VIEWS & OPINION
Remote work experience for our next generation workforce – what
can be done? Comment by FLEUR SEXTON, Managing Director, PET- xi, Deputy Lieutenant West Midlands and Businesswoman of the Year
With the pandemic sabotaging so many key experiences that should be shaping young people’s lives and aspirations, work experience is one area where businesses can step up their game and provide invaluable support and inspiration to the next generation of our workforce. At my company PET-Xi Training - one of the most hard-hitting and dynamic training providers in the UK with a reputation for success with the hardest to reach - we offer school pupils a whole range of remote work experience placements, from marketing to finance and graphic design, and I’m urging other businesses to ‘think outside the box’ and follow suit. Life isn’t perfect, but understanding how to deal with imperfect
situations and still succeeding is one of the most important lessons young people can learn. It’s vital that we give the next generation of our workforce an insider’s view of how the career world works, see how businesses are keeping going in the hardest of times and how they are adapting and creating positives from difficult situations. For example, young people living in seaside towns with limited job
prospects suddenly have a raft of opportunities opened up once work experience moves online - location is taken out of the equation. Similarly, those with physical disabilities, anxiety or who are disadvantaged in other
ways may have difficulty accessing work experience via the traditional route – the playing field is levelled in many ways once it becomes virtual. Our virtual work experience options, designed around the interests and
potential career path of each pupil taking part - whether that be a job in sales, training, teaching, marketing, graphic design or HR & admin - reflect PET-Xi’s commitment to ‘re-wiring’ communities and creating social equity and include:
• Providing inspiring role models and crucial insight into what working life entails – pupils have the chance to ‘shadow’ workers in different jobs by joining zoom meetings and being involved ‘remotely’ in their day-to- day job
• Providing networks and contacts - during these tough times it is harder to establish these vital industry links, especially for young people at the bottom of the career ladder. These sessions give pupils practical advice on how to ‘grow’ networks and make the right contacts to help kickstart their chosen career
• Initial assessment/career wise assessment with feedback – practical steps to help students decide what careers best suit their skills and aptitudes, and what they need to do to reach their career goal
• Developing interview skills – live sessions geared towards specific job roles with clear practical advice on the do’s and don’ts of interviews
• Experiential learning – project-based activity such as an evaluation of on-line delivery, what went well/even better if?
Giving the next generation of our workforce an insider view of how our
world works is absolute gold – and I am calling on all businesses to play their part in helping to shape young people’s futures.
Cancelling SATs could be just what teachers need
Comment by GRAHAM COOPER, Chief Marketing Officer at Juniper Education
Last year when the pandemic closed schools to most pupils and national assessments were withdrawn, it was assumed it would be a one- off. But Covid-19 is still very much with us and once again we have been faced with disruption to learning and for primary schools, the cancellation of KS2 SATs. The announcement has no doubt been
welcomed with a sigh of relief in many quarters, and possibly some frustration in others. So what are the implications of cancelling SATs in 2021?
No national benchmark SATs may have their critics, but many heads and school leaders find the data from SATs useful for comparing their pupils’ performance in a national context. This information can help schools make decisions about where to focus resources. If the school has fallen short in maths, for instance, there’s a stronger case for training or performance management in this area. Some secondary heads use SATs to give them insight into their new
intake, particularly for identifying gaps in learning which need to be addressed in Year 7. Equally, many feel that SATs are an important rite of passage in a child’s
final year at primary school, along with leavers’ assemblies, signing shirts and school trips, which have also been a casualty of the pandemic. However, could the absence of SATS be an opportunity for schools to focus on closing gaps?
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www.education-today.co.uk
A chance to shift the focus There have been huge variations over the past year in the way schools and their families have been affected by the pandemic. Local outbreaks, tiered restrictions and collapsing bubbles have all taken their toll. Some schools have had to keep entire year groups at home to prevent the spread of infection. Others have seen their communities plunged into financial hardship. Now we are in a third lockdown and once again pupils’ experiences of
learning will vary enormously according to their circumstances. There is simply no level playing field. But without having to prepare children for SATs, schools could work
towards redressing the balance by devoting that time in a more targeted way to help their pupils make up for some of the learning they have missed.
The time to recover Many heads feel strongly that testing takes time away from teaching and will be glad to be relieved of the pressure of preparing children for SATs. Cancelling SATs creates an opportunity for teachers to change the
emphasis of the assessment process, and schools can concentrate more fully on formative assessment where teachers look at the building blocks a child needs to move ahead. A more subtle, stress free assessment of pupils during their day-to-day
teaching and learning is an effective way to see where progress is being made, and what the next steps should be. This approach makes sense in a year where the gaps which have formed due to months of disrupted formal education will be wider and more diverse than ever before. With SATs no longer a feature, schools can prepare Year 6 pupils for
secondary school by teaching a more varied curriculum and focusing on boosting confidence and wellbeing. Whether they are for or against the cancellation of SATs, schools will be
doing all they can to help children who have missed out on so much this past year, and to prepare them for the next step in the journey.
February 2021
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