Kingsley is in Year 11. Like the majority of older students at his school, he has a part-time job working for a local retailer on Saturdays and one evening a week. The school accepts that this is now typical of young people in Key Stage 4, and that paid employment is a significant feature of their lives, alongside study for GCSEs.
The school’s Head of Year and Work-Related Learning Coordinator believe that these experiences of work should receive formal recognition. A new unit is included in the Tutorial and PSHE programme which looks at the advantages and disadvantages of combining part-time earning with full-time learning. Tutors work with their tutor groups on the Connexions WofE Key Skills and Work Experience Certificate Log Books, helping students to become familiar with employability skills and the personal qualities that are valued as assets in the world of work.
Kingsley takes his Log Books to work for comment and endorsement by his supervisor. The supervisor is encouraged to extend Kingsley’s responsibilities, and to record his development in notes that are shared with the school and preserved as part of his Record of Achievement.
Several of Kingsley’s teachers notice that his confidence and motivation have increased over the past few months, which has led to improved achievement in his studies.
At work the formal monitoring of Kingsley’s progress encourages the firm to give him some new responsibilities and a pay rise. The school has a point of contact with the employer, and so is able to express concerns when too many demands are being made on Kingsley’s time. The employer’s expectations are thus kept within reasonable bounds, and the student learns valuable techniques for balancing the two aspects of his working and studying life.
An additional benefit for Kingsley is that he is able to use his experience of work to support his curricular learning: in maths he uses his growing skills at budgeting and stock management to complete a unit of work on number; and in English he produces a piece of written coursework which demonstrates his ability to write to inform and analyse.
With thanks to Lindsey Sloman, Writhlington School