Oak Grove College is a Special Educational Needs school in Worthing providing a diverse education to 239 pupils aged between 11 and 19. The school’s catchment area covers a wide geographic footprint, from Brighton in the east, to Littlehampton in the west and Horsham in the north. The school caters for statemented pupils with a wide variety of needs drawn from both a rural and urban setting.

The school has faces an ongoing challenge preparing their pupils for the workplace and providing work experience. This difficulty is particularly acute in the 6th Form which now has a population of 70 students. Traditionally the school has had limited links with local employers, usually in the horticultural sector but in recent years, suitable work experience opportunities have become more scarce as local employers utilise the Apprenticeship Programmes to recruit and train school leavers and there is an element of competition with mainstream schools for work placements.

The volunteering role Through the staff volunteering scheme, my volunteer role has three distinct phases. Firstly, working with Senior Managers in the school to prepare and adopt a funding strategy which meets the needs of pupils, parents and staff. Secondly, to access grant funding to provide a ‘work like’ experience for pupils within the school setting and thirdly, work with local employers, parents and staff to overcome the barriers in providing work experience.

A funding strategy was prepared and adopted for both the school and the Parent Teacher Association. The strategy identified a range of funders both locally and nationally, that had criteria wide enough for the school to have a reasonable expectation of receiving a grant. The strategy also identified 10 funding streams relevant to the school and PTA and provided a framework for the organisations to develop projects and activities to exploit these funding streams and improve their revenue streams.

Providing ‘work like’ experiences for students, has over the years has had the greatest impact on students. The school has used its open space well, building poly tunnels and greenhouses to grow flowers, herbs and vegetables, which are sold to the public and provide not only a working environment for students but a regular income for the school as well.

A priority for 2013/4 was the funding and building of an outdoor kitchen which could be used to extend the working environment from horticulture and retail to catering and food preparation as well.

Community Engagement Award The School recognised the impact my year of volunteering has had, nominating me for the University’s Community Engagement Award in 2014. The citation read: ‘Oak Grove College is a special needs college for students between the ages of eleven and nineteen. At the college we run an ambitious Outdoor Learning Programme. Nick Rogers has been an invaluable support over a period of years in our fundraising activities. Under his guidance we have had much success in achieving awards for outdoor community projects. Without Nick’s help we would not have been able to secure and maintain relevant programmes of learning for our complex special needs students’.

Big Lottery grant My year finished with the development of a project plan and a successful Big Lottery grant of £9,800 to purchase the building materials to build the outdoor kitchen area. Work commenced on the outdoor kitchen in 2014, the kitchen will be completed in the spring of 2015 and serving food to the public in the summer.

Nick Rodgers, Business Development Manager, Economic and Social Engagement Department (EASE)