Looking for experience/ideas to help bright kids from 'disadvantaged' backgrounds

[Teacher18]

Hi all,

I teach English in a secondary school in one of the most deprived areas of the UK. I am still new to teaching as I am about to start my third year.

Before I started teaching, I worked as a lawyer in London for 12 years but having a young family, I felt I wasn't able to spend enough time with them and I needed to change jobs. We were also incredibly fortunate that due to DH's job, my salary wasn't essential and I could consider leaving law. It might sound a bit naive or pious but I decided I wanted to change to a career that I felt was socially worthwhile and where I might make some difference. Teaching in itself was interesting but I was really drawn to working with kids with challenging backgrounds and limited environments.

Before I started, I knew that I had little in common with the kids (I was educated at boarding school, good uni, good city job, wealthy parents etc) and I'm sure most of the staff thought I'd crumble but I actually have great relationships with the kids.

Two years in and there is no question I am appalled at the education system in this country and how many kids it fails. Sadly, there is not a lot a school can do about some of it.

I want to focus on things I can improve and one area that seems obviously lacking is the kids' understanding of the wider world of work, universities and how to get in and the impact of college or GCSE choices. Essentially, they start school in Y7, have a 1hr careers talk in Y9 and talk about college in Y10 for 30 mins (and an open evening) and tend to pick college courses their friends are doing or random subjects that don't seem to lead to anything,

I'm not saying every kid should be aiming to go to uni. There are lots of degrees that are frankly an expensive waste of time but I am concerned when kids who are predicted straight grade 8s and 9s and talk about doing BTECs in music, computer studies and p.e or when asked about uni, they have no understanding of why they might want to go or feel its just for the 'elite'.

I definitely understand that a key problem with many of these kids is that they have no one around them who has been to uni so the expectation is not there and this is not going to be the same at other state schools but I would love to hear how you feel your child's school supports further education and understanding choices and consequences of what they study.

In addition, how does your school educate its pupils about different careers? Again, we seem to have an expectation they'll all stay in the town to work (where jobs are incredibly limited) and don't do anything formally (apart from having some books in the library that no one looks at).

Really interested in your experiences and ideas as to improving this area.

We used to have speakers come into assemblies to talk about what they did, how they got into it etc - that was always quite interesting

i'm sure you will want more professional ideas but my youngest had to research and present a career at school. from entrance requirements to wage and hours expected etc.
as a parent, i spent a fair amount of time on the college and university web sites; reading, going from page to page, residence rules and regulations etc etc. we took our son's hockey team to a university (they stayed in res and ate in the cafeteria).

I agree with Blondie about speakers.
Could you contact various unis and ask for students from similar backgrounds to come and do a q+a with them? Less formal more fun. If they are someone a few years older on the start of the journey it might inspire more than someone already in a career.
I'm a mum not a professional but pretty much all of DC's peers head to uni so they see/follow on social media older pupils and just assume they can go too. If anything our school need to do more to show other alternatives!

Getting speakers in, the brilliant club projects, work with universities as they'll have a widening participation team.

But to be honest, be the best teacher you can be. Refine your pedagogy, think about how much cultural capital you have and middle class children will have absorbed from general life and then think about the world from the eyes of a child who doesn't have that.
You'll get senior leaders asking for 'what are you doing in class for disadvantaged students'. My answer is always the same ' I am educating them. I know them as individuals and I am pushing them and supporting them as much as I can'. Disadvantaged students need strong teaching inputs from staff who know their subject, who aim to bridge the gap in cultural capital (rather than giving them a novel about drugs and crime because it's going to engage "those sorts of kids"). They need teachers who are clear and celebrate learning. They may need literacy catch-up intervention to support reading age gaps. They need staff to talk openly about aspiration and success (because many of them won't get it at home).

But truthfully, all the speakers in the world won't help them achieve if the teaching is average or sub par.

Yes, getting in speakers is good, trips to universities if possible for a look around. Is there a university close to you that runs anything like maths masterclasses for bright kids (usually for Y8s).

Does the school have a sixth form?

What do you do in your lessons to ‘groom’ your bright kids into taking English A-level? I’m a maths teacher and I’m regularly talking to my Y10/11 classes about what maths they should be moving onto in sixth form - Core Maths for grade 4/5/6 students, A-level for top sets. With my top set I’ll say stuff like ‘this topic comes up again at A-level so you’ll be familiar with it already’ or ‘this question is from an A-level paper - see, you can already do it’. It sets the expectation in their mind that Maths A-level is not only something that they should be doing, but that they are capable of doing it.

If they are working towards grades 8/9 then the school is doing a great job. Look at areas where disadvantaged children are known to struggle and work on it - oracy is a big one.

www.speakers4schools.org/take-part/
www.ncsc.gov.uk/information/cyberfirst-courses
www.stemexchange.co.uk/Default.aspx?source=SE&data=
frontier.ac.uk/workshadowing.aspx
bdoearlyincareer.co.uk/school-leaver/
www.lboro.ac.uk/study/school-college-liaison/events/inspiringminds/
opendoors.construction/11-18-year-olds/

wyke.ac.uk/wyke-flyers/
6th form college in area of deprivation.

Assuming you're not talking about just English careers.

Get people in to talk. Ask local and big businesses. I was at Farnborough Air Show and BAe Systems had a couple of young employees doing a fun talk about how engineering can be fun.
Oxford university has people that come to talk with exactly your school in mind.

I work at an fe college. We go in and go talks about post 16 options, explaining btecs, apprenticeships etc. The big thing for me when we talk to kids is how engaged their parents are. You can have someone from a really deprived background with parents in low paid/low skill jobs who are really engaged and interested in what their kids do. You can also get well educated, well paid parents who really just want their kids to follow the same path as them, regardless of what the kids want.

We - and mist other colleges near us - run taster days and events for kids to see what college is like.

Some good ideas here, but it takes a lot of time and effort to organise speaker visits etc and you may already be overstretched.

Are there any independent schools or 6th form colleges which would let your pupils attend their events?

My DC go to an independent school where they open all their careers talks and fairs to ALL students in Yrs 11, 12 & 13 in the local area.
Sometimes other schools publish careers newsletters on their websites which you can get news of courses and opportunities.
Make sure that your students and their parents are aware of opportunities for free residential courses such as www.suttontrust.com/our-programmes/uk-summer-schools/ and www.ncsc.gov.uk/information/cyberfirst-courses

There are quite of careers videos and intros to Universities on YouTube these days - could you incorporate a regular 'careers' video as part of PHSE/careers guidance?

I think your post is showing how people in deprived areas stick together and don’t have the confidence to branch out. The teachers are going down the route of “good enough is good enough”. Parents think their children are doing well if they stay in education beyond 16.

It’s not getting a talk from or visiting the FE college that will help the brightest children. The 8s and 9s clearly need much more stimulation as to possibilities. Therefore a RG university is a start. Is there one nearby? They will have subject taster days for schools. What on earth are your senior leadership doing by not doing this already?

Do try and get local business leaders in. Open up their minds. If you teach English, champion Drama. Adds so much in terms of confidence. Definitely ask to piggy back onto careers evenings at independent schools. Go to ucas briefings. See each potential high flyer to talk about careers and pathways. Lunchtime careers drop in sessions?

Many children like this don’t want to leave what they know. They don’t know the possibilities because they are never shown them and don’t come into contact with them. The universities try and attract children like this but the pull of home is too great. They are risk averse. They believe the crap about having a loan around your neck for years and they believe you need to pay it all off. Tell them the truth about university, the best courses, the graduate tax and life away from home! It could actually be better!

As a dad of 2 boys at a inadequate school, very close to Wyke college mentioned above, our school does the following:-
Yearly careers evening, local colleges, regional universities (never RG), apprenticeships, local employers and RAF and Army usually.
Work experience weeks Year 10
Local companies linked to the Comprehensive.
Widening Participation work in Years 9 and 12 with local university.
Career option evenings year 9 and 11, and assemblies.
Then visit to UCAS event in Year 13.

IMHO, only personal view, I wouldn't put Wyke college forward as a great example for you to follow. It is a high selective 6th form, which takes only the highest achievers from Hull and East Riding schools, including many from local Private schools, and happily throws out underachievers. Most of it students are middle class, and only the best go there.

Also many working communities, like ours have their own cultural capital, and don't need people throwing middle class culture at them. Support them in their own image and they will go far, force them to abandon their roots, and they will stick together and go no where.

Hull City of Culture, 2017, shows that a treat.

Wyke is comparable. It categorically does not only take highest achievers. It offers a range of BTEC (incl level 2) & the option to resit maths/English GCSE if required as well as A levels. Hull has significant deprivation, poor education provision and hardly any of the secondary schools have a sixth form. It is one of few options and consequently huge.

A school near me which has a deprived intake actually has a cultural capital club. Might be worth getting in touch with them to see how it works?

www.theoxfordacademy.org.uk/Cultural-Capital

Our school (not in the U.K.) does careers speed dating. People from industry, or just parents from a range of jobs, come and sit at little tables and the kids come and talk to us about what they’d need to do to be doing our job. I think it’s an excellent idea

Many children like this don’t want to leave what they know. They don’t know the possibilities because they are never shown them and don’t come into contact with them

This.

I am from a very deprived background and am bringing up my children in the same area I was raised. The area is still deprived and we as a family have a low income.

I wish my school did some of the stuff thats been mentioned above. I was very bright at school but didn't know what to do. I didn't know was out there in terms of jobs. I also didn't have any confidence in myself and thought that a career wasn't for me. I didn't aim high because I thought I couldn't.

I wish I had just even one teacher who would have guided me a little. I don't want the same for my children and am finding this thread so useful. It's not just the kids that don't have the knowledge, it's also the parents like me.

Ditto finding out what is available at local independents. Dd's has a lot that is open to state schools, but not all take them up on it. And/ or not all pupils a particular event could benefit, but with the support of someone like you more would attend.

I'd also look at what pp money is currently being spent on. It's not at all unusual for a school to have high achieving pp pupils, but little or none spent for their benefit.

I think for the least open to change, you also need to emphasise possible future earnings and quality of life, rather than education and broadening horizons for their own sake. Many deprived areas have the same problem of traditional employment destroyed, and zero hours on nmw being the norm. And for some aspiring to the intimidating and expensive route of higher education is viewed as a pipe dream or waste of time. But a well paid, secure profession would be viewed as useful, provided somebody can guide them down the route to achieving it. A route which goes through higher level education to the final destination of a good salary. Broadening horizons will happen by itself.

My child did the Pathways to law programme with the Sutton trust. There was a huge variety of young people doing it from all different backgrounds but the one common denominator was that they were bright and from either disadvantaged backgrounds/schools or there parents never went to uni.

Oh and locally so I assume others do it too. A local housing association arranges work experience in law firms, they also give them a grant so they can buy suitable clothing. It might be worthwhile ringing around or searching on the internet whether any local HA's do similar.

We have an annual careers fair attended by college and university outreach people and a big range of representatives from local firms. Parents with any kind of career are invited in. Students from every year group attend and are encouraged to broaden their horizons. The year 7 & 8s tend to shuffle around giggling in self conscious gangs. But year after year they get a bit braver about engaging with the adults and by the time you get to year 10/11, the conversations are much more worthwhile.

They also get students that have gone on to interesting courses or careers to come back and talk to groups of students.

In every year they have some sort of special event that has a focus on the world of work. Engineering workshops, enterprise challenges etc.

My dh's rotary club have a mentor group at a local school. They all have different professions and help support study snd progression etc.

I come from one of the most deprived areas of the UK but against the odds have a degree and now a very good job and live in one of the least deprived areas of the UK

My thoughts and what makes a difference-

Inspirational teachers who open the world beyond what children know. Many children in deprived areas may think a good university is beyond them. It certainly made the difference my case.

Strictly sticking to the original point of the OP,
get your local FE and Universities involved and get them to show year 8/9 around and invite year 10/11 to any career fairs they hold.
Also be very careful before bringing in the likes of Oxbridge or speakers4schools, simply because they may not have any revelant people similar to your students to bring in.

The best talks my 2 have been involved with involved ex school pupils who came back and explained their journeys:-
1st- 2 ex pupils who have made a success in Rugby league, 1 as a current player/media pundit the other as a player and now coach of one of local professional teams.
2nd- local teacher who overcome cancer and loss of his leg to play for Great Britain Ice Hockey team, and lead the school
3rd- winner of an Oscar for special effects on film The Gravity.
4th- girl who is now head of fitness a Seattle NFL.

All those proved you could be similar to my kids and succeed.
It really is no good to just bring in a random speaker who once attended a state school, because often they have no link to the deprived area, and are more likely to turn off your students.

Sadly to many kind hearted middle and upper class people don't have a clue how to reach out and engage with poorer kids, we do have a culture, yes probably much narrower and in many people's eyes worthless, but it's ours, and take away the roots of anything and it falls over.
Most on mumsnet wouldn't have a clue what it's like living on a council estate or in poverty, sadly I grow up on FSM and in 2 of the poorest communities in England, if not Britain. You need peers to help you realise you can progress, not a random speaker.

Not read the whole thread but I've recently delivered a couple of corporate sponsored insight days at inner city comp schools. I'm in software and also a woman (male dominated industry). The problem I see it is that most teachers and career advisors do not have the right background to coach and give career path advice. I showed a PowerPoint slide of my last 6 job titles and these job titles are not ones they've heard of or even understand. And they are not even rare jobs but if you don't work in the industry ..how would you know, and the paths to get in? Software doesn't just being coder or computing engineer! What's even more concerning is complete lack of knowledge of corporate internships and paid work experience programs. My company are trying recruiting but these schools are not applying.

Starting graduate salaries competes highly with finance industry. Yet the school I presented to was shocked to hear it. Actually I was asked not to talk about salaries as it was deemed to sensitive as in ...out of reach for the pupils. The schools were not at all aspirational places to be in.

The state schools seem to be constrained to just getting kids through exams and little afterthought on the after.