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South Gloucestershire’s Work2Learn programme


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

		Colleges

Summary

Work2Learn is a new programme devised to support the engagement pilot in South Gloucestershire. It aims to provide a flexible personalised pre-employment programme that meets the specific needs of individual students. It also supports students staying with their school while undertaking a range of activities, some of which will be accredited. Students and their parents/carers are supported by non-teaching key workers.

Introduction and background

South Gloucestershire currently comprises five partnerships and caters for both urban and rural communities. As a pilot authority for the engagement programme, it has been able to develop and resource the Work2Learn programme, which benefits significantly from the contribution of schools in the form of key workers. To enable this to happen, the local authority has adopted a small infrastructure at the centre.

Approach

Work2Learn comprises two elements. Firstly, there are pre-employment opportunities for students on a wide range of programmes. These range from six days (one day per week over six weeks) through to one day per week across the year, with variations in between. Many students spend a day a week over 10 weeks. Twenty pre-employment courses are on offer. On these courses, students develop personal and employability skills that enable them to progress to the second element, the extended work experience, and then to make a successful transition from year 11.

Importantly, each participating school provides a part-time (0.5) key worker who supports students on the engagement programme. These are non-teacher posts.

At the heart of the student and key worker relationship is the ‘Skills for Success Profile’ – a document that enables students, parents/carers and key workers to measure aspects of a student’s experience, such as self esteem, team working skills and responsibility, on a numbered scale. This provides a medium through which the key worker and the student can work together. It also acts as a vehicle through which other agencies and individuals can interact with the student and the programme.

Once a student is identified as having the potential to benefit from Work2Learn, the key worker and student undertake a ‘baselining’ assessment using the criteria in the Skills for Success Profile. On the basis of strengths and weaknesses identified, the key worker selects a pre-employment opportunity that best fits the student. This will usually address any weaknesses that have emerged, and will support personal development and help build self-esteem.

Once a term, during pre-employment activities, courses and work experience, students review their Skills for Success Profile with the key worker. The key worker team expects that over time, on a scale of 0–6, all students can reach levels 5 or 6 in all aspects of the profile. Throughout the process, parents/carers and the Connexions personal adviser contribute their views to the profile.

Everyone working with the student, including the training provider, is encouraged to use the terminology of the profile, to ensure that the student’s experience is coherent. The work experience log book incorporates student evaluation, and it too uses the words used in the profile. This consolidates the student’s learning and will be accredited in due course. Students are also encouraged to participate in surveys and a student evaluation, again using the same terms of reference.

Signs of success

Most of the feedback from students and others has been positive. A survey indicates that students appreciate the care taken by key workers to match provision to their needs and see the benefits of the programme. Non-attenders are now attending (attendance is excellent), and acknowledging success is building students’ self-esteem, and helping them to develop a ‘voice’. Comments from a year 10 girl, who was at risk of exclusion in year 9, include: “I don’t shout any more, I talk” and (of a male peer) “Neil smiles now”. One young man has attained an interview for an apprenticeship.

At one school, integrating the course into the 14–19 offer, is causing a review of the key stage 3 curriculum and stimulating thought about a group of students, mainly boys, that has struggled to engage at key stage 4. The effect of the programme on the current cohort is leading the headteacher to target pupils in year 8 and to consider the possibility of the key stage 4 students becoming mentors to year 8 pupils at risk of disaffection.

Conclusions

The key workers are viewed as the most significant feature of the project and have been crucial to its success. Together with the Work2Learn coordinators (three to cover all schools), the key workers are successfully developing an infrastructure and engaging the schools in the education of this vulnerable group. A further important feature is the partnership and commitment of headteachers. This is providing a mutually supportive development network in which collaboration between schools is a strong feature. This model is designed for sustainability, which is a realistic aspiration. The developments will inform the delivery of the foundation learning tier requirements.