Cardiff Pupil Referral Units

Working in partnership with Cardiff Council and construction contractor Centregreat, we worked through the Cardiff Commitment to help boost ambition and skills in young people according to the needs and opportunities within industries, like construction, on their doorstep in Wales.

Their ambition is to provide sustained work experience opportunities and engagement with employers, rather than ad hoc visits. We delivered three one day workshops at Greenhill School, a Special School in Cardiff, supporting students who may have struggled in mainstream education through behaviour, special educational needs and/or experienced trauma in their lives.

XX students were supported by a VIY Lead Mentor to learn carpentry skills, in order to build wooden furniture to improve their own school environment, and boost their learning/aspirations outside of mainstream education.

All materials were donated by Travis Perkins Cardiff South.

One student said:

“I initially thought today was going to be stupid and a waste of my time. Now I’ve made the bench I’m thinking it was 100% worth my time. I have actually learnt something new. Today has given me purpose and I’ve socialised too.”

See what hands-on work experience means to Greenhill School

Waverley College

The Elizabethan Academy

Eko Pathways School

Haringey Learning Partnership

Westside School

Woodbridge Park

New Directions & Phoenix Pupil Referral Unit

Chapel-en-le-Frith High School

Chapel-en-le-Frith School is one of 100 secondary schools across England that took part in VIY’s Mentoring Programme, supported by The Careers & Enterprise Company, since 2017.

The Mentoring Programme is targeted at students in Years 8-11 and designed to develop early awareness of the building and construction sector as a relevant and rewarding career pathway. The programme typically involved three interactions for students over one term with their VIY Mentors: two introductory skills workshops and then an on-site building project, identified/nominated by the students.

At Chapel-en-le-Frith, 34 students were selected by their teachers to participate, and for their project the students decided to renovate the school allotment. This included the building of new raised beds/planters and potting benches, and improving wheelchair access. Over two days each student completed 12 Guided Learning Hours working with their Mentors, successfully achieving an Entry Level 3 City & Guilds carpentry accreditation in the process.

Pre and post evaluation revealed that the students, in addition to developing new vocational trade skills, had also increased their confidence levels across seven key softer employability skills over the course of the programme, including teamwork and expressing their ideas and opinions.

Don Valley Academy

See what happened when we created a memorial garden for the students of Don Valley School, with the help of 15 of their very own students learning carpentry and joinery as they go, and earning an Entry Level 3 City & Guilds accreditation. All part of our VIY Mentoring Programme, supported by the Careers & Enterprise Company working with 100 secondary schools across England since 2017.

Just one of Guy Martin’s mini-series on Channel 4, Building Britain, travelling to four VIY projects across the country to meet the young people we mentor in trade skills whilst renovating community spaces.

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