A new three-year will bring primary pupils from Lingfield Education Trust into closer contact with Middlesbrough College, beginning with a careers event for Year 5 children that will involve local employers and key Tees Valley industries.
Middlesbrough College and the trust have signed a memorandum of understanding covering careers education, staff development and regular links between their leadership teams. The agreement is intended to connect what children learn at primary school with later choices including , apprenticeships and employment.
The three-year term and regular reviews give the organisations a for repeated work, rather than limiting their collaboration to one event.
Career conversations before secondary school
The first practical step will be a careers event at the college for Year 5 pupils from Lingfield schools. Children will be able to meet employers and explore sectors and jobs found across the region. The college has not yet published the event date or the number of pupils expected to attend.
Starting these conversations in primary school gives families more time to understand the routes available after compulsory education. It also lets pupils see that college is not one single pathway: technical courses, and apprenticeships can lead into different types of work, while further remains another option.
The partners say the programme will link classroom learning with the skills employers need. That could make careers education less abstract for younger pupils, particularly when local businesses can explain the work happening close to home and the subjects that support it.
A partnership reaching across the Tees area
Lingfield Education Trust's current school directory lists 26 primary schools. Its Tees Valley schools include sites in Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland, alongside schools elsewhere in County Durham and North Yorkshire. The trust also has specialist for children with .
Middlesbrough College says it supports more than 12,000 students, including about 2,000 apprentices. Its courses cover technical education, apprenticeships and T Levels, and its employer links will be used to help pupils understand the range of careers available across the local economy.
The agreement is not limited to pupil visits. Leaders from the college and trust plan to meet routinely to share local information, while staff across Lingfield schools will be offered training and development opportunities. That gives the partnership a second purpose: helping teachers and school teams keep their knowledge of post-16 routes and regional employment up to date.
What happens next
The memorandum will initially run for three years and will be reviewed regularly. The partners say they will monitor progress, measure impact and look for further areas of joint work. No public targets, timetable beyond the planned Year 5 event, or detailed impact measures have been released, so the value of the agreement will become clearer as activities begin and results are reported.
Families can contact Middlesbrough College on 01642 333333 or courseinformation@mbro.ac.uk. Lingfield Education Trust can be reached on 01325 376719 or enquiries@lingfieldtrust.org.uk. Schools and parents should use those contacts for programme details until dates and participating groups are announced.