Summary of Grant-Funded Activity 2015-2018
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Summary of grant-funded activity 2015-2018 Summary of grant-funded activity 2015-20171 Skills for Employment In 2015, Warwickshire County Council introduced a £2.4 million ‘Skills for Employment’ programme to run until 2018. The main objectives of the programme are to: Align skills provision more effectively with the needs of local businesses. Increase and strengthen engagement between businesses and education providers in Warwickshire. Improve advice and information for young people, parents, education and business about the local labour market, career and employment opportunities, and the range of options open to young people. Improve the ‘journey’ of young people moving from education to work and those not in work by ensuring support is as joined-up and effective as possible. Measures of success include reducing the number of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), and increasing the number of school and college leavers recruited by business. By the end of 2017, grants worth more than £1.5 million were awarded to Warwickshire secondary and special schools, colleges and several businesses working with an education partner. By July 2017, 20,000 activities had been funded and that figure is forecast to rise to 30,000 by July 2018. By the end of 2017, around 600 businesses had engaged in this funded activity with our schools and colleges. 2 Summary of grant-funded activity 2015-2018 There were four types of grant: 1) Match-funded grants worth up to £3,000. 2) Major grants worth between £20,000 and £40,000. 3) Build A Business Network grants worth up to £3,000 introduced in autumn 2016 for schools to establish a new group of at least 10 businesses to work with. 4) Skills Challenge introduced in summer 2017 worth up to £40,000 to enable business/education partnerships to address a specific sectoral or geographical Skills challenge This report summarises the grants awarded to schools, colleges and business/ education partnerships and the activity funded. NB The following acronyms are used in this summary: NEET: Not in employment, education or training. SEND: Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. KS: Key Stage. HE: Higher education. Summary of grant-funded activity 2015-2018 3 Alcester Academy February 2015: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide Live-n-Learn employability programmes for 400 students in years 7-10. Provide vocational taster visits to a FE College for year 10 students at risk of becoming NEET and also STEM-focused visits to a university for years 9 and10 from families with no history of going to HE, and pupil premium students. October 2015: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Purchase Careers Development Institute membership. Provide three additional Careers workshops. Provide five visits for year 10 students to different higher education providers. June 2016: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Purchase of Application of STEM subjects in the workplace workshop. Provide vocational tasters for students at 2 FE colleges. October 2016: £3,000 Build a Business Network grant Major Grant 2017: One of two schools receiving support from a £24,000 Schools Partnership project providing DfE-approved alternative provision to build character, resilience and self-confidence in young people who respond to a different way of learning. Provides BTEC level 1 qualification. Also one of five schools to benefit from a £35,206 project to raise students’ achievement, aspirations and self-confidence, and encourage them to pursue Design and Technology-related Careers. June 2017: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Buy in events showing year 9 pupils how STEM subjects are applied in the workplace. Provide vocational taster trips to 2 FE colleges. 2017/18 Skills Challenge grant: benefitted from £31, 244 grant. See page 48 for details. 4 Summary of grant-funded activity 2015-2018 Alcester Grammar School February 2015: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide additional Careers guidance to year 12 including advice on apprenticeships. October 2015: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide additional Careers guidance for year 12. June 2016: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide additional Careers guidance for over 100 students. Major Grant 2017: One of two schools benefitting from a £22,000 project, Business to Education Connectivity, delivered by the ‘Entrepreneur in Residence’ for Coventry University to improve connectivity between education and business. June 2017: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Purchase Careers guidance for year 12. More than 20,000 Careers and employability activities were funded for young people in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 academic years. Summary of grant-funded activity 2015-2018 5 Ash Green School October 2015: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide external service to develop new or additional programmes and policies related to Careers guidance, employability, enterprise and education/ business links. June 2016: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide additional Careers guidance for year 12 students at the start of the year and again at Easter. Ashlawn School October 2015: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide additional Careers guidance for years 11 and 12. June 2016: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide additional Careers guidance for 280 year 10 students with particular focus on those at risk of becoming NEET. Major Grant 2017: One of five schools benefitting from a £46,923 project, Caring for your Career, working with year 11 and 12 students to develop skills needed to become Health and Care professionals. Employers taking part in the programme and working with students include NHS employers, GP Practices and local private care providers. 2017/18 Skills Challenge grant: Benefitted from a £38,508 grant. See page 48 for details. 6 Summary of grant-funded activity 2015-2018 Avon Valley School June 2016: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide additional Careers guidance for year 11 students. Provide group sessions with year 8 and 9 for guidance on GCSE choices. Organise and deliver a Careers fair for year 11 students. Organise work experience for 220 year 10 students involving an increased number of local businesses. October 2016: £3,000 Build a Business Network grant. Major Grant 2016: £38,400 Employable Me programme to support the employability needs of all year 11 students to make them more aware of the skills that would improve their employablility. The aim was to reduce NEETs for this cohort from 5% to 3%. Teachers were also trained to be able to embed the programme in the curriculum. Major Grant 2017: £38,600 Building the dream and challenging mental health programme to improve year 11 students’ employability opportunities. The project will do this through building self-esteem, increasing student awareness of self-concept and addressing mental health issues. Also one of five schools benefitting from a £46,923 project, Caring for your Career, working with year 11 and 12 students to develop skills needed to become Health and Care professionals. Employers taking part in the programme and working with students include NHS employers, GP Practices and local private care providers. June 2017: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide vocational tasters at local college or businesses. part-fund staff supporting vulnerable pupils on work placements. follow up pupil destinations and set up alumni network. 2017/18 Skills Challenge grant: Benefitted from £33,000 grant. See page 48 for details. Summary of grant-funded activity 2015-2018 7 Aylesford School and Sixth Form College October 2015: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide Careers guidance for years 10 and 11 students. June 2016: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide five enterprise days for years 7 to 10 plus year 12, to develop business awareness, development of employability skills and financial awareness. June 2017: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide Enterprise Day opportunities to years 7,8,9,10 and 12 to develop their employability skills plus business and financial awareness. 2017/18 Skills Challenge grant: Benefitted from a £38,508 grant. See page 48 for details. 8 Summary of grant-funded activity 2015-2018 Bilton School February 2015: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Create Careers hub for years 11-13 by expanding office and equipment. October 2015: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Employ career hub advisor for longer periods to enable year 12 and 13 students to receive support. June 2016: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Provide additional Careers guidance for year 7 to 13 students. Organise trips to colleges in Warwickshire. Major Grant 2017: One of several schools to benefit from £40,000 STEM project, Employment Skills, which provided a wide-ranging employability skills programme involving students, teachers, parents and businesses. For example, year 12 students from 11 schools participated in a three day residential STEM- focused ‘bootcamp’ where they benefitted from support on CV building, social media profiling, interview techniques and specific business skills including team-working and presenting. June 2017: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Purchase Careers advice for pupils across years 7 to 13. Provide visits for years 12 and 13 to universities. Summary of grant-funded activity 2015-2018 9 Brooke School October 2015: £3,000 match-funded grant to: Introduce an allotment to enable school to grow fruit and vegetables for the school café, as well as support development of practical employability skills. Major Grant 2017: One of six special schools benefitting from a £40,000 Career Hive project to improve connectivity, understanding and the challenges between businesses and SEND students or an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan. The Hive will be a central hub bringing the stakeholders together including parents, supported-employment providers, businesses and young disabled people who are in work, to inspire young people to see employment as an achievable goal.