A practical new path to success

More very positive ‘signs of spring’ this week, as Ed Balls officially announced Studio Schools; a new type of school designed to engage young people who are more suited exploring a practical learning path to success. Excitingly, they’re the first of their kind in the world, and will cater for 14-19 year olds from a range of abilities. The aim is to better suit the needs of young people who might not otherwise reach their full potential in traditional school environments.

The schools have been designed by Edge and the Young Foundation, acting through the Studio Schools Trust, and have been developed in partnership with the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The first two will open in September next year in Luton and Kirklees, with further plans for schools in Blackpool, Newham, Oldham and South Tyneside in 2011.

I’m proud to say that Studio Schools have been informed by extensive research and best practice from Britain and around the world. With a focus on business and enterprise, they will look and feel more like a business than a school. Students will participate in a range of enterprise activities, learning the majority of the curriculum through practical multi-disciplinary learning and participating in paid work. Importantly, on leaving Studio School, students will have a range of progression routes available to them including the potential to go to university.

The essential elements of Studio Schools very much reflect Edge’s ethos:
- Schools will teach the national curriculum but will have a very different style and ethos to most existing schools, with the majority of the curriculum taught through enterprise themed practical activities.
- Personalised learning and an innovative new staffing structure will ensure that students are supported to tailor the curriculum to their individual needs and aspirations.
- Students will spend a significant portion of their weekly time participating in hands-on, meaningful experience. Crucially, students will be paid for their work, with students over 16 earning a proper wage.
- On leaving their Studio School students will have gained at least Level 2 qualifications. They will have a range of progression routes available to them including apprenticeships, paid work, further and higher education.

I’m confident that Studio Schools will provide an important new option for young people who find the current academically focused education system disengaging. We know that there is a real need for this provision and I very much look forward to seeing many more Studio Schools open in the future.

A day that 'we've been waiting for'

It’s coming up to five years since Edge was launched, and Tuesday was a proud day for me. We had two great events that symbolized Edge’s work as a campaign and as a catalyst raising the stature of practical and vocational learning.

First was was the formal opening of our Academy in Milton Keynes by HRH the Duke of Kent. Of course it was nice to have all the dignitaries there and it was fabulous to see this spectacular building being used so well. But the highlight? For me, as always, it was talking to some of the young people there. Because they were clearly enjoying it and because I’m sure it will make a difference to their lives – though make no mistake, it will take time and incredible hard work for this to be reflected in ‘results’.

Which brings me to the young stars of ‘We Are The People We’ve Been Waiting For’, the feature-length documentary movie which received its world premiere at the Empire, Leicester Square on Tuesday evening. As with all the best premieres, there was a red carpet for the VIP guests, who included the five young people from Swindon (whose experiences are at the centre of the film) along with their family and friends.

The crowds lining the red carpet were thrilled to spot another contributor to the movie; Henry Winkler (aka ‘The Fonz’) as well as Oscar-winning producer David Puttnam (who inspired and guided the film with Michael Barber). It was a really fabulous evening - and the film, which I believe is powerful, provocative and very informative, was well received and hotly debated in the Q&A session that followed the screening.

It’s impossible to watch to the stories of the five teenagers from Swindon in the film without realising that there are many talents and many paths to success. But although the most fabulous examples of brilliant teaching and learning already exist, in general our education system does not provide a rich enough mix of opportunities and experiences; theoretical, practical, and work-based. These opportunities are vital if we are to enable young people to discover for themselves what they are good at, what they enjoy and who they want to be in life. And this surely is our common purpose, whether we are teachers, parents, employers or policy makers.

Edge is committed to this common purpose, and to encouraging everyone to watch the film, talk about their own experiences and then work out what actions they can take. As the film says, right now young people need us, but very soon we will need them – they are the people we’ve been waiting for. So, please watch it – and please talk about it. In fact I've been delighted to see so many positive blogs this week - thank you to everyone who's written something and/or featured the trailer.

First off, you’ll be able to pick up a copy with the Family section of The Guardian on Saturday 28 November. And do get in touch if you want to show the film at your school, college, organisation or area - we’ll do our best to help.

Most importantly, make sure you ‘have your say’ on what needs to change in education at wearethepeoplemovie.com

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Comprehensive inspiration

As ever there has been a lot going on in terms of policy, not least with Mandelson’s Skills Strategy and last week’s HE green paper. But actually, what I think is more is Michael Gove’s speech from last Friday, outlining Conservative priorities for education.

Ten years ago, and more recently, you would not have bet on Conservative education policy starting with the ‘determination to make opportunity more equal in our society’. It is a very well thought out, strategic speech that takes as inspiration ‘those superb state comprehensives which have shown what independence for professionals and accountability to parents can achieve’; it argues for a radical shift in power, giving more freedom and control to heads, teachers and parents. Five priorities are listed, in order:

Raising the prestige, esteem and professionalism of teaching
A safe, secure and ordered environment
Radical reform of the curriculum and qualifications
A new generation of superb state schools
Reform to funding

The emphasis within curriculum reform is very much on academic standards and classic knowledge-based subjects as you would expect. However it also acknowledges the need to reform vocational education to ensure there are more credible and respected qualifications available to those who want a more practical education:

“We believe that our highest priority in vocational educations should be expanding the scope for young people to acquire practical skills by working alongside craft and technical experts. That is why we would treble the number of Young Apprenticeships and lift the cap on schools offering this valued course. We will also build a new generation of Technical Schools to teach high quality vocational courses.”

It is a very good speech. For me there is always the worry however that practical and vocational learning is seen as something entirely separate from academic courses. In this respect, it is interesting to look at the five named state comprehensives it uses as inspiration. Edge knows Thomas Telford College very well, and so we know all pupils there learn a vocational subject as well as academic ones. A quick perusal of other web-sites also tells you, for example:

Harris City Academy, Crystal Palace, offers “a wide range of very high quality academic and vocational courses and all students have the opportunity to undertake realistic business and technological problem-solving projects” as well as “a full range of GCSEs and applied GCSE courses, as well as BTEC courses to suit every taste and aptitude”.

Brooke Weston City College, Corby intends to “refine our technology specialism to concentrate on 'digital media' whilst our vocational specialism will allow us to promote 'engineering' as well as 'construction and the built environment'”.

In Gateshead, Emmanuel College’s 2009 Ofsted report noted: “Specialist subjects have a profound upwards effect upon the college’s overall GCSE performance. Results in design and technology, information and communication technology (ICT) and business are very high and combine with those of other subjects to help the college to be placed amongst the very best performing schools in the country … Students are provided with many opportunities within the curriculum to apply the skills which they have learnt within the classroom to real life situations”.

But of course ... how could it be otherwise!

Northumberland’s 'future story' and The Pitmen Painters

I’ve mentioned Barnsley Local Authority a number of times in my blog recently, and how they are seeking to transform education across their borough. I seem to be meeting more and more local authorities who are now starting to address seriously and strategically the need for far more practical and vocational learning opportunities for young people in their patch.

This week was the turn of Northumberland. Improving learning and educational opportunities for all children and young people is the Council’s number one priority. While past efforts have been successful in raising standards, they are questioning the extent to which the improvement can be sustained and how effective it has been in narrowing the gap in achievement. Promoting more practical learning opportunities is seen as a key element philosophically - and thus across all schools- as well as more directly linked to skill needs in some of the most deprived areas. Let me give you a couple of examples of what they are up to…

First, as the biggest employer in the area - and despite the recession - the County Council is taking a lead by doubling the number of apprentices they are employing; offering a further 100 places.

Secondly - and following a very successful boat-building exercise in Blyth with a master craftsman working with 8 Year 10 students - the Council is now seeking to equip a boatyard to construct a full-size replica of a ‘collar brig’, using this as a training facility for apprentices. The twist might be to combine the past with the future by equipping the boat with the latest renewable technology. Sustainability and renewables are integral to the area’s future, because, of course, Northumberland has an excess of water - and wind…and grass…and trees.

During the meeting I happened to notice in the Chief Executive’s office a painting by one of the Pitmen Painters, of a play I was due to see later that evening. It’s a fabulous play, about how a group of miners from Ashington, near Blyth, take up painting through the WEA and achieve quite remarkable results and recognition. Ultimately however support is lost for the dream of a ‘University of Ashington’.

Perhaps there could be a University Technical College and a University Centre (linking say to Sunderland University) set up near Ashington, with sustainability as its theme? What a perfect ending to the play’s story…and the start of Northumberland’s ‘future story’; the move from coal and mining to sustainability and renewable resources, led by the youth of today. How exciting is that?!