Quick summary:
- Engaging with schools can be a fantastic opportunity for both your organisation and the young people you’ll support, but it is important to approach it strategically and with intention.
- Begin by identifying your priorities and setting your goals, identifying the right schools or groups of students, and getting in touch.
- Next, plan your activities, taking care to time them well. Work closely with the school to align your priorities and plans.
- Adequate planning and preparation are essential, and evaluating your activity thoroughly afterwards will help you to improve for next time.
How to Start Your School Engagement Strategy
Partnerships with local schools offer numerous benefits to both you as an employer and the young people you will work with.
For your organisation, school outreach can enhance your reputation, help you become a better employer, and give you access to a pipeline of exceptional young talent. For young people, employer activities in school can boost their confidence, build their skills, and help them to enter the working world on the right foot.
Here’s how to get started in 8 simple steps:
Step 1: Identify your priorities
Before you can start engaging with schools, you need to understand your goals and priorities. Are you trying to build a talent pipeline, promote your job opportunities, or simply boost your reputation by doing some good in your community?
Start by setting some goals and getting as specific as you can. What do you want to achieve and what does success look like?
Try to set 2-3 SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Step 2: Identify the right schools
Next, identify the schools you want to work with. You might simply choose the schools closest to your place of business, or you might look at other factors.
Some employers choose to prioritise schools with a strong programme in a particular subject that is relevant to their industry, such as an engineering firm prioritising schools known for excellence in the sciences.
Others focus instead on schools where the need is greatest, such as those with a high number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds or in a region where a lot of young people are not in employment, education or training (NEET).
As you identify schools to reach out to, refer back to your goals from Step 1 to ensure your plans and aims align.
Step 3: Get in touch
It’s now time to reach out to those schools you identified. If the school has a specific careers guidance department or a person in charge of this service, contact them first. If not, contact the headteacher for general outreach or the head of a department for subject-specific outreach.
Start the conversation by sending a short and friendly email. Introduce yourself and your company, talk about why engaging students in careers activities matters to you, and then make your offer. Be as specific as you can here. Are you hoping to take part in an event, deliver a careers talk, become an approved work experience placement provider, or something else? You should also specify that you are open to hearing about any ideas or needs the school may have and working towards a mutually beneficial partnership.
Quick tip: get in touch on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. This allows you to avoid the Monday morning rush or the Friday pre-weekend wind-down, both of which could result in your email getting lost amidst other priorities.
Step 4: Timing activities right
When it comes to career activities, timing matters almost as much as what you choose to do. The school will be able to advise you on this but do your own research too.
National observations such as National Apprenticeship Week in February, National Careers Week in March, and industry-specific awareness weeks can be ideal hooks for outreach activities. Most schools also offer work experience placements at a specific time of year, so get in touch with the school in plenty of time if you want to become a placement provider.
Remember to avoid busy periods such as exams, mock exams, or new student induction season.
Step 5: Design your activities
Once you’ve got the green light from your chosen school, you can design your activities. This might include writing a talk or presentation, creating workshop materials, preparing your booth for a careers fair, or designing a group activity.
Work closely with your contact at the school to ensure that your activities are suitable and align with their goals, priorities, and student needs.
Step 6: Plan and prepare
Adequate planning and preparation are the most important factors in offering a great school outreach activity. Always allow yourself more time than you think you’ll need to prepare. You might need to test your technology, rehearse your presentation, or get a final sign-off from the headteacher or careers advisor on your workshop materials, so make sure you build in time for this.
Step 7: Deliver your first activity
It’s time to deliver your activity!
Take a deep breath, triple-check that you’re thoroughly prepared, and don’t be too hard on yourself if things don’t go perfectly. Like any presentation or group delivery, just respond to the room and keep the group engaged.
Step 8: Evaluate and improve
Once you have carried out a school outreach activity, it is important to evaluate your performance and assess how it went. Consider both qualitative factors, such as how interested the students seemed and quantitative factors, such as how many students you managed to speak to.
Creating great school outreach programmes is an ongoing process, and evaluating your work so that you can improve is a vital part of it. Instead of aiming for perfection, aim to make every activity slightly better than the one before.
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