CONNECT July 2019

CONNECT N E WS

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U P DAT E S

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D I A RY DAT E S JU LY 201 9

School children from across Bedfordshire were invited to attend a Women in STEM event at Bedford College.

BCS BEDFORD COLLEGE SERVICES

EDITOR’S NOTE Hello everyone!

Welcome to the final issue of CONNECT Magazine for this academic year, we hope you have enjoyed reading about all the latest news from across the Group.

We hope you have a fantastic Summer break.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 1 JULY –

15 AUGUST –

Tresham College Welcome Day,

A Level Results Day, All campuses

Wellingborough Campus

22 AUGUST –

2 JULY –

GCSE Results Day, All campuses

Tresham College Welcome Day,

27-30 AUGUST -

Corby Campus

Enrolment, All campuses

Bedford College Welcome Day Shuttleworth College Welcome Day 3 JULY Tresham College Welcome Day, Kettering Campus 4 JULY – Staff Development Day 5 JULY – Apprenticeships Conference (for Apprenticeships delivery staff and managers)

CONTENTS OLIVIA MORTON

Corporate Communications and Events Manager

T: 01234 291026 E: omorton@bedford.ac.uk

PAGE 2

STAFF CONFERENCE

PAGE 3

PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE

PAGE 4

LESSON CAPTURE WITH PLANET ESTREAM

PAGE 5

NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP

PAGE 16

YOUR PICTURES

PAGE 17

PEOPLE NEWS

PAGE 18

EQUALITY & DIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENT SERVICES

STAFF CONFERENCE Our Staff Conference is being held on 4th July 2019 at Bedford College Campus. The sessions are divided up into strands with four keynote speaker sessions; all staff are required to attend at least one of these sessions.

Staff from professional areas are encouraged to book onto some learning, teaching and

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assessment sessions to develop further awareness of what goes on in the classroom and how your area impacts on this. Other sessions are related to general development and well-being.

Refreshment stations and lunch will be available on the day for staff to socialise and share ideas.

Ice cream vouchers will also be available courtesy of the Staff Social Group.

“

We are a college of 1,200 staff that consistently does great things for our community, and it is a racing certainty that will continue.

“

Did you know you can follow Ian on Twitter? @ipryce

PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE

That Was the Year That Was Sometimes you don’t want to be proved right. I said at the start of the year that the second year after a merger would be much harder than the first, and that has turned out to be the case.

That said, our successes outweigh the tough bits.

We have maintained full-time numbers; grown our higher education; established more degree and apprenticeship programmes; expanded our network of Learning Centres; improved apprenticeship outcomes; maintained high student achievement levels; improved student experience scores; increased student employment outcomes; maintained outstanding financial health; seen staff and students win national awards; gained Chartered College status and an outstanding Matrix assessment, and improved our accommodation for our staff, our students and our alligators.

Although not an exhaustive list, it is an exhausting one and explains why everyone will feel the need for a break over the summer. It is a seriously impressive list of achievements and on behalf of the Corporation I should like to thank you for the part you have played this year.

Some tough parts of the year were to be expected, for example, moving to a new Group culture takes a lot of time and energy and we still have a way to go. Others reflect the frenetic pace of change in the sector and the brutality of our funding environment.

Some are problems that we created for ourselves. It is really important that we reflect over the summer and make well-considered changes, to ensure we never experience some of the problems we have faced this year again with student and HR data, with exams and with apprenticeship processes. The good news is that we have clear plans to address these issues.

Looking Ahead The next academic year (2019-20) will bring fresh challenges but it might be a better year for colleges in general. The Augur review of post-18 education was exceptionally positive about colleges and the need for the Government to protect us and invest.

Theresa May even said colleges had been neglected in her final speech. On the other hand the future of applied qualifications like BTECs is still unclear.

Whatever happens, we are a college of 1,200 staff that consistently does great things for our community, and it is a racing certainty that will continue.

Have a lovely summer.

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LESSON CAPTURE WITH PLANET eSTREAM THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB If you’d like engaging, media rich interactive content on your Moodle course pages why not create it yourself? With the Lesson Capture capabilities of Planet eStream you can record portions (or all) of a lesson and deliver it back through Moodle (and it’s all quite easy to do). Lesson Capture is a great way to supplement your teaching. Some of the benefits of Lesson Capture include: • Easy to set up and record content

Check out the Learning Technologies Planet eStream guide on the Staff Moodle: https://staffmoodle.bedford.ac.uk/ Learning Technologies Team Contact Info: Phone: 01234 291959 (Monday – Friday 9:00am till 5:00pm) 01536 413143 (Wednesday – Friday 8:30am till 5:00pm) Email: moodlesupport@bedford.ac.uk

• Delivered through Moodle for accessibility (works on mobile phones too with the Moodle app) • Support students with learning difficulties • Great for flipped learning and revision • Great way to support homework tasks • Students can test and apply their knowledge during or after the video with the use of quizzes • Offers a different learning opportunity • Record experiments or practical demonstrations.

Your students could benefit immensely from the ability to play back videos and develop their learning at their own pace. This is particularly beneficial if you have captured new and important material or if the material is particularly complicated. Your students can access this content at any time so they can go back and use it as a revision tool.

For students that may have difficulty making notes or if English isn’t their first language, recording a lesson will be of great benefit. To further help some students it’s possible to automatically add sub-titles to your video.

If a lesson is based around a PowerPoint presentation or software such as Photoshop, Unity or Sage you can simply choose to record your screen along with your audio input.

All of your recorded content can be easily altered by eStream’s simple editor and you can use all of eStream’s other tools such as the quiz creation along with the easy addition of downloadable support documentation. You can even edit other videos to make your lesson part of an existing programme from eStream’s extensive video library.

NIGEL GILBERT Learning Technologies Advisor

If you are interested in using Lesson Capture in your class, please contact one of the Learning Technologies Team and they will be happy to advise and assist you.

Classical background Jazz for various events

> Search @RJAJazz on Facebook

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP GAMES DESIGN GURUS Our staff have the X-Box Factor when it comes to the new ‘career sphere’ of 3D games art modelling.

Director of the Arts, Toby Clark and lecturer Phil Romeo recently helped to select the winner at the UK finals for WorldSkills which will see them representing the UK at the international finals being held in Kazan, Russia in August, the Olympics of skills training.

Toby and Phil worked alongside WorldSkills Chief Expert Mike Spence to identify the next generation of top talent in the growing international multi-billion pound business of 3D Digital Game Art. They were invited because Bedford College, part of The Bedford College Group, is one of a limited number of FE locations in the UK which offers a computerised design course covering animation and games.

Phil, aged 31 from Shefford, is a designer in his own right, having created a number of pilots and is pictured with one of his early pieces of work.

To add to the expertise we offer, industry guests regularly offer advice to students on the course. Andy Kind VFX Supervisor from Framestore of London, who are world leaders in the industry, gave a presentation that included their work on Fantastic Beasts and the Crimes of Grindelwald.

Phil commented: “It was real kudos to have someone from Framestore here. They explained how the career options are very flexible but it is more about having a passion and desire to learn that is important. Being prepared to start at the bottom and learning with a team is often the way in.”

Lecturer Phil explains the fast-moving field: “It literally changes from month to month and this means that students are sometimes the ones who recognise a new trend or technique that has just ‘dropped’ for us all to look into together.

We have a class of 30, with many more interested in studying with us, who share the latest ideas whilst learning the professional disciplines of the industry.

The WorldSkills competition was all about the design and technical processes involved in creating a character outfit suitable for a modern video game. This covered concept art, 3D modelling, texture art, rigging and finally animating to a professional standard.”

CASTING NET WIDE FOR CAREERS Students from the Fish Management Advanced (Level 3) course at Shuttleworth are celebrating hooking the catch of the day after winning a college angling competition with a 20lb Common Carp.

As part of the course, students on the Fish Management course worked alongside first year student, Louis Bales managed a marathon 24 hour angling match against Hadlow College.

The competition that was organised as part of the event management module, was held at the Broom Big Lake, a lake managed by Embryo Angling Habitat and located within the Shuttleworth Estate.

Independent angling activities helped the group to hone their casting talents with both first and second year students taking part in the fishing competition.

Angling Journalist, Ornamental Fish Breeder, River & Lakes Fisheries Officer and more in the UK and overseas.

Louis and all fellow first year students passed this unit of their course. Louis successfully organised the logistics, managed the budget and gained vital experience in people management.

Students completing the Fish Management Advanced (Level 3) course often progress to working in outdoor careers including Aquarist, Fish Farm Manager,

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP UP THE PROMOTION LADDER IN CONSTRUCTION Help in scaling the career ladder in the construction industry is an exclusive offer to our students from this September.

Those on the Technical & Professional Construction Advanced course will be given access to professional practice activities to help them move ahead in the industry.

The project is being led by international company ISG PLC and is being offered in only six colleges across the UK and we will be the only college in the region to offer this.

“This is an innovative project available only to students at The Bedford College Group because of our standing in the industry and in construction

training,” explained Director of Construction & Building Services for the Group, David Wilkins.

He continued: “The enhancement programme will give our students access to expert talks, mentoring, and assignment presentations. It will give people a head start when it comes to understanding the tremendous prospects in the construction industry.

the construction industry to prepare employees for the industry.

In addition to special training for students, there will also be continuing professional development (CPD) support for college staff under the ISG project.

ISG is a global construction services company which has an interest in filling the skills gap and The Bedford College Group is here to help.”

David is the National Chair of British Association of Construction Heads which liaises between colleges and

GROUP JOINS CHARTERED INSTITUTE FOR FURTHER EDUCATION The Bedford College Group was officially recognised at a ceremony last month to mark its membership of the Chartered Institution for Further Education, under Royal Charter.

Principal and Chief Executive of the Group, Ian Pryce CBE was invited to the Admissions Ceremony at the Apothecaries Hall, London on Friday May 24th 2019.

Following the ceremony, Ian Pryce commented: “We are delighted and proud to take our place among so many exceptional organisations. We want to work with others to raise the profile of the further education sector, promote its professionalism and raise standards further to give everyone in our community a better future and help individuals and employers achieve their ambition. The Royal Charter and the creation of the Institution is the most visible signal of the national importance of further education since incorporation in 1993. We look forward to helping increase the awareness of the force for good that is further education.”

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Bedford College can trace its history back to 1892 with the creation of Bedford Training College for Teachers. Since then there have been several additions and changes to the provision, including the acquisition of Shuttleworth College and Bedford Training Group, and a 2017 merger with Tresham College. All of these changes have served to strengthen and widen the educational provision of what is now The Bedford College Group, which serves almost twenty thousand students and apprentices each year.

In 2008 Bedford College became the first general FE College to be awarded the 5 Star European Quality Mark (EFQM), as well as winning the National Award for Leadership. In 2011 the College won the TES Leadership Award, and in 2017 the Bedfordshire business community voted Bedford College the best large organisation in the county of Bedfordshire.

The process of applying for Membership of the Chartered Institution for Further Education actually helped the Group to bring people together and the success of the application is seen as a one for the whole organisation with a hugely positive impact on staff.

Ian Pryce added: “As a Chartered provider we feel part of a very special set of institutions, committed not to being boastful but to promoting the whole sector and the work it does. The Charter gives the sector a profile and independence it has not had before and creates a space for us to be independent-minded.”

Dan Wright, CEO and Secretary of the Chartered Institution for Further Education said: “Bedford College is a shining example of excellence in further education and we are delighted to welcome the College as a new Member of the Chartered Institution for Further Education. We look forward to working together to promote and elevate the sector as a whole.”

NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP COOL SHOWS AT COLLEGE A summer season of displays of work from various courses at Bedford College has been running since June 7th at the riverside South Bank Arts Centre.

Running until July 5th the design suites will demonstrate a wide range of work by talented fine artists, fashion designers, photographers and graphic students.

At the preview on Friday June 7th adult student Simon Carr of Bedford was displaying his contemporary chair designs.

Having followed his heart to return to education and pursue a creative path, Simon will now progress on to the HNC in 3D Design (pictured).

BUILDING A GREAT FUTURE Lucky for the construction industry, 13 apprentices are being trained up for the future by GRT Builders.

Of the trainees, 11 are bricklayers and two work in scaffolding. Ben Cocking, 18, of Beeston is off to fly the flag for the Group at the Guild of Bricklayers Awards in Liverpool on June 20th.

Ben is one of two apprentices who study at Bedford College and taking part in the finals. Ben will compete in the Junior Section and Elliot Barnes of St Neots will be competing within the Senior Section of the finals.

Co-Directors Graham Paxton and Rob Dickens at GRT Builders are pleased to see their apprentice’s success.

Graham said: “Our company has had apprentices with Bedford College going back to the 1990s and we renewed our relationship with them when working on the Riverside development opposite the college campus. Now our company is going from strength to strength with our new offices on Stewartby the old A421. Happily we have some great young talent coming through.”

Gina Bubbins, Director of Business Development at The Bedford College Group works with companies who employ construction apprentices across the region, said: “We are delighted that a successful company like GRT Builders is using its local college to complete the training of its apprentices. They are making an important contribution to the local economy and jobs market.

Ben, a former Sandy Upper School student, began studying with Bedford College after taking part in a “Taster” day and joined a fulltime bricklaying course. He was spotted as having great potential and offered an apprenticeship with GRT Builders.

We wish Ben and Elliot every success in the national competition.”

Michael Curtis Course Manager for brickwork, himself a former builder, said: “This a fantastic achievement and shows how our apprentices are maintaining the highest standards in the fast-growing construction industry. These are just two of the talented craftspeople coming through to study with us thanks to collaboration between our college and employers who are investing in skilled workforces for the future.

The foundations for the next generation of top class bricklayers are being laid here at Bedford College.”

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP STUDENTS CHECK OUT BEDFORD BOROUGH’S NEW SEND LOCAL OFFER The Bedford Borough SEND Local offer is a ‘one stop shop’ aimed at supporting children/young people, parents/carers and professionals to learn about services and support available for those with SEND aged 0-25 years within the local area.

The Borough wide inspection of SEND published in March 2018 identified issues with the accessibility of the Bedford Borough Local Offer website which has led to its redevelopment. As part of the redevelopment students on the Foundation Skills Programme undertaking an ICT option were asked to test the site prior to it being relaunched on 11th June, 2019.

Chris Morris Manager for SEND programmes at the Borough spent the morning of 20th May at the college with the group.

Students were involved in a number of activities throughout the morning, which included discussing activities they attended and how they had found out about them, feeding back information on what they would find useful, before getting down to testing the website.

Students undertook a range of activities with the aim of finding bugs and glitches within the system, alongside giving feedback on the accessibility of the site.

Students clearly enjoyed the session and valued being given the opportunity to have their views heard.

young people and their family get the help they need”.

“I’m definitely going to use it to find out information. Usually you have to go to a specific organisation but this way you can do a general search and follow up with a phone call to the organisation you are interested in”.

“Testing the site was a good experience. It helped me to see how professional websites are tested”.

These were some comments from students following the event: “The website is well made and structured. It is a good idea to help

MISSION TO MARS FOR YOUNG STUDENTS AT TRESHAM COLLEGE School children from across Northamptonshire spent a day at Tresham College in Corby during their half term, inspiring them to be scientists and engineers of the future.

These students have been able to experience our state-of-the-art computer, science and engineering equipment here at Corby Campus and hopefully they will return to study with us in the future.”

As part of a Routes into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programme organised by the Engineering Development Trust, staff developed a unique programme of experiences for the students with a ‘Mission to Mars’ theme including: building a robotic Mars Lander; UV protection; and building habitats on the red planet.

The Routes into STEM programme is part of the EDT Industrial Cadet Scheme where young people can progress through a series of awards from age 9–21 years. The aim is to encourage students to study STEM subjects and support them with innovative courses, gaining firsthand experience of life at college, university and in the workplace.

Tom Black, Tresham College Head of Science and Computing, said: “This has been a fantastic opportunity for the College to work with EDT and local schools to raise student awareness of the STEM options in Further Education.

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Steve Ross, Routes into STEM Co-ordinator, said: “EDT are very grateful to Tresham College for hosting day one of a three day course called Routes into STEM. Tom Black and colleagues arranged a packed agenda of hands-on science, engineering and

computing activities, which were arranged to show students different aspects of STEM learning. The course itself is designed to highlight to students that FE colleges, as well as universities, can provide the education necessary for exciting and diverse career options in the STEM arena.”

NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP A PATTERN OF SUCCESS Beating universities from across the UK in corporate clothing design is a repeating pattern at Bedford College.

For the past two years HND Fashion & Textiles team have claimed the glittering prizes at the national Professional Clothing International Awards (PCIA), and are now shortlisted for the third year in a row with Aimee Hawes, Jade Dores and Ellie Mackinnon who have reached the acclaimed final on June 19th.

Famed designer Vivienne Westwood is once again a judge.

Last year, Bedford College student

Summer Gill won a work experience opportunity of a lifetime at the international icon’s fashion house, together with £1,000 in prize money.

Students benefit from training which combines creativity with practicality – as witnessed by the college’s success in the PCIA where protective clothing has to combine ‘industrial strength’ with wearability.

To get through again to these highly competitive national finals shows how well the Group’s courses prepare young people for work within this world-wide industry.

WEST END BECKONS FOR TRESHAM COLLEGE STAR Tresham College student Jordan Skeels has won a coveted place with the National Youth Theatre (NYT), a world leader in youth arts.

Jordan, 18, from Kettering beat thousands of other young actors, at two-day auditions around the country to be selected to join the NYT this summer in London.

Many famous faces began their careers at the NYT including Oscar Winner Helen Mirren and their courses are highly regarded in the industry.

“I was shocked when I found out I’d won a place. The audition was over two days, taking part in various workshops and it was difficult to tell if you were doing well, so I just threw myself into it.

This will be a fantastic opportunity for me to develop my performance skills and work with professionals from the West End,” said Jordan.

Jordan chose to study Performing Arts at Tresham College with a Level 3 Acting course so he could focus full-time on his passion for theatre.

The theatre and television facilities at Tresham College combined with the industry insight of the staff have all been credited by Jordan and other past students who have gone on to University and won places at acclaimed Drama Schools.

Tresham College Performing Arts Course Leader Emma Boulton Roe praised Jordan’s success: “This is a fantastic achievement, thousands apply for the few places available at NYT. Jordan is a great actor and a hard working student, he thoroughly deserves his place.”

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP LOCAL SCHOOL CAMPS OUT WITH THE SHUTTLEWORTH ACTIVITY CENTRE Pupils from Edith Cavell Primary School visited the Shuttleworth Activity Centre, run by Shuttleworth College, for a two day camping trip earlier this month.

The pupils camped overnight in tents at the Shuttleworth Activity Centre to enjoy a series of outdoor adventures such as canoeing, archery, raft building, crate stacking and various problem solving games.

Students from Shuttleworth College develop various programmes around specific aims and objectives for the visitors to ensure that everyone gets the most out of the day.

Heather Cooke, Headteacher, said: “This is the sixth year that I have brought my Year 4 students camping at Shuttleworth. We chose the Shuttleworth Activity Centre because it’s fairly close but most importantly the children are given the opportunity to do activities that they haven’t done before and I can’t give them these opportunities at school.”

centre allows them to develop the skills to work with a range of clients once they complete their course and progress into careers in outdoor related occupations.

The Centre is run by Outdoor Adventure students who work with highly trained and qualified staff to organise events and lead activities at the centre. This experience at the

20% OFF our BRAND NEW fitness classes plus an updated timetable!

Day

Time

Class

Monday

9.00am-9.45am

Aqua Aerobics

9.30am-10.30am

Legs,Bums and Tums

11.15am-12.15pm

Pilates

4.30pm-5.30pm

Yoga (Family Class)

6.00pm-7.00pm

Yoga (Adult Class)

6.30pm-7.30pm

Spinning

9.30am-10.30am

Aerobics

6.15pm-7.15pm

Spinning

7.15pm-8.15pm

Legs,Bums and Tums

9.30am-10.45am

Yoga

10.45am-11.30am

Aqua Aerobics

6.00pm-7.00pm

Yoga (Adult Class)

7.00pm-8.00pm

Zumba

9.15am-10.00am

Pilates

6.15pm-7.00pm

HIIT

7.15pm-8.15pm

Pump Fit

9.30am-10.30am

Balance/Stretch

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

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New classes starting at Trinity Arts & Leisure from Monday 8th July!

For more information and pricing please give us a call on 01234 291291 We hope to see you there!

Buy a multi-card pass and get 10 sessions for the price of nine Visit: www.trinityleisure.co.uk Call: 01234 291777 Email: enquiries@trinityleisure.co.uk Trinity Arts & Leisure, Bromham Road, Bedford MK40 2BS

NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP ENGINEERING STUDENTS TEST PILOT PROGRAMME FOR AN EXTENDED INDUSTRY PLACEMENT A group of Level 3 Extended BTEC Engineering students have been taking part in a pilot programme that requires them to complete industry placements.

The placements enable students to develop employability skills alongside technical skills whilst being out of the classroom.

Students gain a deeper knowledge on how a business runs, responds to changes and have the opportunity to connect with other organisations for future job opportunities.

Each placement is tailored to suit the needs of both the employer and students to be a meaningful work experience.

Samuel Frank (pictured) was one of seven students taking part in the pilot who worked at Motor Technical Services LTD in Wellingborough throughout the last academic year. Samuel has now completed his extended industry placement with over 8 weeks (334 hours) of experience and was presented with a certificate to mark the completion of the programme.

Due to the success of the pilot, the programme is expected to run from September 2019 for all Level 3 Extended BTEC Engineering students.

BEDFORD ITALIAN FESTIVAL IN TOWN An Italian Festival in the town centre will give people the chance to eat and drink Mediterranean style on Sunday July 21st.

From 12 noon until 5pm, visitors to Harpur Square can enjoy La Dolce Vita right in the heart of the town of Bedford.

Famous for having had a large Italian community which has grown since World War Two, Bedford will be celebrating that cosmopolitan connection with this event.

The local branch of Utilitrack Ltd, which is headed up by Gerard Duggan and supported by his team Anne, Jenny and Mary, helps businesses save time and money on their Utility bills, is the main sponsor, Enzo Testa, well-established businessman and owner of Utilitrack, said:

“We saw this as a great opportunity to bring people into the town and at the same time support local businesses.

It is an event for people of all communities to enjoy.�

The Italian Festival is part of a range of events being staged across the Borough of Bedford to support a major multi-cultural SpectaculARTS event being staged at Bedford Park on September 7th.

appointed Honorary Consul for the Italian community.

For more information about workshops, ambassador appointments, dance events and much more in the coming weeks follow: FB SpectaculARTS

Founder of SpectaculARTS, which is a Community Interest Company, is Sharon De Leonardis. She has great plans for a performing arts and cultural event to be held in the years between the biennial Bedford River Festival.

Keeping up the Italian Connection, Guy A. Moliterno has accepted the honour of being an Ambassador for the big event. Guy is well known in the local business community and in 2015 was

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP EXTRA, EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT The popular tabloid Bedford Bulletin is now on display in a special container in the reception of Bedford College - with lots of stories about students and staff.

Rosetta Publishing Director Martin Quince is pictured with the first issue of the real newspaper in a striking new container which can be found in the Coffee Shop on the Mezz Floor.

The first tabloid issue featured the Advanced Engineering Centre on the front page.

His company produces a range of titles which are printed and delivered to 90,000 homes across Beds and Northants monthly, as well as a Bedfordshire-wide on-line weekly version which also covers Luton.

COCA-COLA APPRENTICE WINS THREE AWARDS IN SIX MONTHS Apprentice for Coca-Cola European Partners Great Britain Ltd, Sophie Paveling, has won her third award in less than six months.

She is also an ambassador of a number of organisations encouraging young people and women to take the apprenticeship route.

Sophie was announced as one of the top 30 electronics engineers under 30 by RS Components and Electronics Weekly and received her award at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) headquarters in London.

Sophie is now completing a HND in Electrical and Electronic Engineering with us here at Bedford College.

She has been acknowledged for her work in numerous energy and water saving projects as well as her design of a layer pad alarm system that was implemented on a production line that can save ÂŁ16,000 every shift.

Last November, Sophie received two prestigious Apprentice of the Year awards which included the Food and Drink Federation Award and the Food Manufacturing Award.

Image courtesy of DesignSpark

Summer Season

Hun d r e d s of S t u d e nts , T hous an d s o f I d eas !

Bedford College Art & Design Exhibitions

Diploma & Foundation 7 and 8 June

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Extended Diploma 14 and 15 June

Higher Education 21 June to 5 July

NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP STAFF AWARDS Do you know somebody that has gone out of their way to provide outstanding service?

Remember, one well-written nomination with plenty of supporting evidence is better than several which contain little or no information.

Do you know the best teacher in the group? Let us know!

Any member of staff can be nominated for awards, but staff cannot nominate themselves.

All nominations must be received by Wednesday 31st July 2019. Nominees will be notified of their nomination after judging commences.

Winners will receive their awards at the College Achievements Ceremony in the Autumn.

It’s time to take an opportunity to reflect on the fantastic work being done by our staff across the group and recognise their achievements. The nomination categories this year are: •

2019 Professional Services Staff of the Year

•

2019 Teacher of the Year

•

2019 Staff Innovator Award

•

2019 Staff Customer Focus Award

Keep an eye out on the intranet for the nomination form which will be accessible via the intranet from 3rd June 2019 and can be completed online.

•

2019 Unsung Hero Award

Nominations close on Wednesday 31st July 2019.

Find out more about the awards including criteria for each award and how to nominate on the Staff Intranet college.oak.com

OPENING THE STEM DOOR TO YOUNG GIRLS AT BEDFORD COLLEGE School children from across Bedfordshire were invited to attend a Women in STEM event at Bedford College on Thursday 20th June.

Aimed at encouraging young girls to consider careers in engineering and computing, the event was hosted in the recently opened Buchanan Building at Bedford College.

“Our vistors were able to tour the state-of-the-art facilities here at Bedford College, with demonstrations by some of our current students. Plus they had the chance to meet representatives from Lockheed Martin who specialise in aerospace and advanced technology.”

Named after the first woman member of the Institution of Civil Engineers Dorothy Donaldson Buchanan (1895 - 1957), the building was a £5.2 million investment in education.

Bedford College Group Director of STEM Jo Baxter hosted the open evening. She said:

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YOUR PICTURES Every month you send the Marketing Team wonderful images from our different campuses that we post on to our social media channels. Here are some of this month’s highlights.

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ing n build garde e w o h S ur rticult rn for Ho Wobu t a s t n e d stu n Show Garde

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Trave l stude and Tour ism nts ta year trip t ke an end o Bu Palac of ck e Gard and Cov ingham ent en Motor vehicle tutors show how a carburet tor is stripped at the Ha ve a Go event

Ta sa king th le ou a ch e w ts a ea ide rity th t er o e cake njo y

se and Hor ents Equine ud t s t n me Manage orses out h take the g hackin

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ta t a nary fi o ing ati ep ty st e K ari ide ch le r c cy

The first pancake tortoise egg has finally h atched

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PEOPLE NEWS CURRENT VACANCIES Here are the current vacancies available across the Group. Visit the Staff Intranet to find out more information on how to apply.

Vice Principal Location: Bedford Application closing date: 30/06/2019 Training Co-ordinator in Early Years Location: Bedford Salary: Circa £28,000 per annum, pro rata dependent on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 02/07/2019 Associate Lecturer – Dental Nursing Location: Bedford Salary: Unqualified lecturers/teachers £20.50 per hour, qualified lecturers/ teachers £21.50 per hour Application closing date: 02/07/2019 Lecturer – Social Sciences (Access to HE) Location: Bedford Salary: Circa £30,000 per annum, pro rata dependent on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 02/07/2019 Technician in Agriculture Location: Old Warden Salary: Circa £17,124 per annum, pro rata dependent on experience and qualifications Application closing date: 07/07/2019

BECOME A GOVERNOR

The Corporation seeks applications from talented prospective governors on an ongoing basis. The Bedford College Group serves an ethnically diverse community and our Board should be representative of the local community. In order to improve the composition of the Board in terms of diversity, the College welcomes all applicants and particularly applications from women and those from minority ethnic backgrounds.

It would be much appreciated if staff could promote the governor roles through their links in their communities and log any activity and feedback with me on rnicol@bedford.ac.uk or 01234 291003.

Below is a link to the website page “Become a governor”. www.bedford.ac.uk/about/corporate-governance/become-a-governor

Our new Director of Human Resources, Caroline Biddle started at the college earlier this month.

Caroline, a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development, joins us from Walsingham Support, a national charity that supports people with complex needs.

The college will work alongside Caroline to develop a new People Strategy for the next five years.

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS JUNE The Inter Faith Network website has a more detailed list of festivals with short descriptions.

10th ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARTYRDOM OF THE BAB (Baha’i) 16th DHAMMA DAY (Buddhist)

Associate Student Support Assistant Location: Bedford Salary: £8.60 per hour Application closing date: 31/07/2019 Teacher – Business Location: Bedford Salary: Up to £31,000 per annum, pro rata dependent on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 18/08/2019

STAFF DIVERSITY NETWORKS

DIVERSITY AMBASSADORS

The Bedford College Group has a successful staff LGBT+ Forum. We’d like to identify the need for other staff diversity networks, for instance, Women’s network, or Ethnicities’ network.

A staff diversity network is a forum for discussing career aspirations and challenges, supporting personal and professional development, listening to different perspectives, inviting speakers, hosting workshops, sharing news and helping to examine processes for barriers that may be limiting representation and inclusion.

If you’re interested in joining a staff network or even being a chair of a network, please contact Anastasia Parsons, anparsons@bedford.ac.uk.

To find out more about staff diversity networks, visit our stand at the staff conference on 4th July.

Do you have a diversity ambassador in your team?

This is a voluntary role suitable for colleagues with interests in equality, diversity and inclusion. The role mainly involves cascading the E&D updates from the Diversity and Inclusion Advisor to your team, reminding colleagues about key diversity dates and celebrations, and initiating discussions in team meeting on inclusion and diversity issues. Guidance and support are provided, as well as an opportunity to meet other diversity ambassadors in the College at lunchtime network events. For more information, please contact Anastasia Parsons, anparsons@bedford.ac.uk.

July 2019

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SPOTLIGHT ON...

CUSTOMER CONTACT TEAM WHAT DOES MY DEPARTMENT DO?

CHALLENGES FOR NEXT YEAR?

The Customer Contact team is the public face of the Enquiries & Admissions Department. We deal with members of the public, prospective students and current students on a daily basis. Our team answers calls on Reception, greets visitors and deals with any course information requests and queries by post, email, phone and in person. We also attend all school events across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.

Having recently restructured we have had quite a few new staff in recent months so we have been busy training the team ready for the busiest time of our year, the summer holidays and September.

WHERE ARE YOU BASED? The Customer Contact Team are based at Bedford College and Tresham College, Kettering and Corby campuses.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK IN YOUR TEAM? It is a busy team requiring a wide range of skills, from Customer Service to CRM management. During busy periods on Reception it is common to be answering the phone, speaking to a visitor and emailing information about an enquiry simultaneously.

WHAT ACHIEVEMENTS DID THE TEAM ACCOMPLISH LAST YEAR?

WHAT ROLES DOES EACH TEAM MEMBER HAVE? All members of the team work on Reception as well as dealing with email, telephone and face to face enquiries.

Mel and Lucy work with Rachael at the Kettering campus, Claire, Jane and Janice work with Steph at the Corby campus. Rachael and Steph are the Customer Contact Managers at Kettering and Corby campuses.

Natasha is the interim Customer Contact Manager at Bedford College. Azara, Jaz, and Natalie are the Customer Contact Advisers at Bedford College with Shona dealing with the majority of the Reception work whilst she completes her apprenticeship. Amy is the interim Head of Enquiries and Admissions.

Trudie is the Schools Engagement Co-ordinator so she attends majority of the external school events and also hosts school visits at our sites, the rest of the team and the Apprenticeship Recruitment team also support the school events.

ANY INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOUR DEPARTMENT AND THE PEOPLE IN THE TEAM? •

Jaz is a training hairdresser and recently worked at BROOKS (part of The Bedford College Group)

•

Tasha is our resident baker and often brings treats in to work, she is also completing her Cake Decorating & Sugar Flowers course at Bedford College

•

Steph was born in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

•

Natalie has recently returned from travelling in Australia and did her first sky dive whilst she was there

•

Claire is a qualified music teacher

•

Amy recently won the Staff Customer Focus Award

•

The Bedford College team regularly organise an activity each month for the team to enjoy outside of work.

The team won the Excellence in Student Success Award from Campus Management for their use of the new Radius CRM system.

Top left to right: Azara Sultana, Jaz Judge, Natalie Rawles, Rachael Whiting, Tasha Stringer, Stephanie Hurst, Mel Cameron, Trudie Tebbutt, Shona Gillies, Jenna Young.

Bottom left to right: Amy Cleary, Claire Grant, Janice Bosnic and Jane Raffety.

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July 2019

To find out more about us visit our page on the Staff Intranet