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More information on truancy and school exclusions
Notschool.net is an online community which aims to engage
teenagers who are out of school in the long term into learning.
Between 500 and 700 young people are involved each year.
Although work can be set, produced and assessed online, the
idea is that it is not at all like school: the learners are
called 'researchers' and the teachers are 'mentors'. There
are also subject 'experts', 'buddies' (undergraduate or post
graduate students who offer support) and 'governors', prominent
people who did not get on well at school. Agencies like the
Science Museum and WWF (World Wildlife Fund) have been involved
in producing the learning material.
All of the researchers are provided with an iMac computer,
printer and constant internet access at home, with access
to other equipment such as a digital camera, scanner and graphics
tablet, and technical support. The software is provided through
Oracle's Think.com and provides a secure place where the young
people can show their work and develop their own web pages
using prose and poetry, graphics and music. Researchers may
never meet mentors, but can communicate with them and with
other researchers through 'stickies' (virtual sticky notes).
Ultralab, the learning and technology research centre at Anglia
Polytechnic University, manages the project and in 2001 produced
its Notschool.net Research Phase Final Report. This found
that most of the researchers had very low levels of literacy
when they joined the project, with some being unable to key
in 'Hi' or 'Hello'. The project mapped the development of
literacy through the use of stickies, and found "clear
learning gains".
It took around three months for a young person to become
fully engaged in the project and to develop self-motivation
and confidence, but once engaged, improvement was fast and
there were many requests for access to GCSE and other courses.
Over 50% of researchers in the initial phase achieved some
sort of formal accreditation and over 30% of those who had
reached school leaving age wished to stay involved.
Notschool.net is working with the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority to develop new forms of accreditation using new
technologies, for example assessing Key Stage 3 ICT by having
the researchers produce an electronic portfolio and justify
its contents using their mobile phones, to develop their oral
language skills.
The project is aimed not only at those excluded from school,
but also at young people who do not attend because they have
been bullied, are phobic, ill or pregnant, although they may
still be quite willing to learn. It was found that Notschool.net
does not work for those who are in short-term care placements
or temporary hostel accommodation, are completely disengaged
from learning, or are living in a severely dysfunctional family
where there is no support from any carer. However, an unexpected
effect of the project is that where family members do have
a spark of interest, they have often become involved in learning
too.
Notschool.net is being run in several local authorities,
and has found that a single LEA link person with sufficient
seniority and local knowledge is a key ingredient in the project's
success.
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