It’s estimated that 1/4 people will suffer with mental ill health. We also know that talking about it can be difficult. But people no longer have to struggle alone. Whether you’re dealing with a mental health issue or just feel burdened by everyday worries or concerns, Big White Wall provides safe, anonymous online support.
Big White Wall provides a supportive, online community to give help when you’re feeling down. Trained professionals are available 24/7, and there’s a choice of safe therapeutic services, including online self-help courses. This means anyone who may be struggling can get support at a time that suits them, from the comfort of their own home.
Big White Wall is now available for all residents 16+ for free in Glasgow funded by Glasgow City Council Education Services. If you live in Glasgow and are 16 years to 18 years you can simply go to www.bigwhitewall.com and enter your postcode to join. 70% of members report feeling better as a result of using Big White Wall and 1 in 2 shared something on Big White Wall for the first time.
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For more information on Mental Health supports, please visit the ‘Covid and Mental Health’ page on our website. This can be accessed through the ‘Covid/School Closure’ tab on our main menu, or by clicking the following link:
Like many organisations, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is adapting our ways of working to meet the needs of colleagues, customer and partners through the crisis.
Our responsive career service has moved from face-to-face service delivery to online and telephone. This means we are continuing to;
retain targeted support for school pupils in the senior phase, alongside the support of local authority partners
provide targeted and universal support for adult customers including Next Steps
deliver our PACE redundancy support for employers, employees and apprentices, both online at www.redundancyscotland.co.ukand through our dedicated support helpline on 0800 917 8000
We have also introduced new services such as the My World of Work Job Hub, which enables employers across Scotland to quickly advertise immediate vacancies, and to support individuals seeking employment at this critical time.
As the pandemic response continues, we are working to augment these services with further support for those that need it.
In the weeks ahead Skills Development Scotland will be launching a range of interim services designed to support individuals affected by the pandemic. These will include:
Enhancing our web content and launching ahelpline for individuals who have been impacted by the pandemic – ensuring through our partnership approach that those who need it get the right support, at the right time
Enhancing our web content and launching a helpline for pupils and their parents and carers– to explore their options and make informed choices about their next steps, whether staying on or leaving school
Developing a career education programme – that will blend digital content and offline resources centred around the Career Education Standard and the CMS Framework
We will be working in a strong spirit of partnership to shape these offers, recognising that many other national and local organisations are currently evolving their own delivery to support the national effort around COVID-19.
We will continue to keep you updated on the development of these services in the days and weeks ahead.
UCAS will also be holding a Live Facebook Q&A session for parents. This will be held on 30th April at 4pm.
You can also find a range of general UCAS and Universities advice, as well as learning about different post school options, in the “Skills and Pathways” menu, which can be accessed from the home page.
There are a wide range of learning resources available for young people during the school building closure.
The resource below is a helpful directory of where you can access resources for each subject, and contact information including email address and Twitter links for departments and teachers.
Our Spring term ends today and I would like to thank you for all of your support and kindness, especially over the past few weeks.
As you know in normal circumstances we would be making our way over to Wellington Church today for our Spring Assembly, so I have written a Head Teacher’s Address to send to the pupils and to you, which you can read by clicking this link: Spring Assembly-April 2020
The school may be currently closed but we are still a whole school community and on behalf of the staff I wish you good health, peace and happiness over the Spring Break.
To read this, please visit our communications page, in the School Closure section of our website. You can visit this page by following the menu at the top of the website, or clicking here.
Now is a great time to register for my world of work and beginning planning for life after Hillhead High.
Whether you are just starting to think about careers, or getting ready to leave school and enter the world of work, college, or university- myworldofwork.co.uk is a excellent resource to help you.
You can take careers quizzes to help you find out what careers match your skills and interests. You are also able to use their user friendly tools to create a CV, personal statement and cover letter, which will be essential for you whichever path you take when you leave Hillhead High.
I am writing to give you an update about next steps, as well as some suggestions of ways you can make use of your extra time, if you have access to ICT. I have broken this message down into different sections so you can focus on the parts that apply to you.
School Leavers
If you have now left school but do not have a secure destination to go to once colleges, universities or businesses re-open you must speak to us. If you have not been accepted to college or university or don’t have any employment lined up we are here to support you.
Don’t put it off or fall into the trap of thinking it will all work out. The current circumstances are unusual, but you should be working hard to be as prepared as you can be for when things return to normal.
So if you have left school and do not have a destination to go to, please let me know via email. You can also speak to Fiona the careers advisor on these details;
If you are able to, you can continue to work on your unit 1 and unit 2 folios. Of course, there will have been disruption to your Leadership Project. As a result you may wish to switch to something that can be achieved under the current circumstances or you could also write about everything that you had planned to do, and then in the “Challenges” section, write about how COVID-19 disrupted your plans and what arrangements you could make when thing return to normal. If you require any support for this please let me or Miss Hamid (gw15hamidshemiala@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk) know.
UCAS
If you applied to university you may have received replies and/or offers. I have added a flow chart to the school website which shows some of your options if you have been successful or unsuccessful. Ms Campbell has also sent out an email about changes to your dates for replying to offers.
Finance. The Scottish Government (SG) has been developing a new student website – www.studentinformation.gov.scot.It’s currently a beta site, but offers a range of financial information to both further and higher education students.
No university offers? Use our guide on what to do next. Learn how to use and apply through Clearing, the ideal way to find another course perfect for you.
Tuesday + Thursday College Courses and Foundation Apprenticeships for 2020/21
You can apply for these opportunities up until the end of April. Many of you have already done so and rest assured that these application have been received. You usually find out if you have been accepted in middle of April, this may of course be delayed given the current circumstances but I will keep you up to date as soon as I hear anything,
The school reference section has currently been suspended on the 2020 applications to allow students to apply independently at home – “Start to build the Foundations for your future Career” What is a Foundation Apprenticeship?
fapglasgow.scot
CV and Personal Statement Writing
If you have ICT access, now is a great time to work on your CV, Cover Letter and Personal Statements for College or University.
Myworldofwork.co.uk is an excellent resource that can help you to write a strong CV and/or Personal Statement.You will also be able to take “careers quizzes which will give you suggestions for possible career paths that match you skill and interests. I have attached a registration guideline which walks you though how to get access to the website,
We are aware now more than ever that some families will be finding it difficult to access period products. HEY GIRLS are a charity that work closely with the school and they provide free sanitary products to our pupils.
We can organise for HEY GIRLS to send 3 month/family packs to your home address or we can organise for them to be at a collection point close to the school.
Please e-mail Miss Higgins if you would like to benefit from the free period products: gw10higginsnicola@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk
Please see the HEY GIRLS website to see all the wonderful work they do www.heygirls.co.uk
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to e-mail Miss Higgins.
