‘WELCOME TO MY WORLD’ EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT IN HIGH PERFORMING ENGLISH INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS Professor Prue Huddleston Centre for Education and industry, University of Warwick Dr Anthony Mann Director of Policy and Research, Education and Employers Taskforce

Welcome to my world…. ‘Perhaps you are a barrister and can help a current Wykehamist discover something about chamber life?’ ‘Social networks are very important, very interesting, the way external involvement creates a culture of expectation, a culture of achievement, a learning environment.’

Research questions To what extent do high performing independent schools engage with employers to support pupil learning and progression? Why do they do it? How do they go about it?

Methods Focus on twenty high performing independent schools: Times 2009 league table Desk research Six in-depth structured interviews: 3 boys’ schools, 3 girls’ schools 3 in London, 3 outside London 3 boarding, 3 day schools ( Fieldwork, November 2010 to June 2011)

Methods Literature review YouGov survey of 1,002 young adults (19-24), for comparative purposes (February 2011)

Runners and riders 2009 RankNameTown 1Withington Girls’ SchoolManchester 2Westminster SchoolLondon 3North London Collegiate SchoolEdgware 4St Paul’s SchoolLondon 5Magdalen College SchoolOxford 6St Paul’s Girls’ SchoolLondon 7Perse Girls’/Stephen Perse Sixth Form CollegeCambridge 8Wycombe Abbey SchoolHigh Wycombe 9Royal Grammar SchoolGuildford 10City of London Girls’ SchoolLondon

Runners and riders 2009 RankNameTown 11The Lady Eleanor Holles SchoolHampton 12Eton CollegeWindsor 13King’s College SchoolWimbledon 14Sevenoaks SchoolSevenoaks 15Guildford High School for GirlsGuildford 16Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for GirlsElstree 17Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for BoysBorehamwood 18Oxford High School for Girls GDSTOxford 19Winchester CollegeWinchester 20South Hampstead High School GDSTLondon

To what extent do they engage employers? Institutions Types of Employer Engagement 1 Careers IAG 2 Work Experience 3 Business Mentoring 4 Enterprise Activities 5 Work-place Visits 6 Visiting Speakers Withington Girls ‘ School Westminster School North London Collegiate School St Paul’s School Magdalen College School Oxford St Paul’s Girls’ School Stephen Perse Foundation/ Perse Girls Wycombe Abbey School Royal Grammar School, Guilford City of London School for Girls Lady Eleanor Holles School Eton College King’s College School, Wimbledon Sevenoaks School Guildford High School For Girls Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School Oxford High School GDST Winchester College South Hampstead High School GDST

To what extent do they engage employers? 100% undertake enterprise activities 90 % engage in work experience 85% provide careers advice 80% invite visiting speakers 45% arrange workplace visits 25% support business mentoring

How typical is this behaviour of all independent schools? Work Experience 14 – 19 Non-selective Grammar Independent with sixth Form with sixth Form with sixth Form N Yes90.0% 86.1% 84.8% 649 No10.0%, 13.9% 15.2% 82 N School type attended between * Work experience participation rates School type attended between * Percentage receiving careers advice Careers Advice 14 – 19 Non-selective Grammar Independent with sixth Form with sixth Form with sixth Form N Yes43.8% 48.4% 57.0% 336 No56.2% 51.6% 43.0% 395 N

Enterprise Competition Non-Selective Grammar Independent N with sixth form with sixth form with sixth form Yes 27.2% 38.5% 37.5% 221 No 72.8% 61.5% 62.5% 510 N School type attended between * Enterprise competition participation rate Careers Advice Non-Selective Grammar Independent N with sixth Form with sixth Form with sixth Form Never 51% 47% 39% 338 Just once or twice 39% 39% 39% 268 More than this 10% 14% 22% 83 N School type attended between * Frequency of careers advice

School type attended 14–19 * Mentoring participation rate Mentoring 14-19Non-Selective Grammar Independent N Yes 16.3% 15.7% 15.0% 117 No83.7% 84.3% 85.0% 613 N

Why they engage with employers? To help pupils get into university courses of choice “My view is that they ought to have had time with a GP and time at a hospital before they put in an application.” (Teacher, girls’ school, D). To help pupils decide on career goals and how to achieve them “The vast majority certainly have an individual interview with myself and other members of the staff and they will bring it up again what they learnt from that work experience and what it might have encouraged them to go on to.” (Teacher, girls’ school, D) To help pupils develop employability schools “You have a compelling mix of personal skills and academic qualifications and extra-curricular achievements that when you’re an employer you say: “this guy looks good.” (Teacher, boys’ school, A).

Why they engage with employers? To help pupils develop networks of value after leaving school “It’s all part of a good education, isn’t it? It’s all part of equipping them to leave school in the best possible position..” (Teacher, girls’ school, E) To help stimulate a culture of expectation & aspiration “What I hope is that they see the range of possibilities…I want them to realise that there’s all sorts of options that they can consider. I talked to them about careers that none of us have ever heard of.’ (Teacher, girls’ school, E)”

How do they engage with employers? Alumni networks “It’s such a good network through the old boys’ association, and the parents; we have sent out a blanket request and people will say yes I’m happy to help.” (Teacher, boys’ school, B) Parental networks “The girls can get in to do the places but it tends to be that they follow through the contact so it might be a parent contact… they follow it through themselves… and I would probably say it’s on the strength of the school that they get it.” (Teacher, girls’ school, F)

How do they engage with employers? Governors’ networks Interviewee: “Well there you go you see, this is the classic... one of our governors professor X is the... what’s the grandest thing you can be... not chair... senior...?” Interviewer: “Director?” Interviewee: “ At an NHS foundation trust... we had a meeting and wanted them to go in and do some work, and they do quite a lot of work and they produce presentations to the board, to the CEO, in the foyer of [large London hospital] all their photographs all their recommendations and they have to do that and they have to stand up and give a speech about it. Now that is putting them on the spot, it may be a bit uncomfortable, they have to do the work…but it’s going to resonate far more if they do that than if they shadowed... I want to produce more things like that.” (Teacher, boys’ school, A)

How do they engage with employers? Through intermediaries “...we have a personal advisor from Connexions who comes in once a week, I’ve used Connexions, if you like, but I’ve used them as a consultancy service...” (Teacher, girls’ school, E) Pupil approaches “I think also our girls are pretty good at taking…very astute at taking, advantage of opportunities. When we took them down to the ‘Breaking the Mould’ competition… one of our girls negotiated her own sort of media work experience with the person who shot our video...” (Teacher, girls’ school, D)

How do they engage with employers? Direct approaches from employers “...they were always looking for very bright women most of these companies… In fact I’m always being approached by investment banks because they have various programmes... But I wish they would do something slightly more co-ordinated… They get in touch with you as if you had never heard of an investment bank... Well actually they’re the third investment bank this week!” (Teacher, girls’ school, E)

Work experience - Strongly linked to HE admissions - Often undertaken in the summer between lower and upper sixth, or after GCSEs (briefing and de-briefing?) - Self-sourced after career counselling - Not always inspected for Health and Safety -Not curriculum linked - Written references secured “... The key thing... I think is what have I learnt?” (Head of Careers, girls’ school, D – reflecting on work experience)

Similarities & Differences Similarities Expectation within state/independent schools that pupils will undertake activity within the broad curriculum Types of activities within schools were roughly similar: careers fairs, work experience, enterprise activities… Differences Independent schools use employer engagement not so much to engage learners within a broad learning experience but to clarify, confirm and support pupils’ choices Independent schools provide more personalised careers advice to their pupils (small numbers)

School type attended between age groups * Usefulness of Work Experience 14-19* deciding on a career getting a job getting in to HE N Non-selective 54% (16%) 27% (9%) 25% (6%) Grammar59% (19%) 31% (10%) 28% (11%) Independent 81% (36%) 47% (15%) 42% (13%) School type attended between * Usefulness of Enterprise Project 14-19* deciding on career getting job getting in to HE N Non-selective 37% (5%) 29% (5%) 33% (5%) Grammar 48% (6%) 36% (4%) 35% (5% ) Independent 46% (3%) 33% (7%) 57% (7%) 12-30

School type attended between * Usefulness of Careers Advice 14-19* deciding on career getting job getting in to HE N Non-selective 59% (10%) 39% (7%) 37% (10%) Grammar 62% (12%) 38% (7%) 46% (7%) Independent 81% (28%) 55% (13%) 37% (17%) (Including a sixth form or college; percentages outside of brackets represent respondents who felt that their work experience helped them ‘a lot’ or ‘a little’; integers in brackets denote individuals who felt that their work experience helped them ‘a lot’)

Employer Engagement & Social Reproduction in Independent Schools Structural mechanisms in place at independent schools make it easier and less problematic for their pupils to progress  networks, careers guidance, cultures of aspiration and achievement: ‘But I would also like to say that these kids are in the sweet shop, they’ve got it all, they can pick and chose.’ Substantial pools of expertise and experience on which to draw  the ‘McKellen effect’ Emphasis on elite professions: ‘Professions are rather narrow- law, medicine, journalism, not many airline pilots (a few military).

Questions? Are the purposes of work-related learning, including employer engagement, the same, or different, within independent and state schools? What is replicable in terms of models to help facilitate pupil learning and progression, and to what extent can they be transferred to the state sector? What policy initiatives could help to encourage learning about employer engagement across the state and independent sectors?

Professor Prue Huddleston Centre for Education and Industry, University of Warwick Dr Anthony Mann Director of Policy and Research, Education and Employers Taskforce