A memorable week full of exciting activities was had by all during the SEND Enterprise Challenge Week this year,
10 of our local Special Educational Needs/Disability (SEND) and Social, Emotional, Mental Health (SEMH) provisions took part in the programme, Abbey Hill having 3 sites involved, which included over 603 students, across 48 classes, covering Years 7-14. The following schools who took part were
This year we had a big challenge for the students to work on across the week working in conjunction with Altrad. This challenge which was set by Altrad staff had 2 parts which involved the students designing and building a wind turbine from recycled/repurposed materials and the second part was to present what they had used and why alternative energy is so important. The challenge had lots of different elements which were aimed at all levels to allow all students to take part. The students also had small challenges to work on which included designing and making their own personal windmill and a poster competition. All activities were aimed at building on the students’ employability and enterprise skills to help them become work ready and/or prepare for adulthood. All activities and resources were new for this year and were created to make the week accessible for all whilst ensuring the challenges and activities were easily adaptable to suite all student levels/capabilities.
The schools took part in a `Next Steps Day ‘on Wednesday. Schools brought along a group of students to Teesworks Skills Academy whom going onto paid employment, or a volunteering role is realistic for. The students had a tour of the Teesworks site where realistic job opportunities were highlighted, and the student’s gained knowledge of what businesses are at or coming to Teesworks and the future job opportunities which will be available.
This was followed by time at the `Meet the Employer` and `Meet the Provider` fairs at the skills academy. Employers came along who could speak about relevant job opportunities that the students could apply for. Employers who supported were Altrad UK who also sponsored the week, Northern Gas Networks, Thirteen group, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and DWP. Providers who supported are The ETC Group, Middlesbrough College, Askham Bryan College, NHS Choices College and Daisy Chain.
The followed this up by completing a `Next Steps` form to enable us to capture which colleges/providers they were interested in going to after school and if they would like any more information or support from them. The students who this activity was not suitable for were able to take part in a NYBEP `What’s Stopping You` Session which looked at preparing for adulthood.
Friday was celebration day, we were able to hold the celebration event in person again this year which was fantastic. We invited the schools to come along to Arc for the full morning. As part of the celebration, we had a `Dragons Den` style competition where all groups had the opportunity to present their idea to our Altrad Judging panel live on stage. The teams also got to try out their wind turbine to see which was the most successful. The students had great fun and their presentations were fantastic. The Altrad judges had a really difficult job choosing winners for their trophies which were awarded by Karl Bramwell, Vice President, Onshore UK and Jamie Yarker, Project Manager/CSR Lead.
TVCA trophies were awarded by Neil Young, Teesworks Skills Academy Manager, to the winning groups for amazing communication skills, excellent teamwork skills and most enthusiastic class to name a few. The celebration event was so successful, the student’s confidence to stand on stage in front of 400 people and present their ideas was mind blowing. The feedback from the Altrad judges was so positive, they were genuinely amazed by the students and their efforts across the week.
The student’s effort and enthusiasm across the week was contagious as were their smiles on Friday at the celebration event.
The students have said that they really enjoyed the challenges, they enjoyed seeing students from the other SEND schools and presenting. They really enjoyed the teamwork element of the week. We had great feedback on the Next Steps Day and they students have said they would love to take part again next year.
A massive thank you must go to Altrad UK. We could not have done this without their support not only did they sponsor the event again this year, but they also provided 40 members of staff to support over the week as judges, mentors, exhibitors at the Next Steps Day and staff behind the scenes creating resources etc. giving up their time freely which is an extremely big commitment from one company. Thank you to all involved.
Thank you also to The Careers & Enterprise Company for funding support.
