VIEWSVIEWS & OPINIO N OPINION
Giving young people the right foundation for their future
Comment by SALLY HILLS, Deputy Hea Duke of Edinburgh’s wAwa
ty ard Leader, Lu
ckley House d and The
School, and HEIDI LASCHINGER, student and DofE Ambassador, Luckley House School
Sally Hills
As teachers, our main wish is to see students leave education as confident and determined young people, armed with the skills and tools to pursue a happy and prosperous future. There has been plenty of discussion recently on balancing exam outcomes with supporting young people in their character development and this is reflected in the new Ofsted inspection framework which includes a specific judgment category covering personal development.
Whatever our individual views on Ofsted are, our roles have always been to support our young people with their personal development and running extracurricular activities, with set outcomes and benefits for students in mind, can make a huge difference to pupils.
Heidi Laschinger, a student at Luckley House School in Berkshire, comments that “extracurricular activities can make a huge difference in our lives. Amongst many positive outcomes, the influence these activities are having on me and fellow pupils include anything from promoting
fitter and healthier community as well as one that can work togethe r more efficiently.”
key life skills, fitness or improving confidence; all of which are hugely beneficial. In addition, these activities are also in the best interest of the school as a whole; for example, sports activities teamwork for participating students but also he ,
lp the school to have a advocate exercise and
As education professionals, we are already doing an amazing job of supporting young people through our teaching, but perhaps there is scope to consider whether we can encourage and provide a broader range of extracurricular activities in our schools to ensure wider appeal and access One suc
h extracurricular option, which comb ibility to all pupils.
ines a range of these life
enhancing activities is The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE), which incorporates Physical, Skills, Volunteering and Expedition sections within each level of Award, and a residential activity for Gold programmes. Through their DofE programmes, young people have fun, make friends and enha nce essential skills and attributes inclu ding resilience proble m- solving, team-working and communication. It also helps pupils to evidence their ‘soft skills’, commitment and determination when it is time to apply for further study or jobs.
,
There are also plenty of other options to explore, from sports and hobbies clubs to skills-related challenges such as debating and poetry competitions, creative outlets including sewing, painting and photography, community volunteering, music clubs or, as featured prominently in the media at the moment, social activism opportunities such as supporting important causes and campaigns. Incidentally, many extracurricular activities can be used as part of DofE programmes. In an increasingly complex world with multiple opportunities, pressures and hurdles young people may already find it challengin g transitioning to the world of work or further education and our guidance and support can help give them a solid foundation and an even better chance to succeed in life.
,
learni Prima
ry career-rer-related ry
aspirations and breaking down stere types
Comment by PROFESSOR IAN CUMMING, Chief Executive, Health Education England
With a new school year well underway, there will be a familiar feeling among primary teachers and their senior
leadership teams: how to tackle careers education. The topic is gaining more prominence in the primary landscape amidst a growing pool of evidence that career-related learning is an important part of a rounded primary education. It is never too early to start learning about job roles and career paths, an
ambition echoed in the Government’s careers strategy, which aims to understand what works to develop positive attitudes about work from an early age. Health Education England’s nationwide Step into the NHS schools programme is an exciting initiative which aims to inspire the next generation of NHS staff.Whilst raising aspirations and breaking down stereotypes, it aims to open pupils’ eyes to the huge variety of roles that the NHS has to offer.
Last year, we extended Step into the NHS to include all primary schools in England, and the programme now runs alongside the long- established secondary school competition.We are now reaching pupils at
2 4 www
.education-today.co.uk.co.uk www
ng essential to raising reoty
Key Stage 2 to help raise awareness of the wide range of opportunities available to everyone.
Our Step into the NHS programme is not about leading pupils down certain car eer paths but supporting them to understand the wide variet y of opportunities in the world of work, the ever-widening routes into a job in the NHS, and embedding this into their daily learning. Evidence from the Primary Futures programme, created in partnership with the Education and Employers charity, clearly echoes this: “Careers education excites and motivates children about their learni embedding in the curriculum strong connection the world of work.”
s between education and ng by linking and
The 2017/18 primary pilot programme, which coincided with the NHS’ 70th birthday, introduced teacher resources to 43 primary schools in England. The resources, which are freely available to teachers on the Step into the NHS website, explore the vast number of careers available in the NH S right now and inspire pupils to thin k about what the healt h service will look like in the future and the jobs they could do.
Key findings from the pilot included a 49%increase in the number of participating children who said men could work as a nurse and a 59% increase in those who said men could work as a midwife. There was also a greater awareness of the range of NHS career increase in the number of pupils saying that ‘he NHS career.
althcare science’ was an s, including a 56%
aspirations education
work.
The NHS is well-placed to get this message across, as it is the UK’s biggest employer with over 1.3 million staff in England performing more than 350 different roles.
We should not assume that career aspiration will naturally occur in pupils. Aspiration can and should be learned ea rly through career-related education.
Octobe r 2019 2019
These findings show how important it is to breakdown gender stereotypes which form so quickly in the minds of young people. Careers should be focused on broadening horizons and raising , giving children a wide range of experiences of the world of
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