Furness College – T level Education & Childcare
Leo came to college, aged 16, from Furness Academy where he performed well achieving good grades in his GCSEs to enable his progression to a T level. Leo was part of the first cohort of T level students at the college and quickly set the standard for those that have followed. From the outset Leo knew that working in Education was his goal and he was determined to make this happen.
Leo attended his industry placement at Greengate Junior School in Barrow in Furness and was very soon part of the team, participating in an Ofsted inspection, teaching small groups and assisting the teaching staff in a wide variety of ways. He formed fantastic relationships with the staff and pupils and was commended for his work. Leo’s industry placement really gave him the opportunity to make sure that the education sector was where he wanted to be.
Leo was always the one that took lead in discussions and tasks in the class. He always kept up to date with things happening in the press and media and often would bring an interesting topic in for us to discuss, he loved a political debate, even when in class he would be looking for things in the media that would relate to the topic, or sometimes not, but still relevant to the knowledge of the course. A lot of time was spent discussing policy and topics such as Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, without a doubt Leo’s interest and commitment enhanced the learning of others. The study of the Occupational Specialism as part of his T level, gave Leo the chance to put all his reading and learning to practice.
His main worry was always around the assessments of the T Level, as these are very different to any other course; but in true Leo style he got his head down and when the time came, he gained an excellent result in his T Level.
Leo’s strengths definitely lay in the classroom supporting children, we believe this is what made his results so good, he could relate every topic covered in class back to his experience in placement and would do this in his writing. This demonstrates the value of an Industry Placement and how this extended placement of 315 hours or 45 days can bring learning to life. Leo and his classmates used those experiences to extend their knowledge while at the same time learning those key employability skills that are so important; being part of a team, collaboration, resilience, responsibility and of course the day to day requirements of working in a busy establishment and getting the job done.
Hard work and a strong work ethic paid off with a good T level result in August of 2023. Leo then secured his first role as a Teaching Assistant at Furness Academy, in his words, ‘it’s my dream job and I am loving it’. This demonstrates the importance of all routes for young people, employment, apprenticeship and University. A T level can open so many doors; crucially it also enables local organisations to feed their talent pipeline with high calibre young adults, made in Cumbria!
