Work Related Learning
Work-Related Learning Co-ordinators use our services to help them:
- Plan WRL activities that target specific skills/knowledge/understanding
- Track WRL delivered by their teachers in lessons across the curriculum
- Record evidence of all the WRL/Enterprise Education in their school
- Analyse coverage of the QCA WRL Framework and identify gaps in provision
- Share WRL information with their senior managers and heads of departments
- Impress parents and Ofsted inspectors with interesting reports
We'd love to chat to you about the assistance we have on offer - so please feel free to call one of our education consultants on 0115 929 3419. However, if you'd rather learn more by reading about our services - please continue below...
Before we explain how we offer such assistance, let's set the scene with some key information about work-related learning....(Click here to skip this information.)
What is Work-Related Learning (WRL)?
The DSCF defined work-related learning as:
Planned activity that uses the context of work to develop knowledge, skills and understanding useful in work, including learning through the experience of work, learning about work and working practices, and learning the skills for work.
Notice how the activities should be "planned" and cover a wide range of employability and enterprise skills. The DSCF also stated that work-related learning should be delivered "across the curriculum and cover a wide range of activities, including enterprise education and work experience placements."
What's included in WRL?
So it's not just work experience placements - various types of activities are included in work-related learning, here are a few examples...(mouseover them to reveal more information).
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Who's involved in WRL delivery?
Work-related learning should be delivered in partnership with other stakeholders:- Local and regional employers
- Education Business Partnership Organisations (EBPOs)
- Local Authorities
- External Advisors
- In-school trainers and mentors
- Enterprise Co-ordinators
Work-related learning should not be isolated to a few bolt-on activities that take place in specific time-table slots and delivered by 'guest speakers'. It should be embedded in the core of curriculum and delivered by every teacher in every subject. THE DSCF highlighted the following benefits when this takes place:
"
Work-related learning benefits teachers, tutors, trainers, mentors and others who
are directly involved in delivering it, by:
• improving learner outcomes;
• helping them to connect the subjects they teach to the world of work;
• contributing to their professional development and management skills.
"
Is WRL statutory?
Yes, work-related learning is statutory at Key Stage 4 of the secondary curriculum. The statutory requirement is there to make sure that all Key Stage 4 learners have access to suitable and high quality work-related learning opportunities as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.
What is the QCA WRL Framework?
Not only is work-related learning statutory - but all programmes provided by schools must ‘have regard to’ the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) guidance.
This nine point framework covers the range of work-related learning opportunities that would deliver the Key Stage 4 statutory requirement. An interesting point is made clear - schools are given the responsibility of deciding how, and in what form they provide opportunities. It's important to note that Ofsted also use this framework as the basis for carrying out inspections of work-related learning.
Does it include Enterprise Education?
Yes, enterprise education is described as "part of work-related learning as well as an output from it". It incorporates ‘enterprise capability’, supported by ‘financial capability’ and ‘economic and business understanding’.
In summary...
Work-related learning is:
- Statutory at Key Stage 4
- governed by the QCA nine point framework and inspected by Ofsted
- to provide learners with employability skills, knowledge and understanding
- delivered through a whole range of activities and initiatives
- facilitated by various teachers, trainers, mentors, employers
- inclusive of enterprise education!
With something so important, covering so many skills, delivered through so many approaches , involving so many people - it's no wonder it's tricky to keep control!
Work-Related Learning Co-ordinators use our services to help them:
- Plan WRL activities that target specific skills/knowledge/understanding
- Track WRL delivered by their teachers in lessons across the curriculum
- Record evidence of all the WRL/Enterprise Education in their school
- Analyse coverage of the QCA WRL Framework and identify gaps in provision
- Share WRL information with their senior managers and heads of departments
- Impress parents and Ofsted inspectors with interesting reports
1. Planning WRL activities to target specific skills/knowledge/understanding
Due to the fact that WRL covers such a wide spectrum of employability and enterprise skills it can prove challenging to organise a calendar of events designed to provide learners with sufficient opportunities to develop them all.
To assist co-ordinators in their planning processes - we've mapped out all the employability and enterprise skills in a visual and interactive grid and then provided a quick and easy tool to add events to that grid. It makes the perfect planning tool!
Try GridMaker for yourself and see exactly how it can help you plan your WRL events - call us on 0115 929 3419 or complete this web form to request a free, no-commitment trial.
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2. Tracking WRL delivered by teachers in lessons across the curriculum
As we've discussed, all teachers have a responsibility to consider how their subject relates to the world of work and adapt their teaching to deliver employability and enterprise skills alongside the curriculum content.
It's often the case that this is already happening in various lessons across the curriculum - yet there's no central place to map or record the evidence.
We've developed a number of simple and effective tools that inform, encourage and equip teachers to make the most of WRL delivered in their lessons.
We've even developed plenary tools that enable teachers to capture evidence as part of the teaching process in their lesson!
See for yourself how we've managed to achieve this - call us on 0115 929 3419 or complete this web form to request a free, no-commitment trial.
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3. Recording evidence of all WRL/Enterprise Education
The diverse settings involved in the delivery of WRL make recording evidence a difficult task. Once an activity has taken place, if the method of recording evidence isn't quick and simple - then details normally go un-recorded.
We've worked closely with hundreds of schools to fine tune our methods and make sure that even the busiest and 'over-worked' co-ordinators are able to capture and map valuable evidence.
Don't take our word for it, have a try yourself - call us on 0115 929 3419 or complete this web form to request a free, no-commitment trial.
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4. Analysing coverage of the WRL framework to identify gaps in provision
Whether it's the nine elements of the QCA framework or a list of enterprise skills and capabilities there's likely to be a definitive set of criteria that needs to be completely covered by work-related learning in your school.
The visual and interactive grid that we help you build, maps out your work-related learning - making it extremely easy to see how you are covering this criteria and identify any gaps in provision.
The grid also highlights criteria or skills that you're duplicating! With school budgets stretched and off timetable slots more valuable then ever - you need to make sure that you're not organising unnecessary activities which deliver skills that have already been covered.
It only takes a few minutes for us to show you exactly how we do this - call us on 0115 929 3419 or complete this web form to request a free, no-commitment trial.
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5. Sharing valuable data with senior managers and heads of departments
As WRL is statutory at Key Stage 4 - you're head teacher and other senior managers will no doubt be interested in it's delivery and want to see ongoing reports. Collecting and organising information, then putting together reports can be extremely time consuming and labour intensive.
We've developed a range of tools that will automatically create informative reports that you can share with senior managers and heads of departments. You can choose to create printable PDFs or give read-access to your Grid.
We'd like to impress you with a sample - call us on 0115 929 3419 or complete this web form to request a free, no-commitment trial.
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6. Impressing parents and Ofsted with interesting reports
Parents and Ofsted inspectors can easily ascertain how subject-based, curriculum content is being delivered to learners - however it can be much more challenging to demonstrate how they are being given access to a wide range of skills associated with employment.
Our methods of capturing and sharing evidence and the software systems we provide make it incredibly simple to keep parents and Ofsted informed.
To see how you can impress Ofsted and parents at your school - call us on 0115 929 3419 or complete this web form to request a free, no-commitment trial.
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