Hazlehead Primary School, Aberdeen
We’re always interested in discovering and sharing the different approaches our partners and schools take to JAS.
At Hazlehead Primary, for example, a teacher uses the TASC wheel as a tool to encourage pupils to plan, generate ideas and reflect on their progress as they achieved their JAS Awards.
Children also made posters showcasing their different projects. The school also uses learning postcards which the JAS participants fill out at the end of a section (along with their evaluation in their folder). This helps them reflect on their successes, challenges and next steps,
‘We think it is important for the children to think about next steps when they finish a section and think about how they can apply skills learnt further.’
Examples of group activities?
For the section ‘Adventure’ the whole class started curling lessons. This was chosen as it is a sport the children had not experienced before and the sessions gave them the opportunity to learn new skills perhaps outside of their comfort zone.
Has JAS opened up opportunities for linking with other areas of curriculum or working with community partners?
The children have shown great enthusiasm within their activities which have had great scope for linking with other areas of the curriculum and the community, including,
Fundraising bake sale
For ‘Me and My World’ a group of 4 girls had a personal attachment to CLAN Cancer Support and decided to run a bake sale to raise money. They worked with the school cook to plan recipes, work out costing's and seek out ingredients. They then baked with the cook, organised the promotion of the event with flyers and posters as well as contacting CLAN to present the money raised.
A pair of boys decided they would like to plan an afternoon tea event for a local care home. They organised the whole event themselves and I received a lovely letter detailing how successful the event was and impressive the boys had been.
Supporting younger pupils
Another group of pupils decided they wanted to work with younger pupils to develop their reading skills. This is highly relevant as raising attainment in reading is on our school improvement plan.
The girls had to choose age-appropriate texts and create comprehension questions and activities for the children. The discussions with the children after each session helped them reflect on and make improvements for the next. The children also had to develop skills in organisation and communication with class teachers.
Beach litter pick
A group of girls decided they wanted to focus on the helping the environment so planned a litter pick along Aberdeen beach. They were shocked at how much litter they collected in such a short amount of time and shared this information with their peers at assembly. The girls also submitted their findings to Blue Peter and were awarded the Green Blue Peter badge.
How about examples of solo achievements?
Health and Wellbeing has played a big part in ‘Get Active Stay Active’ section and one boy challenged himself to run 26 miles across a series of weeks,
‘He displayed his achievements in school and was extremely proud of his determination and efforts.’
JAS in your area
It is always inspiring to hear about the different ways schools are integrating JAS into their learning and adapting the programme to suit their settings.
If you would like to share or discuss how the JAS Award can bring learning to life for young people in your area, we’d love to hear from you.
Please visit Jas Award or contact us on admin@jasaward.org.uk
Discover more about JAS
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“JAS helps our children reflect on things that are not core curricular areas like writing and reading. It helps them appreciate how many other things they are doing and the skills that these require. At the end of the Award they get a certificate which they all really enjoy too.”