Building Careers into a Multi-Academy Trust Framework

Ormiston Academies Trust run 42 academies, including 32 secondaries, six primaries, three Alternative Provision schools, and one special school. These schools are based across the country, from Norwich and Ipswich to Birmingham and Stoke, via Liverpool, Grimsby, and the Isle of Wight. This sheer variety means we have had to develop an approach to careers education which is high-quality and consistent, but also able to flex according to local challenges and opportunities.    

 

Expanding Networks 

A key factor that underpins our careers framework is our willingness to work closely with experts, and listen to the excellent advice already out there for educational leaders.  

When considering post-16 options, for example, we have adopted several rigorous and nationally recognised benchmarks to guide our work. All academies are compliant with the Provider Access Policy, released in January 2023, raising awareness of all post-16 options and pathways, while also seeking to meet the eight Gatsby Benchmarks. This also translates to our desire to make sure every school strives to hold tried and tested awards, including the Quality in Career Standard (QICS) and Career Mark for primaries. To go alongside these accreditations, each academy is a member of their local Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) Career HUB and can access support via their assigned Enterprise Coordinator and Enterprise Advisor. 

This sentiment also underpins our existing platforms with the likes of Speakers for Schools and Unifrog. Many of our schools have inspirational talks and virtual work experience thanks to Speakers for Schools and students can compare university courses, apprenticeships, and FE courses with Unifrog. This helps to ensure every OAT student has access to the same high-quality career advice, and our work with Speakers for Schools has also seen high-profile speakers – such as former Prime Minister David Cameron, and former Vice Chairman of Arsenal FC David Dein – sharing their insights with our students.

Driving Aspirations  

We have always wanted to make sure that the discussion of careers is never just confined to a singular day in an academic year. Supported by OAT’s central team, each academy celebrates key dates in the careers calendar, such as National Careers Week, National Apprenticeship Week, and Green Careers Week, and they are also empowered to set up their own careers events to complement this. All this is supported by the work of OAT’s central marketing team, who provide our schools with engaging posters and collateral to help drive interest in careers.  

To develop this, and ensure consistency for all our students, we have developed several central initiatives to provide further opportunities. For those that are seeking to take the step into higher education, for example, our OAT Oxbridge Scholars programme supports learners of all backgrounds with the application process, as well as facilitating university and college visits on open days.  

More broadly, the OAT Futures website contains careers inspiration for our young people. On the site, there are currently 85 films which showcase different careers and how they can be accessed, including insights into the English Heritage Trust and renewable energy leader Drax Global. The platform has now been used by more than 3,400 users, and features a number of inspiring OAT alumni. 

Delivering Experiences

We have developed a number of virtual work experience opportunities for students, alongside the real-world placements which are so crucial.  We are proud of the work that we do with our partners to deliver work experience programmes throughout the year. For example, our scheme with PR and public affairs agency PLMR provides some of our lower sixth form students with the opportunity to undertake several days of work experience in London. Most of our schools are outside the big urban areas, meaning these sorts of opportunities are more limited within our students’ local context.  Because PLMR covers the cost of travel to London and accommodation once there, economic barriers to access are removed. PLMR creates a cohesive and meaningful programme, including access to cultural experiences, like theatre trips. This adds significantly to what students can include in their personal statements and applications to universities. 

Additionally, our work with Complete Careers – the licensed awarding body for Quality and Careers Standard and primary Career Mark – is already helping to highlight the opportunities available to students with businesses and organisations around them, considering local labour market information, developing employability skills and the skills employers are searching for, recognising changes for the future of the world of work and its implications for learners. 

This direct work with employers has been seen to brilliant effect on the Isle of Wight. Cowes Enterprise College’s Maritime Curriculum incorporates the island’s rich seafaring heritage into every aspect of school life, and there is a strong focus on careers throughout. The award-winning scheme also sees local employers visit the school and outline the exciting futures available to students.  

The Future

The connections we have developed have provided a strong foundation for OAT’s careers advice. In a rapidly changing jobs and education landscape, it has never been more important to ensure all our students have the tools and knowledge to access and follow the path that is best for them.  

As the jobs market evolves, so will we. We are currently in the process of facilitating a network of Enterprise Advisors within OAT, so that academies can learn from each other and share expertise, and we are also working with the Career and Enterprise Company to deliver Peer to Peer reviews which will further ensure high-quality, consistent support is available across our family of schools. To go alongside this, and to make sure we are using the best possible data to continually update our approach, we will be taking strides to monitor student progress and track destinations.  

Above all, we are confident that through this mixture of nationally recognised schemes, innovative partnerships, and large number of trust-wide initiatives, we can help to boost learner aspirations across the country and drive the social mobility that is so central to OAT’s vision and values.  

Written by Rachel McCarthy, National Lead Practitioner for Enrichment (Careers and Eco-Trust), Ormiston Academies Trust 

Why it is essential to help students ‘belong’ to their school community

As all of us across the education sector are acutely aware, the country is facing a peak in school absenteeism, creating challenges for educators as we try to reach and support students who struggle to consistently attend school due to anxiety, stress or other barriers. This risks their ability to reach their full potential as less time in the classroom can lead to a decrease in attainment. These challenges were also exacerbated by periods of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now as school and trust leaders, we must come together to restore students’ sense of belonging and connection to their school community in order to improve attendance and ultimately ensure they receive an excellent education to secure their bright futures.

 

Fostering belonging as a golden thread 

Within the trust I lead, Mowbray Education Trust, it has become clear following the pandemic that some students need additional support to attend school, connect with their studies and remain grounded in our schools’ expectations. Our aim is therefore to enhance the bond between students, staff and their school and foster a true sense of belonging. For us, this is the solution that will achieve the greatest impact for our young people and their families, and lead to a stronger and more united community, both inside our schools and beyond our school gates.  

Belonging is the golden thread that helps us embed our pastoral care provisions on a trust-wide scale while meeting the unique needs of each school community. We encourage each of our settings to prioritise their individual school cultures and assess where opportunities lay to help their students connect. The common goal all our schools are working toward is for students to understand their responsibility to the people and community around them and feel they belong through a shared bond. As a result of this connection, other pieces of the puzzle will fall into place. For instance, helping students to feel they belong at school will lead to increased attendance. Further, more time in the classroom will lead to better behaviour and improved academic attainment.  

Embedding and practicing connection  

One method we are using to establish a sense of belonging is through whole-school events. Utilising meaningful activities where everyone is doing the same thing at the same time can help foster a sense of ‘togetherness’ which students can share with one another. So far, this has included sharing a poignant moment of silence on Remembrance Day, singing songs together during a Christmas carol service and celebrating non-uniform days to raise money for charity. 

We have seen palpable impacts from these events and very positive reactions from students, all of whom were witness to these powerful shared feelings of connection. We experienced one of the highest attendance rates of the Autumn term on Remembrance Day, indicating that our students innately want to be a part of something bigger and will show up for an opportunity to connect with one another.  

In addition to holding events, we are working closely with the staff at each of our schools to maximise the impacts of everyday interactions, or as we call them ‘micro-interactions.’ We support staff to make each micro-interaction with colleagues and students meaningful, whether it be through an exchanged smile, an uplifting compliment or an open question to help students build confidence and trust. This is essential as our teachers are vital points of contact for students throughout the school day and are leaders by example who can influence the way students behave at school. By harmonising the way our colleagues move around school, encouraging friendly body language and providing opportunities for open conversation, we demonstrate to students that the school is a safe and supportive environment where they can build connections, share their thoughts and be supported to flourish.

Driving the mission forward

We find our approach is most effective when all of our stakeholders, from students and families to staff and school leaders, share a collective understanding and commitment to bolstering our whole school community. We are therefore looking at how we can also engage with families and carers around belonging as they play an essential and central role in students’ lives.  

While our drive towards ‘belonging’ is in the early stages, we are already seeing positive improvements in attendance and are confident the path will provide plentiful opportunities for our staff and students to work together and continue to build a positive school culture. As humans, we innately seek connection with others and a purpose to believe in, so it is only natural to prioritise these fundamental needs as a driving factor and initial stepping stone to improve the life chances of our students.

Written by Christine Stansfield, Chief Executive at Mowbray Education Trust

Revolutionising the Labour Market: Unleashing productivity by putting skills first.

In the ever-evolving landscape of industries, accessing and retaining talent has become a critical concern. Recent data from the World Economic Forum (WEF) reveals that a staggering 61% of businesses are worried about the availability of skilled individuals in the next five years. This concern is more pronounced in industries such as Supply Chain and Transportation, Health and Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Retail, where talent shortages pose significant challenges to growth and innovation. 

Only 39% of businesses express optimism about talent availability, compared to 53% for retention and 77% for talent development. It would seem that the case for a skills-first approach to talent is unimpeachable.

The Skills/experience mismatch

Analysis of the Future of Jobs Report 2023 shows that most employers rely on degrees and job history, and less on skill assessments as their key hiring method. However, 58% of workers believe they have skills that are unclear from their qualifications or job history. This mismatch needs to be addressed. By aligning skills metrics with broader organisational goals, such as improved productivity and more efficient hiring, businesses can ensure that their workforce is equipped with the skills necessary for success.  

We, at Speakers for Schools, encourage this approach in our work experience programme. Our partner employers publish essential skills young people will gain when advertising their work experience opportunities, and this allows young people to apply for opportunities to upskill in specific areas and allows us to measure the impact of work experience through the skills they have gained.  

Closing the ‘Network Gap’

We know that the ‘network gap’ in career opportunities often reinforces existing disparities, hindering the potential for merit-based advancement and reinforcing social and economic barriers. By prioritising a skills-first approach, businesses can close the gap, unlock fresh talent pipelines, enable social mobility, and level the playing field for those without the old-school ties network. 

As industries grow, tracking skills gaps for potential employees in the talent pipeline becomes more critical, as it helps to highlight what industries can do to close the gaps efficiently. This is where organisations like ours  can play a key role. By leveraging our UK-wide network of schools, businesses can streamline the process of identifying and addressing skills gaps and creating a more agile educational outreach programme to start plugging those gaps. 

Local and central government also needs to develop and implement robust policy frameworks that encourage and support skills-first initiatives. This involves aligning educational curricula with industry requirements by ensuring every young person gets at least two weeks of meaningful work experience during their secondary education.  

The apprenticeship system must also be reviewed to ensure that schools get the financial backing to provide opportunities for young people to learn directly from employers about vocational routes into industries. 

Analysis of the Future of Jobs Report 2023 shows that most employers rely on degrees and job history, and less on skill assessments as their key hiring method. However, 58% of workers believe they have skills that are unclear from their qualifications or job history. This mismatch needs to be addressed. By aligning skills metrics with broader organisational goals, such as improved productivity and more efficient hiring, businesses can ensure that their workforce is equipped with the skills necessary for success.  

The Future of Jobs Report 2023 estimates that 44% of worker’s core skills will change in the next five years. The onus is on the education systems to embrace skills-first approaches to prepare their students for the rapidly changing world of work. By collaborating with employers, the traditional focus on exam assessment can be reconfigured to address talent needs in our economies effectively. Practical career guidance from employees in the field helps students make better-informed decisions about their educational progression options. By connecting students with industry professionals, educational institutions can offer insights into current job market demands and guide students towards areas where their skills are most needed. 

What’s next? 

In conclusion, the success of skills-first approaches relies on collaborative efforts between governments, employers, and the education sector. That is why we launched the Work Experience for All campaign last year to ensure that every young person gets a chance to access high-quality, meaningful work experience regardless of where they live or who their parents know. 

As we approach the upcoming election, this is a wake-up call for all political parties to prioritise the necessary reforms that will foster the development of confident, skilled, and knowledgeable young people and enhance the talent-to-employment pipeline that will contribute to a more productive and innovative business environment. 

Written by Funbi Akande, Policy Officer at Speakers for Schools

Charitable Trust awards grant for summer work experience for schools and colleges in Chester and Ellesmere Port

Young people attending state schools and colleges in Ellesmere Port and Chester will have access to a wider range of work experience opportunities this summer thanks to a special grant awarded to the Speakers for Schools charity by the Westminster Foundation’s Small Grants programme.  

How much is the grant?

Speakers for Schools is delighted to have been awarded a grant of just under £10,000 by the Westminster Foundation, which is an independent grant-making charity that provides place-based funding for community youth-focused projects to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds thrive. 

Why is the award being spent on young people in the Ellesmere Port and Chester area? 

The Westminster Foundation represents the charitable interests of the Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor businesses. The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family have long-standing associations with Chester and Westminster, and this grant will directly benefit young people attending state schools and colleges in the Ellesmere Port and Chester regions by providing potentially life-changing opportunities they would otherwise struggle to access. 

Why is the grant being used to fund work experience?

Completing work experience while in education has been proven to improve outcomes for young people – by increasing confidence and future earnings and reducing the chances of them becoming Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET). Making work experience more accessible to young people from state schools and colleges – who account for 93% of the UK student population – also benefits employers and supports the economy because it leads to more sustainable and diverse talent pipelines. As a national charity with UK-wide reach Speakers for Schools has a long-standing reputation for delivering high-quality virtual, in-person, or hybrid work experience as part of their standard offer. 

How will Speakers for Schools increase access to work experience on this occasion?

To help maximise the impact of the award in the Ellesmere Port and Chester locality, on this occasion, Speakers for Schools will be collaborating closely with the region’s Local Enterprise Partnership, The Cheshire and Warrington Pledge Partnership, to organise and deliver an extended selection of summer work placements that will include options to do virtual work experience with leading national employers or in-person placements with local employers. 

This arrangement will enable any student in Year 10 and 12 attending a state school and college in the Ellesmere Port and Chester area to benefit from the widest possible choice of work experience opportunities – including industries not typically represented in the region – and will ensure that there are no barriers to taking part. 

When is this due to happen?

Planning is currently underway, and all placements will be delivered towards the end of the current academic year during term-time. Any state secondary schools and colleges wishing to register, please contact experience@speakersforschools.org 

If you represent an organisation that offers grants for charities or would like to find out more about Speakers for Schools, including our work with Trusts and Foundations, Philanthropy, and Corporate Partnerships, please explore our fundraising opportunities.