Task 1: Supporting an under-resourced school

Background XXXX School is a secondary school in the XXXX. It has 1200 students from Year 7 – Year 11.

The school is over 60 years old however is significantly under-resourced with careers education activity. The teachers deliver banking sessions with Year 8 students once a year in the Autumn Term, using Barclays’ Moneyskills resources, but this is the only provision.

They recently went through an Ofsted inspection where the inspectors identified STEM opportunities as a weakness in the school’s careers offering, particularly for young women.

The school has very little engagement with business and does not have a strategy in place. The school does not benefit from a careers adviser or similar post.

Key The school is located in a borough with a very small pool of large local considerations businesses.

There are cold spots in the local labour market for woman occupying STEM positions.

Activity Using the Activity Planner for examples, discuss how an Enterprise Adviser can support the school in creating a whole school careers education strategy and suggest careers education activities.  How would you work with the school to draft a strategy?  Who in your networks would you approach to activate?  What types of activities would you include in your strategy?  What additional support do you think you would require?  What considerations do you think need to be made for a school that is not currently engaged with business or has limited careers’ resource? [Type text] [Type text] [Type text]

Task 2: Supporting an over-resourced school

Background XXXX is a secondary school in the borough of XXXX. It has 1000 students from years 7-11 and a further 150 students in the sixth form.

The school is only 10 years old, however since its opening has developed over 100 local business links and has a well-established careers education curriculum as part of their PSHE lessons including work experience programmes, careers’ fairs and careers’ talks.

The school also benefits from an established business advisory group who meet once a term and a member of staff dedicated to careers and work related learning.

Key The Schools Senior Leadership Team’s attitude to ‘another programme’ considerations when they are already inundated with careers and work related learning opportunities.

There current careers focus is on year 8-13.

They have lots of business connections although have recently had a few problems engaging companies as they don’t always get back to them until a few weeks before.

Activity With what you know about the programme, discuss how an Enterprise Adviser can support a school that already has a high level of careers’ education activity and is well placed in XXXX for local business links.  How would you communicate to the school that Enterprise Advisers isn’t just “another programme”?  What would be your first priorities when meeting the school?  How would you work with the school review its current strategy and partnerships?  How would you approach other stakeholders?  What additional support do you think you would require?  What considerations do you think need to be made for a school that already engaged with business and inundated with opportunities?

Task 3: Reviewing a strategy and creating a needs’ assessment

Background XXXX School is a secondary school in XXXX with 700 11-16 year olds. In the last year they have appointed a Careers’ Adviser full time in the school, who has developed a strategy based on the school’s current partnerships and engagement with business.

At your first meeting with school, the Headteacher produces their current careers’ strategy.

Key The Headteacher is the only representative from school present at the considerations meeting.

Activity With the Needs Assessment template as a guide, discuss the following:  What do you think the strengths of the strategy are?  What do you think is missing (e.g. format, content)?  How would you plot the current strategy into the needs’ assessment template?  Identify two or three of the gaps in provision and suggest some activity that could be undertaken to fill those gaps. Alternatively suggest activities that the programme could be used to complement and support.

Task 4: Specific school scenario

Background XXXX School in XXXX is a secondary school with 1200 11-16 year olds and a brand new sixth form for 50 young people. [Type text] [Type text] [Type text]

XXXX School has an established careers strategy however after a recent Ofsted inspection, they have been told they are not doing enough to support careers education for their Gifted and Talented students in Key Stage 4.

The school has an enrichment day in April where the whole school suspends lessons and each student participates in work related learning. The school has some businesses interested in taking part in the day but would like guidance on what should go on the strategy, so that it can be repeated year on year.

Key The school would like to engage 40 of their Gifted and Talented students considerations for an activity in school.

Activity Using the Activity Planner as a guide, discuss the following:  What types of activities would you recommend for the day?  How would you activate that aspect of the strategy? What considerations would you need to make?  How would you secure business involvement (either internal to your organisation or in collaboration with other companies)?  What support would you required from your Enterprise Coordinator?