Partnerships

Business in the Community – KPMG

Business in the Community is one of The Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which HRH The Prince of Wales is the Royal Founding Patron. BiTC exist to build healthy communities with successful businesses at their heart. Business in the Community – The Prince’s Responsible Business Network – is a business-led membership organisation made up of progressive businesses of all sizes who understand that the prosperity of business and society are mutually dependent. As part of our Education Campaign, BiTC have been working with Shenley Academy for a number of years to engage local businesses to

• Invest in education, particularly focusing upon geographical areas and specific groups facing social disadvantage
• Inspire children’s learning about the potential future opportunities and career pathways available to them
• Engage with children through meaningful employer engagement opportunities which develop the skills, resilience and diverse experiences required for the future workplace and society
• To work in partnership with education to share expertise for the benefit of schools, wider education institutions and business which result in enhanced education and future employment outcomes for children
• Invest across their value chain, to grow quality initiatives together to impact upon greater numbers of children and generate a talent pipeline for the benefit of their sector

This has been particularly evidenced by the very successful relationship with KPMG over the last 8 years, as part of the Business Class programme, which creates effective and mutually beneficial school-business partnerships. KPMG have provided students at Shenley Academy with a variety of opportunities and experiences including one to one mock interview practice, character building days at the Bear Grylls Centre, mentoring for the Mosaic Enterprise Challenge, and visits to their head office in Birmingham.

For further information about opportunities to support education please contact Dave Hughes, Engagement Manager – dave.hughes@bitc.org.uk

Aimhigher Plus

Aimhigher Plus is a partnership of universities, schools and colleges in the West Midlands. Shenley Academy works directly with the University of Birmingham to deliver a wide variety of interesting workshops, exciting trips and engaging events both in and out of school, designed to boost students’ subject knowledge, develop employability skills and provide advice and guidance to help students make the best decision about their future, including Further Education, Higher Education and possible careers.

Aimhigher Plus activities are delivered by staff from universities and colleges, career advisors, motivational speakers and employers. This year we have many exciting events planned, this includes:

• Apprenticeship Assemblies.
• MyTutor- an online tutoring service in Maths and English for Year 11 students in the lead up to their GCSEs.
• Cultural Capital London- a trip to London to see what our capital has to offer! This includes visits to museums and watching ‘Wicked’ on the West End!
• Crime Scene Investigation event- a practical “hands on” workshop designed to engage children in Scientific Enquiry using processes and applications used within Forensic Science and Crime Scene Investigation, promoting early intervention and introducing children at a young age to the Criminal Justice System.
• Motivational Assemblies delivered by Aim Higher University links.
• University of Birmingham Campus Days
• Birmingham City University Campus Days
• “Become your own hero” event – a workshop inspiring and encouraging students to take control of their own futures. Exploring pathways and equipping students with the decision making skills to develop their next steps.
• Mock Interview days
• Reach Higher- a physical rock climbing and bouldering experience focusing on overcoming goals and reaching targets. Year 10 students also developed problem solving skills and overcoming their fears taking the Leap of Faith!
• Speakers Trust- a full day of activities from a Speakers Trust trainer, designed to allow young people to embark on a journey from fear to confidence around public speaking, empowering them to speak up on an issue that matters to them.
• Liverpool Slavery Museum trip- students enjoyed a day in Liverpool. We visited the national slavery museum, explored Liverpool city centre and visited the University of Liverpool.
• Plus many more!

Visit to the Slavery Museum

University of Birmingham Campus Day

Careers and Enterprise Company

The national network connects schools and colleges with employers and careers programme providers and supports them to work together to provide young people with effective and high-quality encounters with the world of work. The network is made up of Enterprise Coordinators who we co-fund with Local Enterprise Partnerships and Combined Authorities. Enterprise Coordinators are trained professionals who work with clusters of schools and colleges to build careers plans and make connections to local and national employers.

Aspire to Aston Programme

Aspire to Aston is a sustained engagement programme that works with students in year 7 to 11 to help raise aspirations and normalise the idea of going to Higher Education. It helps to encourage students to start thinking about their future education and career goals and to help students recognise and develop transferrable skills such as teamwork and leadership. These combined outcomes will also assist in raising GCSE attainment.

Forward Thinking Birmingham – University of Birmingham

Forward Thinking is a progressive programme of higher education awareness activity designed to encourage and support future application to higher education. It has been designed to support appropriate subject choices in year 9 and 11 and aid attainment raising whilst also informing students about higher education pathways, courses, student life and employment opportunities.  The objective of the programme is to motivate students to maximise their potential and attainment in secondary education. It helps to develop students’ knowledge and understanding about higher education and of the variety of courses and higher education opportunities available post 18.