conservatoire’s programmes are characterised by inspirational training with experts in a huge variety of specialisms, supported by bespoke workshops and masterclasses by world-leading visiting practitioners. Its facilities are industry-standard, the curriculum is designed around industry practice, and its students have access to a wealth of professional partners and expert knowledge both within and outside its curriculum.
Leeds Conservatoire does not prepare its graduates for a specific career, rather it nurtures their independence and supports them to find their own path into the creative industries, armed with an exceptional range of contemporary skills and experiences, and the energy and confidence to create the industries of the future.
As a result, you will find Leeds Conservatoire graduates performing, composing and storytelling throughout the creative industries, from Leeds to Hollywood, working in a huge variety of roles. They are in high demand from concert promoters, publishers, casting directors and record labels, but what makes them truly distinctive is the multidisciplinary training and entrepreneurial spirit that places them at the forefront of their fields.
“Transforming people with skills”
London School of Management Education (LSME) founded in 2007. The institution currently delivers higher education qualifications ranging from undergraduate to Masters level in Teacher Training, Business Management, and Health & Social Care, awarded by the University of Chichester and Pearson Education. These courses are available to both local and international students. LSME is a Signatory to the UN initiative on the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME). As part of its commitment to these principles, the institution is developing responsible research as an integral part of its provision and inculcates responsible leadership skills in our academic programmes.
LSME places the learner at the core of all our academic activities and we strive relentlessly to offer the best of learning opportunities that provide the best possible start in career aspirations. Our strength lies in the small classroom sizes which facilitate individual attention and inclusive learning practice. It is not surprising that we have been commended by the QAA for the quality of student support.
![LSAlogo_2decks[1].jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5db98a44d42565501b5cf32a/1592218652006-1A6U5YG0H42LW1TOC4IN/LSAlogo_2decks%5B1%5D.jpg)
The London School of Architecture (LSA)
The LSA joins SEER in the micro provider category, with under a 100 students but with growth ambitions in terms of student numbers and provision. Currently delivering Part II of the Architecture programme (final 2 years of the 5-year qualifying degree), the LSA has placed access at the heart of its mission. It wishes to ultimately help redress inequalities in the industry.
“Innate ability populates the whole of society, and as an institution we are committed to ensuring that the architectural community benefits from the most talented candidates rather than just the most privileged. We look forward to delivering the measures set out in our inaugural Access and Participation Plan from 2020-21.” LSA APP, 2020-21-2024-25
Currently serving a 100% mature learner population, LSA’s targets for access and participation are learners from Adult HE Quintiles 1 and 2 areas, and BAME students.
With excellent outcomes in success and progression, facilitated by personalised teaching and an impressive embedded practice-based curriculum which delivers students minimum salaries of £12,000 through their practice year of study, the LSA can offer an exceptional experience for students wishing to pursue study and a career in architecture.
As LSA enters its first year with an Access and Participation Plan, immediate priorities for the LSA and SEER are all about strengthening data capacity and related infrastructure for evaluation. We’re also concerned with implementing effective tools to support reporting and monitoring, as well as market insights and research to support the ambition to deliver the full undergraduate Part I Architecture course from 2021-22. Showcasing LSA’s excellent linkages to industry, which support paid placements for all students, and the highly personalised, peer-supported learning environment will be a feature of broader communications to the sector.
Other LSA/SEER projects:
Data audit and improvements project, including development and implementation of a Data Strategy and Data Quality Management processes
Implementation of an evaluation framework and a range of activity level evaluation tools
Undertaking the Access, Participation and Covid-19: Response to Covid-19 research project
The Institute of Contemporary Music performance
Located in London, ICMP has been developing and delivering contemporary music education in the heart of the music industry for over 30 years - longer than any other UK music school.
ICMP provide a specialist range of industry-aligned courses to prepare the next generation of musicians, producers, performers, creative artists and entrepreneurs for successful and rewarding music industry careers. Their programme covers a range of core music industry skills at various levels of education, from undergraduate and postgraduate degrees to professional training and short introductory courses.
ICMP's personalised learning approach means they are able to establish a high degree of familiarity with their students as musicians, entrepreneurs and creatives. They provide a unique learning experience for each student and work with them closely to nurture their natural talent, explore their future ambitions, and provide ongoing opportunities for live performances, auditioning, songwriting, collaborating and recording.
The Institute understands that each student has different career motivations and a unique vision of ‘success’, so they encourage them to follow their own individual paths. This helps students to graduate feeling emboldened and inspired, with the skills, networks, self-confidence and head start needed to take their music industry careers to the next level and beyond.
ICMP’s alumni can be found working throughout the music industry, making a name for themselves as artists on some of the world’s biggest stages or simply carving out a rewarding career from making, playing, performing, and teaching music. Notable alumni include Fraser T Smith (Stormzy, Adele, Dave), Ed O’Brien (Radiohead), Elena Tonra (Daughter), Luke Patterson (Clean Bandit), Louise Bartle (Bloc Party), Izzy Chase (Dua Lipa) and Jon Gomm.
Founded in 2012 and based in central London, NCH provides high quality education in the humanities and social sciences. Small by design, the College offers a unique curriculum with integrated employability outcomes, highly personalised teaching through small class sizes. National Student Survey (NSS) results demonstrate outstanding performance for student satisfaction in several areas including 100% overall satisfaction rate.
The student population is just over 200 coming from a diverse range of schools and backgrounds. NCH’s targets for access and participation are focussed in the area of access, including increasing participation from lowest participation neighbourhoods and the most deprived backgrounds. NCH is committed to the national Key Performance Measure (KPM) of reducing the gap in participation between students from the most and least represented groups at high-tariff providers.
NCH has a continuing development and innovation agenda, and is an incredibly agile, fast-paced institution, backed by Northeastern University (Boston). These attributes allow NCH to respond effectively to opportunities to develop and grow, which more recently include the rapid development and implementation of Degree Apprenticeships, and advances in the provision of co-operative education model, including excellent provision in overseas experiences and exchanges.
NCH will use its unique combination of attributes to attract and ensure excellent outcomes for under-represented groups.
Priorities for NCH and SEER have been related to data audit and analyses, and effective evaluation practices. We’re implementing a range of evaluation tools and working closely in the access area to explore targeting and markets with a view to strengthening school and college relationships. Showcasing the benefits of NCH’s personalised teaching and learning, with integrated linkages to industry, will be a feature of broader communications to the sector. We’ll also be considering the impact and opportunities being facilitated for under-represented groups through the introduction of Degree Apprenticeships.
Other NCH/SEER projects:
Data audit and improvements
Assessment and analyses of access activity targeting and use of schools/ colleges data
Implementation of an evaluation framework and a range of activity level evaluation tools
Implementation and access to a repository of evaluation tools, the theory of change models, and supporting literature to inform practice
Mapping activity-level theory of change processes
Undertaking the Access, Participation and Covid-19: Response to Covid-19 research project
New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering
The New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) is a radical new engineering Higher Education provider in Hereford, created to equip a diverse group of students with the skills to be world-class, socially conscious problem solvers.
Backed by government, the institution offers a range of innovative engineering and technology degrees with a unique teaching model and a curriculum co-developed with industry and the community to meet the engineering and technical demands of the 21st century. NMITE seeks to actively increase the diversity of its students with a target of a 50/50 gender balance and recruiting students from non-traditional backgrounds, including military leavers, mature students and career switchers.
The UK’s first new greenfield higher education provider in over 40 years, NMITE held its inauguration on 19th October 2018 and was listed in the register of English higher education providers by the Office for Students (OfS) in August 2020. NMITE welcomed its first Master’s Integrated Engineering (MEng) cohort in September 2021, while the first Bachelor’s Integrated Engineering (BEng) cohort joined in September 2022. The institution has since expanded its portfolio, introducing Foundation Years, a BSc (Hons) Sustainable Built Environment, and Timber Technology short courses - all with hands-on learning principles and relevance to societal needs.
NMITE students develop the academic and interpersonal skills needed by today’s employers to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges - be they societal, environmental, economic, within industry, or within the community.
Working consistently and collaboratively with both major industry employers and local partner organisations, NMITE delivers a stand-out approach to education - designed to ensure that graduates leave fully prepared for the working world and the challenges that await.
Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD)
Northern School of Contemporary Dance was founded by pioneering dance educationist Nadine Senior MBE in 1985, to address inequality of opportunity for local young people. Since then it has quickly gained a reputation as a leading centre of excellence for dance training, and now recruits the most talented students nationally and internationally, regardless of personal circumstance.
Based in Leeds, NSCD is to this day the only conservatoire for dance in England outside of London. Professional training is offered at CertHE, Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels, nurturing versatile and enterprising dance artists with highly-tuned technical, creative and performance skills.
Alumni include the celebrated international choreographer Akram Khan MBE, Dante Puleio - Artistic Director of New York-based Limón Dance Company, Gail Parmel - founder of Birmingham-based ACE Dance and Music, and leading independent UK choreographer Gary Clarke.
Sharon Watson MBE, a former student of the school and previously the longest-standing Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance Theatre, is currently the institution’s CEO and Principal.
Point Blank Music School
Originating in London and now available in USA (Los Angeles), China (Shenzhen, Hang Zhou), Ibiza, Mumbai and online, Point Blank was established during the DIY music revolution that exploded out of the UK in the 90's. Starting out as a commercial recording studio and journeying through HE to Fee Cap, Point Blank enjoys specialist recognition as TEF Silver, ‘Best IndependentHE’ (WhatUni Awards) and ‘Best Music Production School’ (DJ Mag). The modus operandi has been to demonstrate the creative process of making music at the highest level. You learn from the best talent the music industry has to offer on state-of-the-art equipment. Our practical, hands-on courses qualify students to degree level. Since we started sharing the music industry's secrets, over 50,000 students worldwide have chosen Point Blank as the best place to study music production, sound engineering, music business, singing, radio production and DJ skills. Many of our graduates have gone on to great success themselves including Claude VonStroke, Goldie, Aluna Francis, Gemma Cairney, Dave Rene (A&R Interscope) and many other successful industry figures.
“Accessing the dazzling array of HE experts at SEER is an opportunity we could not pass up and illustrates how seriously we are taking our commitments to widening participation. We look forward to learning and contributing along the way.” – Jules Brookes, Head of Provider 2021
SAE Institute
Established in 1976, SAE Institute provides creative media programmes at more than 40 campuses around the world. Globally, SAE offers an extensive suite of creative media programmes, from short courses and professional training through to bachelor and postgraduate degrees. SAE UK offers accelerated 2-year degrees, 1-year skills diplomas and short courses across six subject areas: Animation, Audio, Film, Games, Music Business and Web Development.
SAE Institute is committed to widening participation for learners who are looking to gain experience and obtain qualifications that will enable them to enter the creative media industries. We offer learners the opportunity to access accelerated degree-level programmes of study which reduces the overall cost of study for individual learners, making it more affordable to gain qualifications which will help our graduates get their careers started.
We welcome all learners to SAE UK, with a significant number of our students returning to Higher Education after taking a break from education. Our classes are a diverse mix of learners from different ethnic backgrounds and our project-based teaching and learning approach enables our students to develop strong communication skills and inter-cultural awareness.
For more than 30 years, SAE have provided creative media training and education to thousands of students on four campuses in London, Liverpool, Oxford, and Glasgow. Our global community of inspirational alumni are winners of Oscars, Grammys and BAFTAS.
We are excited to be partnered with SEER, working together to help educate and diversify the next generation of creatives.
The Place: London Contemporary Dance School
London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) is a world-leader in dance higher education and a key part of The Place - the creative powerhouse for dance in central London. LCDS champions new ideas, embraces artistic innovation and enables extraordinary experiences for dance artists to realise their full potential. The School offers intensive technical and creative dance courses in Higher Education at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. The courses prepare emerging dance artists for a portfolio career in dance and the creative industries and are validated by University of the Arts London. With a student-centred focus, sustainable dance practice is at the core of the programmes, with a holistic emphasis on student physical and psychological wellbeing shaped by ground-breaking research. The Place’s unique history as a pioneering dance organisation, combined with an ecology of education, creation, performance, production and touring is without parallel.
Writtle University College
Writtle University College (WUC) is a small specialist higher and further education provider, located in rural Essex just outside the city of Chelmsford. The friendly and welcoming institution, spanning a large open campus, has been putting science into practice for nearly 130 years, offering a range of undergraduate programmes in core subject areas of Land, Animal, Sport and Health. This includes certificates and diplomas in higher education as well as degree and integrated masters programmes in Regenerative Agriculture, Horticulture, Sustainable Food Production, Animal Science, Animal Management, Canine Therapy, Equine, Animal Therapy and Veterinary Physiotherapy and Sports Exercise Science.
The Access and Participation Plan at WUC involve the fulfilment of equality and diversity objectives for undergraduate students. However, the mission to achieve equality also includes FE provision, postgraduate students, and staff, so the plan is part of a wider coordinated strategic vision to be a fully inclusive learning community.
WUC has goals to close specific gaps in access, student success and progression focusing on:
Access for white males from working-class backgrounds.
Continuation rates of students from low-participation neighbourhoods.
Continuation rates of mature students.
Degree attainment of young students from low-participation neighbourhoods.
Degree completion and attainment of disabled students.
Progression to highly-skilled employment or professional study for students from low participation neighbourhoods.
WUC currently has around 770 HE students enrolled on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, along with around 1000 FE students across a range of land-based courses, including apprenticeships. The small size of the undergraduate student body (typical intake across all first-degree courses is around 200 students) poses serious challenges with respect to evaluation and monitoring.
From 2020, SEER has been working with WUC to develop this access and participation work, providing services in the areas of:
Developing a new student financial support model for the academic year 2021 to 2022 onwards that ‘empowers and enables’ success.
Data capacity audit and assessment (including a data infrastructure survey, data capacity report, institutional data strategy toolkit and a data quality process model).
Support with access and participation strategic planning, monitoring and annual returns (including planning toolkit, impact reports, advice on internal monitoring and reporting, annual report).
A range of data analysis.
Evaluation for access and participation measures (improving the whole provider, embedded approach to access and participation, focusing on strengthening practice and culture. This includes embedded improvements in student success initiatives; consistency in evaluation practices across the organisation. To include EDI audit to discover baseline and lead to research project and recommendations).
Research and evaluation into experiences and barriers for target students.
Participation in the ‘Access, Participation and Covid-19’ research project.
Become a member
If you would like to become a member or have questions about the SEER collective, please contact us via the form below and our team will get back to you.