Information for PARENTS & CARERS
What it's like starting at PiPeLine
There's no getting around it; if your child's school is thinking about sending them to us, your child's education journey has gone off track. We're here to try and steer things back on track. You'll doubtlessly be tired of school meetings, phonecalls, and negative messages. Sometimes, things just don't click, don't work, don't fit. Your child will be feeling nervous about starting at a new place, that's a fact. Chances are though, you're feeling nervous for them also. Every single pupil who has come to PiPeLine has felt the same way. Most pupils are fine after the first hour or so and start to settle into themselves within a week. We will introduce your child to staff and pupils though they will have already met some staff and some pupils when they did their initial visit. You'll receive an A4 letter detailing some key bits of information and contact numbers when you come for a visit.
How do we communicate?
As part of the referral process, we take a couple of contact details from you including your mobile number which will usually be the main way we contact you. We will contact on a morning if your child hasn't arrived when expected. We contact if there's any important information you may need to know. We'll often have a phone conversation to let you know how your child is settling in when they start. We will contact if there are any behaviour issues but we will also send messages when your child has a good day. If you request it, we can send you copies of your child's termly report, the report we send to their school at the end of each term.
What's my child's relationship with their original school now?
They are still very much a pupil of that school and their school maintains full responsibility for them and their education. They will monitor your child's progress frequently and visit with them to make sure everything is going ok. Some pupils, especially younger pupils, end up returning to their school if that's something that will be in their best interests.
How long will my child be at PiPeLine?
That's a difficult question. For some pupils, they come to PiPeLine for a term or two to help them refocus, get on the right track, and then return to school. For other pupils, that isn't enough so some pupils remain at PiPeLine for the rest of their education, taking advantage of the great setting and great qualification we have to offer. Whatever the situation, you can speak to your child's school at any time and talk about your child's future and how you would like their education to be. Some parents find that their child makes so much progress at PiPeLine that, if the decision is made for them to return to school, they would prefer their child to stay. We often hear from parents, "I've finally got my child back."
What do you do here?
We do a smaller timetable with a great selection of qualifications. Some are optional, some are mandatory, all are recommended. All the qualifications we do matter and help your child to achieve a great future. We don't waste time on participation certificates or certification that doesn't offer any qualification, meaning, or serve a real purpose. Below, we'll show in a bit more detail some of the qualifications your child may do.
Music Technology (NCFE Technical Award) - Delivered at PiPeLine Bradford
This is basically using a studio to make music and sounds. The course deliverer is active in the music industry working as a producer for some well known names while also creating music for the likes of the BBC and CBS. Using industry standard equipment, pupils will be taught how to manipulate sound to create music and sound effects as well as gaining a wider understanding of music.
Everything we do uses industry standard software and processes so that pupils would know what to do no matter what studio they visited.
Music Technology isn't only about music. If pupils are not that into making music, the same technology is also used to make the sounds effects for movies, TV shows, computer games, even devices and websites. This is a career role called Foley Artistry. On top of this, Music Tech teaches excellent ICT and problem solving skills.
Business & Enterprise (NCFE Technical Award) - Delivered at PiPeLine Bradford
We feel that a lot of our pupils are more cut out for running their own business due to a fierce independent tendency. This qualification helps them understand how businesses are put together and how they are run. From starting up, through to managing cash and the legal steps, they'll learn a broad spectrum of business skills.
They learn about the different types of business and the different types of business people. They'll look at famous entrepreneurs and try to understand how they became successful.
Though they may never become an entrepreneur, by understanding how business works, they'll have a better understanding of how to take advantage of opportunities in life and also be set up to understand legal aspects of their jobs. And you never know; the stuff they learn on this course might resurface when they\re older and they might just go on to starting their own company.
Health & Fitness (NCFE Technical Award) - Delivered at PiPeLine Keighley
Health is wealth they say! We all need to look after ourselves and understanding how Health & Fitness works is an amazing life skill to have. It's even better if you're a pupil who wants to get into being a personal trainer or just wants to step up their own fitness goals.
As well as understanding how the body works when it comes to fitness, pupils will work to understand the key role nutrition plays in health and fitness. This fits in well with the Food & Cookery qualification where they go even deeper into understanding food.
Some pupils prefer to get stuck in. With visits to sports centres, playing fields, and in-house fitness activities, pupils can put all their learning into practice and get involved in some actual fitness sessions. The Health & Fitness instructor also works as a Personal Trainer on evenings and weekends and so has a real life understanding of fitness & how to get into the industry.
Food & Cookery(NCFE Technical Award) - Delivered at PiPeLine Keighley
The dish in the picture was made by one of our pupils for their qualification. Pupils learn about what goes on behind the scenes in a restaurant kitchen from menu preparation, costing, sourcing ingredients, to full food preparation. The course deliverer worked in the industry for most of her life and understands the pressures of a catering environment.
Another pupil's dish - but we don't only cook desserts. Pupils learn about the different food groups and how balanced meals are put together. If your child wants to be a chef, this is a great qualification. But if you ever need to cook at home (which we all will need to do at some point) these skills are essential.
Yes, pupils learn how to make restaurant quality dishes. Yes, they learn how to make food that can easily be made at home. Yes, they make a variety of different dishes, some healthy, some not so much. And yes, they get to eat it after they've cooked it (or sometimes bring it home!)
GCSE English
Literature & Language
GCSE Maths
Foundation or Higher
GCSE Biology NEW
Foundation
Functional Skills English & Maths
L1 & L2
Other Subjects PSHE, Artificial Intelligence, Life Skills
Additional Learning
Pupils should arrive between 9.30am and 9.50am. Staff wait outside the building and bring them in either as a group or on their own when they arrive.
The manager/Safeguarding Lead at the provision will provide you with a mobile number so you can easily text us to let us know your child is on their way but will be a little later or you can call to let us know your child won't be in. If we don't hear from you, the manager will contact to find out where your child is. If we don't see your child for a few days, a member of the team conduct a home visit.
We don't have quite as many rules as pupils will be used to in school but we do have some and the rules we have, we have for good reasons. Firstly, there is no uniform but pupils do need to dress appropriately. They should dress so they'll be comfortable with the weather but shouldn't wear clothes that are too revealing. Mobile phones are permitted but they are handed in at the start of each session and returned to pupils at the end of the session. We don't permit energy drinks at our provisions - if a pupil brings one, it will be put in the fridge and they can have it at the end of the day. And then we have a load of just general rules around internet safety, bullying, being polite, getting on with work, and just overall making sure pupils are paying attention to staff.
We expect all pupils to do all the qualifications we have to offer. This is the best way to ensure they successfully achieve 5 GCSEs including Maths and English. But, sometimes a subject just doesn't gel for them. We can have that conversation; if we think it's in their best interests to drop a subject and they have good reasons, chances are we will let that happen. If they don't want to do Business because they can't be bothered, well, that's not really a good reason and so we'd usually expect them to persevere with the subject.
As a general rule, we remain at all times within our provision. Lunch is brought to us and we all eat in the communal areas. We have another space called the Listening Room where pupils will often relax during breaks and play the Playstation. We also have other activities on the go as well as other classic gaming machines.
We're understanding and we work with you and your child. We have a room called the "Listening Room" where pupils can spend some time to recharge, relax, and regulate themselves. It's a pretty relaxing space. We also employ a variety of other strategies to help pupils manage a variety of emotions and emotional states and so we will work with them to bring them back to a level.
We have a variety of different meals available which are bought in from surrounding food places. A lot of people choose to have food from Greggs while some will order meals from the cafe in the building. We provide pupils with a bottle of water, a packet of crisps, and a cereal bar each day. Tea, coffee, and hot chocolate is also available. If pupils arrive early enough, we provide toast and cereal. While we do encourage healthy eating and do try to encourage pupils to eat a good, varied meal, we will order what they will eat (within reason) as we don't like food waste. Vegetarian, Vegan, and Halal options are always available.
Most of our pupils are really nice and as a rule, everybody gets on really well. Sometimes people do fall out but this is rare and we're pretty good at dealing with things. All the pupils remember what it was like to be the new pupil and so they usually go out of their way to make new pupils feel welcome.
The maximum number of pupils we have at our KS4 Bradford provision is 25 though usually it's quite a lot fewer than this. Generally, it's around 15 pupils with each lesson having between 4 and 6 pupils in it. But it can vary from day to day and at different times of the year.
Yes though it does depend on a lot of things such as how many pupils we have and how everyone is conducting themselves. This last year, we went bowling twice and out for a few meals at restaurants. In the past we have done activities such as paint-balling or visiting theme-parks. We'll usually ask the pupils as a group what it is they would like to do and then we see if we can make it happen - no promises!