Update Magazine

THE L ATEST NEWS FROM AROUND YOUR COLLEGE

UPDATE APRIL 2017

The Grand Hall hosts its first wedding. See page 05 for more.

KEY DATES Kempston Campus Open Day Saturday 22 April 2017 9.00am-1.00pm 02 02 03 04 04 05 06 06

Principal update Corporation news Bedford & Kempston campus news Shuttleworth College news The Bedford Sixth Form news BCS news People news Professional Development & Quality

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by Wednesday 12 April.

Bedford College Open Day Thursday 11 May 2017 5.00pm-8.00pm Bedford College Shuttleworth College Open Day Thursday 25 May 2017 5.00pm-8.00pm Shuttleworth College

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TRESHAM MERGER NEWS

PRINCIPAL UPDATE You can follow Ian on Twitter @ipryce

We are making very good progress on the merger front. The due diligence work on each college is now complete, and we have been able to agree some protection of our initial funding position. The Tresham apprenticeship team of 28 staff are likely to transfer to us on 1 May to coincide with the new apprenticeship arrangements, following our success in being approved as an apprenticeship provider.

I will write separately to you about the opportunities for staff as we move to the merged structure, and we are close to agreeing some positive changes for staff here that are only possible because of the merger and becoming a larger institution.

This will be a focus of our final whole college staff meeting.

DRESSED FOR SUCCESS IN THE IDEAL HOME

Our students continue to bolster our reputation for world class skills. Three of our fashion students, Sarah Davis, Abby Simpson and Megan Schneider have been shortlisted and selected for the semi-finals of Project 20/20, the Professional Clothing Awards.

Meanwhile at the Ideal Home Show our Shuttleworth Team won silver in the Young Gardner of the Year competition, a fantastic result given they were up against much bigger land-based colleges.

Agency (SFA) and Education Funding Agency (EFA) are to merge to form the Education and Skills Agency (ESA). The SFA has lasted seven years and the EFA five, so it will be interesting to see how long this one lasts!

You may also have picked up the news that the DfE has decided that the new GCSE Grade 4 will be regarded as a pass and so students with that grade will not need to resit GCSE. It has also been reported that the condition of funding will be amended so that colleges will not be compelled to enrol any student on GCSE Maths or English. On the same day it was also announced that the government will retain Applied General qualifications alongside the new T-Levels announced in the Budget recently.

WIXAMS: TOP OF THE POPS

I am pleased to report that our Wixams Academy opening in September is already oversubscribed. We will take all those who have applied but it shows how popular we are in the Wixams community. The Wixams Tree Primary opening at the same time has over 60 applications already, an exceptional level of interest. All applicants have received our equivalent of the crackerjack pencil – our “Founder” Badges.

FUNDING BODY MERGER AND OTHER EXTERNAL NEWS

You may have picked up that our two most important funders, the Skills Funding

CORPORATION NEWS

The Corporation have had an extremely busy spring term in supporting the Executive in the SEMLEP Area Review Process and in merger discussions with Tresham College.

The Corporation has endorsed progress towards the merger subject to due diligence and consultation. A Merger Steering Group has been established with representation from both Bedford College and Tresham College Boards to oversee the work being carried out.

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

The Clerk was fortunate to be invited to lunch at the Student Voice Conference on 22 February at Shuttleworth College. One of the themes centred on what makes a good student governor. Students shared

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their ideas with a colourful display of post -it notes. It was also good to see our current student governors Janis and Azizi hard at work on creative projects and working with members of the Student Executive and their peers.

If you have any questions about the Corporation or any of the opportunities it provides please feel free to contact the Clerk to the Corporation; Rachel Nicol rnicol@ bedford.ac.uk (Tel. 01234 291003) or one of your staff governors, Jane Dudeney and Charlie Whewell.

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The Royal Marines put Public Services students through their paces.

BEDFORD & KEMPSTON CAMPUS NEWS ROYAL MARINES VISIT PUBLIC SERVICES On a wet and windy day 40 public service students were "entertained’ by the Royal Marines Visibility Team. This team is designed to attend schools and colleges to give an insight into life in the Royal Marines.

The day started with a careers brief but soon moved outside into the rain and wind, the students were put through their paces in terms of fitness and team building activities.

The mud was an extra bonus as the learners were able to just have fun using it as camo cream!

They all performed very well and bought into the Royal Marines ethos of "never give up" In the afternoon they were given a demonstration on ration packs and the amount of kit that is carried in the Marines Bergens.

The Royal Marines staff commented at the end that "This had been the best school/college we have been to in terms of the learners taking part".

FORMER COMPUTING STUDENT OFFERS MOTIVATIONAL WORDS In the month of February, a motivational speaker attended the Computing department to inspire our students to ‘be the best that they can be’ and to work to their full potential to achieve the best possible grades.

Henry Uko, a former Computing student at Bedford College, who now has his own project management business, returned to deliver a motivational talk to our Level 2 students. He immediately connected with the students by sharing his life story, the challenges that he faced and discussed the positive routes he took in his education, which contributed to where he is today. He encouraged the students to consider short term as well long term educational goals for the future. Also, discussed were the opportunities that would come their way, as a result of undertaking academic studies.

The students were truly inspired by his talk, felt more positive about their education and motivated to achieve higher grades.

CONSTRUCTION STUDENTS’ CAREERS TAKE OFF

We celebrate another cohort of first year full-time students being snapped up by both national and local construction companies.

These seven students started with us on a full-time Technical and Professional BTEC Level 3 Construction course in September and have now transferred to day release as they have become employed within the industry as apprentices. Not only are they earning as they learn, most are completing an NVQ alongside their Construction course – a win-win situation.

Construction students move on to exciting careers.

April 2017

04 The silver medal - winning team at the Ideal Home Show

THE BEDFORD SIXTH FORM NEWS A student talks about her poster

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE ACADEMIC POSTER CONVENTION

SHUTTLEWORTH COLLEGE NEWS SILVER AT THE IDEAL HOME SHOW

Well done to our Level 3 Horiculture students for winning Silver at the Ideal Home Show Young Gardeners of the Year!

The theme was re-greening front gardens to avoid concrete parking spaces where a garden should be.

FISHERIES STUDENTS VISIT RK LEISURE

Fisheries students enjoyed a great day out to RK Leisure who offer 11 different fishing lakes covering 550 acres of land in the Colne Valley, Surrey, Berkshire and rural Bedfordshire.

CLIMBING ABOVE THE HEIGHT OF MOUNT EVEREST FOR CHARITY

Outdoor Adventure students climbed way above the height of Mount Everest to raise funds for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

The 36 students undertook the challenge at the Big Rock climbing centre in Milton

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Keynes on Thursday 2 March.

Shuttleworth College Lecturer Jon Goodwin said: “The students aimed, between them, to climb the 8,850 metre height of Mount Everest, but managed to exceed expectations and set a new target of Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain from sea bed to summit, standing at an impressive 10,220 metres. They achieved their goal, and the sore arms and legs were well worth it! The students were sponsored by family and friends and hope to raise £500 for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.”

Students at Big Rock Climbing Centre

In February, Health & Social Care students held an Academic Poster convention.

The purpose of the event was to help visitors understand the nature and impact of different physiological disorders. The students put the posters together and talked to visitors about the causes, signs and symptoms of two physiological disorders each. Students also assessed the impact of the disorders on the daily lives of individuals.

The task required the students to do more than the criteria set in this unit of study. Students were able to develop skills in using Publisher, as well as producing a poster that was factual, concise and professional. They also learnt appropriate ways to communicate the material in answering questions proposed to them by visitors to the convention. In order to complete this task the students had input from the learning resources team, a guest speaker and their tutor. They also had the opportunity to enhance their research and referencing skills.

Students covered the following physiological disorders; Stroke; Coronary Heart Disease; Type 1 and 2 Diabetes; Cancer; Asthma; Osteoporosis; Crohn’s Disease; Cystic Fibrosis; Parkinson’s Disease; Alzheimer’s Disease.

Natalia Davey, Health & Social Care tutor at The Bedford Sixth Form enthused: “I am really proud of each student that was involved. They have all met the criteria set for the presentation and the students showed excellent professionalism and knowledge. This has come from hard work and dedication.”

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ART IN ACTION

On Wednesday 9 March, Art students visited the UCL Institute of Education to attend a series of exciting and stimulating talks organised by The Training Partnership.

The students had the opportunity to meet four leading, internationally recognised artists who work in different areas. From ceramic art to textiles and photography the day, chaired by Rebecca Wright, Programme Director of Graphic Communication Design

at Central Saint Martins, provided variety, innovation and the chance to hear how ideas turn in to works of art.

The students listened to and met several artists on the day including; Turner Prize winner, Grayson Perry (Fire up your creativity); Martin Parr (Magnum Photography), considered to be one of the country’s leading photographers; Rosalind Wyatt (Art, life and lettering), a calligraphy and textile artist and Roz Hall (Diary of a

mobile digital artist), specialising in portraits created on mobile devices such as iPads.

Nikki Mansell, Art & Design course manager at The Bedford Sixth Form, commented; “The students had a fantastic day and loved every minute of the lectures. They got to see many artists including Turner Prize winner, Grayson Perry, whose work is provocative and original.”

BCS NEWS

Visit thegrandhall.co.uk for more photos

FIRST WEDDING CEREMONY IN THE GRAND HALL

Gentle snowflakes fell on the morning of Saturday 11 February as BCS prepared to hold the first ever wedding ceremony in The Grand Hall. What a fantastic occasion!

The Bride and Groom used the in-house theatre lighting to create a warm, welcoming atmosphere and the twinkling fairy lights in the cream rose trees at the front of the Grand Hall added to the magical effect.

Forever Flowers provided white chair covers with gorgeous gold tulle sashes which complimented the bridesmaids gold dresses and white fur shawls perfectly, as

did their bouquets of white roses dipped in gold glitter.

Guests were treated to a charming recital on The Grand Hall’s piano by a 13 Year Old family member before the stunning Bride made her big entrance.

Following the ceremony, the happy couple made a memorable exit! They were given a standing ovation by their guests and were serenaded by many beeping horns from cars on Bromham Road as they made their way back through the magnificent doors of The Grand Hall.

BCS would like to thank The Bedford Sixth Form for all their support and for helping to make the day a success.

The happy couple

April 2017

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & QUALITY NEWS BEDFORD COLLEGE EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY GROUP HOW DOES THE GROUP OPERATE?

The Group is chaired by the College Principal and includes members from across all sites and functions. The Group meets on a termly basis. We also invite colleagues to come to the meetings to discuss initiatives that promote inclusive practice in the College community. This year we have set up the VIRTUAL Staff Focus Group with the purpose to gather feedback on issues that can have an impact on equality and diversity at the College.

WHAT ARE THE KEY ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE GROUP?

• Fitness to Study Policy • A directory Access Avenues on the intranet showing accessible parking, toilets and lifts in each College building

• A guide for accessible and inclusive events, and updates of the College map, website and invitations to events • An equality impact consultation with staff and students on the plans for the animal unit at Shuttleworth College • Review of the internal recruitment process for apprentices to ensure equal opportunities for all groups of candidates • Inclusion and diversity checks of new employers and placement providers and a Good Practice Guide for Equality and Diversity in the Workplace • Review of staff profile (disability, ethnicity, gender) by job roles and performance grades • Inclusive signage on all accessible toilets The next meeting of the Equality and Diversity Group is on 19 May 2017, at 2.00pm.

Please contact Anastassia Parsons anparsons@bedford.ac.uk if you want to attend the meeting or wish to become a member.

PEOPLE NEWS MEMBER OF STAFF BECOMES FRONT COVER STAR

A member of staff in Engineering, Paul Coleman, is on the front cover of a magazine called ‘Practical Classics’. He was interviewed after spending years restoring his beloved Lotus. The car will be exhibited at Birmingham NEC from 31 March – 2 April 2017. You can see the magazine cover at: www.practicalclassics.co.uk/practicalclassics-spring-2017/ Since we last reported there have been a number of changes in staff We have said goodbye to: Ian Jones Vince Walker Lesley Ferguson Karen Taylor Andreia Marote Teela Callender Karen Grout Tom Bond Megan Quilter-Price We are saying hello to: Travel & Tourism Helen Scriven Enquiries & Guidance Natasha Stringer Stephanie Hurst Finance & College Information Systems Surjeet Suman Electrical Installation Shaun Wileman Student Services – Shuttleworth Lucy Skevington Estates & Facilities Angelo Salerno

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