Dear Parents,
Unfortunately, due to the closure of many local business and the ongoing public health concerns, participation in Work Experience is not feasible or practical for the vast majority of this year’s TY students. We have always valued the Work Experience element of our Transition Year Programme, both for the personal development opportunities it provides and for the learning arising from such experiences. Many of our past students have explained how their TY Work Experiences has shaped their future educational and career choices. Alternative arrangements have been put in place for the next two weeks in lieu of the planned Work Experience element.
Week 1: 1-5 February – Classes will continue online as per students’ timetable.
Week 2: 8-12 February – Students will enroll in an Online Skills Programme with iactonline (https://www.iactonline.com/). This company has extensive experience in providing industry-approved certified courses through its e-learning platform. Iact have established a series of courses especially suited to Transition Year students. They have also created a school-based platform to help TY coordinators monitor participation and progress. GCC has taken a license for the full suite of TY courses and will fund students’ participation in the programme. We will also extend access to all courses until the end of the academic year, should students wish to complete all three courses.
There are three categories of courses that provide recognised certification on completion. Each course involves 20 hours of online participation and assessment. The categories are Computer Skills, Career Skills and Driving Skills. TY Students will register and complete one of these programmes during the week 8-12 February. Students’ progress will be monitored via the Teacher Dashboard throughout the week. Completed certificates will be required for inclusion in students’ end of term portfolio. Please click on the link below to see a brief overview of the variety of courses provided during this time.
TY Online Courses Parents Information
A small cohort of TY students have secured work placement in family or local businesses that are currently operating. We can only consent to these students participating where parents and students are satisfied that the following conditions can be met:
1. Working in a family business within the student’s own family bubble.
2. Working in a local business, within the travel restrictions, where the workplace is Covid Compliant, adhering fully to public health guidelines in offering the student placement.
In each case all contact details of the employer along with placement dates must be submitted to Ms Leahy through the coordination Google Classroom.
GCC Senior Management