The Progress Group

Careers, Advice and Guidance  ·  CareersInc  ·  The Progress Group
CareersInc to sponsor the Careers & Enterprise Award at this year’s Educate Awards

CareersInc, an impartial information, education, advice and guidance (CEIAG) provider have signed-up to sponsor the newly created Careers & Enterprise Award at the Educate Awards. The new category recognises those schools, academies and colleges who are preparing young people the best they can for their future careers.

The Educate Awards, now in their 8th year, were founded by Kim O’Brien to celebrate the excellent education and support being delivered by schools in the Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester areas. Nominations are judged by a panel of judges, before the shortlist being announced prior to the event taking place.

This year sees five new award categories launched, with the Careers & Enterprise Award being one. At a time of such uncertainty for young people, quality and impartial careers advice and guidance has never been more important. A report published by NCFE warns of increased levels of unemployment in Q3 of 2020 compared to the end of 2019, with figures being around 2.88m. This spike is likely to have a knock-on effect on young people seeking Post 16 pathways, as companies contract to survive. This situation may result in fewer apprenticeship training opportunities, and more competition for each job advertised. Therefore, impartial Careers Advice and Guidance (CIAG) will be crucial for helping to advise and guide young people as to their various Post 16 pathways, ensuring that they are aware of all routes open to them, their advantages and disadvantages. This commitment to providing quality careers guidance aligns with the Government’s aspirations and guidance.

Talking of their involvement in the awards, James Madine, CEO of CareersInc said;

 “We knew we wanted to get involved and give something back to our industry again this year. CareersInc sponsoring the new Careers & Enterprise Award category seemed such a great fit, as we wanted to celebrate the schools and Careers Advisers who have gone above and beyond to prepare their pupils for their best possible future. This year has been particularly challenging for Year 11s, so quality and impartial careers advice and guidance is of paramount importance. We must do everything we can to ensure that the current situation doesn’t adversely impact young people from progressing into HE/FE/vocational pathways.

“As an industry, we have a duty to support our pupils to understand that their Post 16 options are still available to them, even though traditional Open Days or exams aren’t taking place; and that their hopes and dreams are still alive, even if things look and feel different to them right now.”

This commitment and spirit is just what the judges will be looking for when judging this category, as they’ll be looking to see excellent examples of career-related learning about the range of career pathways and opportunities available to them. The judges will also look for examples of schools and Careers Leaders who have helped to develop an exceptional enterprise and entrepreneurship mind-set in their pupils.

James went on to say;

“Now more than ever is it vitally important that we come together to recognise and reward those working in the education sector. Over the past few months, we have seen our industry go through such challenges times, as schools were told to close their doors in order to protect lives. But my fellow educational colleagues stepped up to this challenge, finding innovative and engaging ways to still support their students. From teaching to support staff, it was incredible to see how we have all come together as an industry. It is this strength and commitment why I feel this year’s Educate Awards are so important – as now more than ever do we need to stand-up and applaud our colleagues.”

Kim O’Brian, Founder of the Educate Awards commented;

“We are thrilled to have CareersInc on board and supporting the new Careers & Enterprise Award. Preparation for future employment in the ever-changing world of work is so important and it is only right to shine the spotlight on those schools and colleges that are going above and beyond for pupils and students.”

The Educate Awards are scheduled to take place in November 2020 in Liverpool. Visit their website to find out more or to get involved.

high-demand-for-end-point-assessment-in-the-health-and-social-care-sector
End-Point Assessment  ·  Prepare to Achieve  ·  The Progress Group
High demand for End-Point Assessment in the Health and Social Care sector

After an unprecedented few months for the apprenticeship training sector, Prepare to Achieve have taken some time to reflect on what has been a successful few months for the specialist End-Point Assessment Organisation.

Between March-May, Prepare to Achieve have worked with 39 different health and social care employers, supporting over 100 of their apprentices through the End-Point Assessment (EPA) element of their apprenticeship standard. A number of factors have led them to achieving this success, including the development of their online EPA Platform, which provides a flexible and simple approach to the final stage of the apprenticeship programme.

As with many industries, the apprenticeship sector as a whole has taken a hit during the pandemic. Leading education charity, The Sutton Trust, reported that out of 156 employers surveyed, 61% were forced to suspend on-the-job learning, furlough recruits or make them redundant during lockdown. However, Prepare to Achieve’s speediness to embrace the changes and adjustments set out by the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) ensured that their support of employers, apprentices and training providers was not compromised. These adjustments saw the Adult Care Worker Level 2 and Lead Adult Care Worker Level 3 being adapted to allow for 100% online assessment.

This new way of assessing apprentices has benefited many businesses during the pandemic with providers able to support apprentices remotely to prepare for EPA.

An employer who recently chose Prepare to Achieve as their End-Point Assessment Organisation said:

“The process was so much easier from start to finish. We were able to work the assessments around our employees’ busy schedules, which worked better for us. Booking the assessments was all done online and was quick and easy, too.

“Our apprentice also said she felt more comfortable taking the assessment in a familiar setting, rather than having an Assessor physically in the same room as her. It was the first time we’d completed the whole EPA process online, and we’ll definitely continue to do it this way moving forwards.”

Lee Evans, CEO at Prepare to Achieve said,

“It’s been great that we’ve had such a good response to the online delivery of our EPA services. Over the past 3 months, we’ve had over 200 assessments completed online and we’ve had really positive feedback from both employers and apprentices about their experiences.”

Prepare to Achieve offer online EPA services for the Adult Care Worker Level 2 and Lead Adult Care Worker Level 3 apprenticeship standards. They hope to continue with this remote way of assessment moving forwards, to fully support employers through the End-Point Assessment journey.

Independent Education  ·  Progress Schools  ·  The Progress Group
Progress Schools bridges divide for young person during time of crisis

Progress School has recently come to the aid of one of their students (who for confidentially will be referred to as AD) and wider family unit, after a physical altercation led to AD becoming temporally homeless.

Not sure who to turn to, AD’s mum contacted the Head of School to notify them of the situation. The team at Progress Schools were quick to react to put steps in place for the family to access the support needed during this time of crisis. They contacted Social Care to report the situation and seek support for the family. Social Care were able to offer support to the family and agree a more suitable and safer living arrangement for AD in the short term.

During this time, Progress Schools worked collaboratively with Social Care whilst continuing to support AD and his wider family. In addition to delivering his educational provision, Progress Schools also provided financial relief by issuing the family with Free School Meal (FSM) vouchers to help with the additional costs incurred due to AD being at home all day. This struggle has been witnessed across many families during the lockdown, with families needing this extra lifeline to help support them.

This quick reaction by the team at Progress Schools not only demonstrates their strong pastoral support, which helps students facing many personal difficulties, but it also meant that AD was able to remain living with his family. Without the support of Progress Schools and Social Care, AD may have entered into the care system, which, at a time of national crisis and uncertainty, everyone wanted to avoid.

Social Care is just one partner who Progress Schools work with. They also refer to and access support from the likes of CAHMs, mental health organisations and local youth development organisations who can support with specific challenges. This robust partnership network enables Progress Schools to offer a holistic educational and well-being provision, which during the last few months of national lockdown, have been vital for so many of their student.

This support has perhaps never been more evident than in the past few months. Students and families have been supported in a multitude of ways via a remote learning package and face-to-face (socially distanced) visits. This has included weekly tutor “keeping in touch” sessions and head of school welfare checks. The team have also carried out weekly welfare visits to their students to deliver and collect individual work packs and FSM vouchers. Due to the commitment and dedication of each staff member at Progress Schools, all students and families have been well supported, resulting in minimal causes for concern regarding student welfare.

The group of independent secondary schools, who collectively support over 215 secondary aged students throughout England, have also invested in online learning platforms since the lockdown started. They have issued students with the likes of laptops and delivered online session through remote learning platforms such as Google Classrooms and Microsoft Teams. These novel approaches have ensured that as many students as possible have been supported during this unprecedented time. This has enabled them to continue with their delivery, whilst also act as a lifeline for young people when they need additional pastoral support to aid in their social and emotional wellbeing, just like AD.

Innovative Alliance Adult Education Training Provider Liverpool
Adult Education  ·  Innovative Alliance  ·  The Progress Group
Series of free online videos to support home-schooling and skill development

At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent nation-wide lockdown, the team at Innovative Alliance knew that they had to do something to try and support others. Understanding the demands being placed on parents to support with home-schooling, the team set about developing a series of bite-sized English and maths videos.

The adult education training provider, who is based in Liverpool, utilised the skills of their none-furloughed tutors to develop the bite-sized videos. These free resources demonstrated how English and maths could be embedded in to everyday tasks, such as working out how much paint was needed to decorate a room, how to write persuasively and how to burn calories.

Talking of the initiative, CEO Ian Green said;

“It is part of our ethos to give back and support others, and that’s just what these resources help us to do. We wanted to create some simple, easily accessible bite-size tools that would appeal to people of all maths and English abilities, and that’s just what we did. Our team of tutors worked on the project, putting their vocational knowledge and skills to good use. They had a lot of fun deciding on which theme to do next, with the video about burning calories going down a storm!”

All videos have been published on the training provider’s website as a free resource, and shared across their social media channels. Colleagues who have been home-schooling their children have commented how handy it was to have access to such resources.

But the resources also had another purpose. The team also wanted to support individuals to improve their numeracy and literacy skills during this time, in lieu of being able to support them face-to-face. By making these resources free and open to all, IA have given individuals from all social-economic backgrounds the opportunity to develop themselves. It is hoped that these resources will help to provide new knowledge and skills relating to English and maths, which individuals can then apply within the workplace (or to support them in gaining employment) once the lockdown measures are lifted.

There have been eight video resources created to date, all of which are available here.

Adult Education  ·  Innovative Alliance  ·  The Progress Group
Opening new doors to women in construction

In an industry that creates a perception of a male dominated environment, Cheryl Ali is helping to rebalance the gender gap, after completing her training with Innovative Alliance.

Before starting her training with Innovative Alliance, Cheryl was unemployed, but knew she wanted to pursue a career in Industrial Cleaning. She enrolled on a Building and Construction course to obtain her CSCS card that would allow her to progress on her career journey.

However, whilst completing the course, she realised that there were various opportunities within the sector that she had never considered before. The course has opened new doors to a wide variety of career paths available to her.

She said, “I found the support from the Tutors excellent as well as the fun and engaging work atmosphere. I would highly recommend this course to people from all walks of life.”

Cheryl is now receiving the support she needs from Innovative Alliance and their extensive network of employers within the industry, to decide which career path is right for her.

Her tutor Ray said: “Cheryl has worked very hard to achieve her Level 1 Introduction to Construction and CSCS card. She has the motivation to go far and do well. I’m very proud of Cheryl.

“Sometimes it’s hard to open your eyes to other possibilities that are available to you when you’ve had your heart focused on something for so long. So, it’s great that the course has helped her to branch out and consider new opportunities.”

Innovative Alliance offer construction courses that are ideal for those who have little or no experience within the sector. For more information about this course, contact info@innovativealliance.co.uk or call 0151 433 7171.

Page 5 of 5