Last month, Weston College was lucky enough to gain funding from the Turing Scheme to take our Performing Arts students on a 15-day trip to New York City, where students not only got to experience all the sights of a big city, but also got to take part in many activities and attractions that have furthered their skills and knowledge of the industry. 

The Turing Scheme is a fantastic programme which offers funding to education providers to support students to pursue study and work placements worldwide. This provides learners with career-building opportunities and international experiences that will enhance their education and enrich them in different cultures. 

This trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of the students who may not have had the chance to leave the UK, let alone travel across the world. Thanks to the Turing Scheme, this trip was extremely affordable, with some students getting to go completely free of charge!

During this 15-day trip, the students’ itineraries were jam-packed! Not only did they take part in a range of Broadway classes with the Broadway Dance Centre, but they also got to watch three Broadway shows which were tailored to each pathway! They saw ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ for the students on the Acting pathway, ‘Death Becomes Her’ for the Musical Theatre pathway, and ‘The Great Gatsby’ for the Dance pathway. This was a fantastic experience that allowed all students to see live performances at a professional level which many of them aspire for.

To further enrich themselves in the history of performing arts and experience all the city has to offer, the students took part in a range of activities: from a backstage tour of Radio City Music Hall, a guided tour of the Lincoln Centre, and visiting the Museum of Broadway, to attractions like ‘The Ride’ where they experienced flash mobs and pop-up shows, Summit One Vanderbilt observatory, and the powerful 9/11 Memorial Museum.

Outside of these amazing activities, students also got the chance to see the tourist sights of New York and indulge in the different foods. However, according to the group, majority would agree that the Cheesecake Factory was ultimately the best they tried!

Joe Miller, one of our Performing Arts lecturers at Weston College who attended the trip with the students, was astounded by their progression over the duration of the trip, adding, “it was so amazing to see how the students progressed in not only their techniques and their performance, but also seeing their independence and confidence grow with everyday tasks. 

We wanted to encourage independence for the students in a big city by getting them to chat to workers and people themselves, as well as independently navigate groups to places we’d been to give them a sense of accomplishment and confidence–it was amazing to see the personal growth in such a short space of time!”

This trip was not only important for personal growth, but also professional growth. Getting the chance to witness and work with many other performers and professionals throughout the trip gave the learners a better understanding of how competitive and tough the industry is and how much hard work and resilience is required to make it.

According to Joe, the impact of this trip has already been reflected in their hard work since arriving back home. He has noticed more rigorous training and a focus on techniques in order to improve their skills and pursue their careers.

This fantastic trip would not have been possible without Joe Miller, Jade Hicks and Annette Milburn who all supervised and helped to organise the trip to make it the most fulfilling and memorable experience for the students as possible.

If you’re interested in applying to one of our Performing Arts courses in September, click here.

This week, Emma Pattinson and Abi Steven from North Somerset Council Parenting Team visited our Year 2 Early Years T Level learners to discuss the impact that a child’s environment can have on their development.

This workshop focused on Parental Conflict and the impact on children, adolescent brain development, and trauma informed approaches. These are all very important topics for the future generation of early years educators to understand and be aware of.

During an Early Years course, students are taught how to approach and talk to students, however they are less likely to be taught about how to interact with parents and families. Abi and Emma helped to build the students confidence with this by answering questions and discussing different home environments.

The session began by looking at the types of childhood trauma and the impact this trauma can have on a child’s development, not just mentally but holistically. Not only this, Abi and Emma also explained how children’s brains develop throughout their adolescence.

It is important for our Early Years students to understand that children need a supported environment, and their brain development can be impacted and have long term effects if they are exposed to an environment with regular conflict and trauma. It is also important to recognise children as individuals and that they are all different, therefore signs of trauma will not be universal and could appear differently depending on the child.

When discussing Parental Conflict, Abi organised her discussion in an engaging True or False format to get the students involved and thinking hard about the questions. The students seemed nervous and apprehensive to begin with but gained confidence in their answers as the session progressed.

They discussed the signs to look for when identifying a child suffering with family conflict as well as the distress and trauma that could accompany this. Abi also brought up statistics regarding parental relationships and the impact this could have on children which surprised some students.

As a final interactive task, Abi and Emma handed out large posters to the students, with the titles Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Academic/Cognitive, and Behaviour. The students were asked to fill out these sheets of paper with everything they knew regarding the impact that conflict and trauma could have on these topics. This was a great way to test their knowledge and encourage them to work together to fill in any blanks.

This was a very informative guest lecture as it made the students consider external factors that may explain certain child behaviour. This is a key part of being an early year’s educator as it is important to have a holistic approach to teaching and provide additional support to any children who may be experiencing family conflict or trauma.

Thank you to Emma and Abi from the North Somerset Council Parenting Team for taking the time to visit our students and deliver this impactful guest lecture.

If you are interested in joining one of our Early Years courses in September, click here.

Having started my role as a Youth Social Action apprentice in August 2023, my end point assessment is rapidly approaching and it seems like a good opportunity to look back and reflect but also look to the future.

Going back to the beginning of this role, I had made a life changing decision in my fifties to try and convert my volunteering experience in youth work into a career.

I like to think this was quite a bold move, especially when you consider that in real terms spending on youth services fell by 64% between 2011/12 and 2021/22. There is also a correlation between youth club closures and young people engaging in criminal activity with young people who have lost access to a youth club 14% more likely to engage in criminal activity in the six years following the closure.

Despite this, I think there is room for optimism with research showing the positive impact youth work has for young people. Of course, following the election of a new government it is clear youth work has an important role to play if Labour are to deliver on their mission to Reclaim the Streets. Labour have committed to creating a Young Futures Programme with a network of hubs where young people can engage with youth workers, mental health support workers and careers advisors to help prevent young people being drawn into crime. Our colleges have an important role to play in helping to train the youth workers of the future with the profession having lost 4,500 youth workers since 2011. Without a qualified workforce, the government will not be able to deliver on the promises in their manifesto. In a recent National Youth Agency workforce survey it was found that 47% of the respondents have no recognised youth work qualification.

When I reflect on my own development throughout my apprenticeship, I am confident that the skills and knowledge that I have gained have made me a more effective youth worker, both at work in my colleges and in my voluntary role. I have been able to focus on facilitating youth led projects and have enjoyed immensely seeing the learners pride and satisfaction when they see their ideas become a reality.

This year at Weston College, Avon and Somerset Police invited learners to take part in a Youth Ethics Committee to capture their views around stop and search. They appreciated the chance to have their voices heard. Projects like this that create better community links with the police will be an important way to make our young people part of the solution to reclaiming our streets. In my work as a Youth Social Action apprentice listening to young people, concerns about youth violence and knife crime are a recurring theme. If we are to help our young people navigate this issue and ‘Reclaim our Streets’ qualified youth workers will be essential.

Anne Draper, Youth Social Action apprentice