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Chapter Three The main findings

The respondents

A few of the respondents felt unable to answer some questions and referred the researcher to other colleagues. While time constraints meant there had to be limitations on the extent of further contacts, where there were serious gaps in the responses the researcher contacted another individual. Therefore the total number of respondents was 34 from 32 authorities, with 100% of authorities being covered.

Respondents varied in the range of their responsibilities. In addition to being the SCEIN link, many had a Quality Improvement Officer role which meant they had regular dealings at a school level. No respondent had only enterprise in education as a remit. Some had a related portfolio (such as citizenship, pastoral care, FE/ HE links, employer and Careers Scotland links, employability etc) while others also had responsibility for sections of the curriculum or (in smaller authorities) for a whole sector. The level of knowledge of what was happening at school level was therefore variable.

The level of responsibility of respondents also varied. Five felt they were mainly or entirely strategic in their enterprise in education role; 4 were mainly or entirely operational; 20 considered themselves to have both a strategic and operational role; and 4 were unable to comment.

The authority's attitude to school pupils having a part-time job

Respondents were asked how they would categorise their authority's attitude to pupils having a part-time job. 17 felt their authority's view was generally positive; 4 considered their authority would expect to be proactive about ensuring the balance between positives and negatives was kept; 3 thought it was a pragmatic view ('you can't really stop them, so let them get on with it'); 7 considered their authority was neutral or had no identifiable view (however, one of those expressed so many negatives on behalf of the authority that an objective assessment might more appropriately put it into the negative category); and 2 felt the authority had a generally negative view of their pupils having part-time work.

Local issues, and their perceived impact on part-time working

The impact of rurality was mentioned by a number of respondents. This had several dimensions. Firstly, the labour market for part-time work was seen to be different: more limited than in an urban area ('there are major issues of equity since children from rural areas don't have the same opportunities'); featuring family-based farm work (and how impartial might any employer assessment for certification be in this situation?); lack of access to big employers with more structured programmes; and travel issues. Travel problems included the lack of public transport outwith peak travel times, and the impact of bussing pupils into school on their access to part-time work. This last point also was thought to have an impact in less rural areas, for example where there were a number of 'magnet' schools, where there was no local denominational school and where an authority had taken a decision to deliver secondary education to smaller communities through large centralised schools. In these cases bussing also took place. Travel issues also affected the setting up of vocational programmes, especially where the FE college was not particularly local; they also affected access to a range of work experience places.

The social class mix of communities was also noted as a local feature. On the one hand, young people from very poor areas were thought to be more driven to take on part-time work for reasons of family finance; others thought that poverty was linked to a family's lack of access to labour market opportunities and that young people in poor areas were actually less likely to have a part-time job. At the other end of the scale, some suggested, middle class parents were likely to discourage jobs in the service sector as being low status, and where there were a significant number of independent schools the emphasis for young people was seen as being more towards allocating time out of school to sporting success rather than towards part-time work.

Positives about school pupils having a part-time job

The most common positives noted were the opportunities to gain some of the core/soft skills, particularly working with others, interpersonal skills and communication. Increased understanding of the business environment/workplace was the next most commonly reported: this often was followed by a comment about the 'reality' of the experience - 'they have to handle real consequences of what they do'; 'they can have real responsibility'. Several respondents contrasted this with work experience which they felt was less valuable in showing pupils what work was really like. Another set of responses related to the development of work discipline, followed closely by financial issues - 'learning the value of money'; 'puts them into a situation where they can hope to earn money while in higher education'.

The development of confidence, self-esteem, independence and maturity was also a common theme, as was the chance for pupils to learn to balance their life-style and manage time. Positives in relation to school work were mentioned by a minority, and these included:

• Provides a context for the skills and knowledge learned in school
• Increased maturity from part-time work benefits their approach to learning
• Can bring the work ethic into their school work and the classroom
• Enhances attainment through increasing the motivation to 'stick in' to get a better job than the one they were working at part-time

Negatives about school pupils having a part-time job

The potentially negative impact of the amount of time that part-time work took up was the most commonly noted criticism. This had several dimensions:

• Lack of time for study, particularly when pupils nowadays needed to do more homework rather than less, especially those applying to increasingly competitive courses of higher education. Some qualified this by saying that it was easy for teachers to blame pupil underperformance on part-time work.
• They were thought to have less time for sport (undermining, as a result, authority strategies to increase the health and fitness of pupils) and other extra-curricular activities, or for support for school events (particularly senior pupils who tended to be called on to help at parents evenings, for example). Again there were some qualifications of this. Some said that it was up to schools to be more flexible and creative about how sport and other activities were timetabled out of school hours; others, from rural areas, commented that pupils who had to be bussed home were cut out of these anyway; and a small number commented that young people with 'oomph' were able to manage their time to include all the elements they wanted in their lives. Another comment was that it was naïve to assume that if pupils were stopped from engaging in part-time work that they would automatically get involved in sport (or homework, for that matter).
• They might be unable to access supported study programmes in the Easter holidays, or summer schools to encourage and support access to higher education. The issue here was that a job that paid throughout the year could be lost because of a short break in employment.
• There could be an incentive to truant or opt out of school work, particularly when employers asked for extra hours before Christmas or during study leave
• Pupils could be tired because of lack of sleep

This last point leads on to a second negative from SCEIN members' point of view. The related issue was not the number of hours, but the time of the day when pupils were working - early in the morning (especially for the youngest pupils) or later at night (for those in hospitality-related jobs, usually older pupils).

A third group of negatives related to the quality of the experience that young people had, and the way they were treated. Some young people, they thought, were exploited in terms of what they were asked to do, what they were paid and the pressure put on some pupils to increase their hours. Others commented that some part-time work put the very young into the poorest environments, for example work in a chip shop.

Finally, for a small minority health and safety issues were a negative. Protecting young people from negative environments such as 'hanging off the back of a lorry' was important. It may be surprising that only a few raised this issue: it seemed that those who had some responsibility in their authority for health and safety were most likely to be exercised by this, and for them it was a very serious issue. But as we will note later, it became much more of an issue for respondents when questions were asked about recognising part-time work in schooling.

Impact on study

Respondents were asked to give more details of any perceived impact on study. Ten had no further specific comment on this, and another twelve noted that nothing had come up to authorities from schools. This seemed to be because the impact on study was dealt with at school level, and only when the school felt there were broader issues to be considered were they raised at authority level. Indeed, some said that even school managers would not be fully aware of any impact on study as much of this was dealt with by pastoral care staff.

Two examples were given to illustrate the points at which issues about the impact of part-time employment on study might come to an authority: one major employer was seen to be putting unacceptable pressure on senior pupils to increase their working hours prior to SQA exams; another school had noted many pupils failing to meet attainment targets, and, following guidance interviews with these pupils, their involvement in part-time work was noted. This authority was considering writing to these employers.

What made some authorities and schools more anxious than others? There was no clear explanation for this. Some suggested that schools in more middle-class areas were more likely to be concerned, while those in less affluent areas acknowledged they had to recognise that family poverty might be a driver for pupils and schools and authorities could not put a stop to an activity that helped to take children out of poverty. Others suggested that this varied at the level of subject disciplines, with maths and modern language staff, for example, being particularly keen to stop pupils 'taking their eye off the academic ball'. For others the variation was at the level of an individual teacher, with some considering that 'anything that intrudes into a pupil's school life is negative'.

Lastly, one comment showed the potential variation in response from within an authority - 'As earning money and assignments clash, those responsible in the authority for attainment become more negative about it.'

Current and planned use of part-time work in schooling

Twenty respondents said that part-time work was not used in any way in schooling, nor was this planned: some qualified this by adding 'as far as I know'. The main reason given was that most had just not thought about it: it was not part of the Determined to Succeed plan; it had not formed part of employer discussions on business partnerships; and there had been no consideration of links between part-time work and vocational pathways. One of the main reasons for the lack of a link with vocational pathways was that some of the sectors typically covered by these pathways, for example, construction and engineering, were thought unlikely to be areas in which young people had part-time jobs: areas such as retail, where part-time work was common, were not yet part of the vocational pathway provision, usually because retail training was not located in the college sector but with employers and private trainers. However this did not explain why there had been no consideration of links with vocational pathways such as hairdressing and hospitality where part-time work was already common and where training could be done at an FE college. Other reasons were:

• Schools wouldn't know which pupils were working so could not make these links, and pupils might be reluctant to admit to having a part-time job
• Schools would not wish to know or make use of it as it might encourage more part-time work

Some other respondents thought that there might be some informal links at a school level. Discussion of part-time work might be happening in some classrooms, with some teachers. This was more likely to occur in English, Business Studies and PSE. There might be links between part-time work and work experience: one might lead to the other, with the same employer. And one respondent thought there was some use of part-time work for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

A small number had considered developing closer links in the past. Two authorities had seriously considered replacing work experience with part-time work but because part-time work was not standardised, monitored and had no partnership agreements, this had been abandoned, at least temporarily.

Others had been wondering about a possible use of part-time work. This might replace work experience for those who had part-time jobs, and release placements for young people with additional support needs. Another idea was that part-time work might be used to help in the certification of work experience since the number of hours required for Intermediate 2 could not normally be found from work experience alone. One respondent thought that New Community Schools might be a good way to harness part-time work, and gave the example of a key worker who set up a baby sitting group for young people who were paid for babysitting in order to help support and train them in this role.

A very few authorities had more clearly formed plans to make links with part-time jobs. These ideas included:

• Schools would have a 'part-time work' noticeboard where employers who were in partnership with the school would advertise vacancies. This would control hours and share the opportunities around more fairly
• Using part-time work on its own to deliver Intermediate 2 Work Experience, as this seemed to fit the experience required more closely than school work experience
• Building part-time work for S6 into business partnerships under Determined to Succeed, whereby there would be a contract (to ensure each pupil kept a balance between work, study and other parts of their lives) and an agreed wage.
• Developing an agreement between a call centre and 8 local schools, which included part-time work opportunities

At the other end of the scale some showed considerable reluctance to make any links: 'the answer is to bring vocational experiences into the school, not use outside experiences that are not controlled by the school.'

How might part-time work be linked more closely with schooling?

Before asking respondents to consider the 5 models of recognition of part-time work, they were asked to suggest some possible uses of part-time work in schooling. A full list of suggestions is included in Appendix 2, but some examples now follow to illustrate the range of ideas.

• Part-time work might be used within vocational pathways, perhaps to cover the work for a half or a full module from the group of modules. This could also be done by using an SQA-accredited employer of part-time school pupils to provide evidence for a Scottish Progression Award ( SPA). Or a hairdressing employer, for example, could be paid to close the salon for half a day to do accredited training as part of a hairdressing vocational pathway. Another idea was that part-time work might be used as part of an SPA in Employability Skills.
• Part-time work might link with existing school-based certification. There could be a strong possible link with Standard grade Social and Vocational Studies ( SVS), for example. It could be accredited in its own right at Intermediate 2 Work Experience. Or, since the SQA was saying that one week of work experience was not enough, the second 'week' could be provided through part-time work, thus covering the required 60 hours for Intermediate 2.
• Other certificated or structured provision, usually for young people with particular needs, was suggested as possible areas for linking part-time work into schooling. These included: Access 3 Work Experience which did not need moderation; Preparation for Independent Living Unit 1 or 2; ASDAN awards which could include part-time work as part of Learning for Work initiatives; an ENABLE initiative which employed young people without special needs to do a part-time job alongside a young person with additional support needs; Princes Trust Excel award; Bridges to Work programmes in special schools. Using part-time work in schooling would link well to authorities' work to engage disaffected young people. The Bridges to Employment package being introduced for all young people in one area was another possibility.
• A third possibility was to extend local certificates or recording systems to include part-time work. One authority, for example, was planning a Determined to Succeed Award Scheme for young people doing voluntary work or citizenship activities, and this could also include part-time work. Another had a Local Leavers' Statement of Achievement in which young people might be encouraged to include part-time work. A third had a local certificate for Enterprise and Citizenship in which part-time work could have a logical place.

Respondents also made general comments about making more structured use of pupils' part-time jobs. From a positive point of view, if it was more official, employers would need to be more open about selection, and young people could be supported and helped to keep a proper balance in their lives. Some made the point very strongly that it was time that such a formative and significant experience in pupils' lives was 'brought out of the closet' and 'the authorities' (in the broadest sense) forced to put systems in place to deal with the reality of school pupils' contact with the workplace.

Others were more cautious or strongly against the use of part-time work in schooling: 'if we accredit part-time jobs, we will be, for those under 16, accrediting an illegal activity.' There were practical issues: the reality, it was thought, was that employers had the power to make young people do what they wanted, and schools could not control the experience sufficiently to incorporate it into education; and if part-time work was linked to schooling, especially to vocational pathways, what would happen if a school pupil moved from, for example, a job in retail to one in the care sector?

Health and safety issues

Respondents were prompted to consider health and safety issues involved in the use of part-time work in schooling. Twelve respondents could not see any particular problems, two felt it would be relatively easy to extend the risk assessment currently done for work experience (including that for post-16s under the school's 'duty of care') and a third thought that those companies on the existing work experience risk assessment database might well overlap considerably with those companies who were providing part-time work for school pupils.

Some suggested that at the moment parents would be responsible rather than the school if children under 16 were doing part-time work, but if it became part of the curriculum then the school could no longer deny knowledge.

The remainder, just over a majority, had some or major concerns. Some concerns related to specific types of part-time working for example in farming and fishing environments. Others raised not just health and safety but child protection issues, for example pupils in S3/4 delivering goods in the dark, or going round doors to sell goods. One authority was considering requiring work experience employers to hold Disclosure Scotland certificates because they should not otherwise be in 1:1 contact with those under 16 years old. Many of the issues that might affect recognition of part-time work in schooling were also present in the attempts to regulate work experience, some feeling that work experience was now getting so over-controlled that it was becoming unmanageable.

There was considerable confusion about what the legal position actually was. A small number were unsure whether there was some kind of system in existence, for example in a byelaw. Was a permit needed for under 16s? The following quotes will give a flavour of the concerns, and the lack of clarity of the current situation:

• 'We couldn't stop it anyway. The overarching legislation doesn't provide enforcement powers to stop it, only Environmental Health can, and only regarding food retailing.'
• 'If we're going to accredit part-time work, it would need legislation that makes the links clear between the byelaws (secondary legislation) and employment legislation (primary legislation). Companies can hire legally under employment legislation, but illegally under the byelaws'
• 'Our legal services say that if they have a National Insurance number and are under 16 they can be paid to work but they can't be paid otherwise.'
• 'There are greater insurance difficulties if young people are paid than not paid'
• 'Under 'duty of care' in the common law the local authority does have responsibility for pupils' welfare when they are out on an experience that the authority approves of, so if we 'recognise' part-time work, for example for core skills, this could be termed an exercise we approve of.'

Some of the underpinning concerns related to the possibility of the authority being sued: 'There needs to be a change in the law or statement from the Executive to say they will cover our liability if part-time work is to be assessed, recognised or incorporated in schooling in any way.' One respondent raised the personal issues involved: 'if there are problems then it's me as an individual that's personally responsible and could be sued, not the authority.'

The general picture was one of confusion. The other noticeable feature was the wide disparity of views. A substantial number had few or no concerns, while a significant number of others identified major difficulties.

We now consider a range of experiential activities, undertaken by school pupils, which have some similarities to part-time employment and might provide models of 'recognition' or raise relevant issues. We look first at work experience, then at voluntary work, employment in the school, vocational pathways and self-employment.

The current position of work experience - extent of coverage

It is relevant to consider the position of work experience as this demonstrates how schools handle and use an employer-based educational experience. As will become clear, it appears that there is a developing relationship between part-time employment and school work experience, with the latter very much in a state of flux.

Firstly, how many school pupils in Scotland have a work experience placement?

Thirteen authorities were aiming for 100% of pupils having a work experience placement (two qualified this by saying that 100% of pupils would have this over a period of S3 to S5 with all others expecting this to be done at the end of S3 or during S4, ie during compulsory education). Another seventeen recognised they were not reaching 100% but that the vast majority (around 80%) took part in work experience. Where an authority was not achieving its target of 100% this was because: parents would not agree to the placement; the placements available did not match the vocational aspirations of pupils; or pupils were excluded from school. A very small minority had moved from aiming for 100% coverage to targeting pupils who might find it useful. In these cases it was available to those who were thought to be most disadvantaged, were aiming for direct entry to the labour market, or needed the experience for entry to HE courses or to professions.

These figures imply that work experience is still thought of as a universal ideal for school pupils in compulsory schooling. But further questioning showed that a radical examination of the value of work experience was taking place. A number of factors and perceptions were driving this re-examination of work experience:

• The place of work experience in schooling had been strengthened in many areas by its ability to contribute, through the certification of the experience, to attainment targets. However, difficulties with certification had been increasing, thus undermining the place of work experience in the curriculum. (This is considered in more detail in the next section).
• There had been an increase in 'self-found' placements, and this was taking the allocation of placements out of school control. (One authority noted that in a particular school 'self-found' placements were now in excess of 70% of placements). There was an equity issue here as pro-active parents and families used their contacts or encouragement to secure 'good' placements for their children. Some authorities, observing this happening, were keen to target work experience placements on those children whose parents were not in a position to be influential on their behalf.
• There was increasing tension between what were seen as varying purposes of work experience. Was it still about 'gaining an understanding of the working world regardless of whether it was in an occupational area that interested pupils'? And if so, was it of any value when pupils already had had part-time jobs, in some ways seen as giving a more accurate reflection of the demands of the working world? If it was to give pupils a 'taster' in an area of vocational interest, then placements were not seen to be sufficiently varied to match the aspirations of pupils.
• Following on from this point, many authorities were keen to move to 'bespoke' placements targeted on individuals needing the experience to move into particular HE courses or professional training, or those with specific needs, for example excluded or disruptive pupils, those with additional support needs or those expecting to enter the labour market straight from school (especially from S4 or from the leaving date in the middle of S5).

These issues are particularly relevant to this research as the targeting of work experience was seen by many authority representatives to be practicable since many pupils had already had paid part-time employment.

The current position of work experience - certification

Across Scotland the general picture was of a reduction in the certification of work experience, although a number of authorities were still aiming for close to 100% certification. Most of those (10) were certificating work experience at Intermediate 1. Some were aiming for Intermediate 2 (5) but this was for at most 50% of the year group. Beyond this certification was limited or non-existent (11). This included: certification only for those doing Social and Vocational Studies; the use of the ASDAN award; the use of work experience to provide evidence of core skills, particularly 'working with others'; and certification at Access 3. It also included two authorities where a positive decision had been taken not to seek accreditation because the quality of the experience was seen as being the most important gain. Six authority representatives were not sure about the extent of certification in their area.

The most commonly raised issue was a lack of clarity about SQA requirements for certification, with some authorities apparently being given different advice from SQA compared with others. On the one hand, accreditation at Access level created no organisational difficulties but this level of qualification was thought not to be valued by able pupils (particularly those aiming for higher education), parents or school senior managers. There was thought to be a lack of clarity, for example, about the number of hours required for Intermediate 1 and 2, what level of qualification could be gained by pupils who had used an authority or Careers Scotland database rather than finding their own placement, and the extent to which pupils had to negotiate their own tasks with the work experience employer in order to get higher levels of certification.

Accreditation of work experience was thought to be more important for some pupils than others. Those with otherwise low attainment were thought to be a priority for certification; but on the other hand pupils who would benefit most from having an Intermediate 2 award were not thought to have the resources to get their own placement. One authority noted that some pupils were asked to do extra placements in their school holidays to raise the number of working hours in order to get an Intermediate 2 award: it was important that they found their own placements, but since pupils had been told these had to be related to vocational goals it was not possible to use any part-time employment unless it related to their vocational aspirations.

Voluntary work

Formal recognition of pupils' voluntary work came from the SQA in only a small minority of situations. Three authority representatives noted the use in some of their schools of SAD, VAD or PAD units to recognise voluntary work. Five noted some use of undefined certification which was seen as the equivalent of the old 'Community Involvement' module whereby 'the SQA gave a set of criteria and a named assessor in the workplace ticked boxes to confirm the criteria had been met'. In addition to this there would be, presumably, some kind of internal or external moderation/verification. However, there was much greater use of other types of recognition:

• 16 authorities noted some use of the ASDAN award to recognise voluntary work, and two said this was being introduced. This required young people to provide evidence of having met their negotiated 'challenges', and the number of hours completed would be signed off.
• 18 authorities noted that community work was recognised as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. This was not difficult to do, it was suggested, as the standards were clear and agreed by everyone. A log book signed by the person with whom the young person was working was considered sufficient evidence.
• The Princes Trust, or Princes Trust Excel, was noted by 9 respondents as happening in their area, and using unpaid community work as part of the experience.

School level certification of voluntary or community work, through achiever awards or citizenship certificates, were noted by almost all respondents. Some noted that this was only certificated if the voluntary work was part of the school curriculum and raised the issue of who accredited voluntary work undertaken outwith the school curriculum? This had been addressed in one area where development funding had been made available to ensure that all young people leaving school should have a certificate from volunteering accredited by the local Volunteer Development Centre.

Although a small number questioned the desirability of this happening, when asked if these models could be used to recognise part-time work most thought it would be possible.

The school as an employer of pupils

Some schools in some authorities (11) were employing their own pupils for specific tasks (and in one case, pupils worked centrally with the authority, providing administrative cover over the holiday periods). These roles included: school cleaner (4); website design (4); admin duties in the school office (5); and support for summer camps, including Enterprise Camps (3). There were also instances of other tasks being paid: work in the school library; dining hall supervision; coaching; mentoring; playground supervision; setting up science experiments for the next day.

Generally, however, there was some resistance to mentoring roles being paid. This was partly due to a feeling that pupils should contribute to the school community through voluntary support for others, and also to a reported block from the EIS to pupils being paid for any duties that might have been done by a teacher. The situation was confusing, for example, with some areas expecting pupils to do admin work in the school office as volunteers, and others paying for this work. Nine respondents felt that most of this work should be on a voluntary basis. The remaining respondents were not clear whether schools employed pupils in their area (11) or were clear that this did not happen (10).

While the number of young people involved in this was small, it is relevant to this research for two reasons. Firstly, where the school is also the employer, the potential exists to develop approaches to assessing and accrediting the experience. Secondly, as some respondents suggested, this could help with any equity issue by ensuring that disadvantaged young people who did not have a part-time job with another employer were given priority access to these opportunities.

Self-employed pupils

The majority (25) of SCEIN respondents felt unable to comment on the extent of self-employment amongst pupils. Others had anecdotal evidence, but this was based on the exceptional rather than the common experience of pupils. Most of the evidence came from activities arising out of Young Enterprise programmes, with one locality noting that it was a role for school enterprise programmes to help the young person who was a sole trader. The only pattern noticeable was that in some farming communities it was common for a pupil to have their own cow or sheep from which they built up a small business.

The types of businesses pupils ran ranged from the more informal (babysitting circles, selling home bakery and tablet round doors, employing others to do a paper round, negotiating from a supermarket the right to allocate 'trolley-gathering' work to others) to more structured opportunities such as:

• Being a weekend musician
• Producing craft work for sale at shows
• Bike hire
• Importing a game from the internet and negotiating ownership of the UK franchise
• Selling goods on a personal website
• Growing mushrooms for farmers' markets
• IT consultancy

Those respondents who gave examples of self-employment amongst pupils were positive about the skills and experiences gained, responding in some cases with a mixture of admiration and astonishment at some of the entrepreneurial approaches used. However another respondent commented that schools generally might not be so positive: 'some schools are so concerned with attainment they are very unlikely to celebrate wee Jimmy having his own business'.

Vocational pathways

Vocational pathways have been developing in order to provide young people with a vocational experience, with a workplace (or simulated workplace) element. Respondents were asked about the stage of development of vocational pathways, the sectors involved and the potential for links with school pupils' part-time employment.

At the time of this research, vocational pathways were at very differing stages of development in authorities. Around a third could be classified as well developed with a range of industry sector provision, with the remainder at differing stages from pilot to limited range. Target groups were varied: some had replaced one or more 'S' grades with opportunities which included vocational pathways; the majority of authorities were targeting a varying minority pupil groups (for example those for whom a particular 'S' grade seemed unsuitable; those who were challenging or disaffected; S5 Xmas leavers; or those studying 'S' grade at general level who might be encouraged to remain in full time FE).

Not all respondents were familiar with the development of vocational pathways in their authorities, but from those that were, industry sectors covered by these pathways (which typically included work towards SPA awards) were:

• Construction (28)
• Hairdressing (15)
• Hospitality (10)
• Care (9)
• Sport and leisure (8)
• Land-based (8)
• Admin (7)
• Motor vehicle (5)
• Engineering (4)
• Retail (2)
• Tourism (2)
• Call centre (2)

Industry sectors are listed above to allow comparisons with the types of part-time work that the pupil survey has identified. Few respondents had considered that part-time work might provide a work context for vocational pathways, and when asked, only a minority saw it as a possible development, with hairdressing being the sector most likely to be noted as a possibility. One reason for this was that they tended to expect pupils to be working in retail and hairdressing rather than in opportunities that might match to the vocational pathways.

Respondents were asked how the sectors were chosen for development. The most common approach was to start by making use of spare capacity in the local FE college. This approach impacts on the range of pathways as some sectors, most significantly retail, deliver off the job training through companies or commercial training providers, and some respondents questioned whether parents would accept the value of training provided in such settings compared with that available in FE. (It is likely that this comment also reflects the view of many school and authority staff, given historical scepticism about work-based training routes compared with academic ones). A small number of authorities noted that their initial sector targets had been based on labour market information and skill shortages, though that had also been constrained by the availability of FE provision. Localities where there was no FE provision had had to be much more flexible, making use of what available provision there was, and locating much of the vocational learning on adapted school premises.

It was not the purpose of this survey to gather detail on vocational pathways, as the focus was on possible links to part-time employment, but it was clear that there were a large number of developments taking place, not just in the S3/S4 curriculum, but also at S5 and S6 (for example, the introduction of HNCs in some specialist areas for senior pupils). All these developments have the potential to link to pupils' part-time employment; indeed without this it could give rise to the bizarre situation where schools and authorities are struggling to locate work-based learning opportunities for young people who are already employed in the part-time pupils' labour market.

Two other relevant points can be noted. A few respondents suggested that part-time work might contribute to the employability element of SPAs. Secondly, it seemed clear that choice and allocation of several pathways was highly gender stereotyped.

Possible models of recognition of school pupils' part-time employment experiences

In discussing possible approaches to recognition of pupils' part-time employment it was important to categorise the different models. The following description, based on a working paper produced by the research team, was sent to SCEIN respondents ahead of the interviews.

In principle, there appear to be five models of recognition. These are differentiated by a number of factors including the following: the extent to which the school is involved, the extent to which the employer is involved; the nature of the link (if any) to the school curriculum; the nature of the link (if any) to employability or other progression; and whether or not they will lead to certification.

Model 1: recognition of part-time work through full embedding in the curriculum

In this model part-time work would be recognised as a context for school learning and assessment. This could be achieved through syllabus inserts and/or by ensuring that there were opportunities for learners to draw on their experience of part-time work in assessments. There would be no discrete certification.

Model 2: recognition that part-time work can develop generic transferable skills

In this model part-time work would be recognised as a context for the development and assessment of skills which complement the subject-based curriculum. These could either be skills which can already be assessed and certificated through national units (eg core skills) or skills which would require the development of new national units (eg other employability skills).

Model 3: formal recognition of the distinctive outcomes of part-time work

In this model part-time work would become a focus for discrete certification in which either the school or the employer or both could be involved. This would result in the generation of formal record of the outcomes of part-time employment within the Scottish Qualifications Certificate.

Model 4: recognition of the role of part-time work in personal planning

In this model, part-time work would be formally recognised as having a part to play in the learner's personal development planning. This would be captured in paper or IT-based support materials related to Progress File and/or Personal Learning Plans.

Model 5: recognition of the potential of part-time work to contribute to progression

This model focuses on the contribution which the experience of part-time work may make to the learner in future - ie to the next stages of education or to employment - rather than on possible links to concurrent school activities. Examples of the outputs envisaged here would include web-based self-assessment programmes for the learners, structured references for use by employers, or a combination of these.

Overall opinion on possible models of recognition

Respondents were asked to rate the models in order of preference, taking into account all the comments they had made about each approach. Some respondents chose to rate one or more models at the same level of preference, and these are included in the table below with an 'equals' sign. Where respondents felt that a model should not be considered at all, 'No' is noted as the response.

Model 4 (recording skills from part-time work in Progress Files and Personal Learning Plans) was the only one which stood out as being clearly preferred by a large number of respondents. Firstly it was seen to be easiest to implement and secondly respondents thought this was already being done to some extent in most schools. Respondents who put this as their preference were also particularly conscious of the challenges involved in changing the taught curriculum and moderating assessment.

Taking first and second preferences together, Model 2 (using and recording the generic transferable skills from part-time work) was the second most popular. This was also seen as less invasive and demanding, and was likely to be viewed as helpful to schools which were struggling to create a context in which core skills could be evidenced, particularly the core skill 'working with others' which, it was thought, could be easily evidenced from part-time work.

The least well regarded approach was Model 1 (full embedding in the curriculum). The difficulties involved in finding space for syllabus inserts in a crowded curriculum, the possible 'over-kill' if several subjects were referring to part-time work and the fact that not all pupils in the classroom would be able to contribute to discussions or demonstrate their experience were key concerns. Another negative was the fact that no discrete certification meant that it did not contribute to schools' key objective of raising attainment. Having said that, those who put this model as their first preference were strong advocates for it, viewing it as the only approach that had any serious chance of using part-time work to its maximum capacity in pupils' schooling.

Beyond that there was no clear pattern. Each model had its supporters and detractors. The next section looks at the comments on each model in turn, but one clear recommendation from the data from SCEIN respondents is that a range of models is required to make use of part-time work in schooling.

Views on Model 1: Recognition of part-time work through full embedding in the curriculum

Those who were positive about this model felt it 'gave a tremendous opportunity to integrate elements of the curriculum and to help pupils see schooling's usefulness in everyday life'. Many of those who felt that formal embedding through syllabus inserts would be impossible nonetheless thought that discussion of part-time work was already happening informally, and was part of good teaching - 'excellent, encourages participation in class, gives real-life contexts and let others not in part-time work see and share the benefits'. Subjects in which part-time work could play a role included English, IT, computing, business education, maths, social subjects, science, vocational courses, SVS. This could be assisted by linking the learning into LTS guidelines for specialist subjects. The learning from part-time work had an obvious role as part of the guidance curriculum, although this was already thought to be over-crowded.

On the negative side, there was no discrete certification, therefore this model could not contribute to raising attainment. There were a number of other concerns: teachers were generally considered to be reluctant to think of the work-related purposes of education; keeping a whole class engaged with an experience that only some had had was problematic; and acknowledging an experience that was possibly 'illegal' was worrying (this latter point was raised with respect to all the models).

Views on Model 2: Recognition that part-time work can develop generic transferable skills

There were seen to be many positives about this model. Firstly, schools had struggled to evidence 'working with others' as a core skill, and part-time work, they believed, could clearly deliver on this. Secondly, a broad generic approach, which could harness transferable learning from part-time work and from a range of other experiences (such as work experience, voluntary work, drama, sport and enterprise activities) would be able to cover the full pupil group, and deal with concerns about equality of opportunity. Thirdly, if an employability unit were to be developed, it would force the development of better links with employers locally (and might encourage employers to provide a better quality experience for school pupils working with them part-time). Lastly, it was seen to be very important for their future that young people became aware of, and could describe, transferable skills.

Negative aspects of this model related to the practicalities of implementing it, and to respondents' concerns about the quality of experiences that pupils might have in their part-time work. SQA was thought to be still struggling with the certification of core skills; an employability unit might not cover the learning in drama, sport etc; there were no materials or precedent for helping pupils to reflect on their learning from part-time work in the way that there were for work experience; and perhaps some part-time jobs might not have transferable skills ('Are checkout skills transferable?!'). Practical difficulties would also apply to any employer role. There were questions such as: surely accreditation of employability skills would need to be actually in the workplace, not at school?; would employers (other than large ones) be willing to actually spend the time writing down their evaluation of young people's core/employability skills?; how could you compare jobs - two young people, each employed 'in a newsagents' could have very different experiences and gain very different skills.

Views on Model 3: Formal recognition of the distinctive outcomes of part-time work

The most positive aspect of this model was the necessity of employer involvement in a joint partnership. It was also thought that having such evidence on an SQA certificate would be well-regarded and therefore useful to young people, employers, parents and the school alike.

Although the description of the model noted that 'either the school or the employer or both' could be involved, respondents felt this was not something that schools would be able to do on their own. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, written evidence could be artificially manufactured for assessment and young people might be able to describe a level of skill they could not actually demonstrate: it would be important that there was overt evidence of the skills gained. Secondly, the workload involved in training school staff (and, prior to that, in selling the idea to schools) was considerable, as would be the school staff time involved. The last negative about this model was respondents' uncertainty that employers would or could make the level of commitment required: it was already proving difficult to engage and sustain the engagement of employers in working with schools.

Views on Model 4: Recognition of the role of part-time work in personal planning

This was seen as the easiest model to implement, and one which, it was thought, was already in place to some extent in most areas. This approach would: 'encourage the recording of experiences in and out of school and how these contribute to the kind of person you are'; be useful for applications for jobs/ FE/ HE and for PSE discussions; lets young people assess themselves and help them to explain and be aware of how their skills are developing; brings part-time work into the open, acknowledging it as a powerful learning experience; and gives young people time to reflect on their experiences. It could also make obvious links to non- SQA awards such as ASDAN.

To make this model work would require, it was suggested, that young people be given support and help to tease out their skills, especially employability skills. It could not be assumed they would be able to do this automatically. Was the changed pastoral care/guidance system able to provide this support? Secondly, respondents noted that the extent of usage and development of Progress Files and Personal Learning Plans was variable across and within authorities. For some respondents, taking this approach was too easy, and missed the chance to provide more formal recognition through a certificate. Nonetheless, this was the model that commanded most support from SCEIN respondents.

Views on Model 5: Recognition of the potential of part-time work to contribute to progression

This model required most explanation and discussion as it appeared almost the same as Model 4 to many SCEIN respondents. One option, that web-based self-assessment programmes might be available on Careers Scotland's websites and/or through local library and community learning sites, made this approach attractive to several respondents by taking it out of the formal education context. Other possible locations, such as on employers' premises, with training providers and FE colleges, were also considered. A positive was that young people at the point of transition, or in preparation for a Careers Scotland input, would be able to access review materials that could be immediately used. If a pupil's self-assessment was then counter-signed by his/her part-time employer, then this would strengthen the credibility of the assessment and assist employers (particularly smaller ones) by providing a structure for a reference. This was seen as most useful for young people with few or no qualifications. If Careers Scotland staff were able to provide personal support as part of their assisted services, this would further improve this model. It could also be an approach that applied to any 'out of school' experience. And lastly, web-based approaches might well catch the interest of young people.

However, this approach kept part-time work still separate from schooling, and allowed schools and their staff to avoid recognising this powerful learning experience. There was no formal certification, and unless this approach became well used across Scotland, it would have no more credibility than any local initiative. Schools could, in theory, make more use of part-time work using this approach, but only if the guidance/ pastoral care system was able to support it, and this was very questionable. Lastly, while young people did like web-based learning, there are real challenges in designing packages that are truly appropriate: a lot of IT resources were thought to be at a reading age well above the average.

Comments to summarise

Finally, respondents were asked to note any key points they wished to emphasise.

The most common issues raised related to inclusion: if an authority took a strong stance on inclusion, how could an experience that was not available to all young people be used in their education; middle class young people were thought to get the better jobs, which makes this unfair; and special needs pupils need a shorter school day, so they must be unable to manage to add part-time work on at the end.

Secondly the impact on work experience was considered; it was important to get work experience consolidated before developing recognition of part-time work. Work experience was seen to be a more powerful experience if it preceded part-time employment for pupils.

Firmer direction was required from the Executive (particularly with respect to health and safety issues) and there was the need, it was suggested, to develop a framework for vocational education.

Lastly, there was some concern that assessment would not be good for, or wanted by, young people. Maybe it was enough that the greater maturity caused by having a part-time job showed up in current assessed work rather than create new units? And perhaps young people were 'sick to death' of unit tests, and this would be just another one.

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