How universities can help you achieve your teacher goals

It can be difficult to know how to make the best use of your resources as a school. This article will explain how working with a university can help you achieve your career department goals. You’ll learn how to meet benchmarks and ensure your students have the right information to make the best decision for their futures.

In 2022/23, Benchmark 7 – encounters with higher and further education – was a difficult benchmark, which only 52% of schools were able to fully achieve.” Thankfully, the Gatsby guidelines have recently been updated.

Since 2024, the ‘meaningful encounters’ mentioned in the guidelines can include online interactions, provided these are in conjunction with in-person visits. This presents schools with more flexibility to organise webinars or online talks from universities.

An overlooked feature of the guidance is that encounters don’t have to be on university grounds. Inviting university representatives to your own school HE fair will facilitate useful conversations in a setting where students feel comfortable asking questions. Some universities might even send current university students, who can provide highly valuable insights to your own students.

At a school visit to City St George’s, we had a sixth former who was interested in civil engineering. They were curious about a degree versus a degree apprenticeship. One of our engineering student ambassadors gave relevant and specific advice to help the sixth former make an informed choice about his post-18 options.

• School alumni – students learn from each other. If you have former students who have gone to university, invite them to share their experiences about their lived experience of higher education.

• University alumni – recent graduates are equally valuable. They have the added benefit of experience finding a career post-graduation. Ask universities if their recent graduates will share their journeys.

• University fairs – national HE exhibitions and university fairs are a valuable useful resource for students. They can chat with representatives from hundreds of institutions on the same day, giving them a chance to have specific, meaningful conversations about their future.

• WP teams – every university has a strategy for widening participation (WP) – the duty of making university accessible to those from under represented backgrounds. Contact WP teams about visits, residentials, or events for students who haven’t yet considered university as an option. They may also run attainment-raising activities such as mentoring and subject tutoring for free!

University representatives provide a wealth of support to meet the needs of your students and school. Reach out to university teams in your local area or region. See what they can do for you.