The World of Work

At Holly Park we aim to have high vocational ambition for all of our pupils. We want to increase their cultural capital and make them aware of the wider world they live in and have knowledge of the world of work beyond school.
We want to develop skills for the future and learning about future employment within our children. 
Schools are crucial in preparing pupils for adult life, for promoting equal opportunity and for introducing children to work experiences and encouraging children to aspire to make good choices and understand what they need to do to reach and succeed in careers to which they aspire.
In school we do Enabling Enterprise, have visitors in, visit some work places, discuss various jobs etc. We set some PHSE work this week to ask children to think about what a job is, what skills are needed in certain jobs and what they enjoy now in life that may make them think of pursuing a career based on these interests.  The children thought of a whole host of jobs from gas engineers, architects, youtubers, nurses, doctors, vets, tailors, actors, designers, marine biologists, book illustrators. teachers, pilots, artists among others.

Year 3 – Trip to Mount Anvil Construction Company

Children in Year 3 were invited to a challenge day at the Mount Anvil development project in Whitechapel to learn about the company and the world of construction.  The children worked in teams with volunteers from the company to design and build a model of a tower block that would meet the needs of a range of potential residents.

They also had the opportunity to visit the viewing platform on the site, and learn about some of the jobs in the construction industry from planners, surveyors and architects to crane drivers and bricklayers.  One boy was very interested in the crane drivers job and thought this was something he might enjoy doing when he is older as he likes heights. 

Year 1  – People Who Help us 

​Year One were learning about People who Help Us. This linked in with their PSHE  work of keeping safe and knowing who to ask for help. In Literacy they read the traditional tale of the Little Red Hen and thought about ways they could help each other. The children wrote letters thinking of ways that they could help next time. They had a visit from Scott Daniels, a parent from Pine Class and a paramedic. He came in and talked to the children about what to do if there is an emergency, and what to do if they feel themselves choking. The children got to try out different equipment such as the foil blanket to keep warm and different types of bandages and slings.

Y1 also had a visit from the London Fire Brigade, from the Southgate Station. They visited with their fire engine and showed the children around, demonstrating how to use different equipment such as long ladders and the hoses. The children got the chance to sit in the back of the engine and see the personal equipment that the fire fighters use such as the oxygen masks and the protective clothing. In class, the children wrote letters to the fire fighters thanking them. The children  also thought about people who help us at school and the children identified people that they could ask for help. They also thought of a question to ask them about their job. The children have also been thinking about helping each other and how to be a good friend.

Year 2 and Year 3 Visit A Law Firm

Children from Years 2 and 3 were invited to Travers Smith with Brewer Dolphin for a ‘Tricky Trials’ challenge day.  They found out about the business by interviewing volunteers to find out about the skills they use in their roles, particularly focusing on problem solving and presenting skills. Then, working in teams, the children started working on different cases based around characters from traditional tales, either as the defence or prosecution. With the help of the volunteers, they identified the best arguments and analysed evidence as they prepared to go to trial. At the close of the day, they presented their evidence to a judge and jury made of volunteers who decided the winning team. One of the children said “The problem we have to solve is proving that Robin Hood is innocent of the crime. We are using evidence to help us” and one of the volunteers said “The students’ presentations have really impressed me today”.

Year 4 visit a charity organisation

Children in Year 4 went to Save the Children’s headquarters to learn about the charity. They worked in teams to create a new social media campaign to promote the work of Save the Children.  The children highlighted an issue they felt was important and after designing feed posts and images they finished the day by presenting their ideas to a panel of volunteers from Save the Children. A highlight of the visit was a tour of the offices, meeting staff and finding out about the range of jobs at a charity.  Some children were even lucky enough to meet the CEO.

Y5 Visit A Recruitment Company

​Y5 went to a recruitment company called Michael Page in the City of London. After meeting employees from the company and learning about what jobs they do, they had a  tour around the offices and saw how they work. They learnt that all of the offices are open plan with small meeting rooms or little hubs that people can choose to work in. They saw that most people sit at desks to work although a few choose to work at standing up desks!
Many of the children made phone calls to employees in the office! After the tour was over, they began their task for the day which was to work as investment bankers to make maximum growth for their client’s wealth. They had to make careful decisions about which companies to invest in based on information they were given. At the end, they had to do a presentation the the employees explaining their decisions.​

Y6 Visit a media company

Y6 went to a company called Exterion Media which has recently been acquired by Global. They specialise in interactive outdoor advertising, such as on billboards, buses and the rail network. The children spent the day talking with employees at the company about their jobs and had a tour around the open plan offices. After spending the day learning about the work they do, the children spotted that much of the advertising at Holborn Underground Station had the Global logo on it!
​The children were given the task of being “Imaginative Inventors”. They had to research and design a new gadget or piece of technology that would support employees at the business. Once this task was completed, they had to present a persuasive pitch to the employees, convincing them that their invention was the best!

Y1 Meet The Fire brigade

​The fire brigade came to visit Year 1 in their fire engine. The children learned all about what the fire fighters do. They saw all of the different parts of the engine and what they do. The fire fighters talked about their jobs. The children got to sit inside the fire engine.

Enabling Enterprise

We have been an Enabling Enterprise partnership school which has helped us develop the enterprise skills and experiences of work and aspirations to succeed.

Enterprise Skills are communicated widely with children so that they can identify their own progress in each skill:

  • Working in a team
  • Leading
  • Listening carefully
  • Sharing ideas
  • Problem-solving
  • Using imagination
  • Staying positive
  • Aiming high

Enabling Enterprise  – Skills Builder

One of Enterprise days included the children working as architects and builders. The task was to design and build a new community arts centre for their local area and this certainly got their creative juices flowing! Teams shared great ideas whilst using their imagination and problem solving skills to decide where to build their space and what materials to use – they could not wait to get creating and making! The day culminated with teams presenting to their classes, celebrating their creativity and reflecting on how well they had worked as a team.  In this activity the children used the skills of: listening, presenting, problem solving, creativity, staying positive, aiming high, leadership and teamwork. The children used great vocabulary such as: architect, exit, design, sole use, floor plan and evaluate.

Other Enabling Enterprise Challenge days:

Crime Scene

Children were presented with a difficult problem to solve: a crime had taken place in the school and they needed to use all of their enterprise skills to solve it. Children from Years 1 to 6 examined the crime scene for evidence and worked in teams to uncover the perpetrator of the terrible crime.

A Day in Politics!

This day related well to the British Value of Democracy and also was part of our broad and balanced curriculum. The day began with an assembly so that the children could understand how government works. They discussed leaders, parliament, government, political parties and laws.

During the course of the day, the children made their own parties and chose their own causes to stand for. They took part in quizzes, debates and secret votes before writing manifestos to demonstrate their ideas on how to improve the lives of British citizens. They chose their own party name and colours.

They made rosettes and sashes, posters, banners and logos. We had party names such as: Brexit Beaters, Caring Politics, The Financial Party, The Wellbeing party. The day came to a close with exciting speeches and elections in each class that decided which party would represent the class.