Risks to Equality of Opportunity

This risk highlights disparities in access to foundational knowledge, skills, and guidance for prospective students.

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD): There is a concerning trend of an increasing gap between entrants from IMD Quintile 1 (most disadvantaged backgrounds) and IMD Quintile 5 (least disadvantaged backgrounds).

• The gap at Leeds Conservatoire grew from 8.8 percentage points (pp) in 2019-2020 to 13.8 pp in 2021-2022, an increase of 5 pp.

• The four-year aggregate gap (2018-19 to 2021-22) is 14.10 pp, contrasting with a sector average reduction during the same period. This indicates a particular challenge for the conservatoire in attracting students from highly deprived areas.

Students Eligible for Free School Meals (FSM): The proportion of students who were FSM-eligible prior to enrolment has significantly decreased from 11.8% in 2016-17 to 7.9% in 2021-22. This is considerably lower than the national population of FSM-eligible students (23.8%).

Students from the Global Majority: The conservatoire observes a consistently low intake of students from the Global Majority.

• The four-year aggregate (2018-19 to 2021-22) is 10.7%. 

These access issues are linked to the EORR Risks 1, 2, and 3:

• Risk 1 (Access to knowledge and skills): Target students may lack equal opportunities to develop the requisite knowledge and skills due to home, school, or geographical context. Research cited (Ashton & Ashton, 2023; Reay, 2017; Whitty, 2001) points to disparities in cultural and arts opportunities between state and privately funded education settings.

• Risk 2 (Access to information and guidance): There's a concern about systematic devaluing of the arts in secondary schools and a lack of understanding about the value of an arts degree and diverse career outcomes.

• Risk 3 (Perceptions of higher education): This risk is heavily linked to Risk 2, fostering perceptions that a career in the creative industries is the reserve of white middle classes. Data from the Musicians Census (2023) and Arts Council England (2021) supports that these industries are dominated by white artists from affluent backgrounds. There's also a sense among learners from the Global Majority that they must pursue financially stable careers that "give back to their communities" (Reay, 2017)

This risk addresses the potential for a lack of appropriate support to affect student success, specifically continuation, completion, and good degree outcomes (achievement of a First or 2:1). 

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD): Persistent gaps exist in completion and attainment rates for students from IMD Quintile 1 compared to IMD Quintile 5.

• Completion: A four-year aggregate gap (2014-15 to 2017-18) of 12.1 percentage points is observed, with recent widening.

• Attainment: A four-year aggregate gap (2018-19 to 2021-22) of 10.9 percentage points is persistent.

Students from the Global Majority: There is a notable gap in attainment rates between students from the Global Majority and white students, reflecting the national awarding gap, particularly for Black students.

• The four-year aggregate gap (2018-19 to 2021-22) is 13.2 percentage points, with attainment rates of 73.5% for students from the Global Majority versus 86.7% for white students.

These outcomes are linked to EORR Risks 6 to 11:

• Risk 10 (Cost Pressures): Identified as the highest priority risk, the cost-of-living crisis disproportionately affects students on intensive creative arts programmes due to limited part-time work availability.

• Risk 8 (Mental Health): Highlighted as a key student issue, especially given that many students declare mental health conditions as a disability. Cost pressures exacerbate this risk.

• Risk 7 (Insufficient Personal Support): This is considered a risk, particularly with increasing pressures on students and the need for institutional capacity and flexibility.

Risk 9 (Ongoing Impact of Coronavirus) and Risk 6 (Insufficient Academic Support) are considered to have lower influence due to factors like small class sizes and personalised tuition.

Other Significant Challenges

Small Datasets:

When deciding which risk areas to concentrate on in this APP, we took into account our status as a small provider and our specialisation in music and drama. Given our smaller size, the data we utilised comes from a small cohort, limiting our capacity for comprehensive data analysis and statistical significance. 

This constraint also impacts our ability to make accurate assessments and interpretations, particularly when examining disaggregated data and intersections of various characteristics. Nevertheless, we have conducted evaluations and provided insights where we deemed it meaningful.

Systemic Challenges Impacting Equality of Opportunity:

We recognise systemic challenges in arts education and the creative industries we are connected to, which pose risks to equal opportunities. We observe the ongoing de-prioritisation and under-valuing of creative arts in secondary school curricula. This limits access to and engagement with arts subjects, negatively impacting education and career choices in our specialised fields. Although the National Plan for Music Education 2023 aims to address some of this historic de-prioritisation, it will require commitment and resource allocation from senior school leaders.

In industry, we face equality of opportunity risks due to the under-representation of women and individuals from Black, Asian, Mixed, and Global Majority groups. These risks pose challenges for our target demographics.

Finally, the ongoing impact of the Coronavirus pandemic will persist throughout the lifetime of this Plan. Risks to equal opportunity in accessing higher education, succeeding within it, and progressing to favourable graduate outcomes—disproportionately affecting underrepresented and disadvantaged students—are not yet fully realised or understood.

Leeds Conservatoire will remain vigilant in monitoring this context, closely examining our data to address any emerging performance gaps. We will ensure our student support is effective and responsive to evolving needs. Understanding the experiences of students at Leeds Conservatoire will be facilitated through our evaluation and research, as outlined in our Evaluation Strategy and supported in our collaborative efforts through our SEER membership.