Kingussie High School: Profiling employability skills and wider achievement
This DYW ‘interesting practice’ exemplar provides a synoptic overview of the profiling format adopted by Kingussie High School. It also outlines its systematic approach of capturing and reporting learners’ wider achievement both within and out with the school in recognition of its significant contribution to the development of employability skills. This is part of the school’s wider DYW implementation plan with the aim of supporting learners’ progression towards sustained and positive destination.
This case study has been developed to contribute to professional learning for practitioners at all levels working with children and young people from 3 – 18. It is structured to both inform and to support reflection on existing strengths and areas of development around profiling within the context of DYW.
The exemplar focuses on three specific elements:
- E-Portfolios
- Wider Achievement Reporting
- Visual CV’s.
What was done and why?
Profiling is a key component of a student’s development at Kingussie High School. It built E-Portfolio through Google Sites which allows student to store a variety of pieces of information about themselves, their learning and their skill development, digitally. In recognition of significant impact of wider achievement on the development of skills the school records and reports on this regularly. The information contributes to the wider profiling and reflection process of learners.
In order to support learners in articulating their skills and career aspirations the teachers and practitioners across all areas of the curriculum have regular conversations with learners and, when appropriate, with their parents. The school has also developed visual CVs linked to their skills framework to help learners reflect upon and share their skills and wider achievements.
What is its impact?
The above components are part of the school’s wider DYW ambition to foster career aspirations and increase the employability of learners. It also contributes to the wider attainment of learners, which has significantly increased over the last 3 years. This has been documented in the school’s ‘Developing your Senior Phase Curriculum’ documentation.
This ‘DYW Interesting Practice’ exemplar has been summarised in the following document: Interesting Practice in Skills DYW – KHS – Version 1
This PowerPoint presentation offers an overview of the development work in this area: ESProfilingDYW_AB_KingussieHS (2)
Reflection:
You are invited to use this exemplar to reflect on the following questions:
- To what extent do I engage children and young people in meaningful discussions about their skills development and assist them in profiling to support their career journeys?
- How does my/our current practice relate to the profiling guidelines expressed within the CfE Briefing notes ‘Profiling and S3 Profiles’?
- To what extent do I make use of relevant digital and online resources, in particular My World of Work?
- How well do I use profiling with children and young people to discuss their progress particularly at transition stages?
- To what extend do I support children and young people in the planning of future learning and envisaging career pathways?
