My COVID-19 SME Internship: Annie – Learning with Parents

Hi I’m Annie, a 2nd year Civil Engineering student.

This summer I worked as a marketing intern with the education charity Learning with Parents as part of the University’s COVID-19 SME Internship Scheme. I have always been interested in education, so I saw this as a great opportunity to explore a different aspect of the sector, whildeveloping my marketing skillsThe role included branding educational resources, writing social media posts and carrying out competitor analysis.

Impacts of COVID-19 

The attainment gap in the UK education system is such that by the age of 16 years old, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are 18 months behind their peers, a problem which at the current rate will take 500 years to fix 

Studies have shown that parental engagement and the home environment contributes to this even more so than the quality of the school, however it is often overlooked as a factorAs a result, the UK lockdown is only likely to have increased the existing attainment gap for disadvantaged families. With UK schools being closed since March, motivating parents to stay engaged with their children’s learning at home is more important than ever.  

Learning with Parents

Learning with Parents work to provide interactive videos and resources that teachers can set their students and the whole family to use at home. The highly accessible resources are designed to motivate and empower all families to become involved with their children’s learning. 

Interning for Learning with Parents has enabled me to see first-hand the positive impacts of this increased parental engagement and the enjoyment it has brought to so many families. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to their work, especially during the pandemic, when support is most needed. 

What would you share with other students?

My internship provided me with a good introduction to both what working in marketing and working for a charity could be like. Working remotely developed my time management and organisational skills as, I had to be strict with myself to get all the work done.  

Having never worked in marketing before, I really enjoyed learning the basics, such as how to personalise communications to increase engagement. I would highly recommend the SME Internship Schemes to any students interested in getting work experience.  

The COVID-19 SME Internship Fund 

Annie’s internship was supported by our COVID-19 SME Internship Fund. The aim of this one-off fund was to support local SMEs including charities, social enterprises and start-ups who are operating at maximum capacity as they respond to the challenges of Coronavirus, while giving students valuable and meaningful work experiences in a difficult economic climate.   

Take a look at some other success stories on our blog. 

Want to intern for an SME? 

The SME Internship Scheme – Widening Participation Fund is now open and we are advertising internship opportunities through mycareer. 

Learning with Parents are currently looking for their next internApply here. 

There are also many other work experience opportunities listed here.   

If you’re struggling with writing applications, you’ll find some useful resources and events here to help. 

Need more support? Get in touch via Live Chat on mycareer.