HeppSY+ Schools and Colleges Get Together at Latest Network Meeting
On Wednesday 31st January, representatives from HeppSY+ schools and colleges across South Yorkshire gathered at a network meeting. Attendees had the opportunity to see the other schools and colleges involved, share experiences and information, and network with one another. 100% of HeppSY+ schools and colleges attended the event with 81 representatives from 38 schools and colleges.
The January network meeting opened with HeppSY+ staff sharing the success of the programme so far, including 36 schools and 6 colleges engaged, all 45 target wards engaged, 21 higher education Graduate Interns in position in schools and colleges and over 10,000 baseline surveys returned.
The Brilliant Club launched their Research Based Curricula project which connects cutting-edge academic research from local universities to the teaching of the curriculum in local classrooms. The project creates resources for teachers to use to stretch and challenge pupils.
This was followed by a ‘HeppSY+ in action’ presentation from Jenny Cassy from Fir Vale School in Sheffield. Jenny discussed the demographic of the cohort at Fir Vale and the aspiration issues the school faces. She went on to discuss the methods they had used to collect their baseline surveys including using them as a learning resource for Maths and Literacy.
Next the schools and colleges in attendance were presented with the latest activity offers available to HeppSY+ schools, including:
- a visit from the Mobile Classroom
- late application UCAS support sessions
- motivational talks from PUSH
- two-day confidence-building residentials at the Kingswood outdoor learning centre for Y11s
- summer school opportunities
- Future First alumni activity
(If you are a HeppSY+ school or college and would like more information about any of the activities mentioned please contact: n.nibbs@shu.ac.uk in the first instance.)
Attendees were then updated on current HeppSY+ initiatives:
- the HEPA (Higher Education Progression Advisors) careers guidance offer
- the Business in the Community ‘Fly High’ business mentor project
- the HE Can project for white boys most at risk of missing out on higher education
The session closed with a thank you to all HeppSY+ schools and colleges.
Commenting on the session, Director of Hepp, Mike Garnock Jones said: ‘Getting all the schools and colleges together is a great opportunity to share experience and best practice. I think this session was our most valuable so far with some really positive outcomes and next steps planned for the future.’
One of the presenting organisations at the meeting said: ‘We’d like to thank HeppSY+ for having us at the Network Meeting. It was great to see the work that HeppSY+ are doing and to begin to speak to teachers in their target schools and colleges.’
The next Network Meeting will be on Thursday 26th April 4:00pm – 6:00pm at The Source.
