News
Outdoor charity helps students E
ducation Today was privileged to be invited to celebrate with the Outward Bound Trust at a ceremony honouring five years of work between the educational charity and Battersea Park School.
During this time, with the support of Deutsche Bank, the organisation has been able to provide personal development courses to approximately 2000 students from the school, who would otherwise have found the courses inaccessible.
The courses, which work in conjunction with the National Curriculum and the Curriculum for Excellence, form part of the ‘Reach Higher’ programme and transport their young attendees into the challenging realities of the wilderness, where they learn survival skills, participate in physical challenges and are encouraged to become independent, confident thinkers. The event held on 30th May at the ISIS Education Centre in Hyde Park, brought together teachers, pupils and Outward Bound staff alike, as well as representatives from Deutsche Bank itself, all in celebration of the positive impact, both socially and within the classroom that these outdoor excursions have had for the school.
The afternoon’s programme at the ISIS centre kicked off with a series of outdoor activities, in which students demonstrated their problem- solving abilities and team-working skills in games used as ‘starter exercises’ on Outward Bound trips.
Battersea Park’s Headteacher Gale Kenner opened the ceremony, offering thanks to the Deutsche Bank and praising the “life-changing” programme.
Kenner stated that in the five years that the programme has been running, he has seen the school double in size, with many parents that he has spoken to harbouring the expectation that sending their child to Battersea Park means they will be able to participate in an Outward Bound adventure.
Kenner believes that the self confidence and communication skills that are learnt on the trips have directly contributed to the school’s GCSE A-C grade results climbing from 59% to 85% in the last five years. He added that the courses had given the students: “
...new purpose, new direction and new career choices.” The school’s Ofsted report in July 2010 also recognised the value of the partnership,
Battersea Park headteacher Gale Kenner with the school’s year 11 prefects
describing the programme as “exceptional” in raising students’ aspirations and building confidence and self-esteem across the whole school as well as the wider community. Battersea Park pupils themselves also contributed to the ceremony, testifying to the important role that the Outward Bound trips have played in their personal and educational development. Speaking eloquently and with confidence, year 11 prefect Dioge Fernandes said that the mountain hike and canoeing he took part in on one of his two Outward Bound trips have helped him greatly: “ I made new friends and learnt to adapt to new situations. The pain of the mountain hike was hard, but I felt more confident when I reached the top.” The Trust aims to reinforce the positive testimony with a ‘Social Impact’ report, which measures the effects the courses have in young people’s lives. Using sources such as the New Philanthropy Capital’s Wellbeing Measure, the 2011 report found that 93% of students who attend a trip, increase their confidence, improve their social well-being and become more resilient and optimistic, whilst 60% of students improve their performance in the classroom, with greater confidence and enthusiasm in learning. It was with some sadness that Kenner noted the end of the current corporate financial support for the scheme, which saw each student paying approximately £20 of the £400 course fee. Speaking to Education Today, Kenner said that the school will now aim to use a £5000 donation from a city bank to obtain further funding, hopefully enabling the scheme to run for another year group.
For more information on the Outward Bound Trust, visit
www.outwardbound.org.uk
Private schools in greater support of ICT policy
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new survey has revealed that independent schools have a more positive view of the government’s current ICT policy than state schools, despite being free from government control.
The findings come from the annual survey produced by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), which details the views of 148 ICT leaders from independent schools, the majority of whom operate within the Independent Schools Council. The research provides analysis relating to the use of a variety of technologies presently operating within schools, as well as anticipated use by 2013. Awareness of the government’s current ICT policy was the first disparity between independent and state schools, with 87 per cent of independent schools showing awareness of an ICT policy compared to 70.5 per cent of state schools.
There was a notable difference between each sector’s perception of the policy: although some schools understood the policy details more than others, 62 per cent of independent schools felt the government was on the right track, while just 26 per cent of state schools held the same view. Speaking of the survey results, director of BESA, Ray Barker said: “The findings will not be good news to the government. However, when we consider the fact that the foundation of the government’s policy sits on an increasing level of freedom and autonomy for schools, it is not surprising that the independent school’s sector understands and feels a closer alliance to the recent policy changes.”
Barker continued: “As an increasing number of state schools convert to become academies with independent school status, we are starting to see government policies that possibly sit more comfortably with independent schools, which are more akin to managing themselves.”
Other findings • Independent schools are having less success in integrating interactive whiteboards (IWB’s) into lessons than state schools; a third of preparatory and half of senior schools have been relatively unsuccessful in integrating ICT into lessons using IWB’s.
• ICT leaders polled in the survey indicated under-resourcing of laptops and system software; a fifth of preparatory and more than two-thirds of senior schools will continue to be under-resourced with laptops, while 15 per cent of all schools will continue to be under- resourced with system and general software.
• Few independent schools are well-resourced with tablets, but teacher interest is not a barrier. While 8 per cent of preparatory and 5 per cent of senior schools are well-resourced with tablets, only 15 per cent of preparatory and 22 per cent of senior schools say that lack of teacher interest is a barrier to adoption.
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www.education-today.co.uk June 2012
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