Football Development Officer Mr Brooksbank at the college is delighted with James Johnson’s enthusiasm, work ethic and commitment to the programme.  James has worked alongside Mr Brooksbank during visits to the likes of Darlington Football Club, County Durham Football Association, County Durham Sport and Ferryhill Sports Development Team, during which he interviews coaches to find out more about how they work, always keeping a diary of responses for future reference. 

James Johnson, 15, from Trimdon, is interested in working within sport as a future career, chose to study sport to gain knowledge and experience about the industry before taking his options further.  He has certainly done that. 

Through his work experience, organised by Durham Education Business Partnership, James has also volunteered to join a project with Trimdon Junior School.  He coaches up to 30 girls who are forming a new team. They will be joining Trimdon Utd FC and he will be staying with them and working as a volunteer coach. This has led to him joining the Football Association young volunteers programme where he is rewarded for his volunteer hours.

 Mr Brooksbank commented ‘In such a short time James has already been an excellent ambassador for the college.  James has been a huge success in his placement and I’d have no hesitation in writing a reference for him as his time keeping, appearance and work ethic is superb’.

 James, from Trimdon is now on work experience with The Gym in Fishburn gaining more experience and putting his newly acquired skills into practise.

Photo:  James Johnson outside his school, Sedgefield Community College

Bank volunteers Clare Connolly (left) and Sandra Shelley (right) work with students from Belmont Junior School.

Barclays Bank volunteers have been putting primary school students to the test to raise their financial awareness and capabilities. 

The ‘Money Skills’ programme, organised by Durham Education Business Partnership and supported by the bank’s volunteers, involved 60 students from Belmont Junior School trying to improve their money skills via a range of activities throughout the session. 

The programme aims to help participants gain skills, knowledge and confidence about money, whether it is sticking to a budget, or longer-term challenges like understanding the financial implications of life choices you make about education, training or work. 

Barclays Money Skills is their long-term commitment to increasing the financial capability of young people and is delivered in partnership with a range of organisations across the UK. 

The sessions have been held in primary and secondary schools across County Durham including Wolsingham School and Community College, Durham Gilesgate Sports College & Sixth Form Centre and St Mary Magdelen RC VA Primary School, Seaham.  Business and Learning Co-ordinator Sandra Stephenson from Durham EBP confirmed the success of the programme having received very positive feedback from both schools staff and students.

Photo: Andy Bruce, District Fire Station Manager (left), presents winning team Barron Land UK Developments with their awards - Hannah Barron, Tom Aldred and Andrew Wilson.

A team of students from Staindrop Business and Enterprise College cleverly designed their way to victory in a challenge to create a new design concept for the new Fire Station in Bishop Auckland.  

Budding design enthusiasts from the school had the opportunity to work with Durham County Council’s Planning Services and Bishop Auckland Community Fire Station to develop their own designs for the fire station as part of the ‘Planning in the Community Challenge’ organised by Durham Education Business Partnership. 

From the four teams involved, Barron Land UK Developments were chosen as the winning team, with members Hannah Barron, Tom Aldred and Andrew Wilson all being awarded with a certificate and trophy. 

Other awards went to Adele Willis for Best Design Concept, Jack Welsh for Best Research and James Ebdon for Excellent Leadership. 

Andy Bruce, District Fire Station Manager supported the project along with Fire Station staff.  The project enabled students to work in partnership with Durham County Council and their local community, really bringing their learning into the workplace. The project briefs and resource materials were provided by Planning Services at Durham County Council. Andy and his Colleague Dominic Brown, Assistant Fire Station District Manager were included on the judging panel along with Durham County Council and Chris Padgett from Christopher Padgett Architects, who also contributed to the project. 

The challenge formed part of the Learning the Business programme, organised by Durham EBP to enable young people to apply their classroom learning into the workplace.  It is envisaged that this project will run next academic year. 

For more information about Learning the Business contact Cheryl Stirk at Durham EBP on 01325 375973.

: Samantha (centre) receives her certificate and prize from Jane Ritchie (right) supported by her teacher Caroline Larsen from The Education Village.

The Work Place, a purpose work related learning centre has celebrated the visit of its 4000^th student! 

Year 10 student Samantha Laing from The Education Village, Darlington was at The Work Place to take part in an Incident Day which deals with the issues around a road traffic accident, when she discovered she was actually the 4000^th student to visit the centre.  To celebrate Samantha was awarded with an appropriate gift of 4000 pennies (£40), by Jane Ritchie, MBE, creator of The Work Place.  Samantha was surprised but delighted to be the recipient. 

Since opening in September 2008, students have flocked into the centre to experience a range of interactive learning opportunities, a facility unique in the North East.  Schools spread from North Yorkshire to Northumberland have so far visited the centre since it opened and with bookings coming in thick and fast, the future looks very bright.  

The Incident Day was also a great success.  120 regional students from Bedale High School, North Yorkshire, Gillbrook Technology College, Middlesbrough, St Hild’s Secondary School, Hartlepool, The Education Village, Darlington and The English Martyrs School, Hartlepool attended the day which focused on a road traffic accident, the result of teenage drink driving.  It proved to be a thought provoking day, conveying a clear safety message to young people.  Supported by Durham & Darlington Fire and Rescue, Durham Constabulary, Durham County Council and Medical Services North East, the students were able to be part of interactive workshops throughout the day.

 DEBP Newsletter 2010

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Photo: (from left to right): Penny Hudson, Sandra Brennen and Jessica Gibson just after completing their challenge.

Three Durham Education Business Partnership staff have just returned from China after completing the 10^th women only challenge for the charity Women for Women. 

Sandra Brennen, Jessica Gibson and Penny Hudson joined Professor Robert Winston for the challenge to fund groundbreaking medical research work at the Wolfston and Weston Research Centre for Family Health in London.  They signed up for the challenge last year and after months of fundraising activities they managed to raise the £10,000 to take part. 

They were among a group of 71 women who cycled for five days covering 404kms which involved cycling through growing local towns in developing areas of China, tackling hilly terrain and cycling alongside The Great Wall with spectacular views. 

Jess said “This was an adventure of a lifetime; we had a truly amazing experience and met some wonderful women.  We were lucky enough to experience Chinese culture through talking to the local people and visiting some of China’s wonders including The Great Wall and Forbidden City”. 

Their thanks go out to all family, friends and work colleagues for supporting them with their fundraising and training as without the support of the people around them they would never have had the opportunity to take part in such an incredible challenge.

‘The Apprentice’ proved to be a great recruitment tool. Original intentions were to offer one student the opportunity to join the ThyssenKrupp Tallent team however they were so impressed by the quality of the students involved that 4 students secured contracts. 

The students took up their new posts in September and have recently completed an outward bound team building course with ThysennKrupp Tallent staff. David Pearson from the HR Dept said “ThysssenKrupp Tallent believe that Apprentices form the lifeblood of the organisation and this model has given us an alternative approach to recruiting young people, allowing us to get a much greater understanding of the individuals over a longer period of time. In addition to this the young people who took part also gain an appreciation of the skills required to be successful in the world of work. I have no doubts that these young people will prove to be an asset to the Company which was reinforced during the recent team building programme.”

Bradley Saunders, one of the students involved commented: “Earning this contract has given me a fantastic opportunity in life to be successful in the Engineering industry. It is something that I could only have dreamed of before.”

Bradley and the other successful students, Bradley Harrison. Lee Wright and Jack Charlton are certainly looking forward to a bright future with the company.

The project was so successful that ThyssenKrupp Tallent aim to repeat the process again this year in the hope of providing more opportunities young people.

‘The Apprentice’ was part of the Learning The Business Programme, coordinated by Durham Education Business Partnership. Anyone wishing to find out more information about the programme should contact Cheryl Stirk at cheryl.stirk@durham.gov.uk. 

Kieran (right) with Doug at the garage

A student who started a work experience placement two years ago in an effort to engage him into working life, has been rewarded with a job offer! 

Sixteen year old Kieran Robinson from Stanley School of Technology undertook a one week placement in April 2008 with D&R Tyres at Kip Hill, Stanley to gain skills and experience in preparation for his future career. The placement, organised by the Work Experience Team at Durham Education Business Partnership, went from strength to strength and two years on he’s all set to become a fully-fledged employee at the garage. 

Kieran is delighted with the news.  He said “I’m really pleased to have been offered the job as I’m learning all of the time.  I never expected it but I was delighted when Doug said he’d take me on.” 

Garage owner Doug Macdonald is similarly pleased with the outcome, saying ”Kieran has grown into the job over the past two years.  I could tell he had vocational talent when he completed his week’s placement back in 2008.  He’s a quick learner and we got on well from the start He then started an extended placement with me two days a week and I encouraged him to go to college to further the theory side of his education.” 

D&R Tyres have offered work experience placements since 2004 and asked if he would recommend offering placements to school students, Doug added “Definately, the positives far outweigh any negatives and I’ve ended up with a good member of staff.” 

Durham EBP and Stanley School of Technology have worked together for many years, building partnerships with local employers to develop new ways of working together to help prepare students for working life.   This partnership has certainly paid off, Stanley School are delighted for Kieran and wish him all the best for the future.  Engagement Programme Manager at the school Gary Jude said “A lot of work goes into supporting students out on work experience, outcomes like this make it very worthwhile.  Keiran’s worked hard to make his placement a success, he deserves this opportunity.”  

For more details about the Work Experience programme contact Jaqui Gardiner at Durham EBP on 01325 375963 or at jaqui.gardiner@durham.gov.uk.

Patrick meets with Marion Ingleby from Durham County Council’s Policy & Planning Department.

A student from Germany has recently spent three weeks in Durham to experience working life in Britain and improve his English along the way! 

Eighteen year old Patrick Schreiber from Krefeld in Germany contacted Durham Education Business Partnership about planning his trip.  They were able to host his stay and organise valuable work experience in the city.  He spent two weeks working with the Assistant Chief Executives office at County Hall and one week with the Connexions service at Claypath. 

Patrick was keen to improve his English and thought the best way would be to spend time working with those who speak it as their first language. Patrick said the English teachers in his school were very good, but he has realised that their pronunciation was quite different from the Durham accents! 

Jaqui Gardiner, Work Experience Manager at Durham Education Business Partnership said ‘Patrick got in touch with me back in September 2009 and was very keen on coming to the UK. From his emails I got the impression he was highly committed to his education including his English language development, he also studies Chinese and Spanish. He has arranged his own transport and accommodation and I have been able to arrange two excellent work placements opportunities for him. He very kindly brought me a book about Krefeld so I could see there were big differences between his home city and Durham.’ 

Whilst at County Hall Patrick was able to assist with research projects, summary reports on government policy and translations.  Roger Goodes, Head of DCC Policy and Communications said of Patrick’s visit ‘Patrick’s language and communication skills were excellent, it has been a pleasure to have had him working with us’ 

Working with Connexions Patrick was able to see what help is available here for young people like him and went to along to Durham Sixth Form Centre with the advisors when the A-level results were released.  Pat Cummings from the Connexions service had similar good things to say ‘It must have been a challenge for Patrick at times with our regional accents but he coped extremely well. Every task he was given was completed with great efficiency and enthusiasm. We do not often offer work experience but Patrick was a pleasure to work with’. 

When the three weeks were over and Patrick returned to Krefeld he had only good things to say about his time in Durham, ‘I didn’t imagine last year that I would get the chance to have a placement in a city with a world class University. Everything has been well organised and the people I have worked with have been very friendly and did not mind repeating themselves for me. This work experience has exceeded my expectations, my English has improved considerably and I have gained a lot of knowledge about British people. It has not been the language or the people that have made me stumble, it was the small things that seem normal for you, it took me three buses to find out I had to put my hand out for it to stop!’ 

Durham Education Business Partnership arrange the work experience placements for students across the County, if you would like to know more about the service please contact the Work Experience Team on 01325 375959.

Over 300 students from across the Tees Valley recently attended Investigating Healthcare Carousels and an Accessing Healthcare Conference at The Work Place, Newton Aycliffe. 

The events, funded by AimHigher Tees Valley and organised by the Learning Development Team at The Work Place were aimed at year 10 and year 12 students from schools and colleges based in the Tees Valley to give them an insight into the world of healthcare.  

Healthcare professionals from a wide range of areas delivered interactive workshops. These included Mental Health, Podiatry, Occupational Therapy, Patient Journey and Health Improvement. 

Students took part in a series of hands on activities with healthcare professionals, experiencing what it feels like to be old, how to deal with an emergency, the effects of mental health and how to care and look after your feet. 

Organisations that took part in the events included, Medical Services North East, the NHS and the North East Ambulance Service. 

For more information on how you can support activities or to arrange a visit please contact Kirsty Coates, Learning Development Officer on 01325 375983 or at learning@durham.gov.uk.