Skills Archives - Page 8 of 11 - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

Opportunity to join North East LEP bid to secure ‘North East Ambition: Careers Hub’ in the region

Deadline for Expressions of Interest: Wednesday 9 May 2018

Following the launch of the new National Careers Strategy (December 2017), the updated Statutory Guidance for Schools and Colleges (Jan 2018) and the launch of the Careers Strategy Implementation Plan (April 2018), the Careers and Enterprise Company have released a prospectus for the development of 20 ‘Career Hubs’ across the country.

Acting on behalf of schools, colleges and businesses in the region, it is our intention to bid for and lead a Careers Hub in the North East LEP area.

The ‘North East Ambition: Careers Hub’ would form part of the support the North East LEP currently provides to schools and colleges through our North East Ambition Strategy – a core component of the region’s Strategic Economic Plan.

A Careers Hub is a group of between 20 and 40 schools and colleges located in the same geographic area (LEP region), working to ensure the Gatsby Benchmarks are delivered and that careers outcomes are improved for all young people.

Securing a Careers Hub for the North East will be a competitive process. Part of the application process requires us to name up to 40 schools and colleges that will form part of our Careers Hub here in the North East. The Careers and Enterprise Company have outlined in their Careers Hub Prospectus that its main target is “mainstream secondary schools and colleges, although we also welcome the inclusion of special schools and pupil referral units in bids. The target pupils are in years 7-13. Independent schools are not eligible to be part of the 20-40 schools/colleges.”

Should you wish your school / college to be involved in the North East LEP’s bid, please read the background information document.

Please read this document carefully as it provides details about some of the information you will need to include in your Expression of Interest.

If after reading the background information you do wish to apply to be part of the ‘North East Ambition: Careers Hub’, please complete the expression of interest form and return to us by emailing [email protected]. This will serve as your application and will be used by the North East LEP to select the 40 schools and colleges that will make up the Careers Hub in our region.

Completed Expression of Interest forms should be returned to [email protected] by 12pm on Wednesday 9 May 2018.

If, as part of your application, you wish to be considered a ‘Lead School/College’ please complete the section of the expression of interest form relating to ‘Lead School/College’.

Thank you – and we look forward to receiving your Expression of Interest.

Documents:

Background information

Expression of interest form

In conversation with Mrs Louise Levy, Senior Leader Business & Finance, Cardinal Hume Catholic School

My journey as a school governor started around nine years ago. I joined my daughter’s primary school (Fellside Community Primary School, Whickham) as a parent governor and at the time I knew very little about the role and responsibility of a school governing body.

As the educational landscape has changed dramatically over those nine years, so has the role and remit of school governance. It remains a vital part of any school, be it Primary, Secondary or Academy Trust – with far more accountability being placed upon governing bodies.

Governing bodies and its members are there to provide strategic leadership; setting a path for the school and its students that results in the best standards of education. Governors are also responsible for budget monitoring, the allocation of school finances and resources, and supporting and challenging the head teacher and leadership team’s vision within school to drive standards. It’s also critically important that school is a fond and memorable experience for all students so ensuring pupil wellbeing is another hugely important factor.

I’m often asked what qualities make a good school governor. For me it’s enthusiasm, someone with a real interest in education and a passion for creating a bright future for children. I also think it’s important to question and be curious about things as this helps bring about both understanding and change.

Learning from others, listening and creating an atmosphere of trust are other key qualities. I’ve personally learnt a great deal from Chairs of the various governing bodies I’ve been part of and I think that’s made me a better school governor.

One of biggest changes in the role of a school governing body is ensuring pupils are prepared for the world of work. It’s not just about having a careers fair and inviting local businesses to talk to pupils about what they do; it’s about creating meaningful encounters with employers. We are starting to do this better at secondary level but I think more can be done with primary aged children.

I currently work with a visionary Headteacher who has ensured Cardinal Hume Catholic School in Gateshead is now a Main Provider of Apprenticeships. One of only nine schools in the country to receive this accreditation, we will be training young people within the region in partnership with the business partners to mould and develop their staff of the future who are ‘work ready’ from the minute they become employed. This is a great example of how school governors, head teachers and employers across the region can work in partnership to bring about real change.

Today’s school governing bodies include people from a wide and diverse range of industry sectors and people who demonstrate many different, yet key skills to benefit the school community. All this experience adds value to pupils’ education as governing bodies can use their business networks to support careers education and identify career opportunities for young people in their area.

Of course there’s always room for improvement. I think knowledge sharing is something school governing bodies should do more often. We should be sharing best practice and collaborating between governing bodies. All governors should be able to visit other Good and Outstanding schools. Every school has something to offer others and it’s an excellent way of helping governors expand their knowledge past their own school.

We should invite more monitoring of governing bodies, specifically to ensure we’re doing the best for our schools and pupils. Regular ‘health checks’ should be seen as a positive thing as they would identify areas where governing bodies need to concentrate further in individual schools – they’re all different, with different challenges.

For anyone interested in becoming a school governor I think it’s important to fully understand what the role entails. Speak to your local school, the head teacher or Chair of governors to really understand what’s required of you. It can be hard work but it’s very rewarding. The Department of Education and National Governance Association websites also house lots of information.

If you’d prefer to play more of a passive role there are opportunities to be observers or associate governors. This can be a good way to start your school governance journey as it gives people time to learn the sector, particular for someone outside of education.

I’m enormously proud to be a school governor. Seeing improvements happen across the school and the impact that has on pupils, staff and the local communities is very rewarding. When you see the work you have done play a positive part on their educational journey, and their smiling faces, you know that’s what it’s all about.

By Mrs Louise Levy, Senior Leader Business & Finance, Cardinal Hume Catholic School

Derwentside College provides high quality education and training that helps learners to develop the knowledge, skills and qualities they need to achieve sustained employment and build successful careers.

Here principal and chief executive Karen Redhead tells the North East LEP about why it’s important to support the ageing workforce and its pioneering work with the over 50s.

Why is engaging with the over 50s so important?

The national picture, reflected here in the North East, shows the simple fact that we are all living longer, which means the over 50s are a growing demographic.

It’s also true that people are staying much more fit and healthy, meaning there is an increasing tendency – and appetite – for working into the later years.

In this region it’s no different. At Derwentside College, we often see people who have been made redundant or become a carer for another family member who want to resume working and need to retrain. They have a huge contribution to make in terms of skill set and work ethic.

Let’s also look at the economic argument. The North East has skills gaps that this part of the population can help close. What’s more, when people are physically and mentally active it contributes to their wellbeing, in turn reducing their reliance on the healthcare system and state.

With all this in mind, the over fifties are a talent pool we’d be silly to overlook.

How does the work you are doing fit with the North East LEP’s retrain, regain, retain campaign and the government’s Fuller Working Lives Strategy?

The LEP’s retrain, regain, retain work in line with the government’s Fuller Working Lives Strategy is extremely welcome. Our offer fits in very nicely with this.

Derwentside College is one of the UK’s largest providers of apprenticeships and last year just over a thousand of our apprentices were aged fifty or above.

We have many, many cases in which employers have had the foresight to see the benefits of retraining their existing workforce. In this instance, our job is to provide training and developing opportunities to help them unlock the potential of their older employees.

Where we align ourselves heavily with the LEP is in the drive to create ‘more and better jobs’. In particular that means helping people to move into the better jobs category, which is where someone is classed as holding a level 3 or above qualification.

Our focus is on the delivery of a recognisable level five qualification and leadership and management skills that support the technical skills of the individual in the sector they have been working.

How is Derwentside College working with employers to help them unlock their workforce potential and recruit more over 50s?

Our employer base is incredibly diverse – we are a significant provider within the public sector and we work with a lot of private companies to up skill their workforce.

We also work with a number of partners to ensure an appropriate skills pipeline.

Crucially, we have an outstanding partnership with Jobcentre Plus through which we work with the unemployed. This is hugely successful because we base our training provision around market needs, giving businesses access to the talent that they need and want. We have around 300 learners over fifty taking part.

We offer a specific course for the over 50s called ‘Pace and Purpose Fifty Plus’ and this links with Jobcentre requirements. The aim of this is to get the long-term unemployed back into a college environment so they can retrain in a way that’s comfortable to them.

In terms of our work with employers, we apply a very tailored approach to each one. We spend time understanding the issues, find solutions, help them train their staff and make sure this all marries with their policies.

Our work academies linked to specific sectors and employers have been particularly popular. Our contract with caravan manufacturer Erwen Hymer is a great example of this.

Erwen Hymer needs to increase its 500-strong workforce to 700. In response we have developed a manufacturing academy focused on the unemployed to deliver the skills it requires. It’s been a brilliant way to get learners into jobs to everyone’s benefit.

A second North East delegation is visiting schools in Nashville, Tennessee, this week to further learn how a pioneering approach to education in the US is transforming student attainment through industry links.

The Ford Next Generation Learning programme embeds industry knowledge into school curriculum across Nashville and other US cities, equipping students with the skills that modern industry demands.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is leading the delegation to Nashville.

With partners, the LEP will deliver a UK pilot, initially in three North East schools – Excelsior Academy, Newcastle, Norham High and Churchill Community College, both North Tyneside – based on the best elements of the US model.

The North East pilot is in its development stage, ready to be implemented in schools in September. The Education Challenge will embed industry-led projects into lessons and equip young people with the skills employers look for. Its aim is to reduce the gap between the best and lowest performing secondary schools and improve social mobility.

The pilot will be rolled out to further schools and FE in early 2019 with a view to creating a scaleable and replicable model.

Education and industry representatives from Ford Next Generation Learning, USA visited the North East last year to share good practice and reciprocally how schools in our region are already at the forefront of Good Career Guidance, part of the North East’s Strategic Economic Plan

Neil Willis, Project Manager, Education Challenge at the North East LEP, said: “Ford Next Generation Learning informed our innovative approach in the North East

“We are working with regional, national and international partners, building effective relationships between employers and teachers, particularly developing teacher continuous professional development – with teachers spending time in industry co-designing provision.”

In Nashville when employers were effectively engaged within education,, those schools went from being some of the lowest performing schools in the US to some of the highest in terms of attainment and attendance.

Excelsior Academy is one of the first three North East schools working closely with the LEP to introduce the Education Challenge into its classrooms.

Craig Taylor, Excelsior Academy Executive Principal, said: “This could be a significant, potentially transformative project for Excelsior Academy.

“If we are going to continue trying to impact positively on our pupils’ lives, we need to look at what we offer and how we present it to them.”

A project manager has been appointed to support the delivery of a ground-breaking education programme.

Neil Willis will lead the North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s Education Challenge.

The role will see Neil spearhead the Next Generation Learning project, which aims to reduce the gap between the region’s best and lowest performing secondary schools and improve social mobility in our young people.

Neil brings extensive experience to the role, having spent 16 years as a science teacher and in senior leadership in secondary schools in the North East.

In 2016, he began working across schools as an Education Consultant, developing projects including STEM-specific provision through the National STEM Centre, teacher training and CPD, faculty improvement and school improvement.

Over the past two years, Neil has been involved in North East Futures University Technical College (UTC), which saw him build a significant amount of partnerships with regional industry to enrich the curriculum and bring industry into the classroom.

Newcastle University graduate Neil said: “I am very excited to play a part in shaping the education landscape and driving change through the LEP’s Education Challenge.

“Building on the success of Gatsby Foundation’s Career Benchmarks, the Education Challenge will support teachers, schools, governors and leaders to integrate careers learning into the curriculum to ensure those entering the workforce in the future have the skill level to support our diverse economy and are fully aware of the progression routes available to make this happen.”

The appointment comes after the North East LEP area was selected by Ford Next Generation Learning and The Edge Foundation as the first area internationally to translate elements of the successful ‘Academies of Nashville’ model to the UK.

The Academies of Nashville model transformed attendance, attainment and progression by placing employers and business partners alongside teachers and school leaders to develop highly personalised approaches to progression.

The Next Generation Learning project aims to replicate this success.

Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East LEP, said: “The North East is leading the way when it comes to implementing outstanding careers provision within education.

“Neil brings with him vast skills and experience, which will be a great asset to furthering the aims of the Education Challenge. We are delighted to welcome him to the team.”

A PARTNERSHIP THAT WORKS BOTH WAYS

Jane Austin, Head of HR and Communications at water retail company Wave, became involved in the North East LEP’s Enterprise Adviser programme after Wave’s CEO heard about the programme at a conference.

Jane was matched with a school just a couple of miles from where she lives and is now working in partnership with Fiona Brennan, (pictured left), Work-Related Learning Co-ordinator at Marden High School in North Tyneside.

Together, Jane (pictured below) and Fiona aim to strengthen careers guidance at the school, ensuring that the school achieves the eight Good Career Guidance Benchmarks which have been successfully piloted here in the North East and now form a central part of the Government’s new careers strategy.

“We had already completed an internal audit to see how the school was performing against the eight benchmarks, and this helped us to identify our priorities for the academic year, and for our work with Jane,” explained Fiona. “For example, we found that our careers provision varied across year groups and that we needed to provide more opportunities for our younger pupils.”

“Working together with Jane has been a really positive experience and I feel that we’re making good progress towards achieving the benchmarks. The most useful thing has been having the support of someone who is looking at our situation from a different perspective.

“We want to make sure that students come away from our career events feeling inspired and wanting to know more. We need to spark their interest and give them experiences which they can relate to.

“We now have a number of careers-focused events planned for different year groups in the New Year and more in the pipeline – these include a half day event where pupils will run their own business, learning how to make business decisions in areas such as pricing, HR and production. We’re also challenging stereotypes, with younger pupils meeting people who work in all sorts of different careers, from firefighters to marketers.

“I’m really, really happy with our partnership and Jane’s experience and passion means we work very well together.

Jane Austin added: “Working together, we’ve made huge progress in a short time. We’ve moved towards filling the gaps in provision which the school had already identified and we’re in a position now where we have a plan for the careers offering for every year group and we can evidence the Good Career Guidance Benchmarks in a more robust way across all ages.

“While I’m working with the school on a strategic level, I’ll still be supporting them at events which is great as I have the pleasure of watching the students grow and, every time, I come away astounded by them.

“There’s something amazing about a partnership between business and education. The school gains from it but so does the business.

“I’ll be calling on my colleagues in finance, sales and our CEO, who will all be volunteering at events and sharing their knowledge with pupils. Our employees get a lot out of being involved and opportunities to volunteer are really valued by people at all levels – the partnership really does work both ways and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

Find out more about the North East LEP Enterprise Adviser programme.

Innovation, Skills, Funding and Growth Opportunities for North East businesses.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is calling on the North East business community to come together in January to hear about opportunities to be involved with plans to create 100,000 more and better jobs for the region.

Members of the LEP’s senior management team will outline how businesses can get involved in the various programmes run by the LEP, covering areas such as funding, innovations, skills and business growth.

Helen Golightly, Executive Director at the North East LEP, explained: “This event is open to all businesses and intermediary organisations who want to find out more about our plans to grow the economy here in the North East.

“It’s a chance to ask questions and find out how you, your organisation and your clients could be a part of some of the exciting opportunities for businesses here in the region.”

The North East LEP manages over £500 million of public funding and plays an influencing role in the allocation of regional European funding and the event will include a briefing from the North East LEP Executive Director, Helen Golightly, on the funding landscape.

Innovation, and opportunities for businesses to get involved with innovation events and initiatives across the North East will also be discussed, including an outline of the innovation priorities which are set out in the region’s Strategic Economic Plan – the document which lays out a clear roadmap for creating more and better jobs.

There will also be opportunities for business leaders to find out how they can support the LEP’s work in the skills arena, including building on this year’s national pilot of careers benchmarks in North East schools, and the successful Enterprise Advisers programme, which pairs business leaders with schools’ senior management teams.
Attendees will also find out how they can make use of the North East Growth Hub, a free resource which brings together initiatives for growing businesses and scaleups.
Helen added: “We have one of the fastest growing regional economies outside London and as we enter 2018 we are working hard to continue this growth.

“We’re calling on the business community here in the North East to continue to support the delivery of the region’s Strategic Economic Plan and we also want to make sure that everyone who could benefit from our programmes is doing so.”

North East LEP Chair Andrew Hodgson will lead the event, which takes place on Friday 19 January, from 8.30am to 10.30am, at the Centre for Life in Newcastle.

The event is free to attend and is aimed at those in financial, professional and business services in the North East LEP area (Sunderland, Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Northumberland).

During 2017 we’ve been working closely with colleagues in Nashville, USA and across the UK as the North East prepares to be the first place outside America to trial elements of a new model of learning, which has already transformed the way young people learn and achieve across more than 30 school districts in the USA.

We visited Nashville in September and hosted a return visit to the North East in November, and have been inspired by the way this approach can really make a difference to young people’s futures – it’s a proven example of international best practice and the fact that we have the opportunity to develop it here in the North East LEP area is hugely exciting.

The Academies Nashville model places employer engagement at the centre of education and, when it was implemented in Nashville, resulted in an almost 23% rise in high school graduation rates as well as improvements in attainment, discipline and attendance.

Pupils learn through project-based learning, completing courses which relate to sectors they’re interested in – from healthcare to hospitality – while close partnerships with employers result in industry placements for both students and teachers.

It’s now time for us to start translating elements of the model for use in the North East so as we enter the New Year, we’re looking for four people to join our project team and help us to make this happen.

We’re already working with three schools – Excelsior Academy, Norham High School and Churchill Community College – who will be the first to trial the approach. These schools will work closely with the North East LEP and our partners at The Edge Foundation, Future Me and businesses across the region.

The first post we’re recruiting for is a Regional ‘Careers in the Curriculum’ Project Lead who will be based here at the North East LEP offices in Newcastle. This person will liaise with employers and teachers across the region, developing opportunities for teacher CPD placements in industry and co-designing project-based learning for pupils. This person will also be responsible for sharing what we learn with the wider region, making sure that as many schools as possible benefit from this project.

We’re also recruiting three Industry Alignment Managers who will be based in each of the three pilot schools. They will work with teaching staff to develop project-based learning approaches in the school, evaluating the impact of the approach and managing relationships with employers.

Each of these four posts will play a key part in this ambitious and exciting project. The project is a core element of the region’s strategic economic plan, where our education challenge. It’s an opportunity to be a part of something which can make a real difference to outcomes for our young people, preparing them with the skills they need to start their careers and helping businesses and schools work more closely together within the curriculum.

We need to find people who are creative thinkers, who can connect a variety of stakeholders with a common aim and who, above all, are enthusiastic and motivated about making a difference for young people in the North East.

Could that be you or someone you know?

The ‘Next Generation Learning’ project is part of the North East LEP’s Education Challenge, which aims to reduce the gap between the region’s best and lowest performing secondary schools and improve social mobility in our young people. The education challenge will support teachers, schools, governors and leaders to integrate careers learning into the curriculum to ensure those entering the workforce in the future have the skill level to support our diverse economy and are fully aware of the progression routes available to make this happen.

New independent report points the way forward for Higher Education

We welcome the publication of the Edge Foundation’s Plan for Higher Education which sets out how greater diversity of provision, more employer engagement and a keen focus on value for money can ensure that HE helps to close the skills gap.

Here, Olly Newton, Director of Policy and Research at The Edge Foundation sets out his thoughts on Higher Education Diversification

New polling data commissioned by Edge for the report raises some significant questions about perceptions of value for money amongst graduates. The percentage who felt they received good value for money for their degree has fallen steadily from 93% of those who graduated before 1980 to just 58% amongst recent graduates. Meanwhile, the majority of graduates from the last five decades (52%) would choose not to go to university in the current funding regime.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. The report highlights some amazing programmes here and abroad that are helping to ensure excellent employment outcomes for students. This includes a diversification of provision to include accelerated, part-time and sandwich courses and a reinvigoration of L4 and L5 qualifications to give us the technicians we need to power industry in the North East. It also includes high quality careers services and employer engagement, which many of the universities in our region pride themselves on.

The report also points to two ambitious international models to provide inspiration for the future. DHBW in Stuttgart is a University entirely made up of degree apprentices studying whilst employed with leading firms and their supply chains. The Minerva Schools based in California is an international university with no campus that achieves excellent results at a fraction of the cost of traditional tuition through innovative online seminars.

We are blessed in the North East with fantastic Higher Education partners and we are keen to learn from the best models nationally and internationally to help them continue to be a powerhouse for skills and growth in the region.

Tag: Skills

Open call to North East secondary schools and colleges

The importance of good school governance

In conversation with Karen Redhead, chief executive of Derwentside College: Supporting the ageing workforce

Nashville success underpins North East Education Challenge

Education Challenge Project Manager appointed

A partnership that works both ways

Innovation, Skills, Funding and Growth Opportunities for North East businesses

Education Challenge: Join the team responsible for trialling next generation of learning in North East Schools

Our Plan for Higher Education – Diverse, Employment-focused, Value for Money