Coventry City Council commissioned Progressive Educational Tools (PET) to develop a project to engage with young people over the summer holidays. The objective of the programme was to engage very vulnerable and highly disengaged young people through a varied and interesting programme with qualifications as the outcome at the end of the summer holiday. Many of these students had very poor attendance in school during the year, but opted to spend their own time working with us. In particular, we were asked to work with a group of Looked After Children and young people from the Pupil Referral Unit.
Our Solution
We created a dynamic skills-based learning programme involving business engagement and enterprise, and the students loved it! For two days per week each group worked on a variety of enjoyable learning experiences. The programme included producing artwork and learning how to digitise images using design software with a local young graphic designer. In the second week they worked together to plan an event for the end of the programme where they produced promotional material, planned an art exhibition and the day itself. They invited local business people, people who work with young people, and their friends.
The young people also worked together on a retail challenge where they bought various goods at wholesale to combine together, sell at the event, and keep any profits! Towards the end of the programme all the young people were given a budget for a make-over, in time for the final event/party. This helped to raise their confidence and self-esteem, and was a great reward for their hard work on the qualifications.
- They all worked hard to gain their Wider Key Skills, most of them at Level 2, equivalent to 1 ¾ GCSEs.
For the first time in his life, our student really engaged with this programme, and it was definitely a turning point for him.
St Margaret’s YMCA
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