Learning more about learning off-site

On Friday the 16th of Febuary, we spent a day up at Walker and got to speak to a range of people who are involved in off-site learning as well as the planning of training and work placements. What did we learn? Here is a short summary:

• We were able to gather great insights of how vocational learning currently works. People you might know who took part were; Miss Davidson, Head of Personalised Learning, and Miss Tucker, the school's Career's Adviser.

• Together with Mr Collier (the Deputy Head) Miss Davidson developed a vision for a vocational learning block onsite which envisions businesses coming into school to provide training and work experience. They feel that the new block should appeal equally to students and adults.

• Miss Davidson believes that "...it's about getting learning right for the learners as well as for the wider community" and that the school has a responsibility to prepare the students for professional life. She is very excited about the idea of students running parts of the vocational learning block - for instance a Hair & Beauty salon which would also be used by people living nearby.

• Another person we spoke to is Miss Tucker who organises work placements and provides support and career's guidance to students. She believes that vocational learning or 'work related learning' how she calls it should focus on equipping students with the necessary skills to plan for their own futures.


Posted by julia schaeper on 02/22