This is the monthly e-Bulletin from FACE (the Forum for Access and Continuing Education), offered to practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and others with an interest in access, widening participation and lifelong learning.

The importance of community in a crisis Welcome to the July issue of FACE's monthly e-bulletin - our 150th installment! We are excited to announce a new programme of webinars addressing the impact and implications of the Covid-19 crisis for mature and part-time learners. In the first in the series on Monday 20 July, hear from Ann-Marie Karadia, Access Officer at the QAA, and Dr. John Butcher, Director (Access, Open & Cross-curricular Innovation) at The Open University. Don't miss out - book your place now.  New on the blog this month, FACE Exec member and Educational Consultant Jackie Powell considers the potential for community outreach to provide new opportunities for delivering WP during the coronavirus crisis. Also on the blog, FACE Exec member Dr. John Butcher makes a case for flexible pedagogies to meet the needs of all learners during the pandemic and beyond. Scroll down to read more.  As always, if you have an idea for a blog post broadly in the area of widening participation and lifelong learning, please get in touch by emailing [email protected]. As well as being featured in our e-bulletin and on the FACE blog, posts relating to delivering these missions during the current crisis will also be included on the FACE website homepage in a special Covid-19 resource section. Our guide to writing a blog post for FACE has everything you need to get started.  As usual, we've done our best to collate interesting sector news and key sector events for you so you can prioritise what to attend in the upcoming months.  Stay safe, Jess and the FACE Team Communities: A renewed priority for outreach?   Outreach work has never been easy but is currently under pressure as never before. Higher education providers are urgently refreshing their offer to allow some form of activity to continue during the COVID-19 emergency and beyond. Engagement with existing partners is likely to continue, albeit in different ways, but reaching new potential students and widening access and participation from target groups will be much more challenging... Read the whole blog   Bend me, shape me: The need for flexible pedagogies in HE is clearer than ever The period since lockdown was introduced in the UK has seen an outpouring of opinions and scholarship on the need for more blended teaching approaches in higher education and urgent interest in the possibilities of online pedagogies. However, concern has rightly been expressed about the impact on students (and younger pupils) from disadvantaged backgrounds, and how the pandemic may result in diminished opportunities... Read the whole blog

News from the sector A strange speech to widening participation practitioners in  Wonkhe University changed my family's life. So why do ministers want fewer people to go? in The Guardian The new lost generation: How will Covid-19 change young people's lives? in The Independent  We are at a crucial moment to address racial justice in higher education in THE

Upcoming events  The impact & implications of Covid-19 for mature and part-time learners | 20 July | Online | More info  AMOSSHE Student Services National Conference 2020 | 6-10 July | Online | More info Turning words into actions: Addressing racism and racial inequality in HE | 14 July | Online | More info Are you running a webinar or other event that could be of interest to FACE e-bulletin readers? Email: [email protected] Calls for contributions Study Higher Annual Conference 'Unlocking Lockdown: Practical approaches to moving University Outreach forwards' on 25 September | Online | 250 word proposals | Deadline: 16 July | More info Know about any calls for papers, abstracts, presentations, workshops, posters? Email: [email protected]

This is the monthly e-Bulletin from FACE (the Forum for Access and Continuing Education), offered to practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and others with an interest in access, widening participation and lifelong learning. The e-Bulletin is sent to colleagues in the sector; members and non-members alike.  If you wish to respond to anything in this e-Bulletin or make a contribution to future issues, please contact Jessica Benson-Egglenton. Copyright © 2020 Forum for Access and Continuing Education, All rights reserved.