The Power of Fellowship Connections

I was struck by just how powerful the work of a few individuals can be to create and sustain an idea following a meeting recently with Ian Jamie, a Fellow and School Governor at Whitley Academy.  Through personal experience and insight of the local situation he has begun to work with the Academy to help support Year 12 students as they begin to consider their next steps.  Having experienced the power of support from a network of alumni and family friends as he developed his career he has seen the value of connectivity.  Ian and the staff that are working with the 6th form are keen to take the best from their experiences to offer similar opportunities for 6th form students at Whitley Academy.

As students move into 6^th forms, colleges and work the need to focus their minds is increasingly encouraged.  Choices and decisions are looming and it is school, families and friends that offer support and advice.  Recent work from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has highlighted that young people and families rarely suffer from a lack of aspirations but what if students families and friends have limited experiences of the wide career options available?

At Whitley Academy Ian Jamie and the Academy staff will be offering further support to Year 12 students.  He has worked with the school to create a programme to help students explore where they want to go after Whitley Academy.  As Temi Ogunye notes in his blog about school networks it is important to “provide opportunities for [students] by creating the conditions within which useful connections can be made and enriching experiences can be had.”

This is the overarching aim for the work in Coventry.  The Academy has identified career connections for all its Year 12 students.  Through personal and community networks the staff and governors have begun to draw up a list of supporters to offer advice, encouragement and links with the world of work.

On Thursday 21^st of March they will be taking the next step by hosting a targeted careers session for the 6^th form to help foster these connections. Ian is hoping to encourage further support from another powerful network that we all know about.  I have been tasked with seeking out a number of Fellows from our 27,000 strong network to offer support and time to students, so if you see richard.pickford@rsa.org.uk or @pickfordrich in your inbox you know what might be coming next.  If you have any of your own ideas for supporting students across the RSA Academies then please contact me.  The RSA will be running open roadshows at each of the sponsored schools across the next two terms.  The first was held yesterday on Monday, 4^th of February at RSA Arrow Vale and Ipsley Academies.  Watch this space for a report about this event.