Edge Impact Report for 2018 - Edge Foundationcentury workplace and life. I have been particularly excited this year by the launch of Edge Future Learning. This is the home of our delivery

shaping the future of education


Impact Report 2018

Edge Foundation4 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA020 7960 1540www.edge.co.uk

The Edge Foundation is a registeredcharity and company limited byguarantee. Registered in England.Charity number 286621.

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Last summer I published a comment piece in The Times outlining the 10 things I believe are wrong with our education system. Sadly nobody has waved a magic policy wand yet and made changes for the better, but these are issues which Edge has worked hard to address and campaign for over the past year.

One concern which received wider attention in 2018 is how draconian performance measures, the EBacc and Progress 8, are driving creativity and skills out of our schools. I recognised the value of the arts and entertainment industries to the economy three decades ago, when we founded the BRIT School. We are world leaders in theatre, art, television, fashion, music and computer gaming, yet the talent pipeline is under threat. Since 2010, there has been a 19 per cent drop in students studying GCSE art, music, dance and drama.

Foreword by Lord Baker

Pictured: Front cover, Students from Norham High School on Tyneside learnt about local history, sustainable transport and careers during a project with local transport company, Go North East; above, Edge Chair, Lord Baker, channels his inner pirate at the V&A Museum of Childhood.

Furthermore, the impact of our narrow, out-dated curriculum is not just being felt in the creative industries. At the Edge Annual Lecture event in October, we heard that science and medical students, although academically very able, do not have the technical skills or manual dexterity to carry out experiments or stitch patients together after surgery.

It makes for a grim picture, but there are beacons of excellence which we highlighted in our report, Towards a Twenty-First Century Education System. Schools like XP in Doncaster, School 21 in East London and Stanley Park in Sutton, are bucking the trend, putting creativity at the heart of their curricula and equipping their students with the skills, attitudes and aptitudes to prepare them for careers in the 21st century workplace and life.

I have been particularly excited this year by the launch of Edge Future Learning. This is the home of our delivery work with schools, colleges and universities, putting into practice the important lessons learned through our network of projects and partnerships. Our pilot in the North East of England got off to a flying start in September in three schools on Tyneside. Already teachers, students and their families are reporting the transformative effects of how Project Based Learning builds young people’s confidence, resilience, and enhances their engagement and joy in learning.

Evidence underpins everything Edge does. We were delighted to welcome Katherine Emms to the team giving us the extra capacity we need to maintain the rigour and voracity of our research. In the coming year we aim to build on this year’s pioneering work: by helping schools to develop key partnerships with local employers: by embedding careers information, advice and guidance into the curriculum: by supporting teachers via externships and free curriculum resources: by sharing best practice and creating a forum for the critical conversations we need to have to ensure our education system is fit for this century, not the last.

Lord Baker Chair of the Edge Foundation

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Developing evidence

The second of our Big Debates in 2018 on the Philosophy of Vocational Education; our report is available to download from the Edge website http://www.edge.co.uk/sites/default/files/documents/vocational_philosophy_final_0.pdf Find our reports and read more at www.edge.co.uk/research

• We have also continued to act as a convener and hub for research and policy work across the sector. Our Research Review Group brings together leading academics, policy makers and foundations to plan, commission and share research, while our programme of support for early career researchers is helping to develop the next generation of specialists in this area.

Pictured: The Policy and Research team, from left to right, Katherine Emms, Research Assistant, Olly Newton, Director of Policy and Research, Andrea Alczik, Policy and Research Manager, and Helen Beardmore, Education Delivery Manager.

• We established a national centre of expertise around skills shortages in the UK economy, supported by a group of leading academics and partner organisations. This enabled us to publish our first three bulletins focusing on skills needs in the engineering, technology and creative industries. We will continue to publish termly bulletins during 2019.

• We founded our own Edge research centre and began to undertake primary research on both our own projects and with leading partners. We completed work for WorldSkills UK showing the important role of skills competitions in raising aspirations. Our first joint report with Education and Employers and the National Education Union on employability skills in the classroom was published in November.

• We continued to commission work from leading research partners to provide an independent insight into key aspects of the education system. Our ground-breaking research with the UCL Institute of Education, published in spring, looked at comparing further education and skills across the four nations of the UK. In autumn, our report with Oxford University looked at the CREATE framework in Studio Schools and provided powerful insights applicable across the schools system.

• Throughout 2018, we published a series of high profile policy reports culminating in Towards a Twenty-First Century Education System: Edge Future Learning. This brings together all of our recent research on schools and colleges to make the case for a broad and balanced curriculum that incorporates strong links to employers, and the community, in order to bring learning to life. This will form the blueprint for much of our work over the coming year and was launched at our Annual Lecture at the Museum of Childhood in East London.

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THE EDGE GRANT FUND• In 2018 we opened up the Edge Grant Fund for the second of the three funding rounds.

Applications were invited for projects addressing one or more of the following funding themes:

– Addressing areas of skills shortages for the UK economy

– Improving the design and delivery of engaging and relevant Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance

– Supporting the development of Project Based Learning

– Supporting the development of a 14-19 curriculum which integrates both academic and technical/professional subjects

– Supporting the development of innovative approaches to higher education at levels 4, 5 and 6

– Measuring the performance of technical education.

From over 300 initial applications, 39 projects have made it through to the final stages and the successful grant recipients will be announced in early 2019.

THE EDGE GRANT FUND 2017• The 12 projects currently receiving grant funding from Edge continue to flourish. The sectors

involved range from construction to nuclear energy; digital to hospitality. The Fund has supported the development of three new facilities; supported the development of 229 employer partnerships and impacted on 50,000 young people, delivering better careers advice, better employability skills and better student destinations.

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Delivering transformation

Pictured : The Studio Liverpool received £99,750 to create the Digital Entrepreneurship Network, or Studio DEN, to help students develop and market a digital product with support from industry mentors. One of the project’s 2,500 students, Tom Keating, demonstrates his virtual gym.

EDGE HOTEL SCHOOL• The Edge Hotel School, now part of the University of Essex, continues to offer a different

approach to higher education, offering accelerated degrees in Hotel Management and Events Management with Hospitality, together with working alongside professionals in the 4* Wivenhoe House hotel. July saw a further 51 young professionals graduate to take their places in the global hospitality and events industry.

The Hotel School’s students were media stars in 2018 as their campaign to get the nation cooking mathematically better roast potatoes became the hot item in the press – culminating with an appearance by two students on ITV’s flagship programme This Morning, demonstrating the EHS ‘cut’ to presenters Eamonn and Ruth.

Maria says, ‘My degree has given me a rounded outlook on the hospitality industry. It highlighted to me what the hospitality industry actually needs from a manager and how the whole process works, from being a night porter to duty manager. The EHS experience is something that really benefits you when you go out there to become a manager yourself.’

Pictured (above): Maria Tolhurst at her graduation in 2018 with Wivenhoe House Director, Harry Murray MBE.

Maria Tolhurst from Essex joined the Edge Hotel School in 2015 to study for a BA in Hotel Management. After completing her honours degree in two years, Maria graduated in July. She is the first EHS graduate to become a general manager, having taken over managing the Ipswich Premier Inn just 18 months after completing her course.


CAREER FOOTSTEPS• It was another year of successful events in

schools and colleges with the Inspiring the Future team from our partners, Education and Employers. At over 330 events in schools and colleges across the UK, we connected with over 48,000 young people. Over 600 volunteers talked about their careers and the vocational education pathways they’d taken to get there.

• Building on our partnerships with leading school and college models around the world, our Edge Future Learning programme is working with schools and colleges to transform their curriculum and delivery by making it relevant to the real world.

In the North East, we have been working with leaders and teachers in three schools to integrate some of the successful approaches, supported by our partner schools and projects. Pupils are engaging in interactive projects, working directly with local businesses and community organisations to bring the curriculum to life.

You can find out more in our first film about the work at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsgVw5oxk9k and we will be expanding this approach during 2019 and beyond.

DELIVERING TRANSFORMATION

Pictured: Students from local schools spent the day at the National Theatre on London’s Southbank learning about technical jobs in the theatre

‘I enjoyed the opportunity to share what I do with the students. Hopefully [it] gives them a different perspective on the NHS and makes it an attractive option when thinking about a future career.’Chris Powell Wiffen, volunteer

‘It’s interesting to find out about different jobs and to see that you don’t have to go to uni.’ Student

‘learning about different careers. It’s been eye opening and inspiring.’ Student

Pictured (right): Staff and students at Excelsior Academy with partners from Edge, Ford Next Generation Learning and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership.

EDGE FUTURE LEARNING

• Influencing Parliamentary debate is a key activity, whether it’s asking MPs and Peers to table questions or coming up with ideas for backbench debates. In early May, we thought it was about time there was a debate about the Government’s skills strategy; Robert Halfon MP, chair of the Education Committee, took up the task with a Westminster Hall debate. Robert is a strong advocate for improving technical and vocational education and continues to speak up for the issues on which Edge campaigns.

Driving change

Pictured (right): Rob Halfon MP

FUELLING THE DEBATE ON SKILLS


IMPROVING TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL PROVISION IN HIGHER EDUCATION• Through our sponsorship of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Skills and

Employment, chaired by Nic Dakin MP, Edge raises the profile of skills policy in Parliament and across the UK. In May, we jointly hosted a panel discussion chaired by Bim Afoloami MP, debating technical and vocational provision in higher education.

ADDRESSING THE SELECT COMMITTEE• In early February, Alice Barnard was invited to give evidence to the Education Select

Committee for an inquiry on ‘value for money in higher education’. Alice told the committee that universities are not necessarily the only institutions capable of delivering the knowledge and skills students need, and that we should look afresh at the breadth of possibilities to deliver higher education.

She added that there is ‘a very traditional set-up of three-year undergraduate degrees,’ and that ‘compressed degrees can be more cost effective, both in terms of tuition fees and living costs’. She highlighted sandwich courses as often being a good option as they are more readily linked to employers.

Pictured: Debating education at the House of Commons. From left to right, Anna Morrison, Director of Amazing Apprenticeships, Andrew Boer, Principal of the Edge Hotel School, Chair Bim Afoloami MP, Alice Barnard, Chief Executive of Edge and Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of the Office for Students.

Pictured: Edge’s Chief Executive, Alice Barnard, gives evidence to the Education Select Committee.

EDGE PROJECT SHOWCASE• In September, as part of the 2018 Edge Grant Fund process, Edge hosted an event to

showcase six previous recipients of Edge funding. Over 50 guests, including Edge’s royal Patron, HRH The Duke of Kent, attended and were able to meet teaching staff and students from the exhibiting projects. There was also a roundtable event where potential applicants for the 2018 Edge Grant Fund were able to meet and question representatives from projects previously funded by Edge.

Showcasing success

Pictured left: Edge Chief Executive, Alice Barnard, and our Chair, Lord Baker, welcome HRH The Duke of Kent to our project showcase at the Park Plaza Riverside Hotel.

Pictured below: Automotive engineering students, Rhys Llewelyn and Megan Ainsworth, from Blackburn College, talk with HRH the Duke of Kent.

DRIVING CHANGE


EDGE ANNUAL LECTURE EVENT• This year we took as our theme The Importance

of Creativity in the Curriculum and there was no better venue than our hosts at the V&A Museum of Childhood. Director of the V&A, Tristram Hunt, gave a keynote address in which he highlighted the value and importance of studying creative subjects in schools to all a whole breadth of careers, not just for artists or designers. His sentiments were echoed by our distinguished panel, perhaps most notably Professor Roger Kneebone, Professor of Surgical Education at Imperial College.

Professor Kneebone spoke on BBC Radio 4’s flagship news programme, the Today programme, about his science and surgical students’ lack of tactile skills which he attributed to arts and technical subjects being driven off the curriculum. We attracted wide national media coverage, bringing this important issue into the spotlight.

Reflecting the Museum’s current exhibition, A Pirate’s Life for Me, we encouraged educators to be ‘more pirate’ which clearly struck a chord with FE News who publish Alice’s regular blog, making it their soundbite of the week.

Pictured (top): A full-capacity audience for our annual lecture event held this year at the V&A Museum of Childhood. (bottom) Discussing the importance of creativity in the curriculum, from left to right, Director of the V&A, Tristram Hunt, Edge Chief Executive, Alice Barnard, Professor of Surgical Education at Imperial College, Professor Roger Kneebone, Head teacher of the Plymouth School of Creative Arts, Dave Strudwick, and Managing Director and co-founder of jewellery company Tatty Devine, Rosie Wolfenden.

Pictured above: Edge’s Digital Marketing Executive, Dexter Hutchings, speaking at the 2018 National Apprenticeship Awards.

THE NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS• In 2017, Edge was delighted to welcome Dexter Hutchings to

the team as a Digital Marketing Apprentice. Since passing his Level 3 qualification in April, Dexter has gone from strength to strength contributing an essay to the Learning and Work Institute’s report on apprenticeships in the summer and taking part in a panel discussion at the publication’s launch at the House of Commons.

We were very proud when he was invited to give the inspirational speech at the National Apprenticeship Awards at Old Billingsgate. Dexter spoke eloquently to over 800 people about his experiences as an apprentice and the work he’s been doing with the Young Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (YAAN).

Supporting partners

AOC BEACON AWARDS• Edge continues to support the AoC Beacon Awards, sponsoring the award for Excellence

in the Practical Delivery of Technical and Professional Learning for the 2018/19 Academic Year. Three finalist colleges have been selected for visits and the eventual winner will be chosen from: Grimsby Institute for Further & Higher Education; Wiltshire College and East Kent College Group. The successful college will be announced at the prestigious TES FE Awards event in March 2019.

CONFERENCES• Edge supported the conference, Developing Careers Guidance through the Gatsby

Benchmarks, held at London South Bank University in June 2018. This event enabled careers practitioners to share best practice and meet interested and engaged employers.

Edge also supported the Whole Education Annual Conference in February 2018, which brought together many of the schools, colleges and educators that form the Whole Education network. Whole Education are dedicated to helping young people develop the range of skills and knowledge needed to thrive in life by making learning more relevant and engaging, wherever it takes place.

Pictured : Rotherham College of Arts and Technology’s ground breaking partnership between its Media Hair and Make-up course and the Clinical Simulation Department at the local NHS hospital, made them worthy winners in 2015/2016

SHOWCASING SUCCESS


EMERGENCY EXIT ARTS• Edge was very excited to work with outdoors arts company Emergency Exit Arts on a

community enrichment event in December. For the Innovators Imaginarium, artists and industry professionals worked in schools in Southwark drawing on the work of inventors and originators connected with the borough.

Inspired by historic characters such as Charles Babbage and Octavia Hill, 120 students from two local primary schools worked with experts in the fields of technology, engineering and innovation, and artists, to design and create large scale moving inventions. The finale was an illuminated procession with the children, their parents and carers and the local community culminating in an event in the park. It affirmed the need to continue to embrace a more STEAM-based approach to learning, supporting one of Edge’s key policies on the curriculum.

THE TES AWARDS• In addition to the TES FE Awards, in 2018 Edge was also a headline sponsor of the TES

Schools Awards, reflecting our growing relationship with the schools community.

In February we were delighted to present the Award for Employer Engagement to Stephenson College in Leicester. The college has developed a strong partnership with the Volvo Group enabling lecturers to spend time in industry, keep their knowledge up-to-date and ensure students are trained in the latest technology.

Brookside Academy in Street is Somerset’s largest primary school with 600 children. Its ethos of community and collaboration not only supports its students and their families, but new training and employment opportunities in the local area including employing 17 apprentices. Alice presented them with the award for Community and Collaboration at the TES Schools Awards ceremony in June.

THE WOW SHOW• In 2017, Gary Mitchell and Bill Hayward approached us with an idea to create an interactive

television magazine programme, giving young people fresh perspectives on the world of work. With sponsorship from Edge, City & Guilds and B&Ce, the support of LEPs in three regions and a host of partners from industry, business and the NHS amongst others, they created the WOW show.

The fast-paced 30 minute pilot episode was broadcast in May to secondary schools in Cambridge, Cornwall and Kent and followed by a live Q&A with careers professionals. Focusing on four areas – construction, digital, health care and hospitality – it highlighted lesser-known jobs in the sectors, such as prosthetics fitter, manager of a hotel for voles, art therapist, and showcased the Edge Hotel School.

Feedback from the evaluation showed that students felt they had a fresh perspective on the range of careers available to them, and valued the information on apprenticeships and other routes aside from university. Teachers felt the programme was informative and could be a useful teaching tool. There are plans to expand and broadcast further episodes in the near future.

Pictured (left): Presenting the Award for Employer Engagement, left to right, the compere, actor and comedian Alan Davies, Deputy Faculty Head of Technology and Professional Services at Stephenson College, Ruth Brighty, and Edge’s PR and Communications Manager, Jayne Phenton. (right) Awards host, Al Murray, aka the Pub Landord, teachers from Brookside Academy and Edge CEO, Alice Barnard.

Pictured (left): Binbot, an ambassador for recycling, leads the parade; it stands five metres high and is constructed from 33 wheelie bins. (right) Students carry lanterns decorated with drawings of their inventions on a parade to celebrate the STEAM project.

Pictured: The WOW Show aims to challenge young people’s preconceptions about careers; a still from the show highlighting the opportunities in the construction industry.

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

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Impact Report 2018

Edge Foundation4 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA020 7960 1540www.edge.co.uk

The Edge Foundation is a registeredcharity and company limited byguarantee. Registered in England.Charity number 286621.

Documents

Edge Impact Report for 2018 - Edge Foundationcentury workplace and life. I have been particularly excited this year by the launch of Edge Future Learning. This is the home of our delivery