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Business, Universities and School Must Come Together.
Dated: 03/10/2008
Business, Universities and School Must Come Together to Create World Class Education
The Government has accepted in full the recommendations of a council of experts from the fields of business and education, which include university trips for primary pupils and stronger links between schools and local businesses.
The National Council for Educational Excellence (NCEE) was set up by the Prime Minister in June 2007 to act as a sounding board and provide advice on measures to help create a world-class education system.
The council brings together influential business people with university chancellors and school, college and early years leaders. Together they have presented a set of recommendations designed to show how the broad swathe of society can help the country achieve educational excellence.
Among the recommendations, they say:
- Primary schools should ensure older children have the opportunity to visit a university campus. This will help raise aspirations among children, especially those in more deprived areas, to continue to higher education. The Sutton Trust has offered to pilot the scheme.
- Every primary school, secondary school and college should have an effective link with a local business. Partnerships can contribute to school leadership; core skills in literacy and numeracy; increasing take up in the sciences and maths; and providing enterprise education and employability advice. A ‘National Framework’ sets out areas where business can make the most difference.
- Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) needs to significantly improve in schools through more timely advice from an early age; more encouragement to progress to higher education; and better information about qualifications.
Now the NCEE has delivered their recommendations, they will meet with the Prime Minister to discuss implementation later in the year.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:
"Education gives young people the skills and the confidence to reach their full potential and to achieve their ambitions. The members of the NCEE have already changed the world in their chosen careers. Now together, we can change the lives of young people for the better.
"The recommendations in this report will help us to achieve our goal of achieving world class standards of education in our country. We must now work together to make sure that they are fully implemented so that the benefits are felt by all."
Leader of the NCEE Higher Education Strand and Vice Chancellor of Exeter University Professor Steve Smith said:
“These recommendations are evidenced based and have emerged through an extensive process of consultation and analysis. I truly believe that these offer us an outstanding opportunity. If we are serious about wanting to support more young people to progress to HE we need to raise attainment and aspirations from a much earlier age. We now need to concentrate on making these proposals a reality and I look forward to working with Government to help with the implementation of these recommendations.”
Leader of the NCEE Business Strand and Vice President of Business in the Community Julia Cleverdon said:
“A National Framework which sets out where business can make the most difference to education; a welcome-mat for business links in schools; and brilliant brokerage in every area – these recommendations will raise the impact and scale of education-business links, and benefit children and young people up and down the country.”
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