Key stage 4 communication workshops

Talk About The Future

Years 11-13 - Full Day Workshop

Prepare your students for the next stage of education, employment or training with confidence and a positive mindset.

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If you are in London or Essex
click here for funding information.


Are your students ready to move on?

Talk About The Future supports students preparing to leave school or college by developing the competencies needed to take this next step with confidence, resilience and a positive mindset.

This workshop can support the Gatsby Benchmarks by helping you to address the needs of each pupil (3) and linking curriculum learning to careers (4). Talk About The Future also supports you with Mock Interviews (5) and can form part of a stable careers programme (1).

England – supports the National Curriculum Spoken Language and Citizenship for
Key Stage 4

Wales – supports the Literacy & Numeracy Framework for Key Stage 4 and the Welsh Baccalaureate

Post-16 – supports the development of students’ character, broader skills and confidence as part of your 16-19 study programme

This workshop meets the requirements for Impact Level 4 by The Skills Builder Partnership.

 

Workshop Aims
  • Identifying employability skills
  • Developing interview techniques
  • Nurturing presentation skills
  • Improving connections with potential employers
  • Boosting self-esteem

What does this workshop involve?

This workshop is aimed at students who are either in their final year of secondary school or in Sixth Form – with a focus on improving their connections with employers, colleges and universities.

At the end of this workshop students will be able to keep their workbook which will assist them in creating their first CV, completing their UCAS application and preparing for upcoming interviews.

During the workshop students will:

  • Talk about their life experiences and translate these into a defined set of unique skills
  • Talk about their plans for moving on – and how confident they feel about this
  • Learn about preparing for an interview and appropriate communication during an interview
  • Prepare a set of open questions and undergo mock interviews, both as interviewer and interviewee
  • Explore the impact and necessity of personal anecdotes within the interview situation
  • Prepare for and undergo a mock interview with their trainer and peers

Students Reported Feeling...

49%
More confident when communicating
40%
More confident when talking about their life experiences
57%
Better equipped with the skills for confident communication

What staff say about Talk The Talk

“At The Dorcan Academy we have, over the past two years focused on developing oracy within our curriculum. Many of our students come from disadvantaged backgrounds and we have become increasingly aware that often this results in a lack of confidence but also a significantly reduced vocabulary. Talk The Talk provided excellent CPD for our staff, which gave us an insight into how our students sometimes feel. I remember being told that by the end of the session we would all be able to give a presentation without notes – this frightened the life out of me, and I’m the Headteacher! However, we were taken through a variety of exercises that built our oracy skills and in turn our confidence, which meant that we did end up giving a presentation without our notes, something that I had never been brave enough to do.

Talk The Talk’s expert trainers then took our Year 7 students through the same procedures, as part of their Transition programme and it was highly effective in enabling new tutors to get to know their new students as well as developing immediate confidence and a growth mindset – something that we wanted to achieve but hadn’t realised it could happen so quickly. Since then, we have invited Talk The Talk to lead sessions with other year groups focused on preparing for interviews and the future. We have never been disappointed.

Talk The Talk measure impact through growth in students’ confidence from the start to the end of the days and the impact is very clear. Students themselves are proud of their achievements and we have definitely noticed that they have developed in confidence. We have used this to springboard other oracy initiatives such as ‘No opt out’ and ‘Hands down’. Our students are used to having to answer questions when called upon and having to speak in full sentences in a confident manner. Our students are becoming more articulate.

We are now focusing on developing students’ ability to use academic vocabulary when speaking within lessons, as we believe that you can’t say what you can’t think and you can’t write what you can’t say. Often our students would struggle to decipher exam questions and vocabulary, however, we have now introduced a whole school strategy to teach Tier 2 and 3 words across the curriculum. Ultimately, we want our students to be confident thinkers, speakers and writers.”

Sherryl Bareham – Headteacher

Ongoing Support

At the end of the workshop Talk The Talk’s support doesn’t end, our resources section includes free videos, lesson plans and classroom resources so you can continue to build on what we have started.

Testimonials

“Wow! Yet another outstanding day delivered by Talk The Talk. Never tire of seeing these confident young adults standing up and talking about something that matters to them!”

Our Lady & St John Catholic College,
Blackburn

“A well delivered session that has visibly improved my tutor group’s confidence. Students went home buzzing at the end of their first day at school. We have booked the sessions again for next year.”

Dorcan Academy,
Swindon

“Have to say, if anyone had told me at the start of the day, that the students would produce speeches of the quality they did, just five hours later, I’d have said they were delusional…! Phenomenal results!”

Langley Grammar School,
Slough

“Lovely manner with the students, building their confidence and resilience effectively. Students engaged in all activities and a positive learning environment throughout.”

Newall Green High School,
Manchester

“The training was perfectly pitched for the age of our students and it enabled all students to progress significantly with their ability to construct and present to an audience effectively. Everyone from the most confident through to the most anxious absolutely thrived.”

Glenmoor and Winton Academies,
Bournemouth

“Students are highly engaged and are learning a lot of good skills. Pace is good and the sessions progress well. The trainer is obviously vastly experienced with training school children. Excellent!”

Prendergast Ladywell School,
London

“The CPD delivered was outstanding. Many teachers felt it was one of the best inset days we’ve had and they feel great motivation as a result of the tips and guidance.”

Ladybridge High School,
Bolton

If you are in London or Essex please click here.

For all other areas please use the form below.

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