Case Studies Real People- Real Difference

Many young people have found the role model project inspiring and valuable. Of course it is difficult to attribute progress as this is just one of many things which will impact on school life. We have howver seen many of the boys involved, progress dramatically - one moving from borderline C/D at GCSE to be join the Gifted and Talented group at Fakenham High school. Others have shown remarkable increases in confidence and self esteem.

The things people say... "Thinking about Role Models makes you think about how you can be a role model for younger kids. It has made me feel more responsible and increased my confidence. I have been paying more attention to homework and classwork, although I can sometimes still mess around a bit."

Arran, - Role Model Project.

 

Role Model Case Study - Group Mentoring with Connexions

The first Fakenham High School Role Model Focus Group consisted of 24 boys.  One of the things that we were keen to explore was the opportunity to look at how we could involve the Connexions Personal Advisors.

We talked through a number of options, but finally agreed on a series of Group Mentoring meetings, leading the boys towards acquiring the skills they would need for the decisions they would make for their ‘options' for Year 10 - GCSE's to be followed, whether to get involved in Work Based options at local colleges or the new Diploma etc.

From what we already knew about the boys, their interests etc., we put together four groups of six, each of which the Connexions Personal Adviser and I met with for an hour every four weeks.  The meetings were held in school and during lesson time.

We probably had 6 meetings with each group, and covered such stuff as image (the first job for each group was to agree on a name for themselves and set their ground rules), decision making, communication, keeping control, concentration (watching a video and then having a quiz testing how much they remembered of what they had seen, heard etc).

At the end of each meeting we awarded points for effort, input, achievement etc and used a very simple chart on which we stuck coloured stars.  At the end of the year, at a Head Teachers Assembly, Certificates and prizes were awarded for ‘most points', ‘greatest distance travelled' and ‘most consistent effort'.

Role Models were discussed during the sessions and we are planning to run similar Group Mentoring again but this time invite Role Models in to take part in some of the sessions.  Similarly we will look to use some of the Role Model resources.

 

Case Study: Richard Drury, Photographer

Working with Aylsham High School

Staff at Aylsham High School were keen to get student input on where to site some newly purchased benches and seats.  The Role Model Co-ordinator had identified a number of students who were keen on photography.  It made perfect sense to merge the two!

Richard Drury, a well known local photographer, who had already signed up to the Role Model Project, was invited into School to set a group of interested students the ‘Brief'.  Before setting them off, Richard talked with the group about his inspiration, his route to becoming a photographer and explained the different aspects of a photographer's job.  Richard also brought in lots of different examples of his work.

The ‘Brief' Richard gave the students was that in smaller groups of 4/5 they were to go out and about the School grounds and take photographs of where they thought the seats should go.  When they returned, the students would show their images and explain the thinking behind them.  Richard gave each group 30 minutes to take the photographs needed.

On return, each group had their images projected on to the Conference Room wall whilst they talked them through.  Richard then gave feedback including hints and tips on how the images could be improved further.  The exercise was very enjoyable and informative as well as giving invaluable feedback for the school.

The idea of the ‘Photographer's Brief' could be applied to almost anything.

 

Fakenham High School

Cameron's Story:

When I first started at high school, I mucked about quite a lot, even getting withdrawn from lessons a few times.  I was very talkative in class and not very interested in school.  I thought the teachers just dragged on and on about boring stuff!

When I was told I had been picked for the Role Model Programme I thought I had been picked because I was naughty.  That came as a bit of a wake up call.

The thing that has had the biggest impact on me is all the interesting people coming in and talking about the interesting things that they do.  Also, the message from them that actually school is important, and grades are important to do what you want to in life.  This made me get my head down and listen to the teachers.  Now the more I learn the more I realise I want to learn.

When Mr. Williams recently asked me to talk to a load of people* about our Diploma, and the work we do, I felt really privileged.  I had been picked because I was getting involved and I was trusted to be responsible.  This time I hadn't been picked because I was ‘bad' but because I was ‘good'.  It is a nice feeling.

*The ‘load of people' Cameron refers to were the delegates at a County Wide Connexions Training Conference.  In addition, Cameron was among a small group of students put forward for filming for a Connexions video to be used in schools across the County.  "The students spoke about the Diploma with enthusiasm and explained clearly and passionately about their experiences and the knowledge they have gained.  We were extremely impressed by their maturity and willingness to take part" was the feedback received from Connexions staff.

Case Study- Role Model Conference - Swaffham 09


It was identified by staff within the four schools of the Western Learning & Enterprise Collaborative that the boys taking part in the project were keen to meet as many Role Models as possible. With this in mind a ‘conference style' event was planned. Not only would it be an opportunity to engage with more Role Models it would also acknowledge a common positive factor of those involved in the project - meeting pupils from other schools.

The boys had to take on a level of responsibility for securing their booking onto the conference and for ensuring they had reserved their travel on the arranged transport. The idea to make the boys responsible for this was a direct result of their earlier feedback that the project had given them confidence and that they felt they had ‘grown' as a person.

The conference began with the four guest speakers, Mr Rik Martin - Norfolk Learning Partnership, Mr Ben Handford - Naked Marketing, Mr Phillip Roffe - Yewtek and Mr David Elverson of Spirals who in turn talked to the 66 boys present about how they got where they were today, the highs and lows of their respective careers and what had encouraged, motivated and enthused them from their educational years to the present and their aspirations for the future.

The day continued with working in smaller groups facilitated by the Role Models where each of the boys shared their own aspiration and the reasons behind it. For some, sharing something so personal was a big achievement in itself. There was also a questions & answer session for each of the role models.

The feedback on the event has been very positive; some have said it made them think about the different routes available with regard to entering employment. Some of the boys have admitted they now understand and realise it is their own ambition and drive that will make the difference to them. Several commented that it was good to hear about leaving school and working from someone other than their parents or teachers.
 
One pupil said "I never really thought about work other than I knew I had to have a job but now I realise I can have a job I enjoy if I put my mind to it"

 
Another said "It's like the Role Models said - life is what YOU make it!"

Word versions of these reports can be found by clicking the link in the Key Documents section below