Take your partners for aspiration & inspiration

June 20, 2011

The twentieth anniversary of a partnership which links schools with businesses to  provide educational and inspirational support to young people across the borough was celebrated at an event in the City last week. Jessica Odubayo spoke to some of those that have helped make the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership so fruitful.

THE group of visitors in corporate attire look almost out of place in the  classroom at Old Ford Primary School in Bethnal Green. They pull up a chair each alongside a pupil or two, and spend their lunch hour listening to the child read out loud.

The youngsters and their visitors have a short chat afterwards, then the visitors return to work at Lloyd’s – the prestigious market place of underwriting agencies, insurance brokers and other associated companies.

Jeff Martin, director of BMS Group, a Lloyd’s broker, has been a school governor and reading partner at Old Ford – the largest primary school in Tower Hamlets – since 2007.

“Lloyd’s put me in touch with Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership and they advised me that there was a governor vacancy for which I could apply at Old Ford. As my father was born and lived in Old Ford up until the age of 15 I thought that this would be an ideal fit,” he said.

After a year of being a school governor, Jeff asked the head teacher if there was  anything his employer could do to help out at the school. She said reading support volunteers to work with year 6 pupils would be of great assistance.

“I went straight back into work and asked if there were any volunteers. Very quickly we had a pool of eight reading support volunteers, who now give up one lunchtime a week to help at out that school and we haven’t looked back since,” he said.

Jeff believes the experience volunteers bring from working life is invaluable. “I can see how much more confident and proficient pupils’ reading becomes just by listening to them on a one-to-one basis for one lunchtime a week. Not only that, pupils are able to speak to someone from a totally different environment to their own, who can give them views, perspectives and aspirations on life that they just wouldn’t otherwise hear,” he said.

Kevin Jones, assistant head teacher at Old Ford, said staff at the school were grateful for the time which reading partners dedicate to sitting, talking and reading with pupils.

“We work with a number of businesses, many local, some from Canary Wharf and several from the City of London. We see these partnerships as essential in supporting our pupils’ education and providing aspirational and inspirational role models,” he said.

“Many of our pupils have no experience of a world outside their immediate local area. In a simple sense, when a pupil sits and spends time with a business partner, whether talking, reading or working on school work together, it shows our pupils that there is a different world out there, and that there are other employment and lifestyle opportunities available to them outside of their limited world of experience.”

He said the business partners were all positive role models and examples of how education can improve your life and help secure a good job.

“Many of our pupils come from non-English speaking backgrounds and do not speak English at home. Many of the parents cannot read English. Just sitting with an adult who is fluent in English and having a conversation about what they have read is of huge benefit to our pupils, the importance of which cannot be overstated.”

Nicholas Demery, a solicitor and manager with Lloyd’s, saw an advert for volunteers on the staff intranet and has been a reading partner at St Anne’s Primary School in Bethnal Green for seven years.

Often matched with ‘difficult’ year 6 pupils who would rather be anywhere than in the classroom, Nicholas said he eventually sees his wards become more enthusiastic and better at reading.

“They’ve taught me a new word – ‘frenemies’, which means being friends as well as enemies. Although many of the pupils  initially don’t want to be there, they read better by the end of the year and do appreciate having someone from outside the school or family to talk to,” he said.

“Last year, I had a lad who wouldn’t concentrate and looked disappointed when I asked him to read. But on my last visit to the school, I sought him and shook his hand. He gave me a hug. I was almost in tears.”

Nicholas is also a keen cricketer and passes his sporting skills on to young people at St Paul’s and Christchurch primary schools and helps organise interschool tournaments at the Oval.

Hannah Payson, community affairs executive, said the employee-led Lloyd’s Community Programme (LCP), saw more than 1,400 volunteers support communities through projects last year.

“Tower Hamlets is a vibrant and exciting place to volunteer and working with young people in schools is really rewarding for employees. We are proud of the work we achieve thanks to the fantastic support of the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership team.”

A partnership between Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) and Tower Hamlets’ schools is one of the largest in the UK and has won several major awards. More than 1,000 staff give up their time to work with students and the corporation’s support has had a positive impact on volunteers, young people and the community.

The bank provides incentives for staff to get involved including allowing two hours a week for employees to volunteer, awards and the incorporation of volunteering into business professional development goals.

Significant achievements include:

• Improved attendance levels thanks to initiatives including the Alarm Clock Programme for families and the setting up of an annual attendance award for teachers and pupils.
• The 2005 launch of the Financial Education & Employability programme into Bow, Mulberry and Swanlea secondary schools. It is the first structured programme of its kind, aimed at the development of employability skills, business awareness and financial literacy.
• In 2007 BofAML set up an alumni programme to track a small group of students as they enter sixth form. In September 2010 the first cohort of 20 alumni left school and 19 out of the 20 have gone to university while one has taken a gap year.
• Volunteer coaching in reading, maths, ITC, chess and modern foreign languages at Osmani Primary School in Whitechapel helped it become the most improved school in the country in 2001.