Whole Education

An effective partnership between business and education has led to the development of an Advanced Apprenticeship scheme with real world learning and excellent progression routes.

Batley Girls’ High School, in collaboration with Batley Business and Enterprise Centre and North Kirklees FE College, have developed a simple but incredibly effective Advanced Apprenticeship scheme in ICT. The partnership scheme has opened up new options to students who have wanted to study and learn beyond 16, but who have not wanted to take the A-Level route. Pupils now have greater choice and say over their futures, and the scheme also allows students to progress into Higher Education through the Advanced Apprenticeship.

The girls’ and the boys’ school each took on two Advanced ICT Apprentices in an employed capacity. Although recruited in Year 11 in the January of their final year, they were not taken on as 6th formers, but as employees of the school. They were paid £85 per week and became part of the ICT team. Inducted as new employees and subject to the same procedures of any junior employee, they are line managed by the Chief ICT Technician at the school who acts as both a line manager and a workplace mentor.

Eighteen months after starting in August 2007, both schools have highly skilled and valuable ICT employees and the schools swap the apprentices across both sites. They spend 3.5- 4 days a week in school and 1- 1.5 days at the local FE College in Dewsbury.

The programme is now in its fourth year and all apprentices have gone on to degree courses or directly into ICT employment. They have become valuable employees and show the potential that schools have as both employers and educators.

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