THE Zurich Community Trust has partnered with education charity Teach First and plans to donate £1 million over the next five years.

The Swindon-based insurance giant's UK charitable arm wants to work with the shared goal of building a fairer education for all in England and Wales.

The funding will help schools navigate the challenges of Covid-19, support trainee teachers, ensure Year 6 pupils can build key skills as they transition to secondary school and bring vital careers education to pupils in Year 9 and above as they prepare for life after school.

This new relationship will all be supported by Zurich employees, with ZCT providing 10 volunteers to Teach First’s Coaching Programme, increasing to 20 in 2022 and 30 in 2023.

Staff around England will dedicate three of their appointed volunteering days to support the professional development of teachers across the country by coaching them through challenges they may face and helping them improve their performance in the classroom and in leadership positions.

Later in the year, a broader pilot involving Zurich employees will see volunteers actively running workshops with students in Year 9, 10 and 11 in schools throughout England.

Covid-19 restrictions will likely dictate that the majority of these sessions take place remotely, with activities including CV workshops, interview advice, and a vocational introduction to insurance.

Zurich Community Trust head Steve Grimmett said: "Teach First’s stellar reputation speaks for itself so we are thrilled to be investing in them so they can reach their aims.

"The past twelve months has put into sharper focus the value of good education programmes. This partnership will be important in ensuring that students have an understanding of how the workforce operates – which will be vital to help them take advantage of employment opportunities.

"This is supported by the fact that 75 per cent of teachers believe that developing employability skills is vital for supporting students post Covid-19.

“All children have suffered as a result of lockdown and as is all too often the case, those from socially disadvantaged and ethnic backgrounds have suffered disproportionately.

"For a developed country like ours, that is simply unacceptable.

"All the data supports that minor interventions, tailored towards a child’s employability, instigated early on in life pay huge dividends towards a child’s future employability.”

Dorcan Academy careers lead Alan Brownlie said: "We are excited to work with Zurich and Teach First to provide our students with the best possible preparation for the world of work.”

The news comes after a new survey from Teach First revealed that four out of five schools with the poorest pupils do not have enough devices and internet access to ensure all self-isolating pupils can keep learning.

This compares to two thirds of schools with the most affluent pupils, showing that while all schools continue to face significant digital barriers, it is the poorest pupils’ education that will suffer the most if self-isolating.