WGS SHiNE Educational Programme
Withington Girls’ School has organised and delivered a successful, community-focused series of Saturday School courses for the past 14 years which normally run during the Autumn or Spring term. The WGS SHiNE Together educational programme is aimed at able students in Year 5 and 6 at state primary schools in and around Manchester.
In 2022, 90 boys and girls in Years 5 and 6 from 15
maintained Manchester Primary schools attended one of six subject courses offered free of charge during the Spring Term. Six-week courses
ran in school for Complete Creativity, Computing, Drama and Science. We also had a four-week German course delivered in school and a
four-week online course in Creative Writing.
In questionnaires that were answered at the end of the course 86% of pupils said that they had really enjoyed coming to SHiNE Together and 86% of pupils said that coming to SHiNE Together had made them more confident in that subject. An impressive 97% said that they would recommend SHiNE Together to their friends.
In the parental questionnaires, also collected at the end of the course, 90% of parents said that their child was more enthusiastic about the
subject now and 93% said that their child’s confidence had increased, with 97% saying they would recommend SHiNE Together to others.
In 2021, in view of the current situation with the pandemic, the programme was delivered remotely under the new name of SHiNE Together to 68 children.
The six courses on offer in Spring 2021 were:
Art
Computing
Creative Writing
Drama
Design Technology
Spanish
In addition, we offered pupils interested in science and engineering the opportunity to take part in an independent project which could lead to a recognised award.
Aims
The courses aim to provide specialist teaching in a range of classes to able pupils attending local primary schools, free of charge. These courses include classes in Computing, Creative Writing, Complete Creativity (Art, Design and Food Technology), Drama, German, Science and Spanish. They aim to increase pupils’ love of learning, boost self-esteem in the classroom, and provide opportunities for academic growth and development.
Background
The programme was launched in 2007 with the help of funding from SHINE, a national organisation which funds projects to extend educational opportunities to children who would not ordinarily be able to access them, and the former Excellence in Cities programme. Withington has always hosted and run the programme, but from 2016, has also fully funded the WGS SHiNE programme. The SHINE educational charity, which now has its focus in the North of England, aspires to help schools set up programmes which then become self-sufficient after a few years.
During the first six years, the programme entitled ‘Serious Fun on Saturdays’ ran in two-hour sessions, over 20 Saturdays, from November to May, providing exciting practical scientific activities that were taught by science specialists from both the state and independent sectors.
In its seventh year, the programme was reduced to 12 Saturdays, due to the launch of a new Technology course, featuring eight sessions in Design and Food Technology, held in split classes over a four-week period. The programme has evolved further and adapted over recent years to offer a more varied programme with a greater choice of courses. In 2019, courses ran for between 4 and 6 weeks and consisted of Science, Art, Design and Food Technology, Spanish, Music and Drama. In 2021, the programme was renamed SHiNE Together and courses were run over zoom in Art, Computing, Creative Writing, Drama, Design Technology and Spanish. In 2022, a further new course was introduced in German.
The children work in small groups under the supervision of one or two teachers and two Upper Sixth students. This high adult to children ratio contributes to a very supportive and stimulating environment for the delivery of novel, practical sessions using our school’s facilities. These activities provide the children with the opportunity to explore specific subjects in more depth.
In 2022, 90 pupils from the following 15 Primary Schools took part in the SHiNE Together Programme:
• Briscoe Lane Academy
• Button Lane Primary School
• Chapel Street Primary School
• Cringle Brook
• Green End
• Heald Place
• Mauldeth Road
• Medlock Primary School
• Old Hall Drive
• Our Lady’s Primary School
• Rolls Crescent Primary School
• St Paul’s C of E Primary School
• Sunnybank Primary School
• Varna Community Primary School
Webster Primary School
68 pupils from the following 9 primary schools took part in the virtual SHiNE Together programme in 2021:
• Briscoe Lane Academy
• Cavendish Primary School
• Chorlton Park Primary School
• Mauldeth Road Primary School
• Rolls Crescent Primary School
• St James’ Primary School
• St Margaret’s C of E Primary School
• St Paul’s C of E Primary School
• Sunnybank Primary School
91 pupils from the following 18 primary schools attended the SHiNE programme in 2019:
Alma Park Primary School
Cavendish Community Primary School
Cringle Brook Primary School
Heald Place Primary School
Ladybarn Primary School
Mauldeth Road Primary School
Moston Lane Primary School
New Islington Free School
Northenden Community School
Old Hall Drive Academy
Our Lady's RC Primary School
Rolls Crescent Primary School
Seymour Road Academy
St James' CofE Primary School Birch-in-Rusholme
St John's CofE Primary School
St Margaret's CofE Primary School
St Richard's RC Primary School
Varna Community Primary School
Targets for pupils
• Enhanced performance in academic subjects in class, school and national tests.
• Increased pupil confidence.
• To engender a love of learning by exposing the pupils to subjects delivered in a fun, hands-on manner.
• Developed skills of reasoning, critical thinking and problem solving.
• Strong collaboration and teamwork skills with their fellow pupils, Sixth Formers and teachers.
• Increased motivation and raised aspirations for their future at senior school.
For WGS Sixth Formers
• To develop confidence in supporting small groups of able children in a familiar environment.
• To develop curriculum knowledge and obtain experience of assisting the teachers in small group activities.
• To develop communication skills.
For the School
• To develop closer links with local schools and the local community.
• To provide opportunities for personal development of teaching staff.
• To increase the utilisation of its premises outside normal school hours.
Resources
Withington Girls’ School provides classroom facilities (including purpose-built science laboratories, a design technology suite and food technology room), teaching materials and resources, teacher-time and Sixth Form mentors. Refreshments are also provided for the SHiNE attendees.
In 2019, the planning and delivery of the SHiNE courses involved 377 staff hours and 175 student hours, with a benefit to 91 local children in 18 primary schools.
Impact
Around 790 local pupils have benefited from the SHiNE Together programme in the 14 years it has run at Withington Girls’ School.
In questionnaires that were answered at the end of the course in 2022, 86% of pupils said that they had really enjoyed coming to SHiNE Together
and 86% of pupils said that coming to SHiNE Together had made them more confident in that subject. An impressive 97% said that they would
recommend SHiNE Together to their friends.
In the parental questionnaires, also collected at the end of the course, 90% of parents said that their child was more enthusiastic about the
subject now and 93% said that their child’s confidence had increased, with 97% saying they would recommend SHiNE Together to others.
Parents feedback for the 2022 course included:
"My daughter has been having massive confidence
issues and since coming here we have found that
she is much happier in new situations and wants to
try new things!"
“My child really enjoyed the course and learnt
so much. He would always come back after his
session excited to tell me what he had learnt. The
teachers and organisers were also very welcoming
and informative about the sessions. Excellent
opportunity for children, I’m so grateful that my son
was offered this course. Thank you to all at Shine.”
“SHiNE was a really great way to meet children from
other primary schools ahead of the move to high
school!”
“He thoroughly enjoyed the varied experience you
provided him within the science course. He looked
forward to each session with excitement and loved every session."
95% of pupils in 2021 said that they had really enjoyed coming to SHiNE Together and 98% of pupils said that coming to SHiNE Together had made them more confident in that subject. 98% of pupils said that they were more excited about learning this subject now and an impressive 100% said they would recommend SHiNE Together to their friends.
Parent's feedback for the 2021 courses included:
“This course has been great especially
as Spanish has not been available at
school / homeschool during lockdown.
Thank you.”
“My daughter has really enjoyed these
online sessions and has said she
would like to continue to learn more
Spanish as a result.”
“Thank you so much for all your hard work
and giving up your Saturday mornings.
My child really enjoyed the design
technology programme! She loves all the
things she has created! “
“Thank you for making Shine Together
an amazing experience for the kids.”
“Thank you for organising Shine Together
design technology! We are all impressed
with what my child has done.”
“Thank you to all involved in running the
design technology program. My child
enjoyed it very much and is very proud
of her creations. I’m sure it’s given her a
good insight into design technology in secondary school".
“Thank you for giving us the opportunity
to shine together!”
“Thank you once again for the Shine
Together courses. This is an amazing
job considering all that is going on
with lockdown.”
Pupil Involvement
SHiNE Together continues to grow as we expand our provision. In 2018 approximately 15 - 20 Sixth Form students worked with and supported the 50 boys and girls from local primary schools who took part in the programme.
In 2019, 91 pupils took part from 18 different primary schools. They were supported by 21 Year 13 students from Withington.
In 2021, 81 pupils took part from 9 primary schools and in 2022, 90 pupils took part from 15 primary schools.
Frequency
The programme has been running for the past 14 years and has evolved to meet the change in needs and requirements of local pupils.
Whilst our preference will always be to open Withington’s doors to local children on a Saturday morning, sadly it was not possible during 2020 – 2021, so in 2021 we delivered virtual courses which ran for five Saturday mornings in Spring. All sessions were delivered via Zoom so that children could join them from home. We were delighted to move back to face to face courses in January 2022.