Supporting projects
A project is an extended piece of work that a student may complete over a period of time; it often asks them to study a particular subject in some depth or to make links between different subjects.
'The Project': part of the new Diploma
'The Project' is a significant new qualification, encouraging and enabling young people to use their learning experiences to support their personal aspirations for career development and/or further study. The Project (or Extended Project for Level 3 - A level equivalent - students) is a compulsory part of the Diploma and is also available as a free-standing qualification.
The Project allows young people to explore topics in which they have a personal interest. Topics are related to their main Diploma studies. Students need to plan, research, analyse information and then evaluate and review their findings, which are then typically presented by the student to a selected audience. The student takes an active role in managing The Project, enabling them to develop the personal skills in demand from employers: decision making, problem solving, communication, self-management, creativity and, where appropriate, teamwork.
How employers can help
Employers can get involved in a number of different ways:
- They can work with schools and colleges to help design the project, to ensure that the skills that students are developing through the project reflects the latest practice in their sector or industry.
- They can provide resources and materials that provides a case study of a problem they have faced; they can ask students to work to solve this problem through the project.
- The project might include a period of time spent with the employer - either completing tasks related to the project or finding out information or skills that the student will use to complete the project.
Visit the page on Supporting enterprise activities for a similar type of employer engagement activity.
Benefits for employers
- The employer's profile can be raised among students and the local community.
- Students will gain knowledge of the employer's industry.
- Students can tackle topics of real interest to the employer.
- Employers can help to support/develop projects that provide students with useful work-related skills that are relevant to their industry.
Benefits for students
- Students can learn and develop skills through projects that are different from and more interesting than their everyday curriculum subjects.
- They can learn about the 'real world' through working with employers and finding out about the organisation.
Benefits for teachers
- Teachers will have the assistance of employers who can add a real-life application to students' school/college work.
Kelly Dooley is assistant head teacher at the Brentford School for Girls in the London Borough of Hounslow. On Diploma project-style learning she says:
"For my students, quite simply, learning has taken on a new identity. There is less acceptance and more inquisitiveness. Students understand much better the importance of learning and thinking, and are fully immersed in the notion that outstanding learning and teaching experiences do not always necessarily take place behind a desk after you've copied the learning objective into your exercise book.
Students have gained enormously from the partnerships which we have struck with our business partners. While work-related learning is not a new concept, the Diploma requires it to become an essential feature of what we teach. The collection of skills that students develop through their engagement with employers and work-related projects prepares them both emotionally and academically for the competitive employment market."
Getting started
- Contact local schools, colleges and intermediaries.
- View the Case studies for examples of where employers have supported projects in schools and colleges.
- Visit the Take action section of this website for more information on what to do next.