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Annex 3 Interview schedule for Headteachers
Introduction
- Part of a national programme of research, as recommended in Determined to Succeed and reflecting a general interest in pupils' part-time and vocational experiences
- Also interest in looking at feasibility of making closer links between pupils' part-time work and their schooling
- Keen to look at how this would also fit into other developments in the curriculum such as increased flexibility; vocational preparation initiatives and enterprise in education generally
- Notes will be taken
- Neither school nor individual will be identified - the research team will share notes for purposes of analysis
- If anything specifically sensitive (eg that would identify school) note at time and will not be used in any form in the final public report
- Questions?
School's attitude to pupils working part-time
- Confirm definition: Part-time employment, for the purposes of this research, is 'any paid employment including family-based work'.
- What are seen as positives? Give examples
- Negatives? Give examples
- Any perceived impact of part-time work on enterprising attitudes and behaviours?
- Any perceived impact on career intentions ('career' defined in broadest sense)
- Overall intention to encourage/discourage pupils taking up part-time work (probe if it differs eg by age/stage or academic level or by intended post-school route)
- Any impact (current or planned; intentional or unintentional) on school's work experience programme
- Does school employ pupils? (eg as school cleaners, helping office staff at times of pressure, tutors in supported study, library assistants, setting up experiments for the next day, design school website etc)
- Are any pupils running their own business (separately from Young Enterprise?). Does this link to their schooling?
- Can school pupils get EMAs? Any links between EMAs and part-time work?
Increased use of part-time employment experiences in schooling
- How view in principle?
- How might it work in practice?
- Perceived factors likely to help or hinder (include eg issues re staff development, employer links, staff and parent attitudes etc)
- Test out Headteacher's view re feasibility of five specific models - emphasise that these are only working models and are confidential
- Model 1 - recognition of part-time work through full embedding in the curriculum
- Model 2 - recognition that part-time work can develop generic transferable skills
- Model 3 - formal recognition of the distinctive outcomes of part-time work
- Model 4 - recognition of the role of part-time work in personal planning
- Model 5 - recognition of the potential of part-time work to contribute to progression
- Does the school make use of any other 'out of school' experiences in any systematic way? (eg voluntary work not organised by the school)
The school context - how does the school encourage enterprising approaches in pupils?
- Given the current interest in 'enterprise', how does this show in the development plan; in the curriculum
- Is there potential to link part-time work to actual 'enterprise' activities? For example 'Get into Enterprise'?
- How would you define an 'enterprising school' and to what extent do you think this school matches that definition?
Vocational preparation and the flexible curriculum
[if we run out of time, the next batch are being asked of the SMT E in E so could be touched on only generally eg are there potential points, at different stages in the school, where part-time work might link into curriculum flexibility?]
- What vocational initiatives are happening for the S3/S4 group in the school? (eg vocational pathways with SPA or VQ units etc)
- Is there any way in which part-time employment might link into these?
- What vocational initiatives are happening for the S5/S6 group in the school? (eg vocational pathways with SPA or VQ units etc)
- Is there any way in which part-time employment might link into these?
- To what extent are there special facilities for vocational experiences within the school, or capable of being linked to the school? [Some schools, especially PPP ones, are incorporating vocational facilities eg call centre, mechanic workshop, industrial kitchen into the buildings; other can and do make use of FE for this]
- Some schools in the US have a model whereby older pupils (like our S6) are part-time pupils and part-time workers. Is this something that happens here? Would you encourage it?
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