Work Skills

Work Skills

Students learn about the world of work through Business Enterprises, Horticulture and Animal Care, Work Experiences, Volunteering and Visits to work places. They also learn to travel train according to their ability which includes learning to be safe with staff in the community, using college transport safely and then public transport. 

Current Enterprises include our Farm shop which sells vegetable boxes, Tuck Shop, and the Brentwood Car Care Company. Students are supported to plan, start up and run our enterprises. Within each enterprise students learn to complete jobs to a required standard using visuals and task strips.

Throughout the Work Skills Curriculum links are encouraged with other curriculum areas; eg vegetables and fruit grown in horticulture lessons are sold the in the Farm Shop enterprise; skills learnt in the internal College Café are then transferred to our Community Café and external work experiences in local cafes.

Enterprise provides opportunities for the contextual use of functional skills. Students are encouraged to be independent in their tasks through the use of visuals and there are many opportunities for developing communication skills. Numeracy opportunities occur through counting orders, items, handling money, monitoring stock and the repetition of tasks.

Students can choose to study Horticulture if that is one of their interests. This subject is designed to have cross curricular links with community work within Sale West, Princes Park Community Garden Centre and a volunteering project at a local allotment. Students work in our extensive horticulture area learning to grow plants, fruit and vegetables in our raised beds and polytunnel. Fruit and vegetables are eaten or sold in our farm shop and hanging baskets/bulbs are potted up for selling as gifts.  Students learn about the safe use of tools, what clothes to wear and about growing plants indoors and outdoors.

Animal Care is used to provide opportunities for work experiences, independence tasks and communication and interaction. Students learn to care for the animals providing them with water, food and a clean living environment. The chickens' eggs are sold in the farm shop. Thea the therapy dog accompanies students on walks and visits.

Where appropriate, students are able to access internal and then external supported work experiences.

Internal work experiences include classroom jobs, grounds maintenance including litter picking, feeding our animals and volunteering in the school.  

External work experiences exist with Manchester United, The Bread and Butter Thing foodbank, The Dressing Room Cafe, The Life Centre and St Martin's Church Community Cafe.  Students also work with Trafford Conservation Volunteers on a variety of environmental projects in the local community.

Progress in Work Skills is measured through our Work Skills B Level strand and individual portfolios of work.  Work Skills measures progress in looking after your own belongings and money, travelling in the community and doing tasks independently, as these are all necessary skills that have to be in place to be able to have a job.

Students working at our higher levels will be able to progress onto further education which may include a supported internship with Trafford or Manchester.