Business placements bring new perspectives to the classroom

Brief description of the project

Judy Mottram, Deputy Head teacher, recently participated in a business placement pilot project sponsored by the DfES and managed by HTI (Heads, Teachers and Industry).  The aims of the project were to:

• create a structured ten day placement in business which focused on the teacher’s professional development using key skills development as a vehicle
• provide an opportunity whereby the host business would benefit from a teacher acting as learning consultant
• give teachers the chance to gain first-hand understanding about the importance of key skills in the workplace
• ensure that the experience gained by the teacher on the short placement would translate into tangible benefits for school improvement.

Judy was selected because her Head teacher, Lester Davies, had completed a year-long HTI secondment and could therefore act as her mentor during the pilot.  She was attached to ‘Yell’ (formerly Yellow Pages) Sales Ltd. in Birmingham, which was nominated for its commitment to education and lifelong learning.

Judy, who teaches seven and eight-year-old pupils, has always been interested in making the learning experience for children as interesting as possible. “I saw this as an opportunity to find some interesting business-related projects for my pupils, and also as a way of developing and understanding of key skills,” she said. “The skills my seven-year olds need are exactly the same as they’ll need as adults, so the sooner we start developing them in a structured way the better.”

Outcomes of the project

Yell was so impressed with the standard of the children’s work that the company’s art studio mocked up full size adverts for the walls of their offices.  “The ideas the children developed were brilliant,” said Jo White, customer support manager at Yell.  “They’re so uninhibited – we could certainly learn from their creativity!”

Head teacher, Lester Davies, said that one of the benefits of teachers working in business is that they can bring new perspectives and understanding back into the classroom. “We can see the value the children have got out of Judy’s experience,” he said, “they’ve produced an excellent standard of work because they have been stimulated by Judy’s enthusiasm.”

Judy left a lasting legacy of her placement that would help the company to improve key skills learning provision for young people.  She produced the Key Skills Trail, a booklet containing a menu of challenging activities for work experience students designed to develop and enhance their key skills.

“I’ve gained a greater insight into what business needs from young people and what I can do in the classroom to prepare pupils for the workplace,” Judy said.  “It’s been an excellent professional development opportunity for me.”

Since Judy’s placement, a group of pupils have visited Yell and Jo has presented prizes at the school for the adverts that the children created.  “It is all part of my overall objective to make learning an enjoyable and stimulating experience for youngsters.  A love of learning is the foundation for lifelong learning and I am grateful to Yell for helping me achieve this,” concluded Judy.

Transferability

There are some good examples of this idea being used in other schools and setting.  Pennington School in Cumbria is a CPD Case Study which places teachers for a short time in industry/commerce.

Resources and staffing

Schools can find the time to resource a short-term secondment and there are good examples of enthusiastic teachers who choose to take one week of their vacation time whilst being funded (paid) by the local business receiving them.  Negotiating the placement with a company may require some work.

Challenges

Virtually none.  Finance was arranged to cover tender costs.  Induction was excellent and provided by HTI.  In-school support was by a Head who could empathise with the secondee.  The receiving company was well prepared.

Lessons learnt

The pilot was successful because there were tangible benefits for the teacher, the business and the school.  Teachers actively undertook a real project to gain a first hand understanding of business skill requirements; the project added value to the company.  Schools saw how commercial learning could be applied to make an impact on school improvement.

For further information about HTI, Please contact Anne Evans, HTI,

Tel: 024 7641 0104.  Email: a.evans@hti.org.uk or visit www.hti.org.uk

Methodology

HTI was selected by the DfES to conduct the pilot because of its 15-year track record in arranging long-term business placements for teachers.  The remit of the pilot was “to capture the professionalism and quality that HTI brings to longer placements on shorter modules”.

 The pilot involved six teachers for one full day of induction, prior to ten days placement at the company and one day of evaluation at the end of the project. The days were used as flexibly as required by the teachers and companies.  Each phase of the project was designed to provide the maximum professional development opportunities for the teachers.  This included acquiring consultancy, presentation, time and project management skills, an increased understanding of key skills and an in-depth knowledge of the world of work.

Key skills are the generic skills which individuals need in order to be effective members of a flexible, adaptable and competitive workforce, and for lifelong learning.  They cover:

• communication
• application of number
• Information Technology
• working with others
• improving own learning and performance
• problem solving.

Context

Chadsmead Primary School, located in the cathedral city of Lichfield, educates approximately 350 pupils from the ages of three to eleven.

The school is proud of its partnerships with local businesses.  It has won two National Schools Curriculum Awards in recognition of these links.  The ethos of partnership at Chadsmead extends to parents, with whom the school works closely to achieve the full potential of all pupils.