Delivering social value is a significant part of our culture at the Education and Training Foundation (ETF). We take a holistic approach to the challenges and opportunities of providing true value to teachers and learners, considering the social, cultural, health, environmental and economic impacts.
At the ETF, we believe that high quality teaching can have a transformational effect on society and the economy, by delivering learning outcomes which increase social mobility, improve productivity, and deliver a whole range of knock-on benefits.
Our values at the ETF underpin this approach, namely:
These values feed through our activity, including our approach to equity, diversity and inclusion; our volunteering scheme for staff; our efforts to embed sustainability in our work; and our kickstarter apprenticeship programme.
A key part of this is our approach to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). We aim to embed and promote EDI in the following ways:
We believe that if all individuals, teams, and organisations in the education sphere play their part, then our sector can be at the forefront of the social value agenda.
Contact the Taking Teaching Further team
takingteachingfurther@etfoundation.co.uk
Social value can be considered an overarching term for capturing the full net value an organisation provides to society. This can include how an organisation supports the local economy, for example by helping local people into employment or buying from other local businesses; or activities that provide other benefits, such as promoting opportunities for disadvantaged groups or reducing waste.
We hope this social value toolkit will enable providers to think outside the box, engage with teachers, leaders and learners, and ultimately deliver a wide range of benefits.
Organisations should be prioritising diversity because it’s the right thing to do, but it also has a tangible positive impact on productivity, innovation and staff wellbeing and retention. A diversity recruitment strategy helps organisations prioritise, track, and deliver on their goals. Part of this involves developing metrics to measure impact and success, which could include:
Colleges, ITPs and other educational institutions are ideally placed to help reduce economic inequality within their local areas. This can be approached by undertaking specific social purpose activities to benefit disadvantaged residents and struggling local businesses. Metrics to measure progress could include:
Organisations should look to prioritise and embed environmental, social and governance (ESG) in everything they do. Doing so will help improve not only the working environment, but also the wellbeing of the local community. Metrics could include: