Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership (EBP) is an independent charity whose role is to encourage the private sector to work with schools in Tower Hamlets, helping them develop work related and basic skills amongst their pupils.

Our Vision-

Tower Hamlets EBP was established in 1991 and is now recognised as one of the largest and most active EBP's in the UK. Working with the Tower Hamlets LEA, London East Learning Skills Council, local schools, college of further education, higher education institutions and a growing number of City, Docklands and locally based companies, business and community organisations, we are commited to raising levels of achivement and attainment among the borough's young people.

The EBP's aims and objectives are to:

Increase levels of achievement and attainment for students

Encourage the motivation and self-confidence of students to take full advantage of educational training and employment opportunities

Raise levels of aspiration among young people in Tower Hamlets

Bring education, business and the community together in a meaningful partnership for the benefit of young people in Tower Hamlets

Whilst the principal beneficiaries of the EBP's work must be the students themselves, businesses too find that their involvement bring benefits:

Development opportunities for their personnel

The chance to put something back into the community

A heightened community profile

The breaking down of internal boundaries when employees from across the organisation are brought together for a common cause

A sense of personal fulfilment through voluntary work

Programmes and Activities-

Business volunteers work with Primary, Secondary and Special Needs pupils on a range of programmes. In the Primary schools the focus is on the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and information technology. In the Secondary/Special Needs schools the main focus is on work related skills.

Our evaluations show that the use of business volunteers in Tower Hamlets schools does have an impact.

For example in the Primary school Reading Partners programme 82% of pupils showed noticeable improvements in fluency and 86% showed noticeable improvement in comprehension. In the Primary Number Partners programme 76% of pupils had shown noticeable improvement in competence with numbers and 82% had shown noticeable improvement in confidence with numbers. The National Standard Assessment Tests for 11 year olds in 1999 and 2000 showed significant improvements in Maths and English amongst Tower Hamlets Primary pupils and the role of the private sector in this success was publicly acknowledged by both schools and the Local Education Authority.

Feedback from the work related activities in the Secondary schools – mock interviews, work related conferences, work experience, business mentoring - are consistently positive. Evaluations of the various programmes report improved self confidence and self esteem amongst pupils, greater awareness of career opportunities and how to access them and greater understanding of the personal skills needed to succeed in a business environment.

We are working in some capacity with all 105 Tower Hamlets Primary, Secondary and Special Needs schools. Over 3,500 business volunteers are involved in our school based programmes and we place some 3,500 pupils on two week work experience placements each year.