Last week the DYW D&A team co-ordinated a second successful Team Spirit event for S1 pupils in St Paul’s RC Academy, Dundee, the first being held in September at Webster’s High School, Kirriemuir.
The aim of the event is to develop team building and communication skills, while also providing an insight into careers in care. The event was created with support from University of Dundee’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences, with lecturer Tom McConnachie and students helping on the days, as well as Dundee and Angus College Health and Social Care students and senior and former pupils from St Paul’s.
Over the three-day event 160 pupils took part, split into 8 teams including Doctors, Physiotherapists, Opticians and Dieticians. They took part in 8 different tasks including ‘The Swamp’, where the teams have to work together to cross the polluted swamp without falling in, ‘Medical Run’, where the teams had to ensure the medical supplies are all collected and delivered safely to the hospital and ‘Nerves of Steel’, where an elderly ‘patient’ had inhaled toxic gas and required urgent ‘surgery’.
The teams were scored at each station for how quickly they completed the task, and on their ability to work together to successfully complete the tasks. At the end of each of the three days the top three scoring groups were awarded certificates. The pupils very quickly learned that in order to complete the tasks and score well they must work together.
Feedback from the pupils and partners who supported the event has been hugely positive. They have learned a lot about what it means to work together and also raised awareness of careers within the care sector. We look forward to working with more young people in activities like this. If you would like more information on this event or what DYW D&A can do for you, please contact us at contact@dywtaycities.co.uk.