Today’s sixth form students are tomorrow's leaders. With this in mind we provide a variety of ways for our sixth form students to show their leadership potential.
Mentoring Programme
Mentoring plays an important role at Outwood Academy Hemsworth and last year we had lots of 1-2-1 mentor sessions running throughout the week during tutor time, as well hour long sessions to support students with literacy and reading skills. This year, due to the current Covid-19 restrictions we are having to think outside the box about ways of mentoring, however we are all enjoying the challenges that these unusual circumstances are presenting. We have managed to think of new, innovative ways of providing support and guidance to our students.
So far, we have created lots of resources that were used during Anti-bullying week for all tutor groups from years 7-10. These ranged from videos to watch, to activities to complete, and allowed students to express their concerns around bullying. We have also started running our Peer Pen Pals group, which students can self refer to. This allows students to write to a mentor weekly, and allows them to receive support and guidance on a range of things that may crop up in academy life.
As the year continues, we hope to expand and improve on the mentoring we are able to provide.
We are currently in the process of getting tootoot up and running. This is an app where any student in the school can send a message through and be assigned to a peer mentor to receive some support. This is another example of how we have adapted the program to fit to the current education setting.
Student Voice
It is always important for students to have the opportunity to have their views and ideas heard. Our Head Boy and Head Girl represent the students in Post 16 and regularly meet with the Post 16 team and with senior leaders to discuss new ideas and upcoming events.
Students are always encouraged and provided with lots of opportunities to get involved in different aspects of student life. Many students (pre-covid) would provide support in lessons for years 7 - 11. There are always lots of volunteering and charity events that students are able to take part in. One of our most popular volunteering activities studying sport support in PE lessons and in extra-curricular activities. Post 16 students are always on hand to support at public events and act as ambassadors. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the school productions, music events and the school choir.