Q&A: Inside Aldridge Academy’s Teacher Encounter Day

Last summer, staff from Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio School (DAES) and UTC MediaCity came together for a full-day Teacher Encounter. The immersive experience was designed to deepen understanding of the world of work for educators, strengthen employer links, and inform curriculum development across the trust.  

Teacher Encounters like this can offer multi-academy trusts far-reaching benefits: from embedding employer insight into curriculum planning to aligning CPD across schools and building lasting partnerships with local industries.  

To explore these impacts and the thinking behind the day, Kerry Senatore, Programme Manager at The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) sat down with Colin Grand, Executive Principal, and Sarah Carroll, Head of Enterprise & Personal Development at Aldridge Education Multi Academy Trust.  

Q. What does Teacher Encounters look like for your MAT? 

A: We designed the programme around a summer INSET day to ensure every member of staff could participate. Each colleague was matched with an employer whose work aligned with their subject or role, giving them direct insight into industry practice. 

To set the tone, we held launch meetings to outline the project’s aims, and employers were given a clear brief in advance to ensure mutual expectations were aligned. We also shared the CEC framework with both staff and employers, so everyone understood the intended outcomes and how they linked to careers education. 

On the day, staff took part in a range of activities, from site tours and department shadowing to in-depth conversations with professionals. Employers generously offered detailed walkthroughs of their processes and highlighted the skills they value, helping staff connect their subject knowledge to real-world applications. 

Back in school, we carved out time for staff to reflect, share insights, and begin weaving these experiences into schemes of work. That process is still evolving, but the impactin terms of staff engagement and curriculum relevance is already being felt. 

Q: Why did you invest time and resources into this type of CPD? What was the outcome you hoped for? 

A: We saw this kind of experience as a potential gamechanger — a way to bridge the gap between the world of work and the classroom, and to embed a deeper understanding of in-demand workplace skills across our curriculum. With recent updates to the Gatsby Benchmarks reinforcing the need for careers education to sit at the heart of school life — and for leadership to ensure it’s a whole-staff, whole-institution commitment — we recognised the importance of investing in staff development. Our aim was to create meaningful opportunities that set both educators and students up to succeed 

Q: What were the additional impacts you hadn’t expected? 

A: An unexpected highlight for many staff was the opportunity to observe team dynamics and the communication strategies employed across various roles within organisations. Another additional impact was that the project has put us in a great position to pivot to the government’s ambition of 50 hours of work experience by strengthening our relationships and understanding of local employers and the labour market. 

Q: What are the types of benefits you are seeing on your teachers and how is this impacting on your students?   

A: Teachers highlighted a number of employability skills they observed during their encounters. One teacher reflected that resilience, communication, and teamwork were at the heart of what they observed which will shape how they emphasise employability skills in their classroom.   

Staff now have concrete examples of how subject knowledge applies in the real world, which they can embed into lesson plans and activities - with another teacher commenting that it’s changed the way they talk to learners about their future.  

These curriculum changes are inspiring students and ensuring that all educators can link curriculum learning with careers, thus allowing young people to make informed choices about their next steps in terms of the world of work and higher education. 

Q: What has been the impact on relationships with employers? 

A: The day fostered meaningful relationships with local businesses, opening doors for student internships, live projects, and guest speaker opportunities. These relationships are now the foundation of a sustained approach to employer engagement across the schools and wider MAT 

Q: How are you going to keep the momentum on Teacher Encounters?  

A: We are developing a calendar of regular staff and student visits to employers to sustain this momentum. We will also collaborate with employers to co-design applied learning tasks and assessments within curriculum subjects that are reflective of evolving industry needs.  

We’re also developing an outcome-focused curriculum that reflects the realities of today’s workplace, ensuring students have access to a range of progressive, meaningful experiences. This aligns with the Government’s vision for Modern Work Experience. To support this, we’ll continue sharing best practice through internal CPD sessions and establish cross-curricular working groups to embed key skills — such as teamwork, adaptability, and sustainability — across all subject areas.  

Find out how your school or MAT can get involved in Teacher Encounters.