Greenacres First National Careers Week

Last week we hosted our first Careers Week, providing students from primary through to Year 14 with a unique opportunity to gain hands-on work experience in various specialised areas across the school. Throughout the week, students engaged in practical activities within the salon, reception cafe, gym, and horticulture garden, allowing them to explore different industries firsthand.

In addition to the on-site experiences, students had the chance to interact with a range of employers. These encounters enabled students to participate in career-related activities and ask questions about qualifications, training, and the day-to-day roles of the volunteers.

A highlight for our young adults in the post-16 department was a visit to the local fire station. During the visit, they toured the station, tested equipment, and tried on uniforms, providing a memorable and educational experience.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the following individuals and organisations for their support:

• Lauren and Lewis from Echo Fire and Medical

• Danni Booth Lindley, a local Personal Trainer

• Ben and Nathan from Hyperoptic

• Liam and Adam from Barnsley Football Club

• All the staff at Broadway Fire Station in Barnsley

Greenacre SEND Futures Event 2024

Back with a BANG!

In May we saw the return of our Greenacre SEND Futures Event and what a excellent turn out we had. With representatives from Education, Healthcare, Social care and Employment we were able to share with parents, carers and our young adults the services that are available across the Yorkshire region.

It was excellent having peers from various settings visit our school again, building relationships and seeing some familiar faces of young men and women who were once students at Greenacre.

We look forward to hosting the event next year and having you all join us again.

Add the date for next years event to your diary now.
20th May 2025

“It was a great opportunity to talk to different providers and for them to meet the young people so that they weren’t just a piece of paper. The signposting booklet that was given away in the pack was really useful and very comprehensive.”

— Emma McMahon; Parent

Preparation for the future

Recently, we were lucky enough to have a visit from the wonderful Kat, the owner of Black Kat HR based at The Digital Media Centre in Barnsley.

Black Kat HR provides expert HR and employment law consultant services across South Yorkshire and beyond.
Kat kindly volunteered to complete 4 mock interview sessions with our post 16 students, enabling them to experience what an interview would be like before they go for interviews in further education or employment in the future.

Our students were very excited to welcome Kat and although initially nervous, Kat’s calming nature and clear questions soon put them at ease and had them selling themselves confidently.

“It was my pleasure to deliver a session for your students giving them the opportunity to practice taking part in an interview. As a local HR consultant I work with lots of different businesses on bringing in new employees and it was great to see the students really get involved in the session, giving some well thought out answers and sharing their aspirations around employment in the future. Students fed back that the session made them feel more confident and prepared to handle an interview either for college or employment which was excellent to hear.

Thank you for welcoming me in to your school.”

— Kat Derbyshire

Our local community- Work Experience and beyond

Throughout the year we have been very lucky to have been offered some valuable experiences from our local community and we would like to say a quick thank you to them for their time and effort when supporting our students.

Firstly, a huge thank you goes to SMS Plc at Hoyland, who welcomed 6 of our students to complete work experience ‘taster days’ with their team. The team were fantastic and really knew how to support our students fully. Students spent half a day upstairs in the offices and half a day down in the warehouse, shadowing each of the key roles and being trusted to scan the items that had been returned or being sent out.

“I had a right good time, I went home and had a look for a job there. There’s none at the minute but I’m going to keep looking. I’ve already planned my bus there.”

— Jake Roantree, Student

Secondly, a thank you to John North and Sam Thomson from BMBC Supported Employment Services. This year they have offered a wide range of work placements for our students and Sam has been wonderful in supporting the students to access the sessions more independently.

The placements offered to us this year have included:

• Cuccina

• Market Kitchen

• Brick Yard Fishing Ponds

• RSPB Cafe

• Glassworks.

We really appreciate all the hard work that John and his team have put into organising these events and we look forward to working with them again next year.

Finally, a thank you to our friends at Shaw Lane. Shaw Lane have welcomed us back this year for another marvellous block of experiences. Students have maintained and improved the grounds, and taken part in valuable lessons around personal hygiene. They have also had the chance to build on their friendships by accessing the sports pitch once there tasks are complete, to play games with their peers.

A visit from Stagecoach

A huge thank you to Cooper and Jay from Stagecoach, who organised and ran such an exciting and engaging visit to our school with Stagecoaches brand new (and at the time, not yet released) electric bus!

Students from across the school came to visit the bus, learning how to get on safely, how to buy tickets, asking questions about future career paths and practicing setting up the ramp to make it accessible for wheel chair users.

The day wouldn’t have ran so smoothly however, if it wasn’t for the post 16 students who supported Cooper and Jay throughout the day, leading sessions for the younger students after receiving their own Stagecoach briefing. Well done to Stevie, Alan and Jon for doing such an excellent job.

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