Experts in Schools

Skills-based Volunteering that Makes a Difference

For young people to grow up to become active and engaged citizens they need to understand the power structures and institutions that make up our society. We believe that the professionals who are working in these industries are perfectly placed to help teach young people about these subjects – hence the creation of our corporate employee volunteering programme, 'Experts in Schools'. 

Experts in Schools partners businesses with a local school to provide professionals with the opportunity to work with small groups of young people to encourage discussion and debate about some of the most topical and relevant issues of the day – from fake news, to the laws surrounding Social Media, and the impact of a changing economic climate.

This engaging and interactive volunteering programme has proven benefits for all participants. For the young people, this programme provides them with valuable knowledge, helps them to develop key employability skills, such as communication and critical thinking skills, and raises their aspirations. For the professionals, not only is taking part an enjoyable and hugely rewarding volunteering experience, but they also gain key facilitation skills through participation. Of the volunteers that took part in one of our Experts in Schools programmes last year, 100% recommended taking part to a colleague.

There are currently 3 strands to Experts in Schools: legal, media, and economic. If you are a business that works in any of these sectors, or have departmental teams with expertise in these areas, please do get in touch. We want to continue to grow our Experts in Schools programme to ensure that more students across the UK can benefit, and we need your help to make this a reality.

Get in touch with Therri Tait to find out more about how the programmes and how your business can get involved.

A business's perspective

"The best thing about Experts in Schools is that we feel confident we are making significant impact and it's a programme which answers a real need that young people have.” Kirsty Christie, Head of Corporate Citizenship, FTI Consulting.

A school’s perspective

“Having the opportunity to interact with professionals in a small group supports the students to make great progress in their learning on the topic and they respond incredibly maturely, taking the sessions very seriously as they feel they are being taken seriously and respected. It gives them a taster of being in more of a 'working' environment than school environment. It’s a very good experience for them in terms of developing people skills.” Anna Wolmuth, Head of Citizenship, Haverstock School