In Jordan's fourth reflection blog, he writes about Leeds West Academy's SPACE Day. He shares:
SPACE Day at Leeds West Academy provides a very different style of learning. Students follow a specially constructed timetable covering everything from drugs and alcohol and sexual health, to bullying and revision techniques. The day itself revolves around the PSHE curriculum with which the school is expected to deliver, although it can be challenging to fit around the typical weekly timetable.
I supported the Sixth Form for the bulk of the day by shadowing one single teacher. We began registering a group of Year 7 students in the morning, guiding them to their first activity of the day and then heading to the room where we would be based. From there, my role for the day was to chat to Sixth Form students about their future plans and the reality of being at university. This proved to be quite rewarding for me, in that I was able to relate to the students having gone through the same process only a few years ago. Fellow members of staff said it was useful having me in the class, to be able to share current experiences of university life and decisions around financing and travelling.
I felt that I was able to support one girl in particular, who was interested in English at Liverpool – as I was also studying this course, I felt I could offer her a wealth of knowledge about the course structure and the atmosphere on campus. I helped other students throughout the day in researching their chosen courses/pathways, and suggested routes to research such as scholarships and work experience opportunities, to work towards their Unit 3 Progression module. However, this one girl seemed interested and I advised her to look around and use this time to research a variety of universities (and attend some open days) before she finishes this academic year. I was satisfied here because it made me feel like I had been able to make a real difference, even if this seemed to be focused on one particular student.
