News: Education Secretary revisits her Rotherham school

Education Secretary, Justine Greening this week visited Oakwood High School in Rotherham, the comprehensive secondary school she attended as a pupil in the 1980s, for the official opening of its new, state-of-the-art buildings.

The school has undergone a £12.2m refurbishment as part of the Government's Priority School Building Programme, which is focused on rebuilding and revamping school premises. The new facilities at Oakwood High include specialist science, art and music rooms, a large gymnasium, and a separate dining hall – all under one roof.

The Conservative minister, who went on to attend Thomas Rotherham College, was given a tour of the school by current pupils and by former teachers Richard Townsend and John Bingham, who taught at Oakwood High during her time as a pupil at the school.

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Education Secretary Justine Greening said: "Returning to Oakwood High School was incredibly special to me. I had amazing teachers here who inspired me.

"I want every young person to be able to reach their full potential and great teachers are at the heart of that. It's great to be back in Rotherham and to see Oakwood High helping raise the aspirations of new generations of young people from the area, making sure they have the skills and knowledge to achieve their goals."

.@JustineGreening "It's been amazing to be Secretary of State for Education & to be able to come back" @OakwoodHSchool in #Rotherham pic.twitter.com/T5A3DvXoCy

— DfE (@educationgovuk) October 26, 2017

David Naisbitt, headteacher at Oakwood High School, said: "We understand that children and young people need positive role models. Here in Rotherham, our young people need to see that opportunity does not lie beyond their grasp – it rests firmly within the realm of their possibilities.

"There is no better example of what can be achieved than the Secretary of State; a local girl, educated in her local community.

"The new school building will act as a beacon and stands as a clear statement to this community of the value of education."

The first comprehensive school educated secretary of state for education studied at Southampton University, earning an MBA from the London Business School and used to work in business.

Kier Construction was the lead contractor on the Oakwood project.

Oakwood High School website

Images: DFE

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News: Greening launches Social Mobility Employer Index

Justine Greening MP, the Rotherham-born Secretary of State for Education, and Minister for Women and Equalities, has helped to launch a new index to encourage firms to share their initiatives and progress in becoming more inclusive employers and to reveal which sectors and companies are taking the issue of social mobility most seriously.

The Social Mobility Employer Index is a joint initiative between the Social Mobility Foundation and the Social Mobility Commission, in partnership with the City of London Corporation. It ranks Britain's employers for the first time on the actions they are taking to ensure they are open to accessing and progressing talent from all backgrounds and it showcases progress towards improving social mobility.

Research has consistently shown that people from more affluent backgrounds take a disproportionate number of the best jobs and that employers tend to disproportionately employ graduates who went to private schools and elite universities.

Having previously talked about finding and nurturing "rough diamonds," the MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields spoke at the launch of the index. Greening said: "I think talent is spread evenly throughout our country, throughout our communities; and fundamentally our country would be better the more we can unlock all of that. I think we can change the internal plumbing of our country to make it more socially mobile.

"We don't want people to just be going into jobs. We want them to be going into careers where they can continue to develop themselves and their ideas and their potential throughout their whole life, not just at the beginning of it.

"That's where business comes in. That's also where communities and civil society comes in. The launch of this Index today is about starting to put some numbers and evidence around how we can do that systematically and at scale."

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The Conservative minister, who attended Oakwood Comprehensive School and Thomas Rotherham College, also talked about growing up in the borough. She added: "We do need to recognise that there are a myriad of barriers – some of them big but some of them small – that stack up against people who are starting perhaps from further behind. People who, when we talk about a level playing field, are the ones furthest away from having it.

"I certainly remember from my own childhood growing up in Rotherham it was a very difficult time, actually. Many of the children growing up in that town, including myself, saw our parents lose their jobs and you felt like you were a long way from seeing opportunity on your doorstep.

"This steady realisation as quite a young child for me, that to get opportunity I was going to have to work a long time, and very hard, just to get myself into a position to be able to start to have some opportunities.

"I knew also that the beginning of that was education and probably being able to go university. Which is why the fact that so many more disadvantaged children are now getting into university for the first time, why people like me back in the 80s and 90s are no longer the norm and actually it’s pretty normal for people from those backgrounds to get to university now, why that’s so important."

The first comprehensive school educated secretary of state for education studied at Southampton University, earning an MBA from the London Business School and used to work in business.

The banking, legal and professional sectors make up the bulk of the top 50 employers in the index. Rolls Royce Plc enters at number 21. The Derby firm has a £110m casting facility on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham and works along side the AMRC Training Centre to bring through the manufacturing workforce of the future.

Social Mobility Foundation website

Images: DfE

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News: TRC academy consultation begins

The Rotherham school and sixth form college that were both attended by the Education Secretary, Justine Greening, are set to join together in the same Academy Trust, under new proposals.

Consultation is now underway on plans for Thomas Rotherham College (TRC), a sixth form college to become a 16 to 19 academy and join with Inspire Trust, an existing multi academy trust which currently comprises Oakwood High School and Sitwell Junior School in the borough.

TRC was told to look at joining a multi academy trust following the findings of a Government review into skills in the Sheffield city region.

A series of Area Based Reviews (ABRs) of provision are being carried out with the Sheffield city region one of the first three areas. Each review starts by assessing the economic and educational needs of the area, and the implications for post-16 education and training provision, including school sixth forms, sixth form colleges, further education colleges and independent providers.

The Government announced in 2015 that sixth form colleges could explore the academisation route. Governors at TRC believe that this is the best way to build on the college's strengths, secure its financial position and deliver ever better opportunities for its students.

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Dissolution is planned for August 31 2017 - just as TRC celebrates its 50th anniversary, after which the former Rotherham Grammar School will continue to operate as normal after joining Inspire Trust. Students will be able to continue their courses of study on the same campus, the College will continue to use the name of Thomas Rotherham College for all marketing purposes and there are no plans for major curriculum changes or changes to entry criteria or our catchment areas.

The plan is for the Regional Schools' Commissioner to consider the application in June 2017. An "academy order" will be need to be signed off by the Secretary of State for Education and the Trust would enter into a funding agreement direct with the department, taking it out of local authority control. The current Education Secretary is Rotherham-born Justine Greening, who studied at both Oakwood and TRC. The first comprehensive school educated secretary of state for education went on to study at Southampton University, earning an MBA from the London Business School and used to work in business.

The consultation points out that the main benefits to the proposals are the ability to share expertise and resources, and to support the transition between each phase of education even more effectively. It added: "The ability of the Trust to reclaim VAT will provide additional funds to Thomas Rotherham College to allow substantial continuing investment in our students, staff and facilities. This will allow us to operate on a level playing field with schools and academies who are already able to do this."

There is no intention for staff contracts and terms and conditions to change.

David Naisbitt, headteacher at Oakwood High School and a director of Inspire Trust, said: "There will be people who talk about the financial gain in these extremely challenging financial circumstances. We know that budgets are not getting any better and will, indeed, become increasingly tighter. As they say the budgetary envelope is not increasing in size.

"Yet the underpinning principles or reason for coming together with this iconic post-16 institution is to provide an enhanced educational experience for the children and young people of this community. Writ large in our submission is an educational vision and underpinning educational principles and priorities. We have a desire to establish a truly exciting and innovative learning community; which will enhance and will boost the educational opportunities within this town and within this region."

The consultation runs until June 16 2017 and a public consultation event is also planned for Monday May 22 between 5 – 6 pm at the college.

TRC website

Images: TRC

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News: Greening on UK's productivity gap and "Left Behind Britain"

Rotherham-born Education Secretary, Justine Greening believes that human capital is the missing ingredient in lifting the UK's economic productivity.

The Conservative minister, who attended Oakwood Comprehensive School and Thomas Rotherham College, addresses the recent Social Mobility Commission conference about transforming social mobility.

Having previously talked about finding and nurturing "rough diamonds," the MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields described a "massive generational opportunity" to invest and lift up this country's human capital as the economy is driven by knowledge and skills.

In the recent Budget, the chancellor, Phillip Hammond made clear that employment is up, but productivity remains stubbornly low. The UK is 35% behind Germany and 18% behind the G7 average when it comes to productivity.

Greening said: "Globally, nationally, and regionally, the evidence is now overwhelming - education and skills are and will be the strongest determinant of economic success. Human capital is the missing ingredient in lifting the United Kingdom's economic productivity.

"Our productivity as a country lags behind many advanced economies and skills are at the heart of how we address that. Looking within our own country, there are geographical differences. Because the most productive area of the UK is three times more productive than the least. What's behind that? Educational attainment is, according to CBI research, the single biggest driver of these productivity differences across the country.

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"Looking ahead, our success is going to depend upon whether as a country we make it possible for everyone to develop the skills and opportunities that they need to succeed in the labour market. And we have to do that on a very simple but powerful assumption, which is that talent is completely evenly spread around the country – it doesn't reside in one bit and not another, it's all over the place.

"We are simply missing a trick unless we finally start to level up those parts of the country where that talent isn't being tapped into. And we've got to make sure that we don't let anyone waste talent because of missed opportunities or social barriers. We have to make sure we don't let anyone's talent go to waste."

The first comprehensive school educated secretary of state for education studied at Southampton University, earning an MBA from the London Business School and used to work in business.

Greening said that she wants to see more progress in areas like where she grew up and has tasked her department to work in local, disadvantaged areas to tackle barriers to opportunity.

The MP, who is also Minister for Women and Equalities, discussed the National Fairer Funding Formula for schools which aims to address the unfair postcode lottery in how school funding is distributed in England. It has been criticised by Labour for being "neither fair nor funded" under analysis that showed how it could disproportionately affect more deprived areas.

The Department for Education, which now includes apprenticeships and skills in its remit, has three core priorities – tackling geographic disadvantage, investing in long-term capacity, and making sure the education system as a whole prepares young people and adults for career success.

Greening added: "With further and higher education and training now back inside the DfE, we have got a powerful opportunity to make sure that our education system is building the workforce that our country, and British business, needs. This has to be a central measure of our success. Education matters not just because it enables people to realise their unique potential – it matters too because it enables our economy and our country to fulfil its potential as well."

DfE website

Images: DfE

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News: National Apprenticeship Week 2017

The tenth annual National Apprenticeship Week highlights the success of apprenticeships over the last decade, celebrating the positive impact on individuals, businesses and the economy, with the theme "ladder of opportunity."

Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for Education, highlighted at the launch event, not only the lifetime benefits associated with gaining an apprenticeship, but also how apprenticeships are a gold-standard route into a great career.

A reshuffle under Prime Minister, Theresa May, saw the government department for skills moved over from business to education so that Greening's department now covers everything from early years, schools and further and higher education, to adult skills and apprenticeships. The Rotherham-born minister attended Oakwood Comprehensive School and Thomas Rotherham College.

Apprentices from the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) Training Centre in Rotherham are showing their support for this year's National Apprenticeship Week.

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The £20.5m centre on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) focuses on students aged from 16 upwards, taken on paid apprenticeships. Apprentices have opportunities to progress on to postgraduate courses, doctorates and MBA levels. Sponsoring companies range from global leaders such as Rolls-Royce and Tata Steel to local high-tech supply-chain companies.

Abbie Plummer is 18 and is an electrical and mechanical maintenance apprentice with Symphony Group PLC in Rotherham. After achieving top marks in her GCSEs Abbie initially stayed on at sixth form to study A Levels but found she wasn't enjoying being in the classroom.

"It wasn't my way of learning. I like practical learning," said Abbie from Brinsworth.

"I have always had an interest in engineering and making things. When I was younger my grandad, who was a steel engineer, had a shed full of tools and machinery. I used to spend hours playing and building things in there.

"When I first visited AMRC I was blown away by the facilities on offer – the training is the best in its field, and has a top level of teaching, too.

"Through my apprenticeship, I'm developing hands-on skills and gaining industry experience.

"I love what I do now. I would not want to do anything else. My grandad is really proud of me as well.

"It's an amazing opportunity – learning and gaining skills whilst getting paid to study, and I won't have any debt.

"Ideally I'd like to continue my apprenticeship right through to university studies."

The centre is hosting an open event on March 9 between 4:30 and 6:30pm sepcifically for those considering next steps from sixth form education or college.

AMRC Training Centre website

Images: DfE / AMRC

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News: Minister talks social mobility and pride for Rotherham

Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for International Development, used a recent speech for the Centre for Social Justice think tank to call on businesses to do more to pull in talented young people who start as "rough diamonds."

The Rotherham-born Conservative minister, who attended Oakwood Comprehensive School, was speaking at 2nd Chance, a specialist education to employment training course created to support unemployed 18-24 year olds on their journey to a career.

Greening said: "I know from personal experience just how much social mobility matters. It has underpinned my personal and my political life. Today is a long way from the local comprehensive school I went to in Rotherham.

"And climbing the ladder has been exhilarating but at times a real challenge. It involved going to university - a step in the dark. When I asked my parents for advice on where to go, what to study, it was new to them too. As no one in my family had done it before. At the time, I remember that it felt like a risk, because I was putting off when I would start earning money in a job.

"I didn't know what kind of job I was aiming for, so I wasn't 100% sure what I should study. When I look back, my horizons were quite limited. I didn't consider doing law as a degree, because I'd never met a lawyer.

"I chose to study something that had already had a big impact on my family. Economics. Which at the time was all around me in Rotherham and South Yorkshire. I grew up against the backdrop of the steel industry strikes and miners' strike. In fact, my first ever economics lesson was the day my dad was made redundant from British Steel. That year he was unemployed was the toughest year of my childhood. But I knuckled down at school and college and I got on with climbing my own ladder."

Having studied at Southampton University, Justine earned an MBA from the London Business School and used to work in business. She was first elected as the MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields in May 2005. Previous Government roles include Economic Secretary to the Treasury within the Coalition Government and Secretary of State for Transport.

Greening added: "Westminster and Whitehall are only part of the solution on social mobility. This is so much more than just about government. All of us have a role to play. We can and should all ask ourselves, what more can we do?

"Employees - ask your boss what more your company can do. Employers, business need to see that apprenticeships is a start, but what else? Are they really getting beyond the usual recruits? Are you promoting outside of the usual networks?

"My then employer Smithkline put me through an MBA at the London business school. It's not that normal though.

"How can Britain's corporate world do a better job of more consistently pulling in and then pulling through talented young people who start as rough diamonds?

"Because where you relatively start still over-whelmingly predicts where you relatively finish. Even today. So not accepting that lack of relative social mobility and then changing it, that is our generational challenge."

Greening admitted that delivering a more socially mobile Britain is hard, because it's about changing Britain's DNA and involves not just the individual but the community, society, economy and politics. She concluded: "What galvanised me as a young person wasn't being angry about a less than perfect start. I'm actually very proud to have been born and brought up in Rotherham.

"I remember how I felt. It was a mix of challenge, of excitement, of optimism, of aspiration, of being in an amazing country, with an amazing history, having a sense of wider world out there too, which I wanted to be part of.

"It was great parents, encouraging teachers, adamant swimming coaches, who taught me about single-minded persistence to reach your goals.

"And I believe that our young people will get themselves and our country a very long way. But we need to make that ladder of opportunity one that's easier to climb now and in the future, than it was for those of us climbing it in the past."

Images: Department for International Development

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