Jo
Washburn, an English teacher at Bournville School in Birmingham, led our
Words for Work scheme as she thought it would be a good opportunity for her
students. She said:
“I
thought it was important that our pupils were taught employability and
communication skills.”
The aim
of phase 1 of the Words for Work programme is to engage students in the
project, which is heavily reliant on staff enthusiasm and commitment. The
first phase was delivered to Year 10 during Learning for Life lessons by
their form tutors, rather than the English department. This reinforced the
idea that speaking and listening is a skill needed in day-to-day life, rather
than just 'something they do in English.'
The
programme’s second phase was delivered to a small group of students with the objective
of improving confidence and attainment. The students loved working with the
volunteers. Jo added:
“I think
they felt more 'grown up' and were able to ask the volunteers lots of
questions about their work. They gained an insight into communication in the
workplace and it’s obvious they are much more confident now.”
At the
celebration event, one group of students presented to the whole audience,
which they would not have done at the start of the programme. In their GCSE
speaking and listening assessment, most of the Words for Work students
achieved their target grade or higher. Jo concluded:
“Words
for Work can take a lot of organisation, but it is definitely worth it. It's
probably one of the best things I've done in my teaching career. The students
are still talking about it!"