What makes the Rite to Work Programme for S4 pupils different?
Rite to Work (RtW) is a dynamic, interactive programme for 15/16 year old pupils, created to cultivate employability skills whilst simultaneously addressing issues of wellbeing and confidence. RtW is specifically designed for those pupils who are disengaging from classroom learning, and who the school feels are at risk of leaving without any positive destination. RtW is delivered by an Employability Coach in small groups every week throughout S4, in a location outside of the school. RtW is also a ‘transition model’ which continues beyond the pupils’ school leaving dates with several more months of one-to-one support from their employability coach to establish them firmly in their chosen positive pathway.
How it works
For S4 Summer-leavers:
• Selection starts, ideally after Easter in S3, with identifying the likely pupils, meeting them, and including their parents/guardians where possible to establish family buy-in
• Throughout S4 it is one day a week in groups of 4 or 5, alongside their own Employability Coach and, crucially, away from the school.
• The programme follows a timetable of activities which includes modules of the SQA Certificate of Work Readiness (SCQF level 4) with additional practical and wellbeing activities – all designed to develop their future employability and wellbeing
• Other activities include business visits & speakers (including employers and successful former pupils) and one-to-one coaching towards achieving their individual goals
For S5 Christmas-leavers the programme content and outcomes are the same. The key difference being that the process begins after Christmas in S4.
On leaving school they all transition to the post-school part of Rite to Work. This is up to an extra six months support, including mentored work-placements in local SMEs, all designed to establish each of them into the jobs, apprenticeships or further training, that is right for them.
The Results
Based on performance in Edinburgh and East Ayrshire since 2021, consistently over 75% graduate from Rite to Work with a job, apprenticeship or college course within six months of leaving school. To-date 100% have achieved their SCQF level 4 employability modules.
Working in partnership locally
Rite to Work depends on working alongside others throughout:
• The young people’s parents/guardians
• Staff within each school who know the young people best
• The range of career options available through DYW and SDS, as well as other successful initiatives available within each school’s locality
Feedback:
The pupils see Rite to Work as a route into a decent job when they leave; once-a-week out of school where the feel of it is different: it’s work rules; not school rules. In addition, the coach stays with them after leaving school to get them settled into something they never thought possible a year earlier.
For their parents and guardians Rite to Work often feels like a relief. Their children have been struggling at school, sometimes at home too, and they are worried about their children’s future. Rite to Work represents an opportunity for their child to finish school positively with a job, and a more mature focus on life. They particularly like being involved from the start and receiving regular updates on how their child is progressing. And they proudly turn up to celebrate their child’s achievement each year at the Rite to Work graduation.
Schools say Rite to Work is a model that:
• works well, and is popular with pupils, especially those who face difficult challenges in terms of behaviour and attendance; and also engages very effectively with their families
• provides a level of tailored individual support from the Employability Coach that makes all the difference
• allows schools to think ahead in S3 as to who might benefit most in the following year, and provides assistance and flexibility throughout the selection process going into S4
• builds into the model an important overlap period after leaving school that produces positive outcomes within months
• delivers a measurable service that is of clear benefit to the school and gives good value for money