Neglect ‘middle-achieving’ schools and students at your peril, Career Academies UK warns coalition government
Wednesday 16 June
Charity questions Government's commitment to making social mobility happen, and warns privileges for high-flying schools could limit the opportunities of thousands of middle achieving students
New Career Academies UK research proves that even simple interventions can significantly raise the career aspirations of young people from areas of social need
The new government should neglect the needs of a swathe of "middle-achieving" young people at its peril, Career Academies UK warned yesterday as it launched a major new piece of impact research at its Annual Conference.
Career Academies UK, which works with over 800 UK employers to raise the aspirations of young people, particularly from areas of social need, said that focusing on initiatives to further boost high-flyers - such as awarding academy status to "outstanding schools" - would benefit only the few and was not the way to ensure that hundreds of thousands of students achieved their potential. Career Academies UK questioned the coalition Government's commitment to social mobility and said that these early policy indications could result in an unacceptable number of middle-achieving young people leaving education without key employability skills.
Results of a major research project, supported by Deutsche Bank, provide robust evidence to demonstrate that the aspirations and career expectations of students are significantly raised through interventions from employers. The research shows that Career Academy programme, of complementing curriculum-based education with real life workplace experiences, can transform the lives of young people (predominantly from urban areas of social need).
In total over 400 students and former students as well as over 100 teachers were surveyed in detail by the independent consultancy Freshminds. 97% of student respondents said that the chance to gain a meaningful work experience through the programme had had a positive impact on their education or career aspirations, while 95% of Career Academy coordinator / senior management team respondents stated that students were better prepared for employment as the result.
James McCreary, Chief Executive of Career Academies UK said: "If the new government is serious about improving social mobility they need to give more support to middle achieving students in middle-achieving schools, rather than apparently focusing attention on those who are already excelling. The early policy indications from the coalition government are a real concern for all those trying to boost the aspirations and achievements of ordinary, ‘mainstream' students, and present a worrying picture of a two, or even three, tier education system - the likes of which would be a false economy at a time we are trying to safeguard the future prosperity of UK Plc.
"Our research proves that the career expectations of ‘middle-achieving' students in urban areas are significantly raised through employer interventions. It also shows that schools and colleges we work with, those which are good but want to do better, are crying out for support to help broaden opportunities for their students who otherwise may drop out of further education without any useful employability skills."
Anecdotal evidence collected during the fieldwork stage of the research project further highlights the need for useful programmes for ‘mainstream' students. One Career Academy coordinator said: "It was brought to our attention by someone from the Local Authority and looked like a good experience for mid-range students. We had lots of initiatives for the Gifted and Talented and less able students, but none for middle-achieving students."
Another told researchers: "A lot of the students come from disadvantaged backgrounds and genuinely don't believe in themselves...and now they see what's on offer. It raises the aspirations of those on Level 3 qualifications but also of younger students who see what they can do with a bit of hard work!"
The Career Academies UK Annual Conference, Making Social Mobility Happen, took place yesterday, 15 June 2010, at Canary Wharf. Over 250 employers and educationalists attended to hear keynote speeches from Lord Baker of Dorking, former Education Secretary and Conservative Party Chairman, and Ruth Spellman OBE, Chief Executive of Chartered Management Institute.
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