Month: April 2021

Let???s make this the summer we put teenagers on the path to a brighter future.

There has never been more pressure on teachers. Over the past year they???ve worked with kids in the classroom and those in lockdown at home ??? often simultaneously. They???ve had to deal with changes to exams and expectations. For the first time in history, their online lessons have allowed parents to listen-in and offer ???constructive??? criticism. Often in real time.

And if all that wasn???t enough, those responsible for work experience have also had to adjust to Covid rules and regulations. So it is with mixed emotions that they are now preparing for the return of in-person work experience, just in time for the summer rush!

I have every sympathy. I may have founded Changing Education, but I???m also a qualified teacher, a dad, and someone whose first experience of the workplace was making beds in a hotel!

I???d be lying if I said that was an experience I enjoyed. But it was absolutely crucial in helping me understand what the workplace was all about. It???s almost impossible to make-up your mind about a career without some understanding of what???s involved. That would be like choosing a car without a test drive.

So this business has been built on a very simple principle: the more students who can spend time in a work environment the better. Not just for the experience it brings, but also the discipline it requires.

Providing so much experience for so many students in this day and age isn???t easy. It means:

1. Networking with huge numbers of employers to provide the opportunities
2. Arranging the logistics ??? which are quite different for in-person and virtual experience
3. Ensuring that regulations and benchmarks are met, including Ofsted and Gatsby
4. Knowing where everyone is at all times
5. Recording and reporting on results and performance
If you???re not a teacher, you???re probably beginning to understand quite what an undertaking this is, particularly when Covid changed everything and, vaccine permitting, it is about to all change back again!

Which is where EBPs come in. And yes, in case you weren???t already aware, here???s a disclaimer: we are an EBP! A big one, but by no means the only one.

An EBP is an Education Business Partner. And our business is taking the weight of all five steps off the shoulders of individuals within schools and colleges.

We do it by combining our passion for:

??? Education in its widest sense
??? Local communities and the importance of bringing young people into the workplace
??? Tech ??? and the enormous amount of time and hassle it can save
??? Innovation. We constantly look to do things differently and better

During the pandemic, we continued to make things happen. ???Virtual??? experience became a realistic solution to the challenge posed by lockdown, and we will definitely keep it running, not least because it creates opportunities within specialist businesses outside of some students??? ???commutable??? zone.

And now, with restrictions easing, we are throwing ourselves into providing, managing and reporting on a summer to remember.

We do it because we love it, every one of us. We???ve watched teens with learning difficulties thrive in new surroundings. We???ve heard shy students come out of their shells. We???ve seen parents amazed at the immediate change in focus and drive that a successful placement brings. We???ve received wonderful feedback from employers who see this as a direct and effective way to recruit for the future.

I regularly get asked what it???s like to run a tech company. The truth is, I don???t think about us being in ???tech???. The Connect App and the dashboard we provide for teachers to keep all their students??? placements in view are just the tools that make redundant all the paperwork and admin that turn work experience into a chore. We are in the business of helping young people take the next step in their lives.

I believe that qualifications open doors for students after school or college, but work experience seals the deal. An EBP is the most efficient and effective way to make that experience happen. It links local business communities, schools, teachers and students. And for us, it isn???t enough to be ???an??? EBP, we strive to be ???the??? EBP. And that means we want to #inspirefutureleaders across the country, from Liverpool to Lambeth and from Edinburgh to Exeter.

Please contact me and time to discuss the possibilities this can bring.

Author: Matthew Hodgkinson (Co-founder / Director of the Changing Education Group)

Why I don???t work in tech!

Why I don???t work in tech!

I guess we all have our blind spots. Those little things that, however hard we try, just leave us unable to disguise our irritation. For some, it???s their football team losing at the weekend. For others it???s hearing a political view they can???t stand. For me, it???s being introduced as ???that guy who works in tech???!

This irritation is based on one very simple principle. Technology is a means to an end, not an end in itself. We get our shopping delivered to our front door. The app that makes it happen is brilliant, but it???s simply a conduit to the greater goal of making shopping easier. In our case, Changing Education helps students find work experience and careers advise. The software we???ve developed simply makes that happen more efficiently and effectively.

It all began 12 years ago when my co-founder Matthew and I decided to start a business. We had a dream, which was to help young people leave education with credible work, life, and social skills. We???d do it by helping them gain work experience. To become familiar with ???life on the other side??? of school or college and offer advice to help them take their first steps on the career ladder.

We founded Changing Education to do just that. We sat between the students, their schools, and the employers who could give them such valuable insights into the world of work. The good news was that it caught the imagination. We were inundated. The bad news was that we were spending our days (and nights!) drowning in paperwork, in spreadsheets, and in emails. The logistics continued to mushroom.

So when you???ve got too much to do, and a lot of it is administrative and repetitive, the best place to look for help is in the land of technology. Our wish list was pretty extensive. We needed to manage work experience programmes ???en masse???, record every placement and interaction, to store all that information and make it searchable, make it accessible to school staff, employers, our staff and, most importantly, the students themselves, advertise new opportunities, manage risks, collate feedback and collate appraisals. I???m aware that was a long sentence, but it gives you some idea of what we were taking on.

The next step was to go shopping for something that ticked all those boxes. If you like your fairy tales, imagine a 21st Century re-write of The Princess and the Pea! We searched high and low, but there was nothing. So unlike the story, we decided to create our own!
That???s how the CONNECT Web Platform and our Student Mobile App were born. And what we quickly realised was that we couldn???t just make something that worked there and then. Things would change, including our vision. Which meant the software had to be incredibly agile.

We wanted it to become an integral indicator of performance management for departments, areas, and courses. We wanted it to report against regulatory requirements, from Ofsted audits and Gatsby to funding applications. We wanted staff to be able to track KPIs, to improve employer engagement, assist evaluation of the study programme, and develop wider careers model management and tracking.
As the technology became more popular, we realised we needed even more. This meant developing partnerships with other organisations to service the latest Ofsted and Gatsby requirements, and to offer our users even more.

And as we grew, we had to take care that the quality of our data remained high, because a brilliant system with flawed data isn???t very brilliant at all!

Looking back, we built the business without Connect for three years. We???ve now been developing and improving it for a further nine. During the pandemic, we???ve had to be agile enough to switch the provision to virtual experience and advice. Fortunately, it has held up, meaning that we have been able to continue to help students plan for the future at a time when they need it most.

I am so proud of Connect and our student app. I???m so pleased we invested in it heavily. But, ultimately, it???s just a means to an end. Because we have now helped over half a million children embrace work experience, preparing and inspiring them to become future leaders.

This is why, when we next meet-up, I???d be really grateful if you could introduce me as the guy who works in education!

Author: Stephen Hackney (Director and Co-founder Changing Education Group

(Virtual work experience is taking place right now. We are already planning for on-site work experience next year. We are hosting a series of webinars to explain how to get involved and how to use our technology. It would be great to see you there.)

want to know more? watch the teaser video

Carla Barker – pledges to Inspire Future Leaders

Carla Barker ??? Greyrose Marketing

Our aim at Changing Education is to #inspirefutureleaders; by giving students a real insight into the various industries and paths they could follow and to open their eyes and imagination to the potential job opportunities which are available.

We plan to use 2021 as an opportunity to showcase some fantastic individuals who have given us a true insight into their profession and the journey they have taken to get to where they are today.

In today???s industry insight interview video, hosted by our very own Amos Madra, we hear from the amazing Carla Barker: founder of Greyrose Marketing.

Greyrose Marketing is a creative marketing agency which is passionate about helping businesses grow. They pride themselves on being a specialist strategic agency, with the aim to help businesses think differently about their marketing.

Carla Barker formed her thriving business during our first lockdown in 2020; due to being a casualty of the pandemic. She turned what could have been a dismal situation into a positive by becoming her own boss and creating Greyrose Marketing.

Carla has a strong work ethic – working her way up the ladder has taken a lot of hard work and enabled her to be where she is today. Carla believes ???it doesn???t matter if you don???t know what you want to do right now, dip your toe in and find out things??? – fantastic advice for anyone thinking about new careers and future plans.

Carla has an empowering and positive story to tell and fantastic pearls of wisdom to share.

Please remember to share your thoughts using the #inspirefutureleaders.

To find out more about Greyrose Marketing and more about the fantastic Carla Barker follow the link below:

http://www.greyrose.co.uk

Joey Gamper-Cuthbert from SportCheer England explains how being open to opportunities can kick start your career journey!

Joey is the Chair of the NGB for Cheerleading and she explains in her Changing Education Sector Spotlight Video to help #inspirefutureleaders that she actually did ???a bunch of stuff that accidentally brought her here???.??

She has worked in various industries including dance, theatre, television, film, sport and sports coaching.??

Joey initially started training professionally as a Dancer but her training was cut short due to a serious injury where at the time she was told she would never dance again.??

Understandably, she was upset and disillusioned about what she would do next but then a chance meeting with ???a man on the street??? led her to starting a job as a Runner in the Film and TV Industry. From there she worked hard, impressed Producers and has been involved in various TV Programmes including Eastenders and The Bill.??

She did go back into dance and completed her training years later but because of her experience she then had many more opportunities at her feet including Choreography in the film industry.??

Her encouragement to students is about taking opportunities as and when they come up. She says ???look for opportunities and when you get them grab them with both hands???.

She goes on to say that networking is crucial. ???Find out who people are and who can help you then introduce yourself???.

Another useful tip is to use this time to research online all the amazing jobs, opportunities and chances that are out there she says. ???I had no idea about television production until I bumped into a man on the street when I was crying???.

You can watch Joey???s story on her Sector Spotlight Video here.??

BESA Member (EdTech SIG ??? Educational Technology Special Interest Group)

Did you know the Changing Education Group is an approved member of BESA (British Educational Suppliers Association)?

Did you know the Changing Education Group is a member of the EdTech SIG ??? Educational Technology Special Interest Group?

What is BESA?
BESA, the British Educational Suppliers Association, is the trade association for the UK education suppliers??? sector. We operate on a not-for-profit basis and are accountable to an Executive Council elected by member companies.

BESA works with UK education suppliers to help maximise their export potential, regardless of their stage in their export journey. We provide practical advice, business leads, notification of tenders, market reports, a monthly newsletter, governmental links, and international exhibitions, seminars, and trade missions.
Why is this important?

BESA believes educators deserve peace of mind when they buy products from BESA members. That is why BESA ensures every company that applies to become a BESA member fulfills our rigorous membership criteria. Which Include:
??? Supply the education market for a minimum of two years.
??? Be able to demonstrate profitability.
??? Comply with the BESA Code of Practice.
??? Have a UK base and be either a UK registered company or firm based solely in the UK.
??? Be subject to normal trading arrangements and commercial in outlook and operations.

What is the EdTech SIG ??? Educational Technology Special Interest Group?
EdTech SIG members are involved in conceiving, researching, developing, marketing, and supporting electronic, software, and technology, and learning materials for the UK???s educational market, and increasingly overseas curricula too.

They specialise in developing scientific tools, computer applications, software, and support materials to deliver professional development packages that encourage the use of ICT across education and training.

Resources, tools, equipment, and training provided by members cover all aspects of the learning and teaching journey: from teacher training, through to delivery of learning materials, then to practice experimental and revision, and to high-stakes assessment.

EdTech SIG members range from small to very large. From the provider of unique tools for learners with real dedicated needs to the provider of wide-ranging curriculum content for whole-class teaching.

Want to learn more? BESA
Want to learn more? EdTech SIG