By brokering messages, professional development opportunities and expertise across the two sectors, HTI is able to build an understanding of leadership and employability needs whilst supporting school leaders in developing the business talent of the future. HTI’s Strategic Forum brings together employers, education and government to discuss issues of importance for the future of young people. As well as this, HTI has campaigned for green leadership in the UK for more than a decade and continues to support government-sponsored sustainability projects, advise environmental agencies and contribute to national conferences on the subject.
In addition, HTI represents the Go4it national award that is a leading national award for schools. Go4it demonstrate a culture of creativity, innovation and adventure for learning with a positive attitude towards risk.
Go4it derived from HTI’s 2007 Issues Paper, ‘Cotton Wool Kids’, authored by Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham, former President of HTI. The paper urged schools to counter risk aversion by extending opportunities for children to experience, judge and manage risk through both curricular and extra-curricular activities.
The aims of the Go4it award are to identify, support and give recognition to schools which:
• encourage an over-riding self belief, free thinking and can-do attitude, across the school
• permeate creativity, innovation and a positive attitude of risk across all activities
• seek a true spirit of adventure for learning with a passion for developing the full potential in every member of the school community.
Go4it creates the opportunity to integrate and celebrate efforts from across the school, increasing staff and student morale and initiating a positive cultural change towards innovative and creative learning.
By ‘going for it’, students will enhance life skills that will make them more employable and fit for an increasingly competitive market. This is primarily because Go4it school leaders are keen to nurture an environment of self-starters within a flexible curriculum. Activities inspired by the Go4it philosophy give students a sense of ambition, purpose, confidence and stimulate a real can-do attitude.
Achieving Go4it status provides the school with a national quality kite mark, which will have currency in terms of profile raising to the parents, the Local Authority, Ofsted, local employers, sponsors and the wider local community. Go4it works to complement and enhance the academic curriculum over a range of areas including Enterprise Education, Citizenship, Creative and Performing Arts and Work-related learning.
A Go4it Business
In a global marketplace, UK businesses need school leavers to have more than just academic ability. As a new addition to the skills force, they must have a can-do flexible attitude, be able to exercise judgement, demonstrate self reliance, determination and commitment to their task, able to assess risks, accept challenges and take on new roles. This is what Go4it creates.
Businesses help to embed the Go4it philosophy in schools in a variety of ways. Firms can take joint responsibility for the delivery of extra curricular activities as well as providing opportunities for students to understand the world of work through stimulating projects, beyond the scope of mandatory work placements. Being involved with development opportunities and activities within the school furthers the Go4it ethos whilst raising the business’s own profile in the local community.
The pupils from Go4it schools will gain valuable life experience through their close ties with the community and local organisations. Go4it seeks to emphasise the challenges that corporate workers and pupils often share, having to demonstrate management disciplines including team-working, problem-solving and communication skills. As such Go4it pupils are able to demonstrate increasing self-reliance, determination and perseverance in all their work.
To get information about Go4it award criteria or any other information please visit: http://www.hti.org.uk