Crosshill School’s post 16 provision places a strong emphasis on providing students with work and social experiences in the local community. Staff feel very strongly that giving students these life experiences helps equip them for life after post 16, but also gives them a sense of belonging in their local communities. The impact on students is far reaching and for some of them, gives them an opportunity to experience things that they may not normally be able to access. A small selection of some of the activities students are taking part in this year are detailed below:
- Working on a pop-up stall at Blackburn Market – this supports students to develop an understanding of working in retail and money transactions. It also gives them lots of opportunities to communicate with members of the public and develop their confidence.
- Regularly accessing a number of sport and fitness sessions within the community. Not only does this help students from a health perspective, but it also allows them to explore the different services that will be available to them after post 16 and meet new people who may be part of their next steps into adult life.
- Students travel into town on the bus on a regular basis to support them to travel as independently as possible in the future. They develop skills of being able to use a bus pass, identifying correct buses and knowing where to get off at.
- During the visits to town, students complete activities such as shopping for food or personal items, accessing cafes and leisure services and getting to know their way around.
- Volunteering opportunities – in order for students to gain a greater understanding of the world of work, we arrange a number of opportunities for them to volunteer. For instance, we work with the charity Benefit Mankind to help them pack food parcels and winter care packages, we participate in the Keeping Blackburn Tidy initiative by litter picking in the Audley area and we clean at Height Nook, the residential activity centre owned by Girlguiding.
“Our aim at Post 16 is twofold. As well as ensuring that our students receive the correct level of education for their needs, we also want to make their transition into adulthood as seamless as possible.
“By developing important life skills within the local community, our impact on students can be immense. Our community work helps them to foster a sense of belonging within their local community and I am always immensely proud of the confident, young adults that leave us at the end of their time at Post 16.”
Mrs Kelly Smith, Head of Post 16