Out and about to learn skills we’re confident can change your life
Young people are relishing the opportunity to uncover resources they never knew they had, says Anna Mcfarlane
ince September 2015 I have been involved in a project designed to raise the aspirations, confidence and attainment levels of young people. St Paul’s catchment includes areas of multiple deprivation in Dundee where many of our pupils have limited opportunities. As a result, they sometimes struggle to fulfil their potential at school.
We should not be giving up on these young people, many of whom can shine if given the chance to develop their skills and widen their experiences so they believe in themselves.
Paul Clancy, who is now Executive Director of Children and Families, Dundee City Council, worked with partners at a strategic level to develop the Skillforce/outward Bound Challenge. It was piloted at St Paul’s, but now all eight secondary schools across the city can participate. The project is a partnership with Skillforce, The Outward Bound Trust and Dundee City Council and involves working with S2 pupils.
The main objectives are to increase determination in setting and achieving goals, develop resilience and improve confidence and self-belief. Embedded into the project is the aim of increasing social and life skills including the ability to work with others. These skills are so important in preparing young people for the world of work. We really wanted the project to enable young people to realise their capabilities and discover their unfulfilled potential.
First we identified 24 pupils whom we felt would most benefit from the opportunity to participate, by examining attendance, behaviour and academic results. Two Skillforce instructors then worked for four weeks with groups of 12 pupils at a time to develop a “toolkit” of skills that could be utilised during the next phase.
The group then attended a five-day residential course at The Outward Bound Trust’s Loch Eil centre near Fort William. This involved a variety of team dynamic skills exercises; from the “Alpha plank” exercise in which teams rearrange themselves on a plank without falling off to learn cooperation and communication skills, through to high adventure rock climbing and mountaineering to learn the confidence and resilience to overcome new challenges.
Each evening The Trust’s instructors guided our young people to reflect on the challenges they had faced that day and work out ways to improve on skills learnt.
Back at school, the pupils worked with Skillforce for four more weeks and at the end of the nine-week programme they organised, entirely on their own, a public presentation about their experiences on the challenge for invited guests, school staff and pupils’ families, culminating in a tea party.
We routinely measure the academic progress of pupils to see whether they have improved between their first and second years. This time we compared the results of those taking part in the project with the rest of their year group.
The figures indicate that the pupils who participated in the Skillforce/ Outward Bound Challenge have made greater progress in their Mathematics, Reading and Science than their peers.
This is really encouraging but just as important is the joy that the pupils got from participating and seeing them increase in confidence.
One 13-year-old boy told me: “I had the best time of my life–surrounded by people I didn’ t know and now I am friends with them. My confidence has grown and I now speak out – I’ve been moved up a class in English – and I now want to be the best that I can be.”
A girl in the group echoed these sentiments when she explained: “It was a great experience which made me closer with my friends. I go out more. Why? Because I know now I can do without my mobile. It has given me more confidence to speak out more