Join the Building Belonging Learning Circle, an inclusive community open to all Warwick staff and students passionate about fostering connection on campus. In collaboration with AdvanceHE, we've developed an innovative Belonging Framework specifically tailored to our Warwick community last academic year.

Built through genuine co-creation, this framework reflects the combined expertise of:

• Students
• Professional Services
• Academic Staff
• Inclusive Education Specialists

Our evidence-based approach drew from:

• Student and staff survey responses
• Professional service network consultations
• In-depth data analysis
• WIHEA Masterclasses
• Dedicated listening rooms and focus groups
• Close partnership with Warwick Students' Union

Whether you're teaching, studying, or supporting our community, join us in shaping how belonging comes to life at Warwick. Your insights will help develop practical strategies to enhance belonging across campus and together, we can co-create an environment where everyone truly belongs.

If you are interested in improving a sense of belonging for staff or students get in touch! You do not need to be already involved in WIHEA to express an interest and become a member of this learning circle.

Get Involved:

You don't need to be currently involved in WIHEA to join! We welcome all staff and students interested in improving the sense of belonging at Warwick.

• Interested in learning more or joining? Please email the co-leads.

Engaging the Warwick Community:

To ensure this framework effective addresses the needs of Warwick students and staff, we are funding pilot projects to evaluate the framework's applicability across diverse aspects of the student experience, from academic support to extracurricular activities:

1. Thrive Personal Development Programme:

Thrive empowers students to build confidence, resilience, and a strong sense of agency. A key component of the Thrive program is fostering connections among students. We are thrilled to integrate the Building Belonging Framework to enhance Thrive's impact across all four key areas: inclusion, mattering, connection, and empowerment. To further enhance these efforts, this funding will help establish a new Thrive Student Ambassador role. This funding will enable our student ambassadors to:

• Foster ongoing connections among Thrive participants.
• Design and implement initiatives that enhance a sense of belonging within the Thrive programme.

We are excited to see how our student ambassadors will contribute to making Thrive an even more impactful and inclusive experience for all.

2. Disabled Students Champions Network

The Disabled Student Champions Network aims to enhance disabled students' sense of belonging across university departments through collaborative evaluation and action planning. Launching in February 2025, this initiative will partner department representatives with disabled students to assess and improve the student experience using the Warwick Belonging Framework's four key dimensions: inclusion, mattering, connection, and empowerment. With £2000 in secured funding, this project will empower departments to:

• Establish department-level benchmarks and create targeted action plans to improve disabled students' experiences and outcomes
• Implement an updated Student Disability, Mental Health and Inclusion policy with a revised Reasonable Adjustment approach
• Create meaningful partnerships between staff and disabled students to evaluate and enhance the sense of belonging within departments
• Develop a comprehensive overview of good practices that can be shared across the university community

Through this project, we aim to build a more inclusive and supportive environment where disabled students can thrive and succeed in their academic journey.

Our Purpose:

• To test and review the Warwick Belonging Framework:
• Assess its practicality and usefulness
• Evaluate how it supports the new Education and Student Experience Strategy
• Refine it based on community feedback

Expected Outcomes by Summer 2025:

• A refined framework ready for institutional implementation that directly supports the new strategy
• A collection of case studies demonstrating practical applications of the framework
• Resources to support implementation, evaluation, and measurement

Current members of this Learning Circle:

• Inca Hide-Wright (co-lead),
  inca.o.hide-wright@warwick.ac.uk
• Tom Ritchie (co-lead), tom.ritchie@warwick.ac.uk
• Adam Miller
• Alijah Taha
• Alisha Rodgers
• Amanda Bishop
• Amira Elasra
• Anthony Olomolaiye
• Ayten Alibaba
• Beth Gallett
• Catherine Eaton-Brown
• Catherine Fenn
• Charlotte Stevens
• Claire Rocks
• Claire Woodrow
• Damien Homer
• David Lees
• Dhvani Patil
• Ed Watson
• Eleanor Partridge
• Emily Unwin
• Emma Cann
• Emma Morrison
• Ikrah Akhtar-Iqbal
• Janet Beard
• Jeff Slater
• Jo Pearson
• Josh Davies
• Leigh Mencarini
• Lils Dobber
• Linta Nasim
• Louis Gosling
• Luda Ruddock
• Manoj Babu
• Mark Pulsford
• Michelle Tsang
• Millie Tissut
• Muneeba Amjad
• Naomi Carter
• Naveera Abhayawickrama
• Nira Rahman
• Penny Cowie
• Rachael Taisler
• Reece Goodall
• Samantha Tarren
• Samantha Wilson-Thain
• Sarah Bennett
• Shianne Beckett
• Shiela Billingham
• Simran Panesar
• Tejal Fatania
• Tom Greenway
• Yanyan Li
• Interested in learning more or joining? Please email the co-leads.

Please note any Staff or Students who are not a WIHEA Fellow, Alumni or current WIHEA Member who wish to join an Open Learning Circle, are required to become a WIHEA Member. This will enable you to be kept informed of WIHEA activities and progress on a range of Learning Circles and Projects, so that understanding of WIHEA’s strategic aims and links to other similar work in this area can be made more easily. Please see further information on our WIHEA Membership.