5 October 2016 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

The International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme in Kent

On Wednesday 28 September we had the launch of the next phase of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Career-Related Programme (CP) involving 18 more Secondary schools in Kent. It was hosted by Sevenoaks School and introduced by Dr Siva Kumari, the Chief Executive of the International Baccalaureate worldwide.

This is an enormous opportunity for Kent Secondary schools, to provide a more flexible academic and vocational programme for sixth form students. The IB CP is a prestigious qualification recognised, not only throughout the UK, but also worldwide. It is offered in schools, not only in Europe, but also in the US, Australia, Asia and the Middle East. In Kent, it is currently available in 8 High schools and one Grammar school.

In Kent High schools, the IB CP is demonstrating its capacity to develop young people who are self-confident, articulate, enterprising, creative and skilled in teamwork. It is also delivering very positive and impressive results for young people.

The programme combines academic, vocational and character education and has 3 elements: a recognised vocational course (e.g. BTEC, CISI, IFS); at least 2 subjects from the IB Diploma Programme and a core, consisting of Personal and Professional Skills, Service Learning, a Reflective Project and Language Development.

The Kent Pilot

The IB CP was introduced globally in 2012, but pilots of the programme began a little earlier. One of these was in Kent, and started in 2011, with the first cohort completing the programme in 2013. It prepared students aged 16-19 for higher education, apprenticeships and employment. The pilot showed the IBCP’s capacity to improve achievement, raise aspirations and enhance employability.

The Kent pilot was unique, as it involved a group of non-IB World Schools offering the programme through a hub, which was Dane Court Grammar School. With the latter’s support, High schools were able to develop the programme until they could be authorised to offer it independently, and gain IB World School status. While Dane Court demonstrated the effectiveness of the IB CP in a selective school, the pilot schools showed how it could be developed successfully in High schools, including those in challenging circumstances. The pilot ended in 2015, and the first six of the pilot schools to offer the programme were all authorised in 2016. These are: Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre, The King Ethelbert School, Northfleet Technology School, The Royal Harbour Academy, Sandwich Technology School and Skinners’ Kent Academy.

Each school became part of the community of IB World Schools in Kent, bringing the total to 13. Two other high schools, which joined the pilot later, are expected to be authorised as IB World Schools in 2016.

Between 2013 (when the first IB CP students in Kent completed the programme) and 2016, the average success rate of IB CP students in Kent high schools has exceeded 93%. The small numbers of students not awarded the full certificate still gained qualifications from its elements enabling them to go on to university, high-level apprenticeships or employment.

The Kent Project 2016-17

To build on the success of the pilot, and following our visit to the IB International Conference in The Hague in 2015, the LA and the IB agreed arrangements for a new project in Kent to expand the programme. As a result a further group of High schools is now planning to introduce the programme in September 2017. The project has the active support of KCC and is being supported with funding allocated through the Kent Association of Headteachers.

Links are being formed with universities, and also with business, to aid progression, and ensure that the experience of students on the programme is enriched.

By September 2017, it is expected that the IB CP will be available in 18 more High schools in 10 of Kent’s 12 Districts, with from one to four IB World Schools in each, many of them serving coastal and rural communities. Kent already has the highest concentration of IB World Schools in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Within a year, it is likely to have the largest concentration globally, which is an outstanding opportunity for education in Kent.

I would like to thank Tony Smith and Nigel Blackburn for their work in helping to develop the expanded IB Career-Related Programme.

Patrick Leeson, Corporate Director Education and Young People’s Services