Schools

Community Action Dacorum works with Schools in Dacorum to support them with delivering careers education, transport, and saving money.

Community Action Dacorum works closely with the careers leads at local secondary schools to help them meet their Gatsby benchmarks and to give their students a full and enriching experience.

Community Transport provides minibuses for self-drive hire or with a driver to schools for times when you need an extra bus. The team also delivers transport to and from schools from villages and areas where larger buses cannot get in. Our school bus service runs under Section 19 licences to provide your students with a reliable way to get into school.

Our other services provides schools with bespoke opportunities to enhance your offer to your students like our award winning Repair Sheds programme.

We need YOU. Over the past 4 years we have seen over 3500 pupils go through our Employability Days at local secondary schools with over 1,700 hours volunteered. Can you spare half a day to help a small group of students (8-10 in each group) go through an interactive morning of CV writing, application forms and interview techniques.

To find out when the next employability day is email cindy@communityactiondacorum.org.uk

Minibus Hire

Schools are able to hire minibuses from Community Action Dacorum to support extra-curricular activities for pupils.

We have provided transport to primary and secondary schools for pupils to attend swimming lessons, Forest School and sports fixtures as well as transporting pupils to residential trips. We have a fleet of 10 vehicles ranging from 13 to 16 passenger seats so can support small groups or provide 2 minibuses for up to 32 passengers.

It is preferable that Schools hire a minibus as a self drive hire however we can look into providing a volunteer driver if this is not possible. School staff are able to drive a minibus providing they have 2+ years of driving experience and have a D1 entitlement on their licence. They must also have a MiDAS minibus permit or HCC minibus driver permit. The School must also have their own section 19 permit.

To find out more about the permit schemes please contact the Transport team on ctadmin@communityactiondacorum.org.uk.

“We have used Community Action Dacorum for hiring minibuses using both our own and volunteer drivers, this proves to be a much more cost effective way to travel to sporting events and school trips. Community Action Dacorum makes such a difference by always being so helpful and accommodating; they are always our first point of call when we are in need of transport.”
– Susan Willington, Office Manager – Micklem Primary School

“We regularly use Community Action Dacorum to hire minibuses which are used to take our pupils on educational trips and visits. The booking process is always easy, straightforward and we appreciate the quick responses from the team at Community Action Dacorum. The buses are easy to collect and always ready for us to use when needed. Community Action Dacorum offer a great service, which provides a cost-effective way for us to offer a number of exciting experiences to our pupils. We are very grateful for their work.”
– Allan Maher, Head Teacher Nash Mills CofE Primary School

Dragons Apprentice Challenge

Connect Dacorum runs an annual Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge programme.

The challenge recruits teams of school students (the Apprentices), assigns them a business mentor (a Dragon) and then pairs them with a local charity. The teams are given £100 and challenged to turn it into £1,000 or more.

The Dragons provide advice and support to help their team achieve their business goal and funding target. Activities have included quizzes, dances, concerts, cake sales, market stalls, silent auctions, a casino, personal coaching and pop-up shops. All profits made by the teams go directly to their partner charity.

To read about the successful 2023/24 challenge and Awards Night click here

Connect Dacorum has now completed eleven years of running the challenge. So far the Dacorum Challenge has raised over £124,000 for local charities and community groups.

Participation in the Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge offers a win-win opportunity for all parties involved, creating the opportunity for excellent partnerships between local community groups and charities, businesses and young people, creating a stronger community over the long term.

Why should schools and Apprentices take part? It provides a cost-effective alternative to other schools-based enterprise challenges. It supports the development of business and project management skills for young people and an opportunity to network with potential employers of the future and build contacts for work experience. It also provides excellent background to include on personal statements for UCAS applications and Duke of Edinburgh Awards and looks very good on a CV. It is also an innovative way of developing employability skills.

Employability Days

Since 2014 Connect Dacorum has been running Employability Days (CV and interview skills) at local secondary schools. It’s a very successful programme with around 2735 pupils who have gone through our Employability Days and over 1,355 hours volunteered. We run a half-day session (8.30am to 1.30pm) whereby volunteers from businesses and charities help a small group of students (8-10 in each group) go through an interactive morning of CV writing, application forms and interview techniques. The students are 14/15 years old so they are at the very beginning of their journey into thinking about their careers.

Generation Dacorum Careers Fair

The Generation Dacorum Careers Fair takes place each autumn at Shendish Manor Hotel. With around 40 local and national businesses such as Tesco, Computacentre, Atlas Copco, Sopra Steria, Bovingdon Airfield Studios and Open Hairdressing talk to over 1100 students from 15 state and special needs schools in Dacorum to discuss career options. Organised by Connect Dacorum this event is well received by both schools and businesses.

“CAD offer a great service, which provides a cost-effective way for us to offer a number of exciting experiences to our pupils. We are very grateful for their work.”

– Nash Mills CofE Primary School

Repair Shed

Community Action Dacorum work with St. Luke’s School in Redbourn to deliver a Repair Shed project in their DCT Workshops. The school don’t use the rooms so our team of Shedders go in twice a week to make and repair things for the school. Working with the caretakers, the team save the school money. They also work with teaching staff to support SEN children on a one-to-one basis, to experience working in a busy workshop.

The project also provides opportunities for these men to talk shoulder to shoulder and in doing so addresses loneliness and isolation within the community. The project was awarded the National Schools and Academy’s Innovation award for bringing together cost savings, with additional opportunities for students and recognising the positive impact it has on the participants lives.