The Teachfirst Career Leaders Programme
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the poorest members of our society. Across the UK, schools closed their doors for six months only to briefly return and be closed again, impacting the learning of thousands of children. Our most disadvantaged pupils were unable to access learning without laptops or the internet and some even struggled to find enough food. The Education Endowment Foundation reported that because of the disruption to learning, gains made in closing the learning gap between rich and poor pupils was at risk of being lost. Teach First invests in programmes that support the whole school and all our programmes are rooted in evidence. These programmes are based on expertise developed over the last 20 years about how best to improve the life chances of the pupils we serve and the schools we work with.
“Problems like this won’t go away once we’re out of lockdown. The school system will need support for at least seven more years. So, whilst the world will go back to normality on the surface there will be much to be done for those who are disadvantaged.”
Jason Ashley, Headteacher at Redbridge Community School. Southampton.
We have decided to allocate a significant amount to assist Teach First make a real difference to the education of the most vulnerable and help them prepare to become valuable and valued members of society.
Specifically, the Careers Leader Programme directly supports and helps prepare disadvantaged young people to thrive at work. Career education in the UK has been neglected for decades and COVID-19 has only made this worse. The pandemic threatens the futures of a generation of young people who have missed months of teaching at school and are now entering the weakest job market for 30 years. We need to act now and support our young people to ensure they are building a future that brings them success.
The Careers Leader Programme is designed to provide school leaders with the expertise to deliver excellent careers guidance to pupils. During the programme Careers, Leaders are given access to high-quality learning modules, one-to-one support, and are connected with hundreds of other careers leaders across the country, helping them to transform careers provision throughout their school. As teachers prepare their pupils to enter the most challenging job market for a generation, this programme gives them the tools and expertise they need to ensure all children can achieve their ambitions.
By investing in this programme, we will help develop great Careers Leaders in those schools that need them most. All young people deserve access to good careers guidance and, with the labour market as unpredictable as it is, it’s more important than ever.
One Careers Leader has the potential to provide up to 750 pupils with excellent careers advice and guidance, supporting them to achieve their full potential. It costs £6,000 to train a Careers Leader. We aim to support the training of some 16 Careers Leaders which could benefit over 10,000 pupils.
