Careers & Transitions
Our Team
HOL: Henry Ballantyne
Teaching staff and specialties: All teachers are teachers of pathways. However, we have a specific pathways line in the timetable. All Year 11, 12 and 13 students will experience a rotation of ‘Essential Skills’ (Louise MacFarlane and Henry Ballantyne), Financial Literacy (Simon Mitchell and Zoe Spencer), Hauora (David Gold and Rhys Fallen). We also have a Work Skills class (Henry Ballantyne) which is multi-level - levels 1, 2 and 3 NCEA.
Subject level Deans (Hayley Christison Yr 12/13, Leah Kersey Yr 11, Rhys Fallen Yr 10, Antony Wilson Yr 9, Bea Carter-Judd Yr 7 and 8, contribute to Careers and Transitions as appropriate to their year level. This can involve leading or supporting whole year level career activities, or small group events.
Careers and Transitions is complementary to teaching and learning across the school with the aim of supporting a successful transition to further education, employment or training beyond school.
ASPIRE – Our Purpose
NELP
Objective 4: FUTURE OF LEARNING AND WORK
Criteria 7
- Collaborate with industries and employers to ensure learners/ākonga have the skills, knowledge and pathways to succeed in work
- All students are equipped for their future pathway beyond WCC. Students are involved in further education, employment or work.
- Students experiencing success in their learning, promoting personal excellence and celebrating diversity. WCC aims to expose students to a wide range of experiences that are aligned with their interests and skills.
- Aspiring to equip students with experiences and education which they can use for their future. Values of manaakitanga, mana motuhake and manawaroa as a foundation for future life success. Developing strong employability skills.
ACT – Teaching, Learning & Support
What students learn / How students learn
- Key teaching approaches: Students learn skills for life. This extends to driving licence, first aid, university visits, EIT visits, Trades Academy, farming, Gateway, road safety, work skills, financial literacy, hauora.
- Types of learning activities: In class activities, field trips, guest speakers, university liaison, industry reps, alternative education providers, EIT liaison, military.
Assessment & feedback
- How learning is assessed: It depends on the learning situation. Driving licence is a national qualification, work skills classes complete unit standards based learning and assessment. Pathways classes have success criteria and some unit standards based assessment. Other experiences include active participation and attendance as the main criteria (exposure to new learning environments), EIT Trades Academy is unit standards/industry based, farming is unit standards/industry based.
- How feedback supports improvement: Feedback allows students to reflect and correct. Work completion is an essential component.
Support & extension
- Support available: Support is available in class with the teacher or learning coach. Links to Student Support Services at WCC. External providers are also engaged when needed.
- Extension opportunities: A wide range of opportunities to extend personal skills. For example driving licence, university initiatives such as Whakapiki Ake (Akl), Women in Engineering (Cant), Hand on Otago. Also special open days such as Aviation Day.
ACHIEVE – Pathways & Outcomes
- Senior course options and qualifications: Unit standards courses, complementary courses such as Trades Academy and Gateway.
- Skills students develop: Skills for life beyond school.
- Pathways beyond school: Exposure to a wide range of information about possible pathways beyond school. The opportunity to engage directly with learning - either a full year course such as Trades Academy, to half-day or one day experiential learning (eg RYDA, NZ Careers Expo)
- Opportunities beyond the classroom: Field trips to EIT, universities, industry and more.
Working in Partnership
This is an essential component of this department. Links with industry, tertiary providers, guest speakers, driving licence professionals and alternative education providers are important elements. Similarly, working within school in collaboration with staff is important so that careers and transition information is not confined to just one area of the school.
