Curriculum Intent

The Prince’s Trust qualification in Personal Development and Employability Skills is part of our alternative curriculum for selected students. The qualification recognises the breadth of personal skills, qualities and attitudes required by employers across a range of sectors. It has been developed with the aim of progressing learners into further education and/or employment. It gives learners the opportunity to:

• Develop their own personal growth and engagement, in and through learning.
• Engage in learning that is relevant to them and support their development of personal skills and attributes that are essential for working life and employment.
• Prepare themselves for progression into further education programmes, apprenticeships or other work-based learning.
• Engage in SMSC and PD themes through lessons and active learning.

Key Stage 4 overview

St Thomas’s Centre provides an optional personalised learning program at Key Stage 4 consisting of:

Career Planning: The aim of this unit is to give the learner an understanding of the job search, application and interview process in order to equip them with the skills necessary to progress onto a sustainable job/training opportunity that is suited to their interests. It is an opportunity for learners to think about careers they may wish to pursue, and reflect upon the training, education and experience required in that profession.

Community Impact: The aim of this unit is to enable learners to consider the needs of their community and consider how the community can be supported. Learners will plan and carry out a project to support a chosen community through direct or indirect support. As part of the planning, the learners should have some involvement in selecting the project undertaken. The community impact project will be undertaken by a group of learners and as such, they will look at how the skills within the group can be used to complete the project by dividing up the different roles and responsibilities.

Experiencing the World of Work: The aim of the unit is for the learner to develop their skills in, and understanding of, the workplace by preparing for, attending and reviewing a work experience placement. It is also an opportunity for learners to obtain a work reference which they may find useful in the future. Increasingly there is more and more research demonstrating how important work experience is in helping learners move into paid employment. While completing this unit learners will consider what they will gain by undertaking a work experience placement, how they can best prepare for that experience, and what they gained by completing it.

Teamwork Skills: The aim of this unit is to help the learner develop team working skills by understanding the roles and ways of working within a team to achieve a shared goal. Learners will have the opportunity to experience working as part of a team to practice teamwork skills. This unit lends itself particularly well to being integrated with other aspects of the learner’s wider programme.

Wellbeing – Physical Activity: This unit enables learners to explore and understand the benefits of being physically active as part of a healthy lifestyle. Learners will take part in a range of physical activities and be encouraged to think about introducing higher levels of physical activity into their own lives.

Assessment:

To be successful, learners will complete a range of units that make up the qualification. Each unit is based on active learning and learners log their learning and experiences in unit workbooks. The Qualification is offered at Entry level 3, Level 1 and Level 2 and successful learners will achieve either the Award or Certificate depending on the learners’ pace of learning.