Will Sparrow is the Curriculum Lead for the Construction T Level at Havant and South Downs College. As part of the preparations for delivering the Construction T Level from September 2020, Will completed an Industry Insight placement at Low Carbon Construction, University of Portsmouth and Havant Borough Council. The placements are part of the T Level Professional Development support offer providing opportunities for professional updating for teachers that is industry relevant and that facilitates knowledge transfer and professional exchange.
What were your key objectives for going on a staff placement in industry?
I wanted to increase my industry specific and educational knowledge in order to impart this knowledge on students and colleagues alike.
Additionally, I thought it would be useful to engage these stakeholders in our own process at HSDC to hopefully build links both in terms of employers for industrial placements and links beyond the T Level.
Tell us about your experience and the highlights from the placement
I found all stakeholders I visited were interested in the T Level and how they would either be affected by it or could play a role in the implementation of longer-term growth of the qualification.
What did you value the most about engaging with Low Carbon Construction, the University of Portsmouth and Havant Borough Council?
The relationships that have been created. I feel comfortable contacting any of three placements for further advice, guidance or for a general conversation about how things are going within their worlds and how that could affect me and the construction T Level.
What has been the impact on you, your colleagues and organisation?
More confidence in our planning and that the concept of T Levels has been welcomed by our stakeholder connections.
How will this positively impact on future T Level learners?
The information we have obtained will be vital in explaining certain things to our students. Also, arranging visits, talks, obtaining relevant resources will be available.
We will also use the resources developed through the Teacher Regional Improvement Project (TRIP) to provide students with learning experiences that will build their confidence in the use of technology as well as developing their digital literacy skills. This will prepare students for their industry placements.