Georgina Pedley, Senior Partnerships Manager - Foundations at Teach First updates us on how the charity has continued to work alongside the Worshipful Company of Butchers to ensure that all young people have access to a great education.
We are very grateful for the ongoing support from the Worshipful Company of Butchers, and to the Liverymen across the country who have provided fantastic opportunities for our pupils to learn about the food industry and the careers they could aspire to
Below is a short overview of our activities over the last few months, as well as updates on our plans for future opportunities. We are delighted that Liverymen continue to remain so engaged with our work, and to offer up their own time to support our pupils. Without this support we would be unable to continue our work to end educational inequality and our students would not have the opportunity to learn about such varied and engaging careers.
Bradford Forster Apprentice Guest Teacher Lesson
On Friday 22nd March Joe Seddon and Kiera Stones, two apprentices from FDQ, kindly visited Bradford Forster Academy to deliver an excellent Guest Teacher Lesson for a class of 25 pupils. The opportunity had been advertised throughout the school in the weeks leading up to the lesson and so all pupils in attendance had chosen to be there as an opportunity to learn more about the apprentice route.
Over the course of the 50-minute lesson both Kiera and Joe kept all pupils fully engaged and gave them a brief overview of their educational history, as well as why they chose to take an apprenticeship qualification. Both had chosen apprenticeships over a university route, with Kiera turning down five offers, one unconditional, from different universities in order to complete her apprenticeship. Towards the end of the lesson they led a fantastic activity with the pupils, asking them each to design a new crisp flavour, decide how to market it and design the packaging before judging the best team.
It was clear that both Joe and Kiera had spent a long time preparing fully for the lesson, and all the pupils found it highly engaging and inspirational. Many had never considered apprentices and thought that the lesson was very informative. We are incredibly grateful to Joe and Kiera for hosting such a successful lesson, and to Bill Jermey for facilitating this.
Work Experience Opportunities
We know that many of the pupils we support are often unable to benefit from work experience placements, due to a lack of family connections with local and national businesses. This leaves them uninformed about their potential career opportunities, without the support they need to make vital choices about subjects and qualifications.
We are working alongside a variety of our partners to offer work experience opportunities for our pupils and are delighted that both Life’s Kitchen and Harper Adams have offered to host pupils for a week. Life’s Kitchen will be hosting pupils in October, giving them an opportunity to experience all aspects of the business, from customer-facing work, to back-office support. This is a fantastic opportunity for a pupil to develop the skills they will need in the workplace and to learn about a new industry.
We are currently exploring opportunities with Harper Adams to understand whether a work experience placement at their University would be possible for our local schools. The School Engagement team are just working to track our school placements in the surrounding areas and hope to take this further in the coming weeks.
The Lord Mayor and Teach First Breakfast event
On the 28th March we were delighted that Warden, Derek Berry could join us at Mansion House for a small breakfast event hosted by Peter Estlin, Lord Mayor of London and strong advocate for Teach First. The morning conversation was focused on how we can work together to improve careers education for pupils in the most disadvantaged schools.
We were fortunate to be joined by Paul Drechsler, Chair or Teach First, and Alex Hall, Assistant Principle of Harris Peckham Academy, a Teach First partner school. Alex gave an insightful overview of her career journey with Teach First and how she has progressed to the level of Assistant Principle, as well as how her students struggle to hear about career opportunities and to gain work experience. Introductions were followed by an engaging discussion on the importance of careers education and how partners can support schools and pupils to develop.
It was a great morning with some excellent points raised, and we were grateful that Derek took time out of his day to join us for the event on behalf of the Butchers’ Company.
Upcoming Activities:
Over the coming months we are planning a range of different activities and events in partnership with the WCB and Liverymen across the country.
Due to the past success of our last two Apprentice Guest Teacher Lessons, we will be working with Jane Dale from MEAT Ipswich to find apprentices who would be willing to host a lesson in or around Ipswich. This is a key area of focus for us, as schools in this area struggle to connect with businesses and so their pupils miss out on vital careers information. We look forward to working with Jane over the coming weeks and will keep the Company updated on our progress.
We will also be looking to work alongside the Butchers Pet Care Company to organise a workplace visit for early in the next academic year. This would be a great opportunity for our pupils to learn about a new industry and careers in their local area. We are very grateful to the Pet Care Factory for offering this support.
New Partnerships
Members of the WCB have continued to provide fantastic advocacy for Teach First; supporting our work by connecting us with potential new partners. Over the last few months many of these partnerships have continued to develop, and we are very grateful for all the new connections.
I hope this brief overview of our partnership over the last few months highlights the impact of your support.
To read more about the Charity work of the WCB