The issue
To raise the aspirations of pupils in Elmgrove Primary School, specifically focusing on those pupils in P5-P7 with the overarching aim of opening their eyes to the world of work as well as providing information on key job roles within the Henderson Group.

What The Henderson Group did
The Henderson Group aimed to raise the aspirations of pupils by delivering a series of career talks and a school presentation to all P5-P7 pupils over the course of a morning within the school. P7 pupils also got to benefit from an informative speed networking session hosted by seven staff from the Henderson Group from various departments including communications and marketing, retail, logistics and transport, food to go and human resources, and pupils got to ask them more about their jobs. All P6 pupils from Elmgrove attended a workplace visit at a local SPAR store and had the chance to see behind the scenes, talk about different job roles and experience a complete overview of the store.

Olive Hanna, Resourcing and Training Coordinator at The Henderson Group commented:
It has been a very rewarding experience working with Elmgrove Primary School, and seeing how the partnership has developed. Pupils have really enjoyed the variety of interventions and staff from the Henderson Group have found the experience very rewarding. We hope the partnership will continue to grow and develop.

Gail Wilson, Assistant Vice Principal at Elmgrove Primary School added:
The pupils had a fantastic experience through the partnership with the Henderson Group. The children from P5-7 found the career talks interesting and informative. They were inspired by the number of different career opportunities the Henderson Group provides in the local community. Many children came away with ideas for their own careers and the different pathways they could follow to achieve their ideal job in the future. The Henderson Group staff were amazing with the children and were enthusiastic about their own career choices, which in turn, inspired many of our pupils. It was fascinating for the children to see behind the scenes at their local SPAR shop. Overall, the whole experience was extremely worthwhile and allowed the children to have a greater insight into the world of work. Hopefully, we can build on this partnership in the future and continue to raise the aspirations of our children.

The impacts

• Over 270 pupils and 15 teachers from Elmgrove Primary School have benefitted from different interventions delivered by Henderson’s
• We hope this partnership will continue to flourish