 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
||||
Click on a question to read more, or just scroll down the page for all questions and answers How much time will I have to commit? Do schools really need and welcome our support? What do I need to be aware of when working with young people? My business is my priority – why should I give up my valuable time for schools? I don’t know anything about education – what use will I be? It’s years since I was their age – I’m not sure I will understand them How much is it going to cost me to take part? How much time will I have to commit? Any time that you have available can be put to good use by schools.
Ongoing support will ensure that you can help shape the future of education by becoming an adviser to the new 14-19 partnerships; will give a disaffected student the opportunity to re-engage in learning; will allow your organisation to adopt and badge a specific initiative in a number of schools. To register your interest or to request more details, please click here Do schools really need and welcome our support? Schools are increasingly facing the challenge of making the subjects they teach relevant to the world of work. Although a lot of this can be taught, the main impact on young people can be achieved by them meeting and working side by side with people from business. Teachers recognise that this is an additional skill to be brought to the classroom and are actively looking for innovative ways to enhance their subjects. A good place to start is your local Education Business Partnership (EBP) Acting as an “honest broker” the EBP will give you informed, valuable and sustainable support through its intimate knowledge of both the local education and business sectors. EBPs are well established at a local level to help you find your way through the maze of education idioms, acronyms and bureaucracy. In addition they can help you by ensuring you are appropriately briefed, trained and supported while working with young people, tailoring the time and expertise you have available to the needs of local schools and colleges. To find out how to contact your local EBP, please click here What do I need to be aware of when working with young people? All health and safety regulations involved in education business links aim to meet two purposes
You will be briefed at all times by your local EBP before undertaking an activity with schools or colleges but the following aims to give you an overview of the basics. Any visits to your workplace are covered under your Employer and Public Liability insurances. Work experience is available to all pupils during the final two years of their compulsory education (age 14-16) and is covered by the Work Experience Act 1973. This is the only time that students may legally be in the workplace during school hours. It is an integral part of school and young people on work experience are still officially at school. Therefore it is essential that the placement they go to is well structured, meets needs and is within a safe environment. The local work experience provider (which will normally be the EBP or the Trident Trust) works with schools and employers to ensure that all these factors are taken into account and also that students are fully prepared before they go out on work experience. A new development for work experience will be the introduction of the new Diplomas(link to Diploma section) All EBP and Trident Trust staff are Health & Safety qualified and most are checked through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) . Employers are visited in advance of the placement to complete a health and safety checklist. In addition checks are made to ensure that risk assessments are in place, together with CRB checks where necessary. Students on work experience should be supervised at all times. As you may be aware from media coverage, there have been changes introduced over the past few years by the Home Office and Department for Education & Skills to ensure that all people who are most vulnerable in our society (particularly young people, those with learning difficulties and the elderly) are not endangered by the people who are in contact with them. To do this the Criminal Records Bureau has been established. With regard to education business link activity, registration with the Criminal Records Bureau remains a topic of some uncertainty but it is clear that there are some categories of work where the safety of the young people must be ensured. These are initiatives where the students are in a one-to-one situation with a person from business. These could be where business people are involved in mentoring or similar schemes but there are, of course, also occasions when we place students on work experience with sole traders and in these cases checks must also be carried out. My business is my priority – why should I give up my valuable time for schools? The future of your business depends on good quality young people coming into the workplace, whether this is at 16, 18 or post-graduate. To ensure that these young people meet your business’ needs in terms of skills and knowledge it is essential that they have the opportunity to understand your needs. This is not something that can easily be taught second-hand. By working with your local schools you are ensuring the future of your business. I don’t know anything about education – what use will I be? No-one is asking you to become an expert in education. What is needed is your expertise in business. Real role models are one of the best ways of influencing and inspiring young people in the development of skills and in their choice of career. It’s years since I was their age – I’m not sure I will understand them It can often be daunting to work with an age group with which you are unfamiliar. However, young people bring a new dimension of honesty and lateral thinking as they are unencumbered by the protocols and boundaries we take for granted. In any work you do with schools, you will be well briefed on levels of understanding and on capability of the age group. A large part of the work between education and business is about breaking down boundaries – they also have probably never met someone from the business world and are not sure they will understand you! How much is it going to cost me to take part? In a monetary sense it is unlikely to cost you anything (unless you want to sponsor and endorse an activity). What it will cost you is time and patience – but what it will bring you is a high level of satisfaction and reward as well as elements of staff training. 
|
 |
|
|
"I just
wanted to express my appreciation to you and your colleagues for
all your hard work in creating opportunities for myself and the
children to learn and develop throughout the year." |
||
|
||
|
||
