Barnsley Council hands out Year 11 Support Packs to 3,000 young people across the borough
This week, Barnsley Council began delivering Year 11 Support Packs to secondary schools across the borough, which will be distributed to around 3,000 young people, as part of Barnsley Council’s Great Childhoods Ambition Programme.
The scheme is part of a £2.8 million investment made by the council to help families through a package of support to make sure every child is ready to learn and provided with the foundations for a successful future. This scheme follows the rollout of the fantastic Uniform Support scheme, which has supported thousands of families with the cost of buying school uniform for the new school year.
The council wants all young people starting Year 11 this year to have equal access to all the equipment and resources they need to support them during their final year at school. The packs contain everything they need to make sure they are ready to learn and fully prepared to revise, sit their exams or assessments and take their next steps into adulthood.
Each mainstream school pack includes:
Revision resources, including study guides and ‘how to revise’ materials, tailored to support independent learning.
Study and exam equipment, including a portable power bank, wireless headphones and range of stationery.
Wellbeing items, including a water bottle, inspirational cards and mental health first aid toolkit.
In addition, students will receive a minimum of two foundation revision books for Maths and English, relevant to each school’s syllabus. For students in specialist settings, the council has been working closely with each setting to make sure a bespoke version of the pack is available for SEND students to meet individual needs.
How students receive their pack will depend on individual circumstances:
Year 11 students attending a mainstream school in Barnsley will receive their pack directly through their school and do not need to do anything.
Year 11 students who live in Barnsley but attend Year 11 at a mainstream setting outside Barnsley will be required to collect their pack. The packs will be available to collect from Friday 26 September to Friday 31 October, from the Library @ the Lightbox in Barnsley town centre. You will need to take evidence with you to confirm that your child lives in Barnsley and details of the school your child attends outside the borough. Please do not attempt to collect a pack before 26 September as they will not be available.
Year 11 students attending a specialist setting in Barnsley or live in Barnsley but attend a specialist setting outside the borough will receive their packs directly through their school.
Year 11 students who are electively home educated will be written to separately and invited to collect a pack from Library @ the Lightbox. You will need to take the letter with you and please don’t attempt to collect a pack until you have received the letter or before 26 September.
To launch the scheme, Councillor Ashley Peace, Cabinet Spokesperson for Children’s Services, handed out packs to students at Outwood Academy Shafton during their Year 11 Success Evening, which was attended by Year 11 students and their parents and carers. Councillor Deborah Pearson also attended a similar event at Astrea Academy Dearne. The evenings provided parents and carers with support and guidance on how best they can support their children through the final year of GCSEs.
Councillor Ashley Peace, Cabinet Spokesperson for Children’s Services, said:
“I was delighted to attend Outwood Academy Shafton’s Year 11 Success Evening this week. It was an honour to meet the Year 11 students and hand out our phenomenal support packs which were gratefully received by all. The packs really are fantastic and contain everything that our Year 11 students will need in their final year. It’s also wonderful to see that as well as study equipment and resources, the packs also contain health and wellbeing support, which is a crucial component in making sure our young people remain happy and healthy.
“We’re fully committed to removing all barriers to education and the Year 11 support packs, along with the Uniform Support Scheme and free bus travel for under 18’s, are making huge inroads towards breaking down these barriers. We’re supporting every child to attend school every day with no child being left behind.
“We want every young person starting their final year at school to have all the resources and equipment they need so they are prepared, ready to learn and ready to succeed. I’d like to take the opportunity to wish all our students a happy and successful year ahead.”
Find out more on the Barnsley Council website.
