BDD 2019 profile: Aspirations Beyond the Classroom

Claire Emery, Regional Adviser for the South West, brought together Sir Rod Aldridge OBE, founder of the Capita Group and Chair of the Aldridge Foundation and Mo Isap, vice-Chair of Star Academies and a non-executive director at the Careers and Enterprise Company, two leading entrepreneurs who discussed how boards can help implement the strategy.

 In 2017, the Department for Education published the Careers Strategy Guidance, designed to support schools in equipping students with skills to succeed. The focal point is ‘The Gatsby Benchmarks’ to assist schools in setting world-class standards and develop support tailored to the needs of every young person, especially disadvantaged students.

Addressing the audience of over 250 business leaders in MAT trustee roles, Rod and Mo reminded of the crucial role they have to play in preparing young people for life outside school. As leaders in business and industry, trustees must act as a bridge between schools and the working world. There is a need for accountability between employers and schools around future skills required and trustees can facilitate that connection. Boards should not shy away from challenging the executive team on exactly what skills students are leaving with.

As technology rapidly changes, the jobs market is increasingly fast-paced and ever-changing. Students are likely to take up jobs that do not yet exist. Therefore, the focus should be on developing an entrepreneurial mind-set within students and to work outside of the status-quo.

Both speakers shared their belief that schools should not feel limited by what they can achieve in the classroom. They outlined six attributes that will foster an entrepreneurial spirit and challenged delegates to consider these when reviewing their own curriculums.

1. Team work
2. Problem solving
3. Creativity
4. Risk taking
5. Determination
6. Resilience

Embedding these attributes into learning will help students develop skills that are easily transferable from school to the modern world of work. The panel also looked to the professional development opportunities of staff as well as students, to consider these attributes when refining teaching methods.  

Outside of the classroom, young people should be given experience and exposure to the working world at every opportunity. Rod and Mo recommended creating business hubs in school to give students opportunities for internships and work experience to personalise their careers guidance to their own path. It will also allow staff to see and facilitate the role businesses can play in building the community.

The combination of entrepreneurial attributes in the curriculum and building business hubs provided new ideas for delegates to consider in and outside the classroom. And above all, the speakers stressed that employability is the key to lifting young people out of poverty and improving outcomes for the next generation.

Will Colahan is the Press and Policy Officer at New Schools Network.