Success stories
Words for Work at Brighton Aldridge Community Academy
30 Jun 2011
Wayne Portbury from Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club who volunteered on Words for Work at BACA said,
“The teacher and the volunteers have all really benefited from the experience. The students were extremely grateful for the support that the volunteers have given and thanked them and spoke of wanting to work with the volunteers again. The teacher was evidently emotionally pleased by the response of the students and their achievements, and I witnessed her reviewing her teaching style in light of the WFW experience. The volunteers have all expressed their desire to volunteer again and have since emailed me to ask whether there are other opportunities to volunteer.”
Students and business volunteers who took part in the second pilot year of Words for Work have had a thought-provoking experience. The group who participated on the project had low literacy levels and very low self esteem. It was a challenge for the volunteers to get the pupils to feel comfortable with them but their commitment paid off and 77% of pupils said they developed their listening skills during the project, 62% developed their team work skills, 54% made new friends and 62% had fun!
Teacher Dawn Glastonbury was thrilled with the impact of the project on her pupils,
“I wasn’t sure if they would engage but they’ve loved having the volunteers in. They’ve got more confidence to talk now and I’ve seen them working independently. That’s a big step forward for them.”
Words for Work, the National Literacy Trust’s innovative speaking and listening pilot is coming to the end of the second year. The key drivers of Words for Work are to impact on young people’s communication skills and employability. You can keep up to date with how the project has developed by taking a look at some case studies. Your school can participate in Words for Work by ordering the Words for Work resource.
