Summer Projects 2015 Handbook - www.teachfirst.org.uk
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Summer Projects 2015
Handbook
www.teachfirst.org.uk
Teach First is a registered charity, no. 1098294
Contents
This handbook explains how you can go about
offering a Summer Project to our community, and
the support we provide at every stage.
If you have any questions, please contact a
member of the Summer Projects team at
summerprojects@teachfirst.org.uk or on
020 3117 2480.
Background
a. What is a Summer Project?
b. Why provide a Summer Project?
The Process
a. Step-by-step
b. Key dates
Submitting a Project
a. How to design a Summer Project
b. Make your project stand out
c. Important information
Other Opportunities
Examples
a. Family Links
b. Accenture
c. ARK Schools
d. BFI (British Film Institute)
teachers
Your Summer Project will help our
able
develop their leadership skills to be
s and
to raise the achievement, aspiration
low-
access to opportunity of pupils from
income communities.
mer
As outlined overleaf, offering a Sum
sation
Project will also provide your organi
ial
with additional resource and potent
recruitment opportunities.
Background
What are Summer Projects?
Summer Projects are mini-internships. They take place during the month of August, when our community of
talented leaders join new organisations to complete, or contribute to, a short-term goal or objective.
Teach First participants and ambassadors (alumni) provide a unique additional resource for your organisation.
Having been successful in our rigorous selection process, and as part of the intensive Teach First Leadership
Development Programme (LDP), these talented individuals have combined working, training and qualifying as a
teacher with leadership training, coaching and mentoring.
Summer Projects are open to Teach First participants at the end of their first or second year on the LDP and Teach
First ambassadors; mid-career professionals who have already completed the LDP. About half of our ambassadors
still work in schools, with the other half spread across a range of industries in the public, private and third sectors.
The Summer Project scheme is open to all of them.
Why provide a Summer Project?
Recruitment: This is an unbeatable opportunity.
Participants and ambassadors are encouraged to
explore their career options and progress into new
positions, both inside and outside the classroom. We
believe that to truly address educational inequality we
need leaders in all fields and sectors. Recognising the
quality of our community, the country’s most
sought-after employers continue to offer projects that
lead to employment offers.
Increase your impact: Summer Projects are about
more than just getting things done. In the past,
participants have helped engage corporate employees
in fundraising events, designed successful funding bids
for national charities and presented research proposals
to government ministers. By providing a Summer
Project, your organisation is supporting us to develop
a generation of leaders who share a commitment to
addressing educational disadvantage at a pupil, school
and system level.
“At PwC we’ve offered Summer Projects to 124
Teach First participants and ambassadors
since 2010 and the conversion from Summer
Projects to full-time graduate roles continues
to be very high. We know that the graduates
we recruit from Teach First are some of our
best communicators, are highly driven and
combine self-discipline with warmth, empathy
and determination and we’re proud to work so
closely towards the Teach First mission.”
Andrew Bargery, Campus and Schools
Engagement Leader, PwC
98% of providers stated that the quality of Teach First participants
was an important motivation for their organisation offering a
Summer Project.
The Process 4. The selection process is at your discretion. However,
please note that the majority of candidates are
professional teachers and therefore meetings /
Step-by-step interviews must take place outside of school hours /
This process is based on our experience of creating a term. Half-term takes place from Monday 25 May
fair and transparent process for all project providers for most schools. Please ensure interviews are
and candidates. We ask that it is strictly adhered to. scheduled during these periods.
1. Following an expression of interest from your 5. Your organisation is responsible for communicating
organisation we will assign you a dedicated offers and non-offers to successful and unsuccessful
Account Manager. Your Account Manager can candidates within the specified dates for each round.
provide advice on recruitment and will be your
point of contact throughout the process.
By taking part in the Summe
r Project process your
organisation is agreeing to
2. Your Account Manager will: provide us with the names
of participants and ambas
sadors who:
• Work with you to design and articulate your project 1. Apply for a project
• Advertise and market your project 2. Are invited to attend an int
erview
• Collect applications on your behalf 3. Attend an interview
4. Accept a project
We know that every provider’s needs vary, so each 5. Accept any job opportunity
you may choose to
support package is unique and designed with your offer them following the pro
ject
individual needs in mind.
This process will enable us
to identify individuals
who accept multiple, conflic
3. Applications are shared with you after the closing ting projects. Whilst this
rarely happens, we work to
date (Monday 4 May 2015) avoid it so that you do not
end up with an unfilled pro
ject.
Key Dates Summer
Interview Projects
Submit
Advertise Offer
January March May July
February April June August
Details Dates
Submit Submit your project advertisments via the 26 Jan - 06 March
Teach First Website
Advertise Project advertisments go live for 23 March - 26 April
participants and ambassador to apply
Shortlisting An opportunity to shortlist applicants and 04 May - 15 May
invite them to interview/ Assessment Centre*
Interview Interview and selection process 18 May - 29 May
Offer Offer projects to successful applicants. 01 - 03 June
Participants and ambassadors to accept or
decline project offers by the end of
this period
* Teach First will email you all applications received for your projects during the first two days of the
shortlisting period.
3ject
Submitting a Pro A strong motivator for many of our participants and
ambassadors taking part in Summer Projects is the
chance to address educational inequality in a new
How to design a project context. If your project links to our key areas of focus
Once you have decided to submit a project, your (see the Teach First 2022 Fair Education Impact Goals
Account Manager will support you to design it. below), please ensure this is highlighted in your project
description.
Our top 10 tips for designing a project:
Our 2022 Fair Education Impact Goals set out what
1. Have clear deliverables and objectives needs to be achieved during the next ten years to help
2. Create a challenge ensure that no child’s educational success is limited by
3. Have one supervisor / contact point their socio-economic background.
4. Make time for participants and ambassadors to
5.
learn
Ensure a good induction 2022 Fair Education
6. Make the most of the skills and knowledge of
classroom leaders
Impact Goals
7. Make it flexible enough to draw on the skills of the
individual you recruit 1. Narrow the gap in literacy and numeracy
8. Create time for participants and ambassadors to at primary school
learn about career opportunities with you and how 2. Narrow the gap in GCSE attainment at
their existing skills and knowledge are transferable
secondary school
into your organisation / industry
9. Expose them to areas of the organisation that 3. Ensure pupils develop key strengths,
connect with the social sector / education including resilience and wellbeing, to
10. Give them opportunities to connect with you prior support high aspirations
to the project and keep in touch afterwards 4. Narrow the gap in the proportion of young
people taking part in further education
Make your projects stand out or employment-based training after
If the content of the project is right it will sell itself. finishing their GCSEs
However, our team has a lot of experience in helping
5. Narrow the gap in university graduation,
organisations make their projects appealing to
participants and ambassadors. If you would like including from the 25 per cent most
support, please contact your Account Manager. Here selective universities
are some points to get you started:
1. Avoid jargon More information can be found on our website:
2. Be as specific as possible www.teachfirst.org.uk/AboutUs
3. Explain how your organisation or the project
contributes to addressing educational inequality Submit your project
4. Consider the competition and demonstrate how Once you know what your project will look like, visit
successful candidates can progress, make an teachfirst.org.uk to submit the details via our online
impact, or gain / share influence through your ‘Project Submission Form’. This information will be
project advertised to participants and ambassadors from 23
5. Be clear about what key skills or knowledge areas March 2015.
participants and ambassadors will learn during
the project The Summer Projects team will contact you prior
6. Outline your motivation for providing a project to advertising your project details if they have any
i.e. recruitment purpose, to meet your questions.
organisational goals etc.
“Our Summer Project intern was a brilliant addition to our team during her time at
the NSPCC. She had a good understanding of child protection policy, and worked
independently, using her excellent research and analytical skills, to produce a report
on online safety. She is now a named author on our new publication. We are very
delighted with what she has achieved.”
Claire Lilley, Head of Child Safety Online, NSPCCImportant Information
Summer Projects should last between one and three
weeks. Two-week projects tend to be the most popular
because all participants and many ambassadors are
committed teaching professionals who often have
additional training requirements during the summer.
Other Opportunities
It is a legal requirement that profit-making
If you would like to advertise job
organisations pay at least the National Minimum
Wage (NMW) to a participant or ambassador for vacancies to our ambassador community
the duration of their project. Registered charities via our internally secure website, please
are exempt from the legislation and are not obliged email Dana Granville at ambassadors@
to pay for projects, although we ask that they cover teachfirst.org.uk
reasonable travel expenses. A number of project
providers have offered remuneration above NMW in the Help us ensure that all children have
past and it is worth taking this into consideration. an excellent education, regardless
of their background. If you would
Expectations of participants and ambassadors like to discuss opportunities for your
We select high calibre individuals on the basis of core
organisation to support our work please
competencies and values: interaction, knowledge,
contact Liz Alleston, LAlleston@teachfirst.
resilience, self-evaluation, planning and organising,
humility, respect and empathy, leadership and problem org.uk, Head of Corporate Relations.
solving. You can expect this from every candidate.
We expect our participants and ambassadors to
demonstrate all of the professionalism and leadership
qualities they apply in the classroom during their time
with you.
94% of providers rated the quality of work produced during the
project as good to very goodT
PREVIOUS PROJEC
EXAMPLE ONE
Family Links
Improving Educational Impact through Emotional Resilience - Research Project
Project details
Family Links is a sponsor of The Blackbird Academy Trust in East Oxford. Blackbird Leys is among the 10% most
deprived areas of England and is in the bottom 5% of areas with the lowest child wellbeing scores. Over 50% of
children live in poverty. Family Links has trained staff in all three Academy Trust primary schools and our Circle
Time/PSHE curricula are used by all teachers. The goal of this training is to help teachers create a nurturing
and emotionally healthy learning environment in which all children can aspire, flourish and achieve. A key
outcome for our work is helping children to be ready to learn - in terms of their behaviour and motivation. Family
Links has a three year research project underway - assessing the impact of our work on teacher self-efficacy,
pupil behaviour, pupil social and emotional resilience, academic progress and school climate. We are currently
approaching the end of the first year of this research project.
The Teach First Summer Project work would involve analysis of our early findings from this research, making
recommendations for the next phase of the research, and helping to shape a marketing and promotions message
based on any of these early findings. As a member of the Teach First Fair Education Alliance, and through our
work Teach First participants at the Summer Institute, we would be honoured to welcome a Teach First participant
to work with us this summer!
Organisation details
Family Links believes every child and parent in the UK deserves the best chance in life - at home and at school. We
are a national charity that enables parents to become more effective, caring and confident in raising their children
and children to become more emotionally resilient and socially competent. Alongside our work with parents, we
also train school staff and teachers to create emotionally healthy learning environments where everyone can
aspire, flourish and achieve. Family Links provides workshops directly to schools with accompanying curriculum
materials for PSHE and Circle Time. We also work with Initial Teacher Education providers to support new teachers
with skills and strategies that empower pupil progress and wellbeing.
Who should apply?
Candidate criteria:
• Experience with research and evaluation of education innovation
• Ideally experience with statistical analysis
• Excellent written skills
• Experience with marketing and promotion
6T
PREVIOUS PROJEC
EXAMPLE TWO
Accenture
Gain valuable consulting skills, evolve your career and help us grow our business with a three week Summer
Project at Accenture
Project details
If you’re an innovative thinker, with the entrepreneurial spirit and resilience to succeed on the Teach First
programme, then we’re offering you the opportunity to further develop the skills you need to become a future
leader at Accenture. The Teach First Summer Scheme is a three week work placement programme which gives
Teach First participants who have completed their first year of teaching, the chance to gain valuable work
experience at Accenture. Projects may be in Technology or management consulting, across all industry areas.
Technology Consulting: This is the biggest and fastest growing area of our Consulting business. We provide
leading-edge technology solutions for all kinds of organisations, in all kinds of sectors, throughout the world.
Make no mistake though this isn’t just about learning technical skills. You’ll be balancing that side of things
with business knowledge: you could be working on roles from aligning technology with business processes to
architecting and designing IT systems. The breadth of our work is vast and your versatility will help us prepare our
clients for a digital future.
Management consulting: If you join Management Consulting, the work you do will be hugely varied as you help
clients to identify business improvement opportunities and then carry them through from concept to reality.
Projects might range from risk management in the financial sector to supply chain development and customer
relationship management.
Whatever the subject, you’ll be a key member of a multi-disciplinary team collaborating to deliver decisive
business transformation - a challenging prospect, and one you’ll be ready for. Not only will you gain an
insight into an insight into consulting and the technology industry sector, you will develop your teamwork,
communication and leadership skills - amongst many others.
Organisation details
As one of the world’s leading management consulting, technology services and outsourcing companies we pride
ourselves on delivering the technology-based solutions that are evolving how some of the world’s biggest players
operate. Our clients include 89 of the Fortune Global 100 and around 80% of the FTSE 350. We also work with high-
profile charities and government agencies too. A great many of our clients are household names, so the chances
are that you’re already familiar with our work - you just might not know it yet.
The work we do, the clients we serve and the technology we use all go towards making Accenture an exceptional
place to build a career. With 281,000 employees worldwide, there’s never been a better time to join us. The speed
of innovation and the rate at which we’re evolving businesses really is setting the pace for a hugely exciting future
- and it’s one which you can play an important part in.
Who should apply?
Candidate Criteria
Candidates should have strong interpersonal skills; an understanding of the role of a consultant, strong interest in
technology plus good commercial awareness.
7E V IO U S P R O J E C T
PR
EXAMPLE THREE
ARK Schools
Blended learning curriculum development for teacher training
Project details
The purpose of this project is to make a significant contribution to the development of a pioneering teacher
training programme. This will be done by working with our network expert practitioners and curriculum
managers in order to develop leading edge teacher training modules for our Initial Teacher Training and NQT
Induction programmes. We are looking for one primary and one secondary Teach First participants for a blended
learning project. Each participant will be aligned to a curriculum manager. They will enhance the learning and
development opportunities for our trainees and NQTs by bringing training to life. There will be a specific focus on
creating online activities and e-learns to introduce new learning, as well as to extend, consolidate and test face-
to-face learning. By “e-learns”, we mean interactive online lessons that combine text, images, embedded videos
and tests.
In week one of the project, participants will focus on developing activities to bring e-learns to life. Participants will
develop an understanding of the ARK Teacher Training approach to developing great teacher practice. Week two
will provide an opportunity for participants to apply their understanding of this approach by creating an e-learn
on an area that they are proficient in and that is relevant for our Great Teacher Rubric. Successful participants
will have a creative, innovative approach that is grounded in rigour and a fine eye for detail. We are keen to work
with Teach First participants who have experience of shaping a curriculum that responds to the specific needs
of learners. Successful participants will be able to plan effective learning activities that challenge learners while
making the most of a range of resources, such as using online e-learning tools.
Organisation details
ARK Schools believes that all children can achieve great things, as long as they have the right support. The same
goes for our teachers. ARK Schools is an education charity and one of the country’s top-performing academy
operators. Our network comprises both new-start and transition schools that have become ARK academies. Our
aim is to create outstanding schools that give every ARK pupil the opportunity to go to university or pursue
the career of their choice. We have established ARK Teacher Training to develop a new kind of curriculum that
combines innovative practice based sessions with personalised e-learning. A central part of our strategy is to
provide intensive training for teachers at the very beginning of their career. We also plan to share our curriculum
outside the ARK Schools network, in the UK and internationally - so, those who help to develop it will be helping to
improve teaching, and change children’s lives, in this country and beyond.
Who should apply?
Candidate criteria
The project will draw on the skills and knowledge participants will have gained and honed through classroom
teaching. In particular, experience of planning individual lessons as part of a sequence of learning will be
essential.
8T
PREVIOUS PROJEC
EXAMPLE FOUR
BFI (British Film Institute)
Sci-Fi Film Education Programme
Project details
Every year BFI programmes a major ‘blockbuster’ season of films around a key director, genre, or theme. In 2012
we celebrated Hitchcock, in 2013 explored the dark side of Gothic cinema, and in the autumn and winter of 2014
our focus is Science Fiction film. Key to these programmes is our engagement with young people, schools, and
adults through education. This summer we would like to invite Teach First participants to create resources, events,
and activities that situate Sci-Fi both within the school curriculum (not just Science, but also English, Media, MFL)
and outside school, in after-school settings. The resources produced will be hosted on both the BFI and partner
IntoFilm websites, and events will be available in schools and cinemas across the UK. The project will run for two
weeks, from August 4th.
Organisation details
BFI is the lead body for film culture in the UK. We are custodians of the National Film and TV Archive, programme
two leading film festivals, manage the national Cinematheque at BFI Southbank, and run extensive film and
education programmes in venue and online. We are also the Lottery distributor for film in the UK.
Who should apply?
Candidate criteria
Imaginative approaches to curriculum design; ideally knowledge of but at least curiosity about a wide range of
film; ability to write in a way that engages teachers and students; willingness to work in a team.
Submit your project today or find out more by visiting
www.teachfirst.org.uk
Teach First is a registered charity, number 1098294You can also read
