THE CHALLENGE OBJECTIVES OF SMART START

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2 OBJECTIVES OF SMART START THE CHALLENGE Allen & Overy partnered with MyKindaFuture to raise awareness of the Smart Start programme to a broader audience. Through online challenges, workshops, training days and work experience it was our aim to reach out to those from less privileged backgrounds, raising aspirations and employability amongst those who may not have seen a career in law as a viable option for them. We asked students across the country to tell us in 200 words what they would do on their first day if they were to become Prime Minister of the UK CHALLENGE S U B M I O N S I S S Up from 352 in 2014 Challenge page views online These submissions came from 88 different schools across 55 of the most deprived boroughs in the UK This report outlines key statistics and the impact of the Smart Start programme on everybody involved: the students, teachers, parents, Allen & Overy employees and client volunteers. Smart Start was launched in 2009 to tackle social exclusion in the legal profession. It was intended to drive broader progress across the profession as a whole; changing work experience from something handed out on the basis of who you know, to something that could level the playing field and give young people from less privileged backgrounds access to the profession. We target students from state schools who are eligible for free school meals or who would be the first generation in their family to go to university. 183 students took part in the skills and assessment day. 67 students were selected for the Smart Start Experience 2015 and City & Guilds accredited work experience 60 of these students have signed up to continue their development in the Allen & Overy mentoring scheme, Smarter Futures. Up from 58 in

3 This week has honestly been one of the best weeks of my life. I have met people from all walks of life that I have learnt a lot from. My confidence in my ability has grown and I now believe that if I work hard then I can succeed in a firm like Allen & Overy. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The overall purpose of this report is to help us understand and measure what impact Smart Start has had on its students and volunteers, where the programme has been most effective and to provide some evidence of this impact. The fact that the results are overwhelmingly positive is a good sign and gives an indication that Allen & Overy is having a positive impact on the various stakeholders at every stage of the Smart Start programme. - Student having taken part in Smart Start Data Collection Students and volunteers were asked to fill out data collection forms at several key points in the process: the workshop stage the shortlisting stage the skills and assessment day the work experience week Core Statements When filling out each form, students were asked to consider their responses to five core statements: 1) I feel confident about my future 2) I feel I have some understanding of law 3) Thinking about law can be fun and interesting 4) I feel I m the kind of person that could have a successful career in law 5) I know about the international law firm Allen & Overy and/or their Smart Start Experience programme 3 4

4 STUDENTS Distance travelled Of the 65 students who completed the feedback forms at the end of the work experience, 24 had answered the same questions before their very first workshop, and we can compare their two sets of answers. Work experience 67 students completed every stage of the Smart Start programme, with 65 students giving feedback at the end of their work experience. This is how those students responded to the five core statements on the final day % 1.5% 32.3% Workshops 4.1% 12.5% 12.5% 83.3% 70.8% 41.6% 12.5% 16.6% 45.8% I feel confident about the decisions I make about my future I feel I have some understanding of law Thinking about law can be fun and interesting Confidence 41.5% 43.07% Fun 55.38% Programme 45.8% 54.1% % 4.1% I feel I m the kind of person that could have a successful career in The City of London I know about the international law firm Allen & Overy and/or their Smart Start Experience programme 1.5% 16.6% 66.6% 16.6% I understand the job options on offer to me when I leave school 1.5% 47.69% Understanding 50.7% 38.46% Person 61.5% 67.69% Up from 57% in % 70.8% 4.1% 29.1% 16.6% 54.1% Work experience 20.8% 66.6% 29.1% I can imagine working at international law firm Allen & Overy one day When eligible, I intend to vote I am aware of the type of careers in The City of London Didn t answer Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree 5 5 I feel confident about the decisions I make about my future Other statistics 5 ALL of the students said they enjoyed Smart Start Up from 10 97% in of students said Smart Start had raised their career aspirations 98% of students said that Smart Start had inspired them The 5 most commonly used words by students when describing Smart Start were: 74% of students said Smart Start had improved their levels of motivation INTERESTING AMAZING FUN CHALLENGING ENJOYABLE 4.1% 8.3% 8.3% % 5 25% 58.3% 41.6% 20.8% 58.3% % 5 75% 33.3% % 41.6% I feel I have some understanding of law Thinking about law can be fun and interesting I feel I m the kind of person that could have a successful career in The City of London I know about the international law firm Allen & Overy and/or their Smart Start Experience programme I understand the job options on offer to me when I leave school I can imagine working at international law firm Allen & Overy one day When eligible, I intend to vote I am aware of the type of careers in The City of London This data demonstrates a positive change in response from the beginning to the end of the process, with very few of the student s disagreeing with statements by the end of the programme. The biggest change in statements was students knowledge of the Allen & Overy programme. Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree 6

5 VOLUNTEERS Work experience Employees Across the whole programme we saw 180 Allen & Overy employees and 70 client volunteers engaging with young people, equating to 840 hours volunteering time. We gathered data from 91 of these Allen & Overy employees and client volunteers during the work experience. 10 of volunteers said they got a sense of fulfillment from taking part in Smart Start Across the whole programme of volunteers said they would like to take part in future volunteering opportunities 45% of volunteers said working with the students on Smart Start had helped develop their creativity skills FAMILY AND TEACHERS 5 teachers provided feedback at the end of Smart Start, alongside 10 family members. Because of this week I feel my child is now more confident about their future of family members agreed or strongly agreed with the following statements: I would recommend this opportunity to other young people This week has inspired my students to attend University of teachers agreed or strongly agreed with the following statements: This week has improved my child s employability We saw approximately 180 Allen & Overy employees & > and 70 client partners from 11 other companies engaging with young people Equating to more than 840 hours of volunteering time After this week, I feel my child is better prepared for the world of work It was good for my students to socialize and network with students from other schools One volunteer described their experience as: An incredible experience that allowed me the opportunity to encourage and develop young people to understand that the City is full of opportunity. The 5 words volunteers used most frequently to describe the Smart Start programme were: REWARDING FUN INSPIRING INTERESTING WORTHWHILE as well as My husband and I have seen a lot of changes in our son this past week. He seems to have grown in maturity, making his own way to and from home. He has been really keen to tell us each day what he has done with great enthusiasm. 7 ENLIGHTENING and LIFE-AFFIRMING - Parent, at the end of Smart Start 8

6 SKILLS AND ASSESSMENT Up from 84% 96% 95% 94% in 2014 Students 183 students attended the skills and assessment day at Allen & Overy s London office. This was a day of training and challenges, as well as a selection process for the work experience week. For most, this was a unique experience at a top international law firm and for others; their first time in Central London. of students agreed/strongly agreed with the statement: Today has made politics more accessible and easy to understand of students agreed/strongly agreed with the statement: After today I feel better prepared for other future assessment centre activities of students agreed/strongly agreed with the statement: I would now consider or think about a career in law 163 students responded to the five core statements at this stage: 1.24% 7.5% 7 3.1% 46.5% 23.75% 36.6% 57.41% Confidence Fun Programme Tweets from students Great experience, I m glad I ve got to this stage. If I don t get to the next stage I m still glad I ve done it! #SmartStartExperience Teachers and volunteers at the skills and assessment day Had a great time at Allen & Overy today doing #SmartStartExperience. Gained a lot of valuable information and met very lovely people 1.25% 5% 7.5% 29.81% 3.7% 49.68% Volunteers 87 volunteers participated in the skills and assessment day 62.5% Understanding 44.1% Person 51.93% 97% of volunteers said they found it interesting to understand how students see the professional and corporate world When asked why they were helping, one employee said: I wanted to understand more about mentoring, volunteering and being able to network with young adults, offering encouragement and hopefully being a positive influence. Didn t answer Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree Teachers 7 teachers attended the skills and assessment day 91% 8 of students felt the skills and assessment day helped improve their teamworking skills of students felt the skills and assessment day improved their communication abilities 86% 10 strongly agreed that the skills and assessment day was a valuable experience for their students agreed or strongly agreed that the skills and assessment day was relevant to the curriculum When asked, Why do you feel it s important for businesses like Allen & Overy to run these kinds of programmes? one teacher answered: It provides opportunities for those who would not normally have heard about jobs in The City or believed they would be selected for one. 9 Up from 92% in

7 SHORTLISTING 15 Allen & Overy client took part in the shortlisting process, choosing from students written responses to the question What would you do on your first day as Prime Minster of the UK? WORKSHOPS IN SCHOOLS 10 of volunteers said they learnt something new about themselves, young people or society from their volunteering session Up from 95% in 2014 EVERY ONE of the volunteers at the shortlisting said they developed current or new skills including networking and analytical skills This stage had the largest number of students involved. The 361 student attendees were from 10 different schools and colleges. Even though these workshops were the lightest-touch stage of Smart Start, we can see from the graph below that they still had a positive impact on those who took part. After the workshop all the student s responses to the five core statements were more positive, with the biggest shift in perception being I know about the international law firm Allen & Overy and the second largest a perception shift on Thinking about the law can be fun and interesting. Five core statements, presented pre and post workshop 300 It was really enlightening to hear the ideas and political concerns which young people have today. - Associate, Allen & Overy Confident Understanding Fun Person Programme 7 of the students also stated that the workshop helped them to develop their independent thinking skills Up from 63% in No response Strongly disagree Disagree At one workshop a teacher said: Agree My students don t often get opportunities like this but the last 2 hours have been great - I have really seen them grow in confidence and their abilities Number of Responses Strongly agree 12

8 CASE STUDIES Emma Lomas Across the week we were engaging in public speaking, for example during the business game. I became so much more confident by simply taking part in this. It was a completely unexpected change that has led me to speak in assemblies at school without worrying. Once I came back to school in September I did assemblies all week to the whole school. The public speaking skills that I gained from this experience has led me to develop leadership skills due to the boost of confidence. For example, I was a team leader for 3 weeks in Malawi and I would never have pushed or challenged myself to do this had I not have developed my skills during the Smart Start week. Craig Kelly I dedicated a whole paragraph of my personal statement to the Smart Start Experience programme, talking about the skills I developed and gained during the week. I definitely feel as if this week strengthened my UCAS application and I know it has helped me gain offers from top universities. My experience on the programme confirmed my decision to study Law at university and has also ignited a strong interest in pursuing a legal career. The week also, more than anything, encouraged me to meet new people and I have made friends that I still speak to today. 13 Amba McBean I am the oldest child and will be the first in my immediate family to go to a university. I recently won the Law award of the year 2015 at my school which I was incredibly proud of and would not have been possible without the knowledge and support Smart Start gave me. Case study from a teacher at a Tower Hamlets School Mary is Albanian and the daughter of a Kosovar refugee, so she has a very different life experience to the majority of our students, even though many have parents who have moved to the UK to live and work. She has always been a motivated student and achieved very well at GCSE. Her A2 subjects; Government and Politics, Economics, History and Religious Education at AS have engaged, challenged and motivated her, but throughout there has been the thread of working in law. This was always there in the background and comes from her experience of seeing Albania move from a dictatorship to a democracy and understanding the consequential legal ramifications. Mary was very motivated to apply for the programme. Despite her confidence and ability to get on well with her teachers and peers, it was still a challenging and stimulating experience. It reinforced her belief in the importance of a sound and fair legal system and led her to apply to do law at university next year. She now has a more profound understanding of how society functions within the bounds of a legal framework. The skills and knowledge she has gained will be ones she can develop and enhance as she develops as an individual, as a student and as a lawyer. For the purposes of this report, names have been changed. 14

9 Smart Start has helped me improve my interview skills incredibly and I feel a lot more secure about my future now than when I started Smart Start. This experience has put me ahead of others - just having Allen & Overy Smart Start Experience on my CV and personal statement has made me feel a lot more confident when applying for university. I would like to thank every single person from Allen & Overy for this experience. It s clear why the firm is so successful - the Allen & Overy team is full of amazing and passionate people who want you to do well. They ve helped me a lot and their support is invaluable. - Tamoor Haidar, from Uxbridge College