Bridging the Gap to Leadership

Pioneered in 2019, this HEE-funded project shone a light on racial inequalities in the health and social care sector. It also aimed to provide deeper insight into the experiences of Black, Asian, mixed heritage, and minority ethnic students, whilst also providing opportunities to improve the experiences of our students during their practice placements.

With an educational attainment gap for our Black, Asian, mixed heritage, and minority ethnic students, and many students reporting racism and discrimination during practice placements, it was crucial that these issues needed to be addressed in a meaningful and authentic way.

It was key that we created inclusivity and equity across all our learning environments and, through working in close partnership with our placement provider organisations, this student-led project provided space and resources to encourage collective solidarity in promoting racial equity in practice learning within the sector.

Bridging the Gap to Leadership was such a huge success that this project was awarded the Universities’ Alliance Award in 2022 for its positive impact.

The success of Bridging the Gap to Leadership

We are incredibly proud to announce that we are now in our third year. With new students undertaking practice placements this academic year, Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Brighton continue to campaign against racism and closing our gap for our students.

Through collaboration and passion for driving change from within, we continue to actively work to:

• tackle and address the attainment gap
• decolonise the curriculum to ensure inclusive and diverse practice
• provide a safe space to have open and honest discussions that will enact real change
• provide leadership development opportunities, as well as resources to develop understanding of race, ethnicity, and diversity within the learning and working environment.

 For further information, please contact Helen Carr or Mary Makinde.