This is a web-based document which records the accumulation of learning credits and incorporates the DfES Progress File. Every student attending City of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire County schools will have access to the City of Nottingham Passport from September 2005.
PADSHE (the Personal and Academic Development for Students in Higher Education team at the University) proposed a link between KS4 and HE: first by making use of the parallels in reflection upon learning that already exist between the two sectors because of the use of Progress File, and secondly by following on from workshops run by the Widening Participation unit.
PADSHE has worked closely with Aimhigher and the LEA to strengthen the links between schools, colleges and HE. The principles and processes of PADSHE are very similar to those that inform Progress File and as such build upon learning already in schools. There are close links between PADSHE and the University's Widening Participation unit.
We recognise that the majority of students in the City will move from school to 6th form or FE College at the end of year 11, and that within the parameters of the City of Nottingham Passport students are required to produce a Personal Statement at the end of each key stage, including KS4. Therefore, we proposed to help in the production of this statement and promote its use as part of the application procedure to 6th form college.
Towards this, groups of Year 11 students came into the University for a half-day, bringing their Progress File with them. They looked at the University's ePARs (electronic personal and academic records) system as it runs for undergraduates, and used the system to prepare their own personal statement for their application to 6th form college. They then emailed it back to themselves at school, where it formed part of their City of Nottingham Passport and, of course, their application to 6th form college.
This workshops helped students (and their teachers) to
- begin to appreciate the 'continuous' in Continuous Professional Development
- realise that reflective tasks will be expected of them once they reach HE, just as
they are at school and college
- produce a document which will have direct relevance to their future education.