Changing Education
  • About us
  • Solutions

    Solutions

    Centralised work placement and careers platform that empowers productivity and management

    See how it works for different sectors

  • Brokerage

    Brokerage

    Centralised work placement and careers platform that empowers productivity and management

    See how it works for different sectors

  • Morrisby

    Morrisby

    Centralised work placement and careers platform that empowers productivity and management

    See how it works for different sectors

  • For Employers

    For Employers

    Centralised work placement and careers platform that empowers productivity and management

    See how it works for different sectors

  • For Students

    For Students

    Centralised work placement and careers platform that empowers productivity and management

    See how it works for different sectors

  • Media
  • Contact Us
08000289088
Get to know us and meet the team
The Changing Education Group is committed to inspiring future leaders
Created by founders Matthew Hodgkinson and Stephen Hackney in 2008

The Changing Education Group is committed to inspiring future leaders...

..by giving students a real insight into the various industries and career pathways available to them.

We achieve this by helping schools and colleges provide purposeful, planned, safe work experiences and broader career opportunities. We are passionate about work-based learning and understand the enormous leap many students struggle to make from the classroom to the workplace.

We appreciate how difficult it is for a busy educator to find and oversee appropriate, safe, and meaningful work experiences for large cohorts of learners. Gatsby, OFSTED, qualifications, logistics, risk management, and employer engagement make work experience programmes enormously time-consuming and logistically complex.

Many institutions cannot provide a robust delivery model that addresses each in detail. Here at The Changing Education Group, we have blended our two passions – education and technology – to build a solution.

We believe the following four principles must be in place to achieve success

  • A robust delivery model
  • A web platform for educators
  • A mobile app to enable learners
  • A portal for employers to access work placement activity
So, this business has been built on a straightforward principle:
The more students can spend time in a work environment, the better, not just for the experience it brings but also for the discipline it requires
If you're not a teacher, you're probably beginning to understand quite what an undertaking this is, which is where the Changing Education team comes in. We provide a range of work-related learning products and services to allow schools, colleges, training providers, and universities to plan, deliver and review work-related learning and careers programmes. We do this in two ways; we provide the tools, i.e. the software to get the job done yourself, or through our brokerage service, where we do all the legwork for you. This means brokering all those work experience opportunities with employers in your area to your students, completing risk management, and providing lots of data for all those who need to see it.

Providing so much experience for many students in this day and age isn't easy

It means:
  • Networking with vast numbers of employers to offer opportunities
  • Arranging the logistics is quite different for an in-person than a virtual work experience.
  • Ensuring that regulations and benchmarks are met, including Ofsted and Gatsby
  • Knowing where everyone is at all times and recording with reporting on results and performance

We help schools and colleges provide purposeful, planned, safe work experiences and broader career opportunities. We are passionate about work-based learning and understand the enormous leap many students struggle to make from the classroom to the workplace. We appreciate how difficult it is for a busy educator to find and oversee appropriate, safe, and meaningful work experiences for large cohorts of learners. We know that Gatsby, OFSTED, qualifications, logistics, risk management, and, as importantly, employer engagement make work experience programmes enormously time-consuming and logistically complex. We have blended our two passions – education and technology – to build the answer.

We do it by combining our passion for

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

Start your
Changing Education
Journey today!

Learn our services

Meet the Team

  • Stephen Hackney
    Director and Co-Founder

    Stephen is a Co-Founder & Director at Changing Education Limited. He works with a talented development team to create work-related learning and...

  • Matthew Hodgkinson
    Director and Co-Founder

    As a co-founder in 2008, Matthew has overseen the growth of The Changing Education brand, which has led to over 500,000+ active student...

  • Luke Whiting
    Chief Executive Officer

    After qualifying as a Sports and Business Psychologist in 2013, Luke\'s entrepreneurial endeavours led him to setting up and working within...

  • Rennie McFarlane
    Customer Success Manager

    I am head of Customer Success here at The Changing Education Group. I find great fulfilment in providing the very best customer service to every one of our clients

  • Manoj Khetia
    Chief Technology Officer

    As our Chief Technology Officer, Manoj brings with him a wealth of business and technology expertise. He has worked in many different industries, and has a passion for digital transformation and delivering solutions.

  • Joanne Green
    Careers Manager

    I qualified as a Careers Adviser in 2005 and, over 12 years, held various careers advice-related roles, including apprentice recruitment for a large automotive company and providing adult guidance with the National Careers Service.

  • Cat Goward
    Corporate Partnerships Manager

    Cat is a Corporate Partnership Manager at Changing Education Group. Cat works with employers to support their early careers strategy and social value goals. Cat is experienced working with employers to provide solutions to attract early and diverse talent, having worked with employers in a range of industries from healthcare to finance to engineering.

  • Scott Pulley
    Business Development Executive

    Hello. My name's Scott. I lived in Southampton and joined Changing Education in February 2023 as a Sales Executive. Since leaving Oxford Brookes University in 2014 with a 2:1 in Business and Management, I have held roles in business development and account management in the EdTech industry.

  • Sam Astle
    Business Development Executive

    I started my education journey ten years ago in primary Education with my own dodgeball coaching company Little Dodgers - Yes, I did follow Patches O'Houlihan's five d's of dodgeball!

  • Lydia Erskine
    Sales Development Representative

    Hey! I'm Lydia, I work as a Sales Development Representative for The Changing Education Group, and I have a background in education previously after working with Pearson Education.

What others say about us

72,596
Employer partners across the UK
500
School and College partners across the UK
44,712
Students out on Work Experience Programme
2000+
Apprentices are created each year following our Work Experience Programmes

Do you want to support career aspirations?

We can help. Get in touch today

Get in touch

Frequently asked questions

Are there any costs associated with providing Work Experience?
Only your time. PPE or any other items needed for work experience will be up to the student to provide. You don’t need to upgrade your insurance.
Do I need to complete a Risk Assessment?
If you have a young person's risk assessment in place, there is no need to complete another. If you don't, we can quickly complete one for you.
Do I need Insurance?
Your existing employers' liability insurance policy will cover work placements provided your insurer is a member of the Association of British Insurers or Lloyds, so you don't need to obtain any additional employer's liability insurance if you take on work experience students. The ABI website confirms this.
What jobs will the student be expected to do?
Work experience students are treated the same as your employees. If you are happy with the student's competence to complete tasks, they can. You can also give them training for specific tasks. When you induct students, explain the risks and how they are controlled, checking that they understand.
How will I be supported?
We will support you at every stage. We send you a risk assessment template to use if you need it, and we are always available via email or telephone.
Will the student be prepared?
Yes. Students are educated beforehand in school, and we share resources with them to help them understand the behaviours and requirements in the workplace.
Will I be able to interview the student first?
Yes. Students are required to contact you for an introduction. At this meeting, you can have a conversation with the student and evaluate their suitability for your business.
How long will the placement last?
Work experience placements between 5 and 10 working days. You and the student will agree on the hours of work.
Can I provide feedback?
Absolutely. On the penultimate day of placement, you will have the opportunity to provide feedback. We encourage you to do this, as feedback is shared with the school.
How do I cancel a placement?
If your circumstances change, and you are no longer able to offer a placement, please get in touch with us on 01625 837309 or email us at workexperience@changingeducation.co.uk
Do I have to pay the student a wage?
Work experience is unpaid for students.
Do I need to provide or complete a DBS?
The Government is cutting the red tape that can sometimes get in your way when working with young people: You do not need to carry out an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services (formerly CRB) check on members of your staff supervising young people aged 16-17. If an education provider requested a DBS check for this group, you would be entitled to refuse.
I have been told that students need a CSCS card to work on building sites, so work experience isn’t possible?

Work experience students do not need a CSCS card. The CITB has stopped this because it creates unnecessary barriers restricting student access to construction sites. CSCS does not issue cards to those on work experience placements. “Students perform a non-construction-related activity, and it is the responsibility of the site management team to ensure they remain safe at all times.”

Each site will operate differently, so it is up to the employer to keep those on work placements safe. This often includes the delivery of a site induction highlighting the specific dangers of a site and arranging for individuals to be appropriately supervised.

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Podcast #10
15.12.2021
Share:
Reflecting on the Past Year
00:00
00:00
Date and Time
Tue, January 11, 2022 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM EET
Location Online event