A Level Results Day: “School leavers think apprenticeships are for underachievers”
As school leavers across England and Wales collect their A level results, it seems misconceptions remain regarding one of the most dynamic post-school career options available – apprenticeships. New research from Arch Apprentices has suggested that negative perceptions about apprenticeships are still rife among Britain’s exam students. Specifically among females, the supposed lack of academic credibility is still a worry, despite apprenticeships allowing many avenues for adding to qualifications and credentials. Similarly, among both male and female leavers, there is a belief that apprenticeships are only for manual jobs, such as brick-layers, electricians and plumbers. However, apprenticeship schemes have come a long way since with careers in media disciplines, IT and management among a wealth of opportunities currently on offer. Perhaps most surprising is the idea that apprenticeships are only for those who cannot afford to go to university, suggesting a lack of progression in talking to younger people about anything other than university being available as their next career step post A levels. With an overwhelming 89% of school leavers also admitting they would have some reservations about choosing an apprenticeship over university, worries also included not having a colourful social life (21%), being unable to secure a top job (28%) and not making their parents proud of them (19%). Jason Moss, CEO Arch Apprentices said, “Over the past 10 years, the change that apprenticeships have gone under has been drastic and incredibly exciting. From being traditionally associated with certain trades to now being at the heart of some of the UK’s largest media, digital and technology businesses, apprenticeships are no longer the second option for school leavers. For some companies, it’s the exclusive path for schools leavers to access their entry-level positions. “At Arch, we like to think we’ve been at the forefront of the change, with our digital-first approach to delivering apprenticeships. Our learners aren’t stuck in a classroom, focusing on just the theory, they are in real jobs, with real pay and are putting into practice all of their learning via our multi-touch learning tools and techniques. They have proven to be an invaluable asset for the companies they work for.†Case study: Alim Jalloh, 22 Alim started an apprenticeship with Channel 4 through Arch after starting a degree course and finding it wasn’t quite for him. He says, “I applied for university during college because that’s what you do at college – write a personal statement, apply for uni and start a degree. I wasn’t too confident about going to uni and when I got there, it wasn’t what I expected. I felt it wasn’t actually what I wanted to do.” So Alim started looking for his next step and saw a friend who was on an apprenticeship, working in the city, getting paid and doing lots of exciting on-the-job training. Alim adds, I started looking at the Government’s apprenticeship website and then found an apprenticeship with Arch which was exactly what I wanted to do – social media and marketing for a company I loved anyway, Channel 4.” Alim is on a 14-month apprenticeship and, in the future, would like to stay on with Channel 4 – although he has had two job offers from other companies while on the apprenticeship. He says, “That just shows how incredible apprenticeships are. More opportunities can present themselves while you’re working. Apprenticeships are ideal for people who are creative and want to work in digital, media, finance etc while getting paid.” For more information on apprenticeships, see archapprentices.co.uk
Trybooking – putting the spotlight on ticket sales
How many hours have your staff spent organising events, selling tickets, collecting cash, giving refunds, explaining the details of the events to parents, all during the school’s busiest periods? Trybooking is a service which does all the legwork for staff and can be used from parents’ evening to the Christmas concert – and some of the service is free. Here, managing director Joan Lind answers QA Education’s questions on how it works… Where did the idea for Trybooking come from? Trybooking was founded in Australia and was designed to solve the problem of too much paperwork, admin time and cash handling when putting on any size or type of school event. We were parents in Sydney who enjoyed the ease of booking online with Trybooking from any device and then immediately receiving emailed tickets. Be that for concerts, fundraising events, sports camps, parent teacher meetings etc. When we returned to the UK, we launched Trybooking in 2014 to schools and other community-based organisations – for example charities, choirs and amdram. What does Trybooking offer in terms of booking, tickets, notifications etc? Trybooking enables any type of event to be easily booked online with all details easily completed be that a simple concert with a chosen seat, or a parent-teacher meeting with individual time slots for each teacher, or open days, school trips, exam papers, courses and conferences. All booking confirmations are fulfilled with an automatic email and emailed tickets and booking confirmation which have both barcodes and QR Codes, so great for scanning if required. For example, a concert in a venue outside of the school. Additionally the school can set up various notifications so they get an email when a booking is made, or they can email all ticket buyers at any point to advise new information like a change of venue or start time. They can also set up an email that is sent at the same time as the automatic email, with tickets from them showing further details like a map. Do schools buy a one-off product or a subscription to your service? Neither, it is a simple pay-as-you-use approach. They can use us as regularly or irregularly as they wish. All clients open a complimentary account. We only get paid when the school is being paid for an event. All free events are free to manage via Trybooking. Details of our transparent and simple pricing approach are on our website. How many schools offer Trybooking? We work with hundreds of schools, colleges and universities as well as educational associations, across a mix of independent, state and grammar schools. Because we are not a software solution, but a cloud-based solution, we sit nicely alongside other software solutions in schools to enable much easier event management of bookings and ticketing. There are so many nuances to events be it registration forms for trips, dietary requirements for a fundraiser or time slots for parent-teacher meetings. And of course easy and quick payment means improved cashflow for the school. Is Trybooking suitable for primary as well as secondary? Yes it is, but we find most of our schools are secondary as primary schools don’t always see it as relevant, as they think they are too small. This is not the case, and those primary schools who use us find it incredibly valuable and saves staff time, as well as making it easier for parents. Primary schools mainly use Trybooking for parent-teacher meetings, fundraising events and concerts, especially the Christmas nativity, to manage numbers. So if they have a smaller hall, they can limit tickets per family or show it over two nights and parents book their preferred evening. What kind of feedback have you received from staff and parents? All positive! Before Trybooking, Holly from The Hollywood Studio of Performing Arts in Kirkby Lonsdale spent countless hours sorting registrations, collecting data, selling tickets and chasing payments and less time doing what she loves. She needed a solution that would work quietly in the background and enable her to focus on teaching. She came to Trybooking and found everything she was looking for and more. Holly said, “TryBooking has been the best experience for selling tickets that we have tried. It’s so simple to use and easy to operate.†They now have a new virtual staff member that works 24/7, collecting registration details and payments. The Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls are currently hosting several events with us, including an open-air cinema in September, and other schools we work with include Kingston Grammar School and Cardinal Vaugham Memorial School Concert (Sunday Times State School of the Year). See trybooking.co.uk for details.
GDPR two months on: best-practice tips to help the education sector achieve compliance
Nigel Peers, Security & Risk Management Consultant at NW Security Group, looks at the lay of the land since the GDPR enforcement, discussing how schools can gain & maintain compliance… With months of speculation behind us regarding the many complexities and intricate details of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the conversation has now shifted from raising awareness of the practicalities of its implementation, to giving actionable advice that will help schools, colleges and universities achieve and maintain compliance. It’s been almost two months since the May 25th deadline passed, and while the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has given reassurances that it isn’t going to start immediately handing out large fines to every school that remains non-compliant, it is important that facilities can show a desire to adhere to the regulation to protect staff and students’ data. That is because breaches within the sector are continuing to soar. In 2017 data breaches rose an astounding 103% compared to the previous year – schools, colleges and universities must do all they can to not become the next statistic. The concern is only exacerbated by the recent finding that only 16% of educational institutions currently realise they’ve fallen foul of a data breach. This begs the question; do they have the internal awareness to identify what a breach is? Improved training is clearly paramount. In our conversations with schools post-GDPR, two queries are commonly raised regarding how the new legislation will impact schools, colleges and universities. Firstly: ‘do we have a lawful basis for storing data?’; and secondly: ‘should we appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO)?’. As the guardians of confidential and private information regarding both students and staff, it is important that facilities quickly get up to speed on how the legislation may affect them. These are our top tips to help navigate the journey to compliance: What is a lawful basis for storing data? The first question educational institutions have been pondering is: what is a lawful basis for storing data and do we have it? When it comes to data collection and storage, all institutions must have a lawful basis to record Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Anything that can identify an individual is classed as PII, whether that be physical or cyber, so schools, colleges and universities must take a close look at the data being stored and ensure they do have the right to do so. A lawful basis includes contractual uses, compliance with legal obligations, and the interest of the data subject – such as safeguarding welfare. It is also important to keep in mind that PII stored for marketing purposes, such as e-mail marketing databases, can only be stored with the consent of the data owner, which must be given freely and kept up-to-date. To achieve compliance, the lawful basis for processing data should also be identified and documented within a school by updating its privacy policy and notices. Undertaking such an audit might sound like a daunting prospect but doing so will clean up databases and ensure consent to store and process PII is gained going forward. This is important as it has been our experience that, while many institutions believe they are protecting PII and have effective policies in place, these haven’t been documented adequately, leading to non-compliance. Do I need to appoint a DPO? The second area of uncertainty among many educational facilities is whether it’s necessary to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO). This has been a grey area for many educational institutions, as the GDPR states a DPO must be appointed by all public authorities and any organisation carrying out systematic monitoring of individuals on a large scale. It’s open to interpretation whether schools and academies fit these criteria, but the need for somebody to take responsibility for data protection is clear. This is because our recent survey found that 70% of respondents didn’t think they could evidence that the correct procedures were in place if they fell victim to a breach. Furthermore, over half (51%) of those responsible for the administration of an access control system were found to be not trained in data protection. Best practice would be to appoint somebody to take responsibility for ensuring compliance, but the issue for many is then who to appoint, as a DPO must have the right skills and experience. This can present quite a challenge for many schools, because guidance states that the position cannot be filled by someone with a conflict of interest, ruling out those who work within the school in a senior management role or closely with the data being stored or processed. Perhaps that is why our report found that 22% of respondents already outsource their DPO to an external expert. This is a logical solution and one that we would recommend – as such it’s a figure we expect to rise. It’s important to highlight that there is still time to get it right. GDPR compliance may seem like a regulatory burden, but it has given the education sector a great opportunity to ensure their security procedures are fit for purpose, and the PII of staff and students won’t end up in the wrong hands. Expert GDPR support is available from qualified practitioners who can help you every step of the way as you overhaul your data protection practices. For information on the security consultancy and training services we can provide, visit: nwsystemsgroup.com Nigel Peers, a qualified Data Protection Practitioner with full teacher training status, brings vast strategic security expertise as a previous co-founder of a successful workplace compliance training company, responsible for security site surveys, vulnerability assessments and Security Industry Authority (SIA) training courses. Working in close partnership with board and trustee-level stakeholders, Nigel is responsible for helping organisations understand the latest regulations and ensure risks, threats and vulnerabilities are correctly identified. Through strategic planning support, Nigel optimises security solution delivery from mitigation to implementation, risk and incident management to business continuity and recovery. About NW Security Group Established in 2004, NW Security Group provides
EducationCity host best PlayLive Challenge Week ever!
The EducationCity annual PlayLive Challenge, which took place between the 17th and 22nd June, was a phenomenal success, with a record number of children taking part. All in all, over 7,340 students participated in the two-day competition. The aim of the week was to crown the PlayLive Maths and English Champions for the year, as well as boost excitement and engagement surrounding Maths and English, and to this end, the company opened up the competition to all schools, not just their subscribing schools and schools already taking a trial with them. Individual PlayLive Maths and PlayLive English competitions were run for each year group, with the two UK-based schools and two international schools gaining the highest score overall being given the PlayLive Maths and English Champion title for their geographic area. EducationCity is delighted to announce that the winners for each year group are as detailed below: PlayLive Maths Results UK Schools (scores in brackets) Year 1 – Powick Church of England Primary School, Worcester (17) Year 2 – St John The Baptist RC Primary School, Lancashire (43) Year 3 – Magherafelt Primary School, Magherafelt (51) Year 4 – Lady Royd Primary, Bradford (48) Year 5 – Eastgate Academy, Norfolk (52) Year 6 – Beeston Hill St Luke’s C of E Primary School, Leeds (62) International Schools Year 1 – GEMS Al Barsha National School United Arab Emirates 57 Year 2 – Harrow International School, Hong Kong 55 Year 3 – Scholars International Academy (SIA), United Arab Emirates (49) Year 4 – British School of Ulaanbaatar, Ulaanbaatar (51) Year 5 – Aloha College, Spain (41) Year 6 – Aloha College, Spain (45) The overall 2018 champions for PlayLive Maths are Beeston Hill St Luke’s C of E Primary School in Leeds and GEMS Al Barsha National School. PlayLive English Results UK Schools Year 1 – Grasslot Infant School, Cumbria (40) Year 2 – Seaton School, Aberdeen (68) Year 3 – Latymer Prep School, London (89) Year 4 – Abbotskerswell Primary School, Devon (114) Year 5 – The Divine Mercy RC Primary School, Lancashire (190) Year 6 – Crawley Ridge Junior School, Surrey International Schools Year 1 – Scholars International Academy, United Arab Emirates (34) Year 2 – Al Mamoura Academy, United Arab Emirates (38) Year 3 – Scholars International Academy, United Arab Emirates (70) Year 4 – Repton School Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (66) Year 5 – GEMS Founders School Dubai, United Arab Emirates (39) Year 6 – GEMS Founders School Dubai, United Arab Emirates (73) The 2018 champions for PlayLive English are The Divine Mercy RC Primary School in Lancashire and GEMS Founders School Dubai in the UAE. The 2018 champions for PlayLive English are The Divine Mercy RC Primary School in Lancashire and GEMS Founders School Dubai in the UAE. “We are absolutely delighted by the number of students who took part in our PlayLive Challenge Week this year, especially given how busy schools are at this time of year,†says Richard Whalley, Managing Director of EducationCity. “It’s great to see, and fantastic to be part of. We love to throw down the gauntlet with this challenge and are always amazed by the students’ speedy recall and input. It’s really tough to get 190 points in just 60 seconds!†Upon hearing of their win, Matt Livesey from Beeston Hill St Luke’s C of E Primary School was delighted and quick to endorse the use of EducationCity in the classroom. He said: “EducationCity has become a staple of our learning here at St Luke’s. When it’s mentioned the first reaction from the children is always, ‘Can we go on PlayLive?’ The pupils have a level of engagement that is unparalleled and we can see the results in their work.†The PlayLive Maths challenge included challenges dedicated to addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. The PlayLive English challenge is a word-formation challenge where the objective is to make as many words as possible. EducationCity is an award-winning online teaching and learning resource, used in schools in over 80 countries across the world. Founded in 1999, EducationCity’s online teaching, learning and assessment resource is designed to support the teaching of students aged 3-12 years in English, Mathematics, Science, Computing, French, Spanish and English as an additional language. Follow EducationCity on Twitter @EducationCity and see www.educationcity.com
Tackling staff absence in schools, academies and colleges
A total of 2.16 million days were lost due to teacher sickness absence in 2015/16 according to the latest statistics from the Department of Education[i]. Other figures from the Liberal Democrats[ii] this year revealed that one in 83 teachers is now on long-term leave of one month or more for stress and mental health issues in 2016/17 – up 5% on the previous year. Adrian Lewis, director at Activ Absence says that sickness absence not only costs schools money, it can also impact staff morale and recruitment and retention, which can affect the pupils’ education. Lewis says, “Tackling absence is essential given schools operate on tight budgets and are workplaces where absences will be immediately noticed. If a teacher is frequently off sick it will either add to supply teaching costs or the workload of other teachers and affect teaching standards. “To address this situation, a growing number of educational establishments including primaries, academies and colleges are looking to drive efficiencies and reduce absenteeism levels by investing in absence management software to better manage their sickness absence. “A good absence management system will let teachers log on to alert school managers they are sick, making it easier to plan the day and sort out cover in time for lessons. It can help reduce key skills shortages as well as support the return to work process. “Having a system where you can see clearly who is off and when, whether this is for meetings, sick leave or holiday leave all in one place that is simple and easy to use, with zero training needed can be hugely beneficial. “This software can also help uncover the root causes of sickness absence and pick up trends such as someone often off ill on a Monday which could indicate stress, a growing problem in British schools,†adds Mr Lewis. A NASUWT union survey[iii] last year highlighted that one in ten teachers are taking anti-depressants to cope with work stresses – with heavy workloads and staff shortages being blamed. Having staff off sick is only adding to this problem. “By gaining insight into absence trends managers can spot patterns of sickness which can bring mental health issues, such as stress and anxiety, to light more quickly. This enables managers to offer support and help teachers who may be struggling,†adds Mr Lewis. Schools like the John Port Spencer Academy in Derbyshire are already getting the benefits of using this technology. Jeannette Topham, HR Officer says, “We started using Activ Absence in October 2017. We were looking for a system that streamlined requests for planned absence and one that also helped us to manage the sickness absence process. Staff have adapted to the new system really well and the online forms and email prompts are really useful for keeping everyone informed about what they need to do. “The system keeps the School Leadership Team informed about staffing and the cover supervisor knows what requests are being made in advance to help anticipate any cover needs.†Louise Varner, HR Administrator at Bootham School in York finds the system simple to use, highly intuitive with information easily accessed and clearly displayed. She says, “Reports can be customised to deliver management information as and when required and scheduled to run automatically. “I have set up various alerts within the system which trigger e-mails to me, the HR manager and line manager if certain criterion is met. We use this information to inform positive interventions, as line managers are able to discuss any issues with their staff as soon as a pattern of absence emerges. This has had a positive impact in reducing absence and reflects the supportive ethos of the school. “The online return to work form gives a coherent structure for line managers to follow when conducting interviews with staff and prompts them to fully explore any adjustments that may be needed to facilitate a phased return. The system also sends a reminder if the return to work has not been completed which is invaluable in ensuring that records are up to date and that we, as an organisation, are looking after the wellbeing of our staff.†Mr Lewis concludes, “For schools, academies, colleges and universities thinking ahead to the new academic year and planning IT budgets now, investing in technology could be a game changer for reducing and managing staff absence effectively. Absence management software can bring efficiencies and savings, as well as help schools look after the wellbeing of staff their staff.†For more information visit: www.activabsence.co.uk
Alex Quigley on Closing the Vocabulary Gap
Renowned education writer Alex Quigley answers QA Education’s questions on his latest title, Closing the Vocabulary Gap… What challenges do teachers face in terms of children having a poor vocabulary? The issue of children having a limited vocabulary is quite challenging in scale and subtly different from child to child. With the new bigger and harder curriculum at both primary and secondary school, the increased vocabulary and reading comprehension demand has risen considerably. Many children simply cannot access the full curriculum. In the early years, children can struggle to read at the same level as their peers, whereas at secondary school, many students are simply turned off by school after facing failure countless times daily as they cannot access the academic curriculum of school. How can a better vocabulary improve work in subjects other than reading? A broad and deep vocabulary is integral to every facet of learning. Take science. In primary school, children need to grasp the unique language of science to describe the phenomena, from forces to food chains. When you possess a broad vocabulary any new or unfamiliar idea or term you come across is more likely to be linked to what you know and therefore better understood. Vocabulary is like mental Velcro – the more you know, the more ‘hooks’ you have to hook onto new words. I quote E. D. Hirsch in my book who states that vocabulary is a great proxy for lots of general knowledge in the sciences, the humanities and the arts. Do teachers have time to implement more approaches to reading, or should they replace existing practices? Successful reading is so fundamental to all learning that we have to ensure our approach is as effective as it can be. For many teachers, this may mean dropping some existing strategies so that pupils can a well understood and well practiced array of reading strategies. Explicit vocabulary instruction shouldn’t be some time-consuming bolt on in the school week. Instead it should be woven into our explanations, our teacher and student talk, in the act of reading and more. Ensuring our pupils access, and confidently use, the academic language of school is essential and needs time in the school week. How is spelling linked to vocabulary usage? We too often fail to teach spelling – we simply test spelling. Weekly spelling tests are ubiquitous across the country. The problem is that this is a limited and inefficient strategy that relies pretty much on children simply improving with age. We can instead combine vocabulary instruction with the teaching of spelling in meaningful ways. By teaching new and unfamiliar words by unveiling their parts (morphology) and history (etymology), by making links to word families, synonyms and antonyms, we get to deeply know a word – along with the how and ‘why’ of its spelling. If you want a pupil to remember how to spell ‘ghost’, tell them how it was a ghastly 500 year old mistake. You want to find out too don’t you? Why is it important that children understand etymology? The roots and parts of words unveil meaningful knowledge about their origins. If you are teaching mathematics or science, you are drawing upon language with the same Latin and Greek roots. This offers lots of useful mental hooks to understand not just the origins of words, but to deepen your understanding of their meaning. Knowing that the root of ‘scop’ means to see/watch gives lots of mental hooks when a child faces new or unfamiliar words like ‘microscopic’, ‘scope’ or ‘horoscope’. Should secondary schools and even colleges still be promoting the use of a wider vocabulary? How can this happen? I think we should and we can with not too much difficulty. First, teachers need training in teaching vocabulary and the gaps many of our students face with academic language. Then we need to work as subject experts identifying the crucial subject specific vocabulary, whilst also paying attention to the sophisticated language of school – what Isabel Beck and her colleagues term ‘tier 2’ vocabulary. Words that litter our academic talk and writing, like ‘inefficient’, ‘phenomena’ or ‘sophisticated’. We can gift students with independent word learning strategies too, so that whenever they read they have the tools to more readily access the meaning of a given text. For more information on Alex, see The Confident Teacher. To buy Closing the Vocabulary Gap (Routledge), RRP £16.99, see Amazon.
Lack of support around teacher mental health
The stigma around discussing mental health is still very much present, and the majority (80.3%) of education professionals agree that not enough is being done to support mental health at work. In fact, half (50.1%) have considered resigning from a job due to lack of support. That’s according to the latest data from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job site. The survey of 1,100 UK workers sought to explore the topic of mental-health in the workplace and how well employers support their staff. With 45.4% of education professionals revealing that aspects of their job can cause them to feel anxious or depressed, it’s clear that something must be done. When asked what measures employers can introduce to help support their staff, respondents said: Promote a healthy work-life balance – 32.9% Refer employees to a counselling service – 19.7% Create an environment where mental health is not stigmatised – 15.8% Have an internal counselling service for staff – 14.5% Allow them to take time out when they need to – 8% Furthermore, the majority (81.6%) of professionals in the education sector believe that employers should offer mental health days for staff, with 80.3% agreeing that they’d be more likely to work for a company that did. A staggering 92% also said that they believe that employers should be given training to help them understand mental health and how to help employees who may be suffering. Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, comments: “It’s concerning to learn that education professionals aren’t feeling supported by their employers when it comes to their mental health and it’s clear more needs to be done to tackle this. It’s a sad reality that mental health problems can affect all areas of life. But if you’re struggling to cope at work, it’s important that you don’t suffer in silence.†Worryingly, the majority (81.8%) of education professionals confessed that they would be too embarrassed to disclose information about the state of their mental health to their employer. What’s more, a huge 81% feel guilty for taking time off for mental health reasons. Biggins concludes: “From our data, it’s obvious that there is a deep-rooted stigma around talking about mental health, particularly at work. And it’s clear that education professionals are reluctant to take days off to look after their mental wellbeing. But the truth is, you wouldn’t feel bad leaving the office because of a migraine or stomach bug and your mental health shouldn’t be any different. “If you are comfortable enough with your boss, it’s important to let them know what’s going on. They may be able to offer you support in the way of counselling, reduced or flexible hours, or time off to recharge. If your employer is very unforgiving and you feel that you are not supported, it could be time to look for a better opportunity elsewhere, in a company where your wellbeing comes first.†For more tips on taking care of yourself, check out our guide on looking after your mental health in the workplace or search over 174,000 jobs today.
Eleven thousand volunteers go back to school to broaden students’ jobs horizons
More than eleven thousand former students across Britain have this year volunteered at their old state school in partnership with Future First, an education charity. By volunteering, these alumni have helped to broaden students’ jobs horizons and boost their aspirations for the future. Their contribution represents more than 20,000 hours of free volunteering time, an invaluable boost for state schools currently grappling with limited budgets. Future First has helped these state schools to tap into the time, talent, and resource of their former students, bringing them back to school to act as career role models for the next generation. 4,500 different employers have been represented as part of the initiative. And more than 110,000 young people have benefited. Future First’s work in more than a thousand state schools has been backed by celebrities including actors Julie Walters, Stephen Fry, Craig Parkinson and Jodie Prenger and the DJ Nick Grimshaw. Since 2009, the charity has worked with more than a thousand state schools from Plymouth to Glasgow enabling them to harness the skills of former students by building supportive networks of alumni volunteers around the school. Former students return to their old school, opening up new worlds of opportunities for current students, to act as career and education role models, mentors, governors, providers of work experience and much more. They help to equip the current generation of students with the soft skills they need to succeed in the world of work and to boost their confidence to achieve academically. Future First research shows alumni can transform students’ motivation by acting as relatable role models grounded in the community, showing current students that ‘people like me’ can succeed. Matt Lent, CEO of Future First said: “This is an astonishing number of volunteering hours and shows the willingness of former students to support current students at their old state schools. Students can’t be what they can’t see and it is vital that we equip them with a broad knowledge of available careers and give them the skills they need to achieve.” “Private schools have always understood the value of linking students past and present and now state schools are realising this too. Alumni are an untapped resource of talent and skills. It’s inspirational and very motivating for students to see that if someone who sat at the same desk as them has gone on to succeed, they can too.†Charlie Pullen, a PhD student who volunteered at his old school Varndean School in Brighton, said: “These students were having dedicated time to learn how to be confident. I wish I had had classes that taught me how to look someone in the eye and speak with assurance when I was their age.” For further information on Future First, click here contact Press Officer Sue Crabtree or call one of the Future First team on 0207 239 8933
Reducing exclusions through behaviour management placements
Gill Bullock is the Director and one of the founders of Aspire Behaviour Management Ltd, which is based in Lancashire. Here, Gill talks to QA Education editor Victoria Galligan about working with children who are at risk of exclusion… Can you describe what happens during the placements at Aspire, and during the transition period? Children aged between three and nine can access placements at The Aspire Hub. All those children who come to us have exhibited Social and Emotional Mental Health and are at high risk of exclusion. Prior to a child starting at The Hub we may have already been working with them in their school. A multiagency meeting is called so we can discuss the provision and the expectations of all parties working together to find the best outcome for all. If school feel that the child’s behaviour is too high risk to return from an exclusion school can use the Notices of Direction to Attend. School staff need to commit to see the child every week to continue or rebuild relationships, the child needs to wear their school uniform. Parents should attend stay and play and take part in the parenting support. The day has a structured timetable giving children access to both structured times and free play. Children are taken out in identified small groups that targets their scores from the Beyond the Boxall. We believe that children are unable to progress with their learning if they have not been able to secure the foundation of life learning. Learning is recorded in the learning journey and progress is tracked using the Boxall profile. The Hub has regard to the National Curriculum and the Early Learning Goals. We are aware that children in mainstream and other settings will cover more quantity of work than the children attending The Hub however, these children are currently unable to meet the developmental norms of the EYFS/NC. We believe that by revisiting early life experiences with the quality and intensity of provision help to build the foundations of secure learning. We constantly review progress and every four weeks using a School Readiness Scale we can then consider if a child is ready to return to school. The readiness tool helps us to judge whether the transition is likely to be successful and helps us focus on the areas for further development. When appropriate the transition takes place, a timetable will be discussed with school and parents. When a child returns we want this to be a fresh start, so the child will access the classroom on a phased return. School and Aspire will share strategies and identify appropriate provision and an action plan to ensure success. Aspire keyworker will escort and support the child back to school. As school staff and Aspire will have both worked with the child in The Hub setting this helps for a smooth transition. Over a period the Aspire keyworker will step back, and the school support will take over if and were appropriate. What can mainstream schools do to help reduce exclusions? There are actions schools can take to make exclusion far less likely, and there are some incredible examples of really effective practice. The earlier behavioural challenges are identified, along with effective action being taken to minimise the impact of them, the better chance a child has of succeeding in school. Too often identification of the true cause of behavioural challenges are not discovered until the child’s behaviour has deteriorated to a state where exclusion is the only avenue school feel is left to them. Further, some challenges require specialist intervention which many mainstream schools cannot easily access. One thing which can be done to reduce exclusions is for school staff to be trained to be able to identify behavioural challenges sooner, to know what to do to try and support children more effectively, and to know when to call for expert help. This does not require huge amounts of funding, simply a willingness for the education sector to develop a culture of “how will we never exclude†as a whole-school concept. The culture of mainstream schools to both exclusions and pastoral support also plays a key role. Creating a culture where the school seeks to understand the needs of each child, and has the skills to either support them, or to know where to go to do so, has been demonstrated to be incredibly successful. Can you give an example of a successful case? We supported a child, his family and school. from a local Primary school. The child was at risk of permanent exclusion because of persistent disruptive behaviour, including incidents of throwing chairs, climbing on furniture and showing aggression towards staff and other pupils. After receiving a short period of in-school support from Aspire, the child was given a placement for 11 weeks at The Hub. When he arrived, using the information we had gathered from school and our time with the child, we then put a plan in place to ensure the child received the nurture intervention and support he needed to enable the successful transition to mainstream school. Adopting a nurturing approach and following our well-defined processes, we carefully put the building blocks in place which the child needed to establish appropriate relationships with other children, building resilience, and strategies to enable them to deal more effectively with the behavioural issues they faced. At the same time we worked with his parents, building relationships and positive behaviour management strategies, as modelled by staff, through time spent with their child at The Hub. They also received support from our Family Liaison Officer and attended parenting groups hosted at the Hub. All this had the impact of helping the parents better understand the nature of their child’s challenges, and to give more effective support to them when required. Whilst the child was with us at The Hub, a member of staff who worked with him at his mainstream school spent time with him, again to see the strategies and learning being modelled, and to receive coaching