School/college supporter privacy policy

Policy Date and Version Control: This policy was reviewed July 2023.

Who are we?

Future First is the UK charity working with state schools and colleges to build sustainable alumni communities. We are a registered charity in England, number 1135638. Future First Alumni Limited (“Future First”) will be what’s known as the ‘controller’ of the personal data you provide to us. Your former school(s)/college(s) are also ‘controller’ of the data, and together we are joint data controllers. Future First is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UKGDPR, with Registration Number Z3104680.

We take the protection of your privacy and confidentiality seriously. 

School/College Supporter:

This privacy policy applies to anyone signed up as a leaving student, former student or friend of a school or college.

How do we collect information from you?:

We initially obtain your personal information as a result of you completing the sign up form for your school or college. We will subsequently collect updated information if you update your profile, and/or if you give Future First staff members or staff at your old school additional details in person, over the phone or by email, and give us permission to store this information.

What type of information is collected from you?:

We collect the information provided by you on your sign up form and when you update your profile. Future First staff may also update your profile if you provide updated information to them in person, by phone or on email.

When you visit our website or your profile area, we may collect your IP address so we can learn more about how our platforms are used and use this information to improve the user experience. The data collected is anonymised.

How long will we keep your personal information?:

If you sign up to a member school or college network, your data will be retained as long as the school is a Future First member. If their latest membership ends, your data will be held for seven years after the membership end date.

If you opt in to become a member of our National Network, your data will be retained as long as you are an active member (despite if your school’s membership has ended). Your data will be deleted after seven years of inactivity.

To delete your account , please request this by emailing support@futurefirst.org.uk.

How is your information used?:

We will use your personal information in the following ways:

  • in order for us to provide the Future First programme to your school/college, including through the operation of our website;
  • if your school is part of a wider network of schools your data may be accessed by the schools using this network, as well as related organisations such as, but not necessarily limited to, Careers Hubs.
  • to send requests to you for updated contact details, so we can stay in touch with you;
  • to give you access to our online alumni platform, through which you can interact with your old school(s)/college(s) as well as other former students;
  • to send you information relating to our services, your school/college (including its services and any events or programmes which it may be running), and/or any career opportunities which we or your school/college may think are relevant to you; and
  • to anonymise your personal information and combine it with other personal information that we hold, so we can create and distribute statistics (including to partner organisations, which include organisations that contribute funds to Future First) and other information relating to your school/college year, your school/college, your local area or otherwise. When we do this, we will take the utmost care to ensure that you cannot be identified through these statistics and information.

We will also share your personal information with your school/college if they have signed up to our service, to enable it to contact you to request your support in various ways. This may include, but is not limited to, giving a careers or university talk to current students, mentoring a current student, acting as a governor or offering to fundraise. Your school/college will therefore be a ‘controller’ of your data, alongside Future First.

If your school or college is a member of a trust or other umbrella body, or their network is coordinated by a third organisation, this organisation may request access to your data and contact you in a similar way to your school or college. You will be given an opportunity to opt in to this additional network at the point of sign up and within your profile area. If your school/college joins such an organisation after you have signed up, we’ll notify you by email and you’ll be reminded that you’re able to opt in to this network. A full privacy notice on this can be found in your profile area.

Personal data will be retained and managed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. Some third parties have access to your information in order to carry out work for us, for example to send you mailings. They are contracted to keep your data secure and confidential. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes. We have a Data Protection process in place to oversee the effective and secure processing of your personal data.

Use of cookies and related features/technology:

Cookie Consent: We use cookies- and by using our website, our social media pages (such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram) or subscribing to our services you agree that, unless you have set your computer’s browser to reject them, we can place the types of cookies set out below on your device and use that data in accordance with this policy.

In order to remember that you have accepted our use of cookies, we will place a temporary cookie to remember your consent for 3 months.  For more information about how we use cookies on this site, please review our Cookie Policy below.

You can find more information about cookies All About Cookies and Your Online Choices

Types of cookie consent:

There are two broad types of cookies – ‘first party cookies’ and ‘third party cookies’:

First party cookies are cookies that are served directly by the website operator to your computer, and are often used to recognise your computer when it revisits that site and to remember your preferences as you browse the site. Basically, these are our cookies.

Third party cookies are served by a service provider on behalf of the website operator, and can be used by the service provider to recognise your computer when you visit other websites. Third party cookies are most commonly used for web site analytics or advertising purposes such as Google Analytics- you can find out more about how we use Google Analytics below.

In addition, cookies may be either ‘session cookies’ or ‘persistent cookies’. Your computer automatically removes session cookies once you close your browser. Persistent cookies will survive on your computer until an expiry date specified in the cookie itself, is reached. We use both session and persistent cookies.

Categories of cookies that we use:

  1. Strictly necessary cookies: These cookies are essential for the user to move around the website and to use its features..
  2. Performance cookies: These cookies collect information about how the user makes use of the site, e.g. which pages the user visits most. These cookies do not collect information that identifies the user.
  3. Functionality cookies: These cookies remember choices made by or attributes of the user and enhance the features and content you experience during your visit to our website, e.g. language, appeals visited or user’s location. This cookie is also used to remember a user’s preferences for a font size, or customisable parts of a web page.
  4. Targeting or advertising cookies: These cookies collect information about the users’ browsing habits. This may also include your use of social media sites, e.g. Facebook, etc. or how you interact with our website which then shows you relevant content elsewhere on the internet. NB. These may also be used to choose the advertisements that are displayed to you on our website and other websites.

We have assessed our cookies based on the ICC Cookie Guide. The majority of our cookies fall into the first two categories. However, we also use cookies on our webpages which are in categories 3 and 4.

What information do we collect using cookies?

We may collect some, or all, of the information available from cookies when you visit our website, depending on how you use it. We monitor how people use our website so we can improve it. We collect this information anonymously. However, you can choose to use our website anonymously without giving us any information by changing your cookie preferences.

If you visit our website, we may use cookies to record information about:

  • the areas of the website you visit;
  • the amount of time you spend on the site;
  • whether you are new to the site, or have visited it before;
  • the country, region, city and/or borough associated with your IP address or device;
  • how you came to our website – for example, through an email link or a search engine;
  • the type of device and browser you use;
  • how you use the website and the quality of your experience – for example we may track your bandwidth when viewing videos;
  • how you interact with our donation and sign up forms – for example what you select as your communication preferences; and
  • any error messages that you receive on the site

We use cookies to track how visitors come to our site. For example, we use marketing or referring tracking codes in internet addresses (URLs) to show us whether a visitor has come to our site via a link on a referring website or in a specific piece of marketing and to give us insight into the effectiveness of our marketing. Some of this information may be used by third party cookies to target you with relevant advertising (see below).

Although not through cookies, we do measure the success of the emails we send – so we know what subject lines and stories people liked the most. We receive this information anonymously; we don’t share this information.

Website statistics, analytics, testing and personalisation:

Our website currently uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which (as discussed above) are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyse how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage.

Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. For more details, please read Google’s Analytics overview.

You can always opt-out of Google Analytics cookies by going to Google’s opt-out tool.

If your school/college is not currently a member of our service:

If your school/ college is not currently participating in the Future First programme then join our National Alumni Network instead- the link is here

If your school/college chooses to stop participating in our service:

If your school/college chooses to stop being part of the Future First programme, we will send all the personal information that we hold about you to them, so they can continue to keep in touch with you. If you’d rather we excluded your information when sharing your data in this context, please email support@futurefirst.org.uk.

We will continue to store your personal information on our systems so that, should your school/college decide to work with us again in the future, they can pick up where they left off. We will do this in accordance with our retention policy outlined earlier in this policy.

Even if your school/college is not working with Future First, we may be in touch occasionally with news about our campaigns. You can opt out of these emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in the email or in your profile area.

16 or under:

We are concerned to protect the privacy of children aged 16 or under. If you are aged 16 or under‚ please get your parent/guardian’s permission beforehand whenever you provide us with personal information.

Stakeholder Privacy Policy

How do we collect information from you?

We obtain information about you in the following ways:

  • If you enquire about or engage in any of our services or campaigns;
  • If you provide us with funding or other support;
  • If you register for any of our communications via our website;
  • If you apply for a job with us;
  • If you’re employed or contracted by us.

What type of information is collected from you?

The personal information we collect might include your name and email address.

When you visit our website or your profile area, we may collect your IP address so we can learn more about how our platforms are used and use this information to improve the user experience. The data collected is anonymised.

How is your information used and for how long?

We need to know the basic personal data of a range of people in order to deliver our services, provide on-going organisational updates and share opportunities. We will not collect any personal data from you that we do not need in order to provide and oversee this service to you.

We might use your information to:

  • Provide you with information on, or coordinate access to, our services (including those offered via our employer partners);
  • Carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into by you and us;
  • Seek your views or comments on the services we provide;
  • Notify you of changes to our services;
  • Send you communications that you have requested and that may be of interest to you. These may include information about our services, campaigns and partner opportunities;

We are legally required to hold some types of information to fulfil our statutory obligations (for example, job applications will be kept up to one year after the vacancy closing date). Otherwise, we will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as it is required to fulfil our obligations or contract with you. Personal data will be retained and managed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Apart from data we are legally required to retain, you can choose to remove your data from our systems at any time. To request this, please email info@futurefirst.org.uk.

Who has access to your information?

In addition to Future First, some third parties have access to your information in order to carry out work for us, for example to send you mailings. They are contracted to keep your data secure and confidential. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes. We have a Data Protection process in place to oversee the effective and secure processing of your personal data.

  • Job Applicants

When you apply to work at Future First we will use the information you provide to process your application, and for fully anonymised recruitment statistics. If we need to disclose your information to someone outside Future First we will obtain your consent to do so, unless we are obliged to do so by law or otherwise allowed to do so without your consent.

If you commence employment with Future First your information will be processed in accordance with your employment contract, our human resource policies, the Data Protection Act 2018/UKGDPR and other applicable legislation.

  • Social Media

Future First uses social media to promote its work. We have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. When people engage with our posts or publish or share content relevant to our work we may like these posts, share these posts, follow them, reply or write to them, or use them in our publicity information.

 If you do not wish us to do so please contact us at info@futurefirst.org.uk.

 We might conduct research on what people say on public social media platforms to understand how people feel about our work and to improve what we do. This research might be done by staff or other organisations that we work with.

Teacher/student privacy policy for workshop participants

What is data?

Your personal data might include:

  • Your name
  • What school or college you go to
  • If you have any dietary requirements
  • If you have any other needs we need to be aware of (e.g. you use a wheelchair)
  • Your email address
  • Your phone number

How do we collect information from you?

We collect the information you give us on our feedback forms; we may also ask you for testimonials and photos to share across our platforms.

Your school shares some of your information with us directly.

We may update this information if you give Future First staff members more details in person, over the phone or by email, and give us permission to store this information.

What type of information is collected from you?

We collect the information you write on feedback forms. Future First staff may also update your profile if you provide updated information to them in person, by phone or on email.

How is your information used?

We will use your personal information in the following ways:

  • to combine it with other personal information that we hold, so we can create and share statistics about our events with other organisations. When we do this, we make your information anonymous, so no one will know it links to you.

Sometimes we do research to see what effect our sessions have on the people who attend them.

To help with this we might link the data you have given us, to other information about you held by the government. For example, information held by the Department for Education or the Department for Work and Pensions.

By law, they have to keep your data secure and private. We won’t share your information with third parties so they can sell you things. We have a Data Protection process in place to make sure your data is kept secure.

Your choices

By providing us with your personal information and by giving your consent on the sign-up form, you hereby consent to us using and disclosing your personal information as set out above.

You can manage your subscription and data preferences in your profile area, or by sending your request to support@futurefirst.org.uk with subject line ‘Data request’. If you unsubscribe from mails, you may still receive some transactional mail (e.g. if you request a password reset).

You can find out exactly what personal information of yours we hold by making a ‘subject access request’ to us under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. If you make such a request and we do hold information about you, we will:

  • give you a description of it;
  • tell you why we are holding it;
  • tell you who it could be disclosed to; and
  • let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

To make a request for any personal information we may hold, you need to contact us using the details provided at the end of this policy. Your request will be responded to within 30 days.

If at any point you believe the information we process on you is incorrect you can write to us to have it corrected or deleted. If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact us to have the matter investigated.

You have a right to request that your personal data is erased from our systems. To do this, login to your profile area or get in touch at the address below.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. We have put in place technical and organisational measures that are designed to safeguard and secure the information we collect.

When setting a password for your profile area, it is your responsibility to ensure it is sufficiently secure and kept confidential.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We keep our privacy notice under regular review and we will notify you of any updates by replacing the version of this policy which is found on our website.

How to contact us

Requests for information about our privacy notice can be made to: Future First, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE or @futurefirst.org.uk with subject ‘Data protection request’.

To access your profile area visit your Future First hub here.

This policy was last reviewed in July 2023. We keep this policy under regular review.

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DRD Partnership

DRD Partnership works with Future First to provide young people from state schools and colleges with work experience opportunities and employer-based experiences.

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The Drapers

The Drapers charitable function aims to improve the quality of life and expectations of people and communities in Greater London who are disadvantaged and socially excluded.

Thanks to The Drapers support, four schools across Camden and Hackney are able to motivate, inspire and provide relatable role models for their students through building alumni networks. 

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The Vintners' Company

The Vintners’ Company charitable activity is set on breaking down the educational barriers facing young people from deprived backgrounds and helping to ensure that they get the best possible start in life.

Vintners is supporting schools in Newham to build alumni networks and provide access to relatable role models.

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Pollen Street Capital

Pollen Street Capital is opening their doors to students in Year 10 and over from in and around London, to inspire and engage them about careers in the financial services industry. Offering support, networking and insight, this partnership with Future First will allow Pollen Street Capital to connect with up-and-coming talent.

Mayor of London

Future First is delighted to be working in a ground-breaking partnership in Camden, delivering a community-led mentoring programme to support school inclusion work thanks to generous support from the Mayor of London.

Working with young people from in and around Cardiff, Eversheds Sutherland is one of largest full service law firms in the world. With offices across the UK, USA, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, the company is striving to open up the industry and opportunities to disadvantaged students from the Welsh capital. For the next two academic years, our partnership will deliver a series of Insight days designed to give students in Year 11 & 12 the opportunity to visit their offices, meet employees and gain a valuable understanding of the roles and routes into Law, developing transferable skills from communication to team work.

Lumon is a UK foreign exchange service provider and has a growing team of over 150 ‘Lumoneers’. The company partnered with Future First to open up the FX industry to more young people, particularly disadvantaged children who wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to engage with these opportunities.

Since partnering with us, Lumon hosted multiple insight days where students were invited to their office to meet employees from different departments, take part in activities and experience different aspects of the industry.

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AutoRaise

AutoRaise promotes a range of technical apprenticeship paths to inspire young people around the vehicle repair industry. The organisation is working with Future First to present the sector to young people at schools and colleges as a rewarding and lucrative pathway, as well as highlighting apprenticeships as an alternative option to university or college. 

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Markerstudy

Markerstudy is striving to improve opportunities for more young people by giving them exclusive insight into a career in the insurance services industry. 

Through a new partnership with education charity Future First, Markerstudy will offer state school and college students the support, advice and encouragement they need to consider a career in insurance services, allowing the business to connect with up-and-coming talent.

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Rothschild & co

Rothschild & Co. Charitable Giving Programme support Future First to develop and implement an innovative employability skills programme supporting young people at risk of being NEET (not entering education, employment or training).

The Waterloo Foundation

Future first is delighted to be working with The Waterloo Foundation to build alumni networks in schools across Powys, South Wales

Pears Foundation

The Pears Foundation plays a key role in supporting Future First’s core work. Our partnership with The Pears Foundation has underpinned our national expansion and our transition to a more self-financing operating model. Their support has enabled us to have a bigger impact on students across our network of schools.

Jack Petchey Foundation

The Jack Petchey Foundation have supported Future First since 2013, providing subsidies for schools with the Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Award in London and Essex, which is now our largest region.

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Garfield Weston

Garfield Weston Foundation is one of Future First’s flagship partners. Garfield Weston’s support has been vital to supporting our network of schools reach more of their former students and deepen the impact they have had on current students. The partnership has also played a key role in our transition to a more self-financing operating model. In 2021, Future First was awarded a grant of £50K to continue to extend our reach and impact and support more young people in state schools and colleges.

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Esmee Fairbairn

Future First is delighted to be working in a ground-breaking partnership in Camden, delivering a community-led mentoring programme to support school inclusion work thanks to generous support from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Careers and Enterprise Company

Future First has received funding from the government’s Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) since 2016 to boost social mobility by helping prepare young people for the world of work.

The Dulverton trust

The Dulverton Trust has supported Future First since 2014. Our first partnership focused on supporting Future First’s work in the North-West. Currently, the focus is on underpinning Future First’s transition to a more self-financing operating model.

The Commercial Education Trust was one of the first supporters of Future First’s ‘Alumni in the Curriculum’ programme.. The programme sees former students return to their old classrooms to ‘co-teach’ elements of the curriculum, which relates to their jobs, demonstrating how the school curriculum links to the world of work.

This strand of our work has been developed to bring the curriculum to life and engage students by showing the practical application of learning.

Blagave Trust

The Blagrave Trust has supported the pilot of Future First’s In-House service. The project involves a Future First staff member working part-time on site to rapidly embed a culture of alumni engagement in each one. The In-House Alumni Officer for supports each school to build and grow their community of formers students to return to support today’s young people.

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Work Placements

Work experience is an invaluable opportunity for students to gain an insight into working life. Alumni can provide shadowing opportunities and placements, helping students gain not online more awareness of work, but also the skills they need to succeed when they get there.

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Fundraisers

Alumni can support their old school or college by raising money or donating to specific causes. This could be books for the library, music equipment or to fund educational visits for current students.

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Volunteering

Former students often have specific expertise to offer: from coaching a football team, to running after school clubs or designing a new garden. They can also help the school or college community to flourish by acting as governors, combining knowledge of the local community with experiences and skills they’ve gained since leaving school.

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Supporting the Curriculum

Former students can play a key role in the delivery of the core curriculum. Returning to their old classrooms, alumni enrich the curriculum by co-delivering lessons related to their careers, helping build students’ understanding of the real world application of their learning and boosting their motivation.

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Mentors

Alumni can act as mentors either online or in person, providing advice, support and guidance to students. Mentoring is tailored to the individual with specific goals in mind, offering students a purposeful new relationship to help overcome a range of challenges.

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Role Models

Having grown up in the same place and attended the same school, alumni are immediately relatable to current students. This makes them ideal role models. Alumni can talk about their educational or career experiences and inspire current students to achieve their potential.

WeAreTheCity

Future First is delighted to be working with WeAreTheCity, connecting inspirational messages from their Rising Stars award winners with students in our schools and colleges. WeAreTheCity is a free, centralised hub and includes gender-related news, a networks directory, calendar of events and conferences, returnships, business schools, inspirational women profiles, HeForShe interviews, giving back and jobs.

State School Fundraising

State School Fundraising support state schools to build fundraising strategies, and have successfully helped a number of state schools to raise significant amounts. We are pleased to be working with State School Fundraising to pilot an approach to fundraising with alumni communities.

Prince's Trust

The Prince’s Trust supports young people between the ages of 11-30 into employment; education or training, helping to build both confidence and skills.

In 2019, the Prince’s Trust embarked on a project with The Department of Health and Social Care to support 10,000 young people (between the ages of 16-30) into jobs in the Health and Social Care sector by July 2024 and it is partnering with Future First to ensure that those involved services are prioritised for upcoming Prince’s Trust courses and services.

 

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Northern Power Women

Future First is working with Northern Power Women (NPW) to give the next generation the support and encouragement they need to make a success of their lives, while also allowing businesses to connect with up-and-coming talent. NPW was born out of a need to accelerate gender equality in the North and currently has a 60,000-strong network.

There are approximately 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability, their families and carers by fighting to change laws, improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want.

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Governers for Schools

Governors for Schools is a national education charity that finds, places, and supports skilled volunteers as governors on school and academy boards. We work with schools and volunteers across England to improve education for children and young people through effective governance.

We have over 20 years’ experience matching volunteers with schools in need. Our skills-based matching service means your unique background and experience will be put to good use. Apply online and we’ll match your skillset to a school that needs you most.

 

Fast Futures

Future First is pleased to be supporting Avado Learning with its flagship careers programme: FastFutures. FastFutures is a ground-breaking online work-readiness and personal skills programme for young people (18-22) from diverse backgrounds designed to prioritise underrepresented groups that are finding it harder than ever to enter the workplace. Founding Employer Partners, including Legal & General, Astra Zeneca, BT, Barclays, Tate & Lyle, AO.com, Octopus Investments, Health Education England, provide funding and mentoring to deliver this unique programme free of charge.

Arc Pensions Law

As an Employer Partner, ARC Pensions Law supports Future First’s work by inviting Year 12 students from Future First’s network of schools who are eligible for free school meals or have parents who did not attend university to complete a week’s work experience placement at their London and Leeds office locations. Students have the opportunity to experience all aspects of a modern law firm, developing their professional and employability skills for a future career in law.

ZING were one of Future First’s original supporters and have remained a key partner and critical friend throughout our development. ZING have continued to advise on and support Future First’s technology development. ZING co-founders Chris White and Robin Tombs (currently) have also both served on Future First’s board.

Wellcome Trust

Wellcome and Future First partner to deliver Career Insight Days for young people at state schools in London. Staff from across the Trust participate, including those from communications, research, grants and investments departments. The volunteers coach and support students in creative activities designed to build students’ confidence and to help them identify their strengths.

Future First are partnering with Voi to help give young people first-hand insight into careers in STEM. Through our virtual insight days, and working in the local communities that Voi operate in, we will showcase the range of jobs available in the transport and technology sectors. These interactive sessions will help young people to feel more knowledgeable and confident about their futures and to develop their networking and employability skills through hearing directly from a diverse range of Voi employees.

UBS have funded Future First’s In-House programme in the Bridge Academy, Hackney. The programme is designed to provide the school with hands-on support from Future First staff to embed an alumni programme across the school. The Bridge Academy has their own dedicated Future Fist Alumni Officer, who spends part of their time ‘in house’ at the school, helping staff to build and manage their network of former students and tracking the destination of students as they leave each year.

Since 2010, international law firm, Taylor Wessing, have worked in close partnership with Future First collaborating on a number of social mobility programmes. The most recent ‘Aspiration to Application’ programme provides students with careers insights, skills workshops, mentoring relationships and work experience opportunities. Simultaneously the school alumni networks project provides inspirational and relatable role models to students at their own schools. These initiatives aim to equip young people to reach their full potential.

Taylor Wessing and Future First have worked closely to develop this unique programme of social mobility events, carefully designed to provide the best possible outcomes for students and volunteers alike. Taylor Wessing’s professional volunteers are able to share their experiences and skills drawn from a wide range of career paths for the benefit of a young person’s social mobility. Moreover, these volunteering opportunities encourage Taylor Wessing’s staff and clients to take part in skills-based volunteering – developing their own skills at the same time as helping young people with low social mobility.

Shawbrook Bank

Shawbrook and Future First work together to inspire and motivate young people in state schools and colleges all over the UK. From inviting students into their offices for informative and engaging Insight Days, to sharing personal stories from employees which students can relate to, mentoring, and more. The partnership also aims to widen the talent pool in the financial industry, and open up more opportunities for young people who previously hadn’t considered the pathway.

Legal & General

Legal & General is a British multinational financial services company including investment management, lifetime mortgages, pensions, annuities, and life assurance. With our partnership, state school students with an interest in the financial services from Year 10-12 attend a virtual taster workshop. Acting as role-models in the world of work, volunteers from Legal & General participate in a Q&A panel and skills-building activities that develop students’ aspirations, employability skills and awareness of the world of work whilst providing an opportunity for Legal & General employees to gain awareness of issues regarding social mobility in the UK.

The Key and Future First partner to deliver Career Insight Days for young people at state schools in Plymouth and London. The whole day events aim to improve the employability skills and work readiness of Year 12 students. Staff from across the organisation volunteer their time, sharing their professional expertise in a variety of activities including CV writing, mock interviews and presentation skills workshops. Volunteers coach and support students, building their confidence and helping a young person understand the value of their own skills and strengths.

Gatenby Sanderson

GatenbySanderson is a UK leading people intelligence business advising public services, not-for-profit and education sectors. As an employer partner, GatenbySanderson supports Future First’s work with young people by contributing volunteers to the national and local alumni networks who attend our in-school and virtual workshops. Their expert staff are well placed to support young people with employability skills activities such as CV writing, psychometric testing, interview advice and tips on future careers. GatenbySanderson also supports the Future First central team with training requirements, business support and fundraising.

The multinational law firm Ashurst partners with Future First on the First Steps Programme. The programme sees 60 Year 6 pupils from Bonner Primary School in Tower Hamlets, London visit Ashurst’s London offices for a series of five insight mornings that provide pupils with aspiration raising experience and increased awareness of the careers available on their doorstep. Supported by over 40 Ashurst employee volunteers the interactive programme enhances pupils’ awareness of the types of jobs they might want to do in the future, develops their understanding of the steps to pursuing them and, begins to build the confidence and skills needed to excel in their academic and working lives.

Arc Pension Law

As an Employer Partner, ARC Pensions Law supports Future First’s work by inviting Year 12 students from Future First’s network of schools who are eligible for free school meals or have parents who did not attend university to complete a week’s work experience placement at their London and Leeds office locations. Students have the opportunity to experience all aspects of a modern law firm, developing their professional and employability skills for a future career in law.