The evolution of teacher externships in England has been a long one, but it's a journey I'm privileged to have played a part in. Externships – which involve teachers spending time in industry to gain real-world experience – benefit teachers schools, learners, and businesses alike. But until relatively recently, they’ve been woefully underexplored.
I first discovered the concept of externships while working as a Careers Lead at UTC South Durham. My role involved overseeing and managing the UTC’s career development and education initiatives. This meant empowering teachers to bring the real world into the curriculum, enhancing the student experience and connecting classroom learning with its relevant applications in the professional world. Naturally, I didn't want to be telling others what to do. Instead, I wanted to inspire teachers to take the lead. However, I was also keenly aware of a misalignment between what is expected of teachers when it comes to new initiatives and access to the support they need to succeed.
My personal lightbulb moment came during the Northeast Ambition Project, involving the Edge Foundation. I was lucky enough to be part of a delegation exploring the Career’s Academy Model in Nashville, Tennessee, where I encountered teacher externships as part of Nashville’s model. Teachers spent a week in industry, co-creating projects to bring the professional realm into the classroom. How could we bring this to England and make it work in our context?
With support from Edge, UTC South Durham implemented a teacher externship pilot of our own. This was initially a day-long event, but it worked wonders, giving teachers new confidence, expanding their horizons and allowing them to infuse the real world into the curriculum. It led to a broader regional project in the northeast, during which time I became Edge’s Employer Engagement Delivery Manager – a role that further built on my desire to develop teacher confidence through externships.
Edge’s Executive Director, Olly Newton, and I discussed how we could ensure this impactful model could persist. The answer lay in making it scalable and by inspiring other schools to get involved.
As a result, I helped develop and deliver a ‘train the trainer’ model, working with a school in South Yorkshire. Their enterprise coordinators already had established links with local business. But acting as facilitator, I was able to give them the tools and resources to implement the externship programme effectively. An awareness of the challenges they might face also meant I could also help them avoid the hurdles I had overcome.
This was several years ago. Since then, I’ve taken a break from the sector, and come back to Edge once more. But the externships have developed a life of their own! Consultations with the Careers Enterprise Company (CEC) materialised into a new Teacher Encounters programme – a national model that builds upon the foundations laid by Edge all those years ago. In its first year, the programme has engaged with over a thousand teachers nationwide and the CEC has just released a report underscoring its positive impact. Confidence-building and stronger connections between education and the labour market are key themes, which I’m delighted about.
From my standpoint, the success of externships isn’t limited to their ability to empower teachers, though. Their real power lies in their ripple effect. During the early pilots, many participants felt trepidation about stepping into industry, especially younger teachers who had graduated straight into the profession. But by choosing passionate volunteers, the impact of the externships has consistently resonated in a chain reaction. Early on, one school’s Head of Science did an externship. Next, the whole science team joined in. Then, the English and maths departments showed interest, and then travel and tourism. You get the idea!
It is always wonderful to see those who are nervous about externships embracing the model once they see its impact. The importance of voluntary participation is huge – the enthusiasm and commitment of participating teachers translates into a richer experience for educators and students.
Meanwhile, businesses are keen to get involved, too. Most I speak to understand their own links to the curriculum. But by working directly with teachers, they have a broader reach into education. They can participate in student work experience and conduct school visits. In this respect, externships aren't just a standalone activity. They are the starting point for a long-term partnership. And you can’t put a price on that.
The externship model continues to evolve. The CEC has committed to a second year of the Teacher Encounters programme and plans to further evaluate its impact to inform future education policy. As for me, I am now Edge’s Partnerships and Community Manager, which involves me leading the team’s real-world learning network. This has a wider focus, extending beyond teacher externships into the broader aspects of Deeper Learning. But even this is a testament, in part, to the success of the externship model.
Seeing how externships have evolved from a transformative personal experience in Nashville to a national initiative in England fills me with such pride. I am honoured to have played a small part in their development. The adaptability of the model and its ability to empower teachers, enrich the curriculum, and foster meaningful connections for learners are the keys to its success. It’s a testament to the power of investing in educators and the rewards that follow. Let's keep it up!
Cherakee Bradley is a consultant for careers education and real world learning.