Rise and Shine
is funded by Connexions and is part of the Activity Agreement
pilot (AAP), for which the young people have been NEET
for 20 weeks to qualify. It is targeted at 16-17 year olds
in Wirral who have for some reason fallen outside of education
or work with a particular emphasis on those with special
needs, learning difficulties or disabilities. We provide
access to advice and support to enable them to enter the
labour market or further education while addressing any
barriers.
Rise and Shine is about:
- Supporting ideas and overcoming challenges
- Making the clients choices work for them
- Getting to where they want to be
- Friendly, fun, flexible and informal programmes to suit
the pace and needs of the clients.
The Rise and Shine Project is based on the Rise project, however the
age range is generally much lower and, therefore, the interests and life
experiences of those attending are entirely different. Many of the clients
have special needs and each one is assessed before commencing the programme
so that the course can be tailored to meet these special needs. For example
a young person could have learning difficulties or a disability which
has excluded them from participating fully in education or work and their
particular needs are borne in mind when the modules take place.
Rise and Shine focuses upon developing the ‘soft skills’ of
the candidates. The programme seeks to address any past experiences of
discrimination, lack of confidence and feeling unable to carry out training
or work in the usual way. This is tailored to young people by being delivered
in non traditional settings, as much away from the formal “boring
classroom” style as possible. Work placements are arranged towards
the end of the course to enable the young people to build
on what they have learned; their improved confidence and
they are based on the interests
of the individual.
Rise and Shine is a 10 week programme of one and a half days a week.
This equates to 8 hours per week training and 8 hours per week of self
directed study, resulting in an Aset NVQ 1 certificate the programme covers
a range of topics including off site visits to help build confidence,
recognise skills and develop new ones and support to help clients meet
their goals.
To gain a certificate the learner will be required to complete 40 hours
of coursework relating to five/seven of the topics listed below. The candidates
will be able to identify which topics they are putting forward for assessment.
This is applied so that there is some flexibility built into the programme
to help support the needs of the candidates.
Ideally the young person will have accessed support available from Connexions
which would have given them some idea of what they wish to do. Developing
working relationships with Connexions Personal Advisers has been an important
part of the holistic support of the young person.
The programme outline for the 10 weeks is:
Week 1 Goals
Week 2 Skills
Week 3 Confidence Building
Week 4 Team working
Week 5 Observation visit
Week 6 Working towards the ideal job
Week 7 Employment Rights and Responsibilities
Week 8 Working for yourself
Week 9 Work Placements
Week 10 Action Planning and Evaluation
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