Posted: Tuesday 19 May 2009

Kilmarnock College Leadership Academy Strikes Gold at Awards

Kilmarnock College has received a national gold award for its unique Leadership Academy, which focuses on boosting the confidence and developing the leadership skills of young people in Ayrshire.

The college' received the gold award in the Innovation category at the recent Scotland's Colleges' Marketing Awards, having won the silver medal in the same category last year.

The Leadership Academy is run in partnership with East Ayrshire Council and supported by European Social Funding. It offers week-long courses for S2 - S4 pupils, concentrating on building young people's confidence and raising their aspirations. It is the only course of its kind offered by a Scottish college, and has been recognised by HMIe as "sector-leading and innovative practice."

Launched last academic year, over 400 local young people have already participated in The Leadership Academy, and the college has been inundated with requests for places for this academic year - every East Ayrshire school has signed up for three individual weeks and the college is now being approached by schools in other parts of Ayrshire.

14 young people participate in the Leadership Academy each week, following a carefully structured programme. Working initially in small groups, they develop a performance piece, and as the week progresses they work in larger groups to finally perform as one group at the end of the week.

The programme also includes an outdoor experience, such as cross-country skiing, abseiling or rock-climbing as well as the development of digital media skills to produce a DVD of their experiences through the week. Each young person is asked to take on the responsibility for further learning beyond the Academy by committing to a piece of work they will complete when they return to school, such as running a team building activity for younger pupils. This is followed up by the college team eight weeks later, to ensure individuals are still motivated and on target. At the end of the week participants are awarded the East Ayrshire Youth Award (Bronze) and the college is currently working to credit rate the programme through SCQF.

One person who has benefitted significantly from taking part in The Leadership Academy is Cheryl Blackwood, 17 from Catrine. Cheryl took part in the Academy in early 2008, as part of the Winter Leaver's Programme. She then went on to work as a Youth Engagement Assistant at the College through Project Scotland .Cheryl commented: "If it wasn't for The Leadership Academy and the other opportunities the college has given me, I'd probably be at home doing nothing now. It really helped build my confidence and encouraged me to stay on at college and find other opportunities that were right for me.

"I really enjoy working at the college, and particularly enjoy working with a variety of people from different backgrounds and helping the school pupils to build their own confidence. I'm also Vice-Chair of the Behaviour Taskforce, which encourages positive behaviours in the college and I've already seen it make an impact on some students. I'm currently doing the Prince's Trust Youth Steps course, and when I finish it I'm hoping to find work as a youth worker."

Originally established in response to the high levels of disengaged young people in East Ayrshire (known as young people who require ‘more choices and more chances' or ‘MCMC' ), The Leadership Academy is playing a key role in the reduction of the number of local young people falling into this category. Recent reports from the Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland have shown that the number of young people in the MCMC category in East Ayrshire has decreased dramatically, as the number of positive destinations for young people leaving school has increased.

Carol Nisbet, More Choices More Chances Manager at Kilmarnock College commented: "Our whole approach to working with young people who need more choice and more chances at Kilmarnock College is very student centred. We have a dedicated team who develop and deliver innovative programmes and offer the support necessary to engage and motivate the young people - The Leadership Academy is only one of a number of programmes. The rewarding part of the job is that many students have subsequently had the confidence to pursue their dreams, which they would have never done before. One boy who was on the Leadership Academy last year has since won a scholarship to play golf in America.

"We put the student first in everything we do, and make sure we support every individual to achieve his or her personal best. I am certain that the Academy will continue to grow from strength to strength, as it helps young people in East Ayrshire and beyond to fulfil their potential."

The gold award was accepted by representatives from the college's marketing department and its More Choice, More Chances department. The two departments have worked closely together to make the Leadership Academy a success.

Carol Nisbet has been invited to speak about The Leadership Academy and the Kilmarnock College approach to the MCMC agenda at the coming prestigious National Institute for Staff and Organisational Development in Austin, Texas, in late May.

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For more information, contact:
Catriona May, Halogen Communications, (T) 0131 202 0120 (F) 0131 225 3757 (E) catriona@halogencom.com

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