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Work With The Community, Partners And Outside Agencies
Our vision and ethos is to consult regularly with students, parents, parent governors, other adults in the community, local businesses, partner schools and LA consultants, about how the Dearne can best serve its community in a unique and excellent way. Our application for Leading Parent Partnership Award status, sponsored by Barnsley LA, is ensuring this consultation with all our community stakeholders is of the highest relevance and quality. As the first secondary school in Yorkshire to reach the interim assessment stage of this DfES approved learning programme, we will be one of the first to achieve it.
Students and parents are consulted and informed as community partners through our Stakeholder Voice newsletter and website. Parent Governors are regularly consulted through meetings and presentations on the personalised learning work we have undertaken with the Specialist School’s Trust. Two of these organised an area wide PTA that helped establish the needs of adults within the community including those of our primary partners and those outside the school.
Other adults within the community have participated within our Family Learning events and accessed our extended school services. A recent Ofsted JAR inspection in November 2006, described the school’s contribution to the community as “inspirational.” Learning Skills Council funding is now being utilised to set up L3 Literacy and ICT courses for at least 15 post 16 students from September 2007. This is intended to reduce Dearne High’s NEET’s figures by at least 25%.
Our Primary partners have long-standing consultation and implementation links with us through a successful EiC Action Zone. Despite our Primary Partners significant improvements in L4+ scores at Key stage 2, our students are still well below average on entry, i.e. 60% L4+. It has been agreed, at Primary Liaison meetings and joint Primary Head’s meetings that the Dearne’s drive to help our local primaries improve their KS2 English scores is very appropriate. Our secondary partners are Kirk Balk, Wombwell and Foulstone, which together with the Dearne, comprise the South East Barnsley Learning Alliance (SEBLA). Creative links include inter-school teaching. We currently teach 12 Y10 Kirk Balk students Web Design.
Other agencies with which we have strong links include the Local Historical Society, Thurnscoe Surestart, the local branch of the national learning net and Dearne Valley College and Barnsley College. A significant number of students are given access to college based courses within Y10 and Y11. Stronger links with the careers service are also serving to reduce our NEET’s.
Our relationships with local businesses are also developing. We now have Business mentors working with our Y11 students. Local businesses are engaged by post, phone, e-mail and visits. Several of these have provided business mentors and/or sponsorship. We have subsequently appointed a business Governor. Our local economy has received a regenerative boost from the telecommunications and building industries, via T-Mobile and Ben Bailey (business sponsors.) The Dearne will provide tailored learning opportunities for these and other local employees, structured around Adult Literacy levels 2-3, ECDL, Telematics and Media courses will develop stronger communications and marketing skills.
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