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Young people will be given access to an expanded range of enrichment activities and careers opportunities when they return to school.

Teachers at Forest Hall School are working to develop their provision in both enrichment and careers for when the Coronavirus shutdown is lifted.

Sarah Power, enrichment lead, is putting together a programme of day trips, residential stays and enrichment clubs.

She said: “We want a really broad enrichment curriculum for our children. Maths is my first passion, but I love all sorts of education. Not all children can access everything and may not have many opportunities to experience these things at home. They may not be able to visit other parts of the country or to go to watch a show. So, it is our responsibility to provide those opportunities for them.

“Of course, we do not yet know when we will be returning to school and so we cannot make any bookings yet. But, we have plans in place ready to go when we do return.”

The school will launch new extra-curricular clubs to enable students to learn new skills, including sports, arts, games, computers and maths.

Trips will include rollerblading, climbing, concerts and travelling abroad.

Miss Power said: “We want to offer students as much as possible. We want every one of them to have something to look forward to.

“We will liaise with our student executive team to find out what other ideas they have and want to add on to the curriculum.

“I want our students to look back on their school days and think they were brilliant; that school was an enjoyable experience. There is a lot of emphasis on exams, which are of course important, but we want to offer a really rounded curriculum. They need to meet people from other places and gain those experiences for when they leave school. It will all help to give them the tools they need to tackle new things.

“They will be pushed out of their comfort zones and encouraged to try new things.”

Miss Power is working closely with Jonathan Moran, careers lead, who is spending time during the shutdown planning a new careers package for Year 7 and 8 students.

He said: “We are introducing a two-year careers curriculum, with timetabled lessons for Year 7 and 8 to study careers as a subject as a way of raising awareness at an earlier stage. Otherwise, many may not think about careers until they reach Year 10 or 11. The idea is to link their education and how it affects their careers in the future, raise awareness of what is out there and to introduce them to various career paths. It

enables us to establish long-term tracking of student aspirations and create personalised, realistic goals or steps to take them where they want to be career wise.

“Students do not always make that link between what they are learning in school and potential careers. If they want to be an engineer, for example, we will explain to them they need to focus on their maths in Year 8 to ensure they reach the appropriate levels by the end of their school years to reach that goal.

“We are enabling students to take responsibility for their own paths and helping them to set short-term and long-term goals. They will be able to focus on their own journeys and areas of development.

“We have already had lots of really good visits, trips and careers days, but this is going further to ensure the link is being made between education and careers.”

A careers and enrichment office is being opened with noticeboards giving students information.

 

Please note: the photo accompanying this article was taken prior to social distancing rules being implemented.