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REACH School is an Alternative Provision school for students in years 10 and 11 based in South Birmingham. Our students come from schools throughout the South Network and beyond and we provide a quality education for students who may not thrive within a mainstream setting. Our ambition for our students is that they leave school with the skills and confidence to transition to Post 16 and are prepared for a successful career.
Overall impact
The Accelerator Programme has been successful in ensuring that students have ownership and the language to develop their employability skills. This has been celebrated by staff and students and is a core aspect of our PSHE and preparation for adult life prioritise, to boost the life chances, reduce risk of NEET and ensure students leave for Post 16 on a purposeful pathway.
Keep it simple
The 8 essential skills are the golden thread running through our curriculum intent and the whole school values have been written around them, ensuring the goal of reducing NEET figures and maintenance of Post 16 placements. Every subject's curriculum intent is based around the language and skills of employability and being aspirational, and these values are embedded into policies such as Teaching and Learning, Behaviour and Rewards, Marking and Feedback. The whole school rewards system is build around the recognition of demonstration and progress in the 8 key skills.
Start early, keep going
All students complete the Skills Builder baselines as part of their induction process in assembly. This ensures all teachers are aware of individuals' strengths and areas for development. Subjects focus on a specific skill (such as PE and teamwork, History and problem solving), explicitly in their mid term and short term plans. Symbols are visible in lessons, but are also part of extra curricular learning. For example, for Active Citizenship, there are Skills Feedback cards to record encounters with employers and employees to link their skills knowledge to the world of work.
Measure it
Students are encouraged to reflect on their own progress with subjects planning opportunities to develop skills. Students reflect on their termly academic report, and review how they are applying the skills, and set targets as to how to improve through vocational learning and academic subjects. The language of the Universal framework is used at base school review meetings, Parents' Evenings and every classroom and social area has a laminated copy of the skills displayed.
Focus tightly
Students in Year 11 have a weekly Pathways lessons which focuses directly on the skills, and links them to the world of work and adult life. Year 10s have one day a week of vocational learning and external providers have been upskilled in the language and steps of the skills and use these in their delivery, praise and reports.
Keep practising
The whole school curriculum intent has the essential skills as a golden thread and this is cascaded down, and is intrinsic in individual subject intents. Mid term plans for each department have the skills mapped, lessons have symbols displayed and teachers use the language of the skills in their daily lessons to show how they subject has transferable skills to the world of work and boosts employability.
Bring it to life
The skills are embedded across all areas of careers and personal development. The skills are practiced during Active Citizenship experiential activities, with the intent of the session linked to the essential skills and Skills Feedback cards used, and during work based vocational learning where daily targets are set. Visitors and external agencies who deliver career related activities, such as our Enterprise Advisor, work related providers and Birmingham Career Service Careers Advisor has received training on how and why we embed the skills, and the impact of this has been measured through how the students can articulate their demonstration of the skills in CV writing sessions, at Work Related Learning and in mock interviews. Rewards are awarded on the MIS system, based on each essential skill, which is shared with parents weekly, and skills post cards are awarded in whole school assemblies to show case achievements with peers and staff.
What's next
We plan to further develop the essential skills through a fortnightly ICT session where students engage with Skills Builder, which will allow students to practice the step in school, at home and in the community.
