S2’s from Berwickshire High School took part in a wide variety of activities that all focused on promoting good mental, physical, and emotional health.

All the workshops were delivered by partners including Scottish Borders Council Catering Department, Live Borders, Police Scotland, Unity Fitness Berwick, DYW Borders and Quarriers.
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By the end of each session pupils had demonstrated a understanding of one or more of the seven BHS employability skills.

S2 Army STEM took place over 2 days and was an absolute winner. S2 students worked excellently with Army representatives as part of 'Operation Disaster Relief'. Working as Army Medics, Engineers and Logisticians they 'deployed' to a remote part of the world which had been hit by an earthquake. 🎖

After learning how to build and operate their LEGO Mind-storm robot, they then undertook a series of engineering and logistical challenges to successfully complete their mission and deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid to local people.

A huge thank you to Miss Roden for her hard work it’s really appreciated. 🏆👏

#DYWBorders ​

"I am really excited to begin such an important role supporting young people in their journey from education into the workplace. Having grown up and lived in the Borders I understand the challenges young people in the area may face, therefore,  feel very passionate about trying to bridge the gap and open as many opportunities as possible for our future workforce. I am really looking forward to working in both schools and learning more about the businesses in each local area. Through my work at NHS and SBC as well as through friends and family I have a wealth of contacts in different industries that I can use to help me flourish as DYW Coordinator."

Welcome to the team Amy! ​

Welcome to the team Stacey Aitken, our new Schools Coordinator for Selkirk and Kelso High School! ✏🙌🏼

Find out a little bit more about Stacey 👇🏼

"Stacey is excited to help bridge the gap between school and industry. She is very passionate about helping young people reach their potential regardless of the path they take and watching them grow into successful careers. Her own experience with different walks of life gives her an insight into the barriers there can be and she is enthusiastic about finding ways to overcome them. Stacey has good interpersonal skills with over 10 year’s experience within the Bank of Scotland and looks forward to engaging with businesses and industries to forge new partnerships ensuring the best options are available for all young people."

Welcome to team! 🤩

#DYWBorders ​

This is the first year that NHS Borders have delivered a Virtual Work Placement (VWP) in collaboration with DYW Borders, Scottish Borders Council and Inspire Learning. Peebles High School, Berwickshire High School, Eyemouth High School, Earlston High School, Jedburgh Grammar Campus and Selkirk High School all took part in this week long placement, with the other four secondary schools aiming to implement this programme in February 2022.
 
The aim of the NHS Borders VWP was to provide pupils with the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in relation to the variety of services and career prospects available within the health and social care sector. Secondly, it aimed to develop their knowledge and skills in relation to employability specifically valued by employers in this sector. The programme saw a high interest in schools and pupils and saw over 40 pupils attend.
 
Throughout the five-day programme, pupils were provided with the opportunity to develop a range of values and employability skills that are highly valued by health and social care industry employers. These included, timekeeping, dress code, appearance, organisation, and problem solving, team working, interpersonal skills and much more! Pupils worked alone and in teams to create a presentation that was presented within breakout rooms on the final day and determined whether they would achieve an SCQF Level 4 or Level 5.

Libby Noble, Care Home Education Facilitator, NHS Borders: 
“The quality and volume of work that was produced by the pupils was outstanding. All pupils exceeded our expectations both in the quality and volume of work that was produced. It was clear that each individual pupil had engaged with the lessons, applied the knowledge gained from the class, and followed the instructions. All pupils worked hard over the five days and this is clearly demonstrated in the quality of the resources produced.
 
It can be challenging for pupils to come together from different schools in a Teams call, and to then participate in virtual classroom activities. We were particularly impressed by how the pupils interacted both in the classroom and in their individual schools. It became clear that confidence was growing over the week as pupils bravely interacted both through chat and verbal response. All pupils were polite and respectful not only to facilitators, but to each other and we would like to thank each pupil for their contribution. We wish each individual pupil success in achieving their ambitions and we would like to remind them to reach for the stars."

Molly Macfarlane, Selkirk High School, S6:
"I really enjoyed it; I did this work experience in S6 as I didn't get to in S4 due to Covid-19. I would tell anyone to do this if they don't know a lot about the NHS as they can learn and gain an insight to what it could be like working in the NHS, before, through the pandemic and after, as it is much different now than before."

Nicola Shaw, DYW School Coordinator: 
"A fantastic week, which provided senior pupils with the opportunity to connect with NHS and begin their learning in Health and Social Care. Pupils learned about the variety of employment opportunities and roles within the NHS and created an amazing final presentation to share with their peers and training providers, achieving a SQA Virtual Work Placement Unit – Level 5." 

Shelee Fojcik, Jedburgh Grammar Campus, S6:
"I really enjoyed the placement and learning about the different roles and routes to careers in the NHS."

Christina McGorum Begara, Peebles High School, S5: 
"I found this work placement week very interesting. I would have liked to hear about more roles within the NHS, for example, Doctors, Surgeons, Dentists." 

S3 pupils from various Scottish Borders secondary schools had the fascinating opportunity of participating in an archaeological dig at Bedrule Castle back in November 2021. It was great to have an event that was practical and involved some STEM, tourism, history, and heritage activities. As well as this, pupils were taught about the potential careers available to them in this sector, for example, pupils were taught how to properly excavate the site and how to record the dig. They also got a look at other activities’ archaeologists may take part in such as building surveying and gravestone recording. On completion of their visit, pupils achieved their HERO archaeology award. The aims of the award scheme are:

• To improve self-confidence and wellbeing through engagement with challenging heritage projects.
• To inspire young people to develop a lifelong interest in Scotland’s past.
• To increase awareness of how to access Scotland’s heritage in schools, youth groups and similar organisations.
• To help foster links between heritage organisations, community groups and young people.

 
The visit to Bedrule Castle was so successful that they have been granted more funding to come back this year. The day was a great opportunity for our pupils to get a feel of what archaeology is about and was a great learning experience.
 
Quotes
 
Stacey Grieve, DYW School Coordinator:
“A fantastic week and very successful. Pupils had a great time.”
 
Hilary Mack, DYW School Coordinator:
“Archaeology trip was a unique offer an interesting afternoon out. Amazing to discover what lays beneath our feet.”
 
Nicola Shaw, DYW School Coordinator:
“This was such a great opportunity for pupils to have a hands-on experience in this sector.  A local dig where pupils learned so much, pupils were engaged and noticeably excited about the experience.  Everyone could be involved, and the Heritage Hero Award which pupils received for their efforts was fantastic.”

To see some images from the visit to Bedrule Castle, head on over to Jedburgh Grammar Campus' Facebook page. ​

After a successful Senior Transitions Employability Programme (STEP) back in May, DYW Borders were eager to run this again to provide winter leavers with valuable employability skills. Going forward after the first STEP in May, there were few adjustments to ensure that the programme ran smoothly and had full engagement from this taking part. The 3-day programme was reduced to just 1 day, focusing on the workshops that play a key role in developing a pupil’s skillset.
 
The programme was well received by pupils and was engaging by the help of our board members that helped facilitate some of the sessions. With the programme being directed towards winter leavers, there was a high focus on CV preparation as well as how to do well in an interview. Pupils took away a lot of knowledge from this programme and we are confident they became better equipped for leaving school.
 
On completion of the programme, each pupil received a Dynamic Youth Award, supported by Community Learning and Development.
 
Kirsti Wilson, DYW Programme Officer
“The Senior Transitions Programme was again well attended in November, and although it was a one-day event instead of three, it was still a packed programme full of activity delivered physically and virtually by partners and local business.  I was present at a couple of the virtual sessions, and it was great to see pupils really engaging with the presenters and our school coordinators.    The quality of the content of the workbooks submitted by pupils was superb with individuals evidencing skills that they had used.  I am looking forward to seeing their diligent work pay off with them receiving their Dynamic Youth Award.”
 
Stacey Grieve, DYW Schools Coordinator
"Another very successful programme with a variety of task supporting the pupils to build on their employability skills."

We are looking forward to running this programme again in May 2022