ACT insight 2

insight

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ISSUE 2 | JANUARY 2018

including...

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13

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Important things you need to know

Celebrating success

Staff in the spotlight

ACT has acquired Acorn Learning Solutions, the training arm of leading recruitment agency Acorn...

We have been named as a leader in people management practice globally, having been ranked 7th Best...

This month we have put the spotlight on Dave Parker, Schools Tutor of the Year!

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Welcome to the second issue of ACT Insight, I hope you all had a wonderful break over Christmas and have come back refreshed and ready to take on 2018!

This issue we are celebrating making the top 100 best companies list, our success at the IIP Awards, along with our first Staff Recognition Awards.

Our Staff in the Spotlight section features Dave Parker – who was awarded Schools Tutor of the Year.

You can find important information inside on the acquisition of Acorn Learning Solutions, Estyn, GDPR, along with your new staff council representatives. Remember to get involved with our book club and check out this issues recommended read.

The first issue of ACT Insight was very well received, thank you to everyone who provided feedback and ideas for the future. Please keep these ideas coming, we are always happy to take them on board.

welcome...

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contents Important things you need to know

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Events

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Celebrating Success

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Quality

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Welsh Corner / Cornel Cymraeg

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Room 101

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Staff in the Spotlight

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Book Club

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New Recruits

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important things you need to know...

ACT acquire training arm of Acorn >>

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ACT ACQUIRE TRAINING ARM OF ACORN ACT has acquired Acorn Learning Solutions, the training arm of leading recruitment agency Acorn.

This union sees both highlyrespected and high-performing training providers bring together existing strengths and specialisms to offer a broad and high quality portfolio of apprenticeships and skills training solutions to thousands of employers.

Together, with Acorn Learning Solutions, there is no doubt that we will become the industry’s largest provider in Wales and will offer an unparalleled suite of vocational training to learners and clients.

By coming together with like minded people and pursuing this path, we are consolidating our industry to a scale and breadth that has the capabilities and influence to respond more effectively to the growing skills requirements and compete more effectively in the Welsh and English market place.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? ACT and Acorn Learning Solutions have a shared vision and priorities. They both recognise the need to boost skills training that supports

business growth and increases opportunities for young people and out-of-work adults to engage with learning and progress into employment.

"The move will see no change for staff in ACT other than the opportunity to work closer together to share best practice..."

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR STAFF AT ACT AND ACORN LEARNING SOLUTIONS? The move will see no change for staff in ACT other than the opportunity to work closer together to share best practice, knowledge and resources to meet the needs of learners, employers and communities in which they work.

As the ALS team are currently experiencing a period of change, they are undergoing a short consultation period that will engage and inform staff of the minor changes, particularly those relating to their employment.

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Once the consultation period is completed, the Acorn Learning Solutions team will operate under a new name, ALS, and from a new location at ACT’s head office at Ocean Park House in Cardiff. Everything else will remain the same for example, their terms of employment, job descriptions, learners, and clients.

Once the consultation period is complete, our first priority is to ensure an effective transition so that all learners, clients and stakeholders continue to receive the same high level of service from both companies.

It is also at this point that we can expect to see the team move into Ocean Park House, their office will be on the ground floor.

They will be moving into meeting room 1 and the waiting area outside as well as training rooms 5, 6 and 7. We ask that you show consideration of their space and refrain from using the area as a walk through to access other areas of the building. Fob access will be installed in due course.

We will be able to share more information on our ‘working together’ plan once changes start to take place and bed in, but more importantly, I hope you will join me in giving the team a big ACT welcome when the time comes.

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We will be informing our stakeholders of this news, but we hope that we can rely on you all to reassure your learners, clients and your contacts that this is a positive step and fantastic news for our sector.

We are incredibly excited about the potential this opportunity unlocks for us in the years to come and I hope you are too.

Together we will be able to generate income to invest, develop provision, deliver more and increase opportunities to best support young people, adults, employers and communities in Wales and England.

Read more about this acquisition on our website http://www. acttraining.org.uk/act-acquirerespected-training-arm-of-acorn

Did you know...

THERE ARE OVER

32,000

SCHOOLS IN THE UK!

GDPR IS COMING Yes, it’s another acronym and another new piece of legislation for us to get our heads around, but GDPR presents us with a great opportunity to tighten up our systems and become more efficient in the ways in which we work.

WHAT IS GDPR? The GDPR is Europe's new framework for data protection laws that comes into force on 25th May 2018. It replaces the Data Protection Act, which current UK law is based upon and in essence it has been designed to give citizens more control over their data. The reforms are designed to reflect the digital world we're living in now, and brings laws and obligations across Europe up to speed for the internet-connected age.

As you can imagine, we as a business handle, share, use and store a lot of data. For example, we share learner data with Careers Wales, we receive hundreds of personal data via enquiries from our website on a daily basis, and we input a huge amount of learner data onto our database Vision. So, the introduction of GDPR means we will have to make some changes to the way we work.

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We have four months to prepare for the new GDPR legislation and to lead on this preparatory work a GDPR working group has been set comprising of Rob Haines, Matthew Burnett, Rebecca Cooper and Jayne McGill-Harris.

Together they are looking at our systems and ways of working and will be making changes in line with GDPR. STAFF TRAINING As we are such a data-driven organisation, we all need to understand what the new legislation is and get on board with new ways of working to ensure we are compliant.

The GDPR working group has planned a series of short staff training sessions, targeting middle managers and route managers initially, to start brining staff up to speed.

WHAT NEXT? As we get closer to the golive-date on 25th May, you can expect to receive more information on GDPR and what you and your teams can do to ensure we are compliant.

In the meantime, if you need more information, please visit https://ico.org.uk/ for-organisations/guide-tothe-general-data-protectionregulation-gdpr or contact a member of the GDPR working group.

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2018 ALL-STAFF STRATEGY DAY

ESTYN – OUR INSPECTION WILL BE SOON!

> What do I need to know about the Inspection Areas? (IA’s)

Last February we held our allstaff strategy day, which focused on staff happiness.

With our impending Estyn visit, the Quality Team is planning to deliver Estyn briefing sessions with all staff throughout January and February, with five already completed in December.

> Managers guide

All your feedback from the day fed into ‘Our Plan’ which we are still driving forward, with lots of changes to improve staff happiness having already been put in place. We will be holding another strategy day later on this year, so keep an eye out for more information.

BEST COMPANIES DAY We are ecstatic to have made The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies list for the 4th time this year. The ranking will be revealed at the end of February so we will share this with you as soon as possible. As part of making the list we will be celebrating Best Companies Day on 2nd March, more information about how we will be celebrating will be sent to all staff in due course.

PREVIOUS BEST COMPANIES RANKINGS

74th 35th 65th

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Small Organisation Category

2014

Medium Organisation Category

Estyn briefing sessions cover the following: > To understand the purpose and role of Estyn >

To understand individual roles and responsibilities prior, during and after an Estyn inspection

> To understand the importance of the support and guidance available > Who are Estyn? > What is inspected? > What happens when we are notified of inspection? > The role of the Nominee

> Who might be interviewed? > Questions you/learners/ managers may be asked Self-Assessment Report (SAR) & Quality Development Plan (QDP) 2016/17 - sent to Welsh Government 30th November 2017 and will be available to all staff in January 18.

WHAT IS THE SAR AND QDP? >

Identifies shortcomings and areas for development, as well as strengths against the Estyn Common Inspection Framework

> Focuses on learners, their experiences and achievements > Involves all staff across the organisation >

Takes account of the views of learners, employers and other stakeholders, including partner organisations and sub-contractors

> What happens during inspection week?

>

Objectives, targets and actions are set for the year reflecting the outcomes of self-assessment to drive quality improvement

> What happens following inspection?

> Integral to quality processes and cycle of quality activities

> Observations of Teaching, Learning and Assessment

· Learner guide

· Tutor/Assessor guide to preparing for observation

· FAQ’s

2015

Medium Organisation Category

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COMMUNICATION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE Reception staff are the first point of contact for many of our customers and stakeholders, it is vital they are able to provide excellent customer service.

HOW CAN YOU HELP Reception staff will greatly benefit from knowing who is expected into the building each day in terms of learners and visitors, along with knowing if staff are in or out and when they will next be available, so they can correctly respond to any enquiries in a timely manner.

To make this possible please can you make sure you do the following: > Always sign in and out on the iPad > If you are off sick, you must let reception know as well as your manager >

Share your calendar with the reception staff in your building – if you are unsure how you can get instructions from Laura Hodges

APPRENTICESHIPS Apprenticeships are a huge part of our business and what we do here at ACT Training.

But, for those of you who work in other departments, you might not be aware of our Apprenticeship offering and how it links in with you, your role and your professional development.

We offer over 35 different Apprenticeship routes, a full list and levels can be found here: www.acttraining.org.uk/ apprenticeship-employers and every single Apprenticeship on the list can help you in a variety of ways.

For example, our Apprenticeship offering can: >

Provide an easy progression route for your Traineeship or MTS learners – check out our live Apprenticeship vacancies with top welsh employers here

>

Help you give something back to your loyal and hardworking suppliers by explaining how they can take advantage of our fully-funded Apprenticeship offering to upskill their staff and improve their business further

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> But more importantly, our Apprenticeship offering can also be used to help enhance your own, or family and friends’, professional development in the workplace We encourage all staff to take advantage of our Apprenticeship offering. It’s a free resource that enables you to gain a nationally recognised qualification, gain greater job satisfaction and it can help you make the most of your time at ACT. If you are interested in completing an Apprenticeship, please discuss the options with your line manager.

Did you know...

WHEN YOU WERE BORN, YOU WERE, FOR A MOMENT, THE YOUNGEST PERSON ON EARTH!

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YOUR NEW STAFF COUNCIL The newly nominated Staff Council will be in place from January 2018 and will be made up of:

Sue Hatch HSC, Clinical Health and Hair and Beauty Jessica Rosser ES, Catering and Engineering Peter Humber Management

Rachel Probert Aberdare

Alison Stone IT and STLS/A&G/L&D

Julie Baker Barry

Janet Welch Business Services, AAT and Cleaning and Support Services

Sera Musgrove Bridgend Chantalle Wilson Dickson Hadfield Kirsty Keane OPH floor 1

Kathryn Mathias Minute taker You can also find the list of staff council representatives on Octopus/CascadeGo under the ‘Contacts’ tab.

Bethan Jones Newport /Ebbw Vale/ Blackwood Jayne Chalk Caerphilly Rick Stratton-Thomas Swansea Dave Parker Schools Gareth Blackwell, Lesley Hawkins, Emily Dumelow Operations Jan Hadfield Powys Di Worley England Rosie Herdman CCLD

ACT RESPECT THEMATIC REVIEW This month sees the launch of the ACT Respect Thematic Review, which aims to collect data on current awareness levels amongst staff and learners about the Respect and British Values Themes.

To gather the information, Lisa Beecham, our ACT Respect & Community Benefits Champion, has created a five minute survey that will be distributed via email to all teams within ACT that deliver programmes to learners.

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Once centre managers, curriculum coordinators and centre leads have received the link and QR Code, it should be given to as many staff and learners as possible to complete before the 30th of March 2018.

We are hoping for a minimum of five members of staff and learners across all routes and centres to be able to assess what is working and what we can develop further in the year ahead. We would also like to assess the impact of some of the activities that are already happening to be able to more effectively support and promote good practice.

Any questions, suggestions or feedback regarding the survey please email Lisa Beecham. lisabeecham@acttraining.org.uk

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events...

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STAFF RECOGNITION AWARDS 2017: THE WINNERS Friday 8th December saw the launch of our first ACT Staff Recognition Awards at the annual staff Christmas party.

The awards celebrated the success and achievements of our amazing staff, who have shown outstanding commitment, consistently going above and beyond. Congratulations to all of those who were nominated, shortlisted and to the winners on the night.

This was the first time we have held these awards, and they were a huge success so thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a nomination – we had over 70 in total which is fantastic.

Thank you also to our judging panel who had the tough job of choosing the shortlist and the winners!

THE WINNERS ON THE NIGHT: Dave Parker Schools Tutor of the Year

Helen Aldridge Apprenticeships Assessor of the Year Hollie Keepings Manager of the Year Lauren Leslie Support Staff Member of the Year Schools Team Team of the Year Rebecca Small Core Values Champion of the Year Vicky Savage Newcomer Award

Joe Esau Traineeships/MTS/Commercial Tutor of the Year

STAFF RECOGNITION AWARDS 2018

There will also be one extra category this year, the nine categories will be:

This year, there will be three staff nominations and awards throughout the year which will be judged by the Staff Council.

Schools Tutor of the Year

The winners from each of these will go through to the final awards ceremony at the staff party in December, where there will an overall winner.

Manager of the Year

Traineeships/MTS/Commercial Tutor of the Year Apprenticeships Assessor of the Year

Support Staff Member of the year (operations) Support Staff Member of the year (delivery) Team of the Year Core Values Champion of the Year Newcomer Award

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KEY DATES 2ND FEB First nominations open 2ND MARCH First nominations deadline 20TH MARCH Winners announced in ACT Insight 8TH JUNE Second nominations open 29TH JUNE Second nominations close 24th JULY Winners announced in ACT Insight 5TH OCTOBER Final nominations open 2ND NOVEMBER Final nominations close

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SVAGO CARDIFF

10% discount

CAUT I

We are hosting a new event specifically for Head of Year Teachers & School Career Advisors, a great way to create valuable links with schools. This new initiative will see those attending join us for breakfast to find out about opportunities on offer to their students. They will be able to meet staff and current learners to ask any questions, along with participating in some great ‘Have a go’ Welsh Government equipment.

N O

www.svago.co.uk

CONTENTS

T HO

WAKE UP TO APPRENTICESHIPS!

10% discount from the food menu applicable at all times. Just show your staff ID when asking for the bill.

WAKE UP TO APPRENTICESHIPS! You are invited to our Breakfast Event

Contact Kate Phillips for further The first event will run on 14th for Headinformation: of Year Teachers Februaryspecifically at OPH. & School Career Advisors katephillips@acttraining.org.uk Join us for a spot of breakfast and find out about our opportunities on offer to your students.

You’ll also get the chance to: > Look around the centre and view our fantastic facilities

> Meet staff and speak to We offer a full range of CHAI STREET current learners work-based learning programmes, from Engagement and Level 1 > Participate in live demonstrations ACT can visit any Chai Street outlet Traineeships all the way up to from the Welsh Governments production of a company Level 5 Apprenticeships across and upon ‘Have a go’ equipment 30 different sectors.

ID will get a 10% member discount.

10% discount

Monday – Friday 12 noon – 10pm.

Wednesday 14th February chaistreet.com 8:30am-10:30am ACT Head Office, East Tyndall Street, Cardiff, CF24 5ET

RSVP to Kate Phillips by 9th February katephillips@acttraining.org.uk • 029 2046 4727

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celebrating success IIP Awards

We have been named as a leader in people management practice globally, having been ranked 7th Best Gold Employer (with 250-4999 employees) at the annual Investors in People Awards.

The Awards celebrate the best people management practices amongst Investors in People (IIP) accredited businesses and provide the opportunity to benchmark against high performing organisations globally.

Winners were announced at a spectacular awards ceremony and dinner at Old Billingsgate, London, on 23rd November 2017.

Those who ranked at this year’s ceremony represent the companies who have fully embraced the IIP mission to unlock organisational success by realising the potential of their people. They are truly outperforming and impressive companies who value employees as the core of their business.

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Commenting on the recent achievement, ACT’s Chief Executive Andrew Cooksley said: “We were thrilled to be awarded Gold IIP Status earlier this year, but it is a real privilege to be recently ranked 7th Best Gold Employer; a clear indication of the dedication and hard-work the team has invested in the business.

As a company we are committed to investing in our staff and want to ensure that everyone feels valued, supported, empowered and happy, through all levels of the company.”

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WE’RE LOOKING FOR LEARNERS AND CLIENTS TO FEATURE IN OUR NEW CAMPAIGN The Marketing & Communications team is running a big campaign starting in March, focusing on celebrating Apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy in Wales.

Our campaign offers a great opportunity to work collaboratively with employers and apprentices who are already engaged with our Apprenticeship programmes to raise the awareness of the value and benefits of apprenticeships with other Welsh employers as well as promoting the benefits to learners.

To help us with this, we are looking for three exceptional apprentices and employers who share our vision, passion

and commitment to vocational training who will be the stars of our campaign.

If you have any in mind, please contact Jayne McGill-Harris jaynemcgill-harris@acttraining. org.uk.

She would love to hear their positive stories and use them to inspire others to sign up to our fantastic programmes this year.

DO YOU KNOW OF ANY AWARD-WORTHY LEARNERS OR CLIENTS? We have two award opportunities coming up over the next couple of months to celebrate our fantastic learners and clients: > VQ Day https://vqday.wales/vq-awards Nomination deadline: 2nd March 2018

> Inspire! Adult Learning Awards http://www.learningandwork.wales Nomination deadline: 16th March

If you have someone that you would like to nominate, please contact Jayne McGill-Harris jaynemcgill-harris@acttraining.org.uk She would love to hear from you!

CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY Thank you to everyone who took part in the Christmas raffle and Christmas jumper day, we raised ÂŁ300 for LLamau.

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quality QUALITY’S REVERSE ADVENT CALENDAR CHALLENGE

In December, the Quality team set themselves a team challenge where they decided to do a reverse advent calendar.

The team collected 24 items over the 24 days of advent and donated and delivered to Cardiff Foodbank where they are then processed and sent on to the seven food banks around Cardiff for those in desperate need. A lovely idea from the team and a big well done for all their efforts!

The idea is rather than getting a treat each day, you make a donation suitable to be send to a local food bank instead.

APPRENTICESHIP WEEK The 11th National Apprenticeship Week will run from 5th to 9th March 2018.

During the week our Marketing & Communications team will be celebrating the success of Apprenticeships whilst encouraging even more people to choose Apprenticeships as a pathway to a great career and more employers to use our fully-funded Apprenticeship programmes.

APPRENTICE EXTRA DISCOUNT CARD It's not just our learners that can get themselves a student card, ACT staff are able to purchase an Apprentice Extra card too! The cards cost ÂŁ12, ar valid for 1 year and entitle you to discounts in hundreds of high street stores.

Visit http://www.apprenticeextra.co.uk to discover available discounts and to buy yours.

Any problems, please contact Learner Representative Emily Dumelow.

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TURTLE BAY

20% discount

20% bill reduction including food and drinks, before 5pm, Sunday – Friday.

(Don't forget to show your Staff ID!) www.turtlebay.co.uk * Terms and conditions apply Not valid on a Saturday.

welsh corner

CYMRAEG I YMARFERWYR

Mae Cymraeg i ymarferwyr yn gwrs newydd i unrhywun sydd eisiau defnyddio mwy o Gymraeg a Chymreictod yn eu dysgu.

Mae’n gwrs tair awr sy’n cynnwys hanes Cymru a’r iaith Gymraeg, geirfa sylfaenol Cymraeg a syniadau ar sut i ddefnyddio rhain yn eich ymarfer o ddydd i ddydd. Mae dyddiadau nawr allan ar gyfer Gwanwyn 2018 felly bwciwch nawr ar Octopus!

WELSH FOR PRACTITIONERS Welsh for Practitioners is a newly revamped course for anyone wanting to embed Welsh and Welsh dimension into their teaching. It is a three hour course encompassing Welsh history,

basic Welsh vocabulary and ideas on how to embed Welsh and Welshness in everyday practice.

Dates are now out for spring 2018 so get busy booking on Cascade!

CYFARFOD GRWP RHANNU ARFER DDA Cynhaliwyd ein cyfarfod rhannu arfer dda yn Talk Training y tro yma. Gwnaethom ni drafod y cynllun gweithredu ar gyfer 2017-2018 yn ogystal a chael cyflwyniad ar arfer dda yn Talk Training oddi wrth Mike Woods (Rheolwr ansawdd). Roedd e’n dda i gael ein gwahodd i gymryd rhan yn eu diwrnod siwmperi Nadolig tra’n bod ni yno er mwyn codi arian a chasglu bwydydd i’r Trussell Trust.

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WELSH GOOD PRACTICE GROUP MEETING The Welsh good practice group meeting was held in Talk Training early in December. We discussed the action plan for 2017-18 as well as having a presentation on good practice in Talk Training from Mike Woods (Quality Manager). It was nice to be invited to take part in Talk’s Christmas jumper day while we were there – raising money and collecting food for the Trussell Trust.

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APP Y MIS APP OF THE MONTH Duolingo – ffordd hwyl o ddysgu iaith newydd ar eich ffon, tabled neu gyfrifiadur.

Duolingo – a fun way to learn a new language on phone, tablet or PC.

cornel cymraeg ROOM 101 We want to know your frustrations at work, so we can do our best to help fix them!

We’re launching a new Room 101 at ACT Training. So to give us a chance to rid your work of your pet hates, we need to know about them. Send them through to: room101@acttraining.org.uk

A few examples from some of our staff award winners: Vicky Savage If there was one part of your job you could put in room 101, what would it be?

Emails! Some days I feel that all I do is sort through emails, being a Manager I tend to be copied in to endless emails that I don’t need to action. It would be really great if we could really embed and embrace the 365 Teams app into our daily communication rather than just email.

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Lauren Leslie If there was one part of your job you could put in room 101, what would it be?

One part of my job I would put in room 101 would be the filing of reviews due to the amount of time this takes. This can take up to five hours per week.

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This month we have put the spotlight on Dave Parker, Schools Tutor of the Year!

staff in the spotlight...

I’m Dave Parker, I work as a Key Stage 3 Tutor in ACT Schools. I started in August 2016 after working at a primary school for nearly 15 years.

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Tell us a little bit about your role at ACT and how your average day looks…

I have a lovely group of seven learners, all of whom are in Year 7, 8 and 9. I teach them language and maths every morning. In the afternoon we do topic work and a personal, social development course. As well as improving basic skills across the curriculum, learners are also taught to reflect upon their behavioural skills. The topic we are presently covering is entitled Anger Management.

It’s taught me a lot of coping strategies too!

My average day begins with getting ready for the day ahead and then welcoming learners into the centre. We start the day with a circle time session, in which learners are offered breakfast. They can speak about their thoughts and feelings, getting them set for the day ahead. We then complete lessons throughout the day, working right up until their taxis come to collect them. We do stop for a break sometimes…if they work hard enough!

What is the most rewarding part of your current role?

Watching the learners progressing so well, both in academic and developmental terms. I have had conversations with parents who have been so pleased about their child’s progress. This makes it all so worthwhile.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself…

What would be your top tip for colleagues?

I play bass guitar in a rock n roll covers band called Stonehouse.

We play all over South Wales and you can find out more at www.stonehouseband.co.uk (shameless plug!)

Enjoy working for this great company. It’s the best I’ve worked for, and I’ve worked for a few. Everyone is important at ACT and really valued, right from top to bottom.

Where has been the best place you have travelled to?

I worked at Disney World Resort in Orlando for a year, in 1996.

It was amazing and a fantastic experience. I was a Cultural Representative and worked in Typhoon Lagoon Waterpark.

What book did you read last?

Kensukie’s Kingdom, with my group. We all loved it.

A big thank you to Dave for taking the time to answer our questions this month. If you would like to feature in our Staff in the Spotlight section, or have a colleague you’d like to put forward, please e-mail Laura Hodges laurahodges@acttraining.org.uk

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

In a chip shop at Barry Island.

Twelve hour shifts, six days a week and the boss was a nasty old slave driver! I was only 15 at the time and it put me off working for a living for life!

How do you like to spend your time when you’re not working?

Spending time with my family, playing my bass guitar and enjoying the odd glass of red wine…alcohol free of course!

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Did you know...

IT’S SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN THAT SMILING IMPROVES OUR MOOD… SO SMILE!

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book club

Last issue our recommended read was Mindset: Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential. Thank you to everyone who got on board with the book club, ordered a copy and read the book Some great feedback was received, a selection is featured below.

"The further you read the more apparent it becomes that you can have a varying mindset depending on the situation, that this mindset guides your decisions and ultimately the outcome. What I really enjoyed about the book

is that Dr Carol S Dweck uses case studies on individuals and businesses to explore the varying types of mindset discussing the part it played on the end result.

It highlights that mindset plays a vital part of our character not only within the work environment but personal life too. The book challenges you to think of your own mindset in different situations and gets you to consider if working on changing your own mindset will help you achieve more. The book includes a great section on how you can start to change your mindset and that of others around you."

Vicky Savage ‘There’s a really simple but powerful concept underpinning the book which made me think about my own mindset, my role as a parent and how we could potentially make an even more positive difference to the lives of our learners. In essence, the book argues that some people tend to believe that their qualities are carved in stone (fixed mindset), and others feel that people can develop their abilities (growth mindset). We do this without even thinking, and it heavily influences the way we interpret the world and our interaction with it. Not

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surprisingly, those with a growth mindset are generally happier, more resilient and achieve more.

Carol Dweck explains how parents and teachers inadvertently, and often despite their best intentions, reinforce a ‘fixed mindset’ in young people. This can have a hugely detrimental impact on young people and, as Wales’ leading training provider, we have a duty to understand how this happens and the simple things we can to do change mindsets through our learning programmes.’

Richard Spear "No matter if you are familiar with the concept of growth mindset or never heard of it, this book is worth reaching for. You will probably find yourself thinking “this is me!” quite often. It makes you realise not only how your attitude towards learning and making mistakes can affect your development and career, but also all other areas of your life. It helps you understand what led you to being stuck in set mindset, how to move on and how to promote growth in your learners, kids, or just yourself. You don’t have to be an educator or an aspiring CEO to benefit from Carol Dweck’s research and advice. And you don’t need to be an academic, because

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on top of providing valuable knowledge this book is actually an enjoyable, quite easy read!"

Marta Wyrostek "The main focus of the book is around the development of a Growth Mindset and how the view we adopt of ourselves profoundly affects the way we lead our

lives. It states that people with a fixed mindset believe deep down they can’t achieve beyond their current understanding. Which is interesting as I don’t think we always see this in ourselves but others may. On the other hand people with a growth mindset are able to believe they can achieve but understand there are steps

to get there and work out that in order to achieve what they want in life you must follow those steps. I love the fact that a growth mindset individual does not believe they ever fail, they realise this is just learning as you go. Overall a nice read for New Year motivation"

In fact, Black Box Thinkers see failure as the very best way to learn. Rather than denying their mistakes, blaming others, or attempting to spin their way out of trouble, these institutions and individuals interrogate errors as part of their future strategy for success.

preventable medical errors every year due to a chronic lack of Black Box Thinking.

How many of us, hand on heart, can say that we have such a healthy relationship with failure?

This issue our recommended read is Black Box Thinking: Marginal Gains and the Secrets of High Performance Whether developing a new product, honing a core skill or just trying to get a critical decision right, Black Box Thinkers aren't afraid to face up to mistakes.

Learning from failure has the status of a cliché, but this book reveals the astonishing story behind the most powerful method of learning known to mankind, and reveals the arsenal of techniques wielded by some of the world's most innovative organisations. It also reveals the dangers of failing to learn from mistakes.

In healthcare, hundreds of thousands of patients die from

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Rachel Probert

Using gripping case studies, exclusive interviews and really practical takeaways, Matthew Syed – the award-winning journalist and best-selling author of Bounce - explains how to turn failure into success, and shows us how we can all become better Black Box Thinkers.

To order your copy please e-mail bookclub@acttraining.org.uk Please submit your thoughts and feedback after reading this book through to Laura Hodges – as this will feature in the next issue of ACT Insight.

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welcome to our newest recruits!

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Alan Johnson

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Rhian Richards

Cleaning Operative Joined: 20/11/2017

Clinical Health Assessor Joined: 20/11/2017

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Melanie Lloyd

Temp H&SC & Early Years Tutor Joined: 27/11/2017

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Claire Lane

Advice, Guidance & L&D Assessor Joined: 08/01/2018

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Clive Pearce

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Danielle Peckham

HA HSC Assessor Joined: 08/01/2018

iTeach Finance Manager Joined: 08/01/2018

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Tracey Spiller

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Julie Caparros

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Helen Rogers

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Shaun Powell

Essential Skills Manager Joined: 15/01/2018

Health & Social Care Assessor Joined: 15/01/2018

Clinical Health Assessor Joined: 15/01/2018

Motor Vehicle Tutor Joined: 29/01/2018

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insight This publication has been brought to you by the Marketing & Communications team.

Thank you to everyone for their contributions! If you would like to contribute to any future issues please get in touch with Internal Communications Officer, Laura Hodges. laurahodges@acttraining.org.uk Your ideas and input are always welcome!

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