CONNECT April 2022

Find out more about accessing our Employee Assistance Programme on Page 4

Emma Boulton-Roe highlights how habits at home affect students in class on Page 6

International Women’s Day nominees on page 13

Connect N E WS | U P DAT E S | D I A RY DAT E S | D I S CO U N TS

Business Development Team at National Apprenticeship Show Our Business Development Team were delighted to return to face-to-face events at the National Apprenticeship Show 2022 which took place for the Central region in Milton Keynes last month. Read more about it on page 8.

April 2022

Connect

Olivia Morton

Communications Executive omorton@bedford.ac.uk

Editor’s Note Your April Issue of CONNECT Magazine In this month’s issue, find out more about how to access support due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine that affects friends and family of our staff. Also this month, we have included a link to an article where Performing Arts Lecturer, Emma Boulton-Roe highlights how students’ habits and hobbies at home can impact their time in College.

If you would like to add your staff news to the May issue of CONNECT, please send your article and photos to omorton@bedford.ac.uk no later than Friday 15 April 2022.

Dates For Your Diary Equality & Diversity Month

1 – 30 April

Term 2 Ends 1 April

Bank Holiday (College Closed)

15 April

Bank Holiday (College Closed) 18 April

Term 3 Commences

19 April

Manor Restaurant Theme Night (Seafood n Grill)

21 April

Access to HE Information Evening (5.00pm–7.00pm) 21 April

Student Voice Network

22 April

Contents Pg.2

Key Dates

Pg.3

Principal’s Update

Pg.4

Wellbeing

Pg.5

Group News

Pg.13

Job Opportunities

Pg.14

Quality Update

Pg.15

Equality, Diversity And Inclusion

Pg.16

Staff Perks

Pg.2

Teacher Education Information Evening (5.00pm–7.00pm) 26 April

Manor Restaurant Quiz Night

28 April

The Bedford Sixth Form Open Evening (5.00pm–8.00pm) 28 April For more diary dates visit www.bit.ly/collegecalendars

April 2022

Connect

Principal’s Update

Ian Pryce CBE

CEO The Bedford College Group

Principal’s Update Points of View

One of our key aims as a Group is to be seen as an educational leader. That leadership should not be confined to the most senior staff, and we have sought to encourage all staff to get involved in research and contributing to the wider sector. I am therefore pleased to see two of our staff, Natalie Morris and Emma Boulton Roe featured by sector publication FE Week. Natalie took part in their first new topical podcast on teacher pay, while Emma had an article on the problem of students using social media or gaming outside of college. Go to the FE Week site to catch them both (link on page 6).

Ukraine

I’m sure we are all heartbroken to see the news from Ukraine, but feel there is little we can do. As a major employer with students and staff from a diverse range of communities, it is inevitable there will be those with friends or family in the region. I am therefore pleased to see swift action by our HR team to secure additional services through our Employee Assistance Programme so that the service is available to anyone, including non-family members, who needs support. The service is available in relevant languages too.

Educating Corby The government has announced 55 education investment areas as part of its levelling up agenda, areas where secondary education performance is weak. The 55 include our patch with Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and North Northamptonshire. We are investing £9.4m to create an excellent specialist sixth form in Corby town centre as part of the solution. It was good to see the Levelling Up Minister coming over to Corby to see the site as we begin work. The new centre is planned to open in September 2023.

All Change

You may be aware the college is a member of the Silverstone UTC Trust and the key member of our academy trust BCAT. The Principal of the UTC, Neil Patterson, is moving back into Engineering at the end of the teaching year, having developed the UTC since its creation a decade ago. Our two schools within BCAT, both at Wixams in Bedford, are expanding rapidly so the Trust has just appointed a full-time Chief Executive who will join before the end of the teaching year. The advert for the former, and announcement for the latter, will be made shortly.

Pg.3

Connect

April 2022

Caroline Biddle

Executive Director of Human Resources cbiddle@bedford.ac.uk

LOOKING AFTER YOUR WELLBEING IN TIMES OF CONFLICT The current crisis in Ukraine is impossible to ignore with the saturation of news reporting and increased personal commentary on social media.

Many staff have family, friends or colleagues in the region causing huge anxiety for them and also those staff who have served in the forces or have family who have served/ are still serving have heightened anxiety or even PTSD. Some simple tips for day to day that may help us all manage through conflict are: • Limit your online time to avoid the saturation of information and images • Check in with yourself to assess how it is making you feel

This means that it is not just family living in your household that can access this service, but also is open to anyone in the world, and can be delivered in all major languages, including Ukrainian, Russian, Polish and other central European languages.

Extended family members can also contact the helpline about any issue which they may need counselling support on – not just the conflict in Ukraine.

Please click here to read more details via the intranet. The Company name to be used is TRESHAM Keep safe, The Wellbeing Steering Group

• Don’t be afraid to acknowledge how it is affecting you • Talk to people you trust, who you know will listen and will be there for you • Make an appointment with your GP to seek support or access the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to talk to a trained counsellor The Bedford College Group Wellbeing Group has also shared details on how to access additional support to our usual EAP during this period: “In response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and recognising the stress and anxiety this is causing, our FREE to use Employee Assistance Programme providers “Wellbeing Solutions” have extended their Counselling and Support Helpline to cover the wider family members of our employees.

Pg.4

April 2022

Connect

Laser light on award Laser Learning devise e-learning software endorsed by awarding bodies, NCFE CACHE, and is used internationally, to deliver full UK qualifications, training courses, and CPD short courses.

Nicola Davies, Lecturer in Health, Care and Childcare explained: Bedford College has been using Laser Learning e-portfolios to support the adult work-based learning programmes for eight years. These programmes include Level 2 and 3 qualifications for Early Years & Childcare, Supporting Teaching & Learning and Care. More recently we have also added further CPD qualifications to enhance our training provision including Level 4 qualifications, Mental Health and Neuroscience. We have also chosen to use the e-portfolios for the new T-Levels in Education & Childcare and Health.

As a training provider, we feel the use of Laser Learning enables our students to take ownership of their qualifications allowing them to progress at their own pace with the full support of our assessors. Students are

encouraged to use the lessons that are embedded within the portfolios as a starting point for each unit. These lessons offer the students examples of good practice, reading lists for further research and the opportunity to stretch and challenge themselves with the extension activities. These lessons are a great source of support to students who are new to the subject or for those who are returning to education after a long break. The portfolio system is a great way to record and store all completed evidence for the qualifications and tutors can easily follow the student journey throughout.

The portfolios allows us, as a provider, the opportunity to have everything in one place. We are able to add our own resources and information, it follows the awarding body assessment methods and helps us to ensure we are meeting our awarding body requirements in terms of assessing, quality assurance and is a simple way to share the portfolios during our Awarding Body Annual Reviews.

The use of Laser Learning has enhanced our provision and this is evident from the positive feedback from Learners and our External Quality Assurance visits.

Pg.5

Connect

April 2022

Features in FE Week

Celebrating World Book Day

At the beginning of March, Emma Boulton Roe, Lecturer in Performing Arts and Music at Tresham College, Kettering campus wrote an article that was featured as one of their opinion pieces reflecting on the ways that students use devices at night.

Library staff encouraged students and colleagues to celebrate the 25th World Book Day on 3 March by creating a display of their favourite books with a short explanation of why it was their favourite. The team then shared their display on their Twitter feed.

Within the article Emma raises concerns about how habits at home can affect students focus during lessons and meeting their potential.

The team also dressed up for the day and asked our book club members (book club is across sites, where we have participants from Bedford and Kettering) to dress up.

Emma highlights how student hobbies such as gaming, mean that they are up in to the early hours of the morning and regularly eat fast food which is known to be higher in fat, salt etc.

Can you guess the characters/ book?

Lack of sleep results in low energy levels and concentration, combined with poor diet and high-caffeine energy drinks ,which is something that Emma sees often.

Due to technology developing so fast, many parents (and staff) are unaware of the types of challenges younger people are facing.

“Internet safety, blue light disruption of the circadian rhythm, melatonin suppression, hours spent scrolling aimlessly through a multitude of social media apps, connection online to other gamers at all hours.

These are real and potentially damaging problems.” Emma states.

She continues: “The parent or guardian’s job, which is to set a regular bedtime and good sleep hygiene, is easier to implement with younger children.

The difficulty arises when you have young adults (16 years upwards) who work and are supposed to be independent learners in charge of their own timetable.”

Emma recommends that FE providers provide advice for parents on limiting screen time alongside sessions for students, going back to basics on diet and sleep.

If you wish to read more CLICK HERE to read Emma’s article in full.

As mentioned in the Principal’s update, Natalie Morris also contributed to the FE Week’s new topical podcast on teacher pay which can be FOUND HERE.

Pg.6

April 2022

Connect

The Bedford College Group Open Days March 2022: Open Days Campus

Date

Time

National College for Motorsport

Thursday 31 March 2022

5.00pm–7.00pm

April 2022: Open Day Campus

Date

Time

The Bedford Sixth Form

Thursday 28 April 2022

5.00pm–8.00pm

May 2022: Open day Campus

Date

Time

Shuttleworth College

Thursday 12 May 2022

5.00pm–8.00pm

June 2022: Open Days Campus

Date

Time

Bedford College

Tuesday 14 June 2022

5.00pm–8.00pm

Tresham College Corby

Wednesday 22 June 2022

5.00pm–8.00pm

Tresham College Kettering

Thursday 23 June 2022

5.00pm–8.00pm

Tresham College Wellingborough

Tuesday 21 June 2022

5.00pm–8.00pm

August 2022: GCSE Results: Thursday 25th August 2022 All sites (except The Bedford Sixth Form) Date

Time

Thursday 25 August 2022

10.00am–7.00pm

Friday 26 August 2022

10.00am – 2.00pm

Pg.7

Connect

April 2022

National Apprenticeship Week 2022 It was a busy February for our Business Development team who were central to the National Apprenticeship Week activities across the Group.

Our Apprenticeship Recruitment Team were at each campus hosting lunchtime ‘pop-up’ stands to promote apprenticeships and our current vacancies. We were also delighted to be joined at some of our stands by CITB (Construction Industry Training Board), who gave an overview of the working world of construction and the various apprenticeships available within the sector.

In addition to the lunchtime ‘pop-ups’, our Apprenticeship Recruitment Team also attended numerous school events (some virtually and some face-to-face), to provide up-to-date information to school pupils regarding apprenticeships and the options available to them.

Two of our own previous apprentices, Kyra Joy and Angelo Moscaritolo, were invited to the Rushden Lakes Business Hub to meet with locals who were considering apprenticeships as an alternative to non-apprenticeship employment.

Pg.8

April 2022

Connect We welcomed TATA Steel into our Corby Campus, who have some exciting apprenticeship vacancies they wanted to promote to our full-time students. TATA Steel use the Group as their chosen apprenticeship training provider for their Corby-based apprentices and are currently looking for their next intake in readiness for September.

Throughout February we completed our ‘Apprenticeship Insight Sessions’, where we delivered a total of 283 sessions to approximately over 2,600 full-time students across the Group. These annual sessions aim to inform our own full-time students about the apprenticeship options available to them, as well as sharing apprenticeship vacancies and the process of how to apply for them.

Director of Business Development, Gina Bubbins, alongside Account Managers Lisa Charlton and Ross Thomson, had the pleasure of holding a fantastic event in partnership with British Car Auctions (BCA). BCA will soon be launching a training academy at Rockingham in Northamptonshire, so this was a unique opportunity for the public and our students to engage with the employer and gain insight into their line of work.

As part of the social media campaign for National Apprenticeship Week a number of our team were interviewed for features. We highlighted numerous vacancies across the week and shared a ‘myth-busting’ video about apprenticeships, featuring Apprenticeship Recruitment Advisor, Nadia DeMichele. Our current apprentice, Luca Perkins recorded a ‘day in the life of an apprentice’ video for the Group TikTok account and Paige Dearman discussed her rise from Business Development Apprentice to her current role – Key Account Manager.

Pg.9

Connect

April 2022

The new Bedford Sixth Form website is now live!

The Bedford Sixth Form’s new website has now gone live and has been designed to be more user-friendly and aligned with the rest of the Group.

Prospective students and their parents/carers will find it useful and be able to search for all the information they need about the courses available, support and applying.

Visit the new website here: www.bedfordsixthform.ac.uk/

Pg.10

April 2022

Connect

Pg.11

Connect

April 2022

Guardian newspaper features college staff Two Bedford College IT lecturers are to be featured in a Government-sponsored Guardian newspaper “Top 100” FE teachers campaign.

Daniel Hulatt and Christian Nunez-Fuentes were selected as outstanding examples of those with real world working experience and teaching expertise which combine to deliver the best possible support for students.

They will be featured on the Guardian website, the Observer magazine, on podcasts and wider advertising to promote the campaign highlighting the best of FE. Head of computing Paula Hobday put forward three members of staff and two fitted the specific Guardian criteria: “We’re always proud to see our staff receive the recognition they deserve for being at the forefront in this fast-changing field of education and training.”

Pg.12

April 2022

Connect

Cyber Safety

Job Opportunities

In light of recent events, there is an increased risk of The Bedford College Group being targeted by cyber-attacks and therefore IT Services would like to remind staff to remain vigilant with regards to data and network security.

HR Administrator (Recruitment)

IT Services have implemented a number of network security features to reduce this risk, including anti-virus software and firewalls, however there are a number of steps that you can take to increase the security of your user account and device.

Personal Achievement Tutor

These include: • Using secure passwords

Location: Bedford Salary: £19,570 per annum Application closing date: 27/03/2022 Location: Bedford Salary: £22,000 per annum, pro rata Application closing date: 29/03/2022

» View and apply for our full-time and part-time vacancies via The Bedford College Group vacancy portal which can be found on CONNECT staff intranet.

• Encrypting laptops and USB storage devices • Using the Microsoft Authenticator App for your Office 365 Multi-Factor Authentication, SMS authentication will be phased out • Being aware of how to identify spam emails Additional information regarding these steps is available on the intranet. Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with this information: If you have any queries or concerns in regards to Cyber Security, please contact IT Services: Email – itsupport@bedford.ac.uk Phone – ext 5999/ 01234 291999

Pg.13

Connect

Quality & Training Opportunities As part of International Women’s Day 2022 which was celebrated on March 8 the team asked for nominations for inspirational women across the Group. Read their stories below

International Women’s Day Nominations 2022 Dr. Sharon Jones Library and Learning Resources Centre at Tresham Nominated by Sam Collins When she was 18, she was kicked out of her family home and forced to move into shared accommodation.

She was still at college at the time. Since then, she has raised six children (four of which were delivered through a C-section), completed a PHD and is now currently writing courses for students who struggle in the education system. In addition to this, Sharon is also conducting research on student engagement and student motivation. She will be submitting her PhD as a book to publishers next month too.

Jess Day from the Outdoor Education and Warden Team at Shuttleworth. Nominated by Charles Whewell

April 2022

When it comes to teaching and learning, as the youngest member of the team, Jess always has a fresh approach to lesson delivery; not shy about trying new ideas; always setting clear achievable goals for her learners.

Her alternative approach and dedication to encouraging excellence in her students in turn raises the standards of the department as a whole, inspiring the rest of us to be better.

While it shouldn’t be the case, the outdoor sector is very much a male dominated industry despite there being many successful females in influential positions and roles. We are lucky to have Jess as a member of staff at our college, to be that much needed role model, to show the future generation of young women that they really can be a force to be reckoned with and have a successful career in the outdoors. Jess has also recently been selected to go forward onto the Royal Yachting Association Coach Assessor scheme; one of the highest qualifications within the outdoor industry.

Not only is Jess part of the delivery team at Shuttleworth, but she is also part of the Warden team who look after the residential students at the site. Jess brings the same level of joyful energy and imagination to that role as she does her main role. Jess is too modest about her personal abilities and the benefits she brings to the Outdoor team and wider college, she will probably hate this nomination too; but it needs to be acknowledged, the important role she plays in the college and the high level of respect held for her with in our team.

We really do have some inspirational women within The Bedford College Group.

Jess in an ex-student from Outdoor Education, who completed her Level 3 with us, then travelled and worked in a variety of countries before coming back to join our staff team. Jess is an eternally positive and energetic colleague but also a great role model for the students.

She is always willing to put extra time in to support students whether it is by developing the department social media presence, helping them achieve national governing body qualifications or making sure they have the opportunity to gain great work placements.

Professional Development Update

Jess is completing her HNC on a part-time basis on top of her instructing role, is a warden who goes the extra mile for the students and provides an ephemeral smile within the department. She’s committed to her job, to the College and the students, and this award would be a great way to recognise her efforts.

LGBT+ Workshop

Jess received another nomination Nominated by Richard Cook Jess joined the Outdoor Adventure team in 2019 and was the whirlwind of fresh air and energy that we needed.

Jess studied the Outdoor course at Shuttleworth in her youth and went on to become a highly experienced, qualified and successful industry operator, before returning to the college to support, train and inspire the next generation of outdoor instructors.

Jess inspires students and staff alike, always bringing enthusiasm and a smile to the office and classroom.

During lockdown Jess championed innovative ways to interactively engage with our learners and spent lots of time motivating learners to reach their potential in the face of the pandemic.

Pg.14

We have the following professional development available to book onto with the links provided: Safer Recruitment This is a mandatory unit for all staff members who attend interview panels Link to book HERE

Link to book HERE Safeguarding session Working with our young people and vulnerable adults, you have a duty of care to safeguard and protect.

Bedford College Group interactive safeguarding workshop brings together staff across all our sites, and is aimed at those who want to refresh their knowledge or for our first timers. We’ve created this tailored bite size workshop which is informative, easy to understand and provides you with a great opportunity to discuss case studies, College reporting systems and to share your safeguarding knowledge with others to ensure we all understand current Safeguarding issues and apply correct actions.

Link to book HERE. For more information visit the Professional Development pages on the intranet or email professionaldevelopment@bedford.ac.uk April 2022

Connect

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION APRIL 2022 We are pleased to announce Ashley Spiers has been successful and has been appointed as the EDI Manager following Anastasia’s departure. Ashley is currently an Advanced Practitioner and teaches in Teacher Education which he will continue to do until May half term before he starts the role full time. I hope you can join me in congratulating Ashley who brings with him huge experience in the area of Equality & Diversity.

Upcoming Activities The DisAbility Advisory Forum started with the expectation to allow staff and students to talk about disabilities. We have successfully facilitated a panel discussion, “let’s talk about disability”, which you can still access (https://web. microsoftstream.com/video/b03f3f53-457d-49e6-a932072e5e5ca055).

We run drop-in sessions to discuss any issues, concerns, or good practices. You do not have to be a member of the forum to access these, and the next planned date is: Tuesday 24th May 2022 – 12.15pm until 12.45pm (Teams) End of term and forward planning meeting: 7th June (12.00pm – 1.00pm). We are always looking for members for the committee and value individual representatives of departments. You do not require extensive knowledge of disability; you need the motivation to enhance inclusive practice in your area of teaching and learning. If you are interested in the group, please contact Louise (lbedworth@bedford.ac.uk) or Elli (ekyrou@bedford.ac.uk).

Panel Discussion (Topic – Ability to progress) on Friday 22nd April (10:30 – 12:30).

In each newsletter, we will provide a sample of a support guide. These guides are accessible here: Disability Guides (college.oak.com). We will try our best to link these with Disability Awareness Dates. The following disability awareness day is World Down Syndrome Day on 21st March 2022. You can access more information on this here: https:// www.worlddownsyndromeday.org/

Religious Festivals in April 1 April - Fool’s Day 2 April - Ramayana Begins – Hindu, Ugadi/Telugu New Year – Hindu, Ramadan Begins – Islam, World Autism Awareness Day, 6 April - International Asexuality Day 7 April - World Health Day 8 April - International Romani Day 10 April - Palm Sunday – Christian, Rama Navami – Hindu 13 April - Songkran (Thai New Year) – Buddhist 14 April - Maundy Thursday – Christian, Mahavir Jayanti – Jain, Birth Of The Khalsa (Vaisakhi) – Sikh, Tamil New Year 15 April - Good Friday – Christian, Bank Holiday – England, Wales, Scotland And Northern Ireland 16 April - Theravada New Year – Buddhist, Hanuman Jayanti – Hindu, Passover – Judaism, Lazarus Saturday – Orthodox Christian 17 April - Easter Sunday – Christian, Palm Sunday – Orthodox Christian 18 April - Easter Monday – Christian, Birthday Of Guru Angad Dev – Sikh, Birthday Of Guru Tegh Bahadur – Sikh, Bank Holiday – England, Wales, Northern Ireland And Roi 21 April - First Day Of Ridvan – Baha’i 22 April - Holy Friday – Orthodox Christian, Earth Day 23 April - Saint George’s Day – Christian 24 April - Pascha (Easter) – Orthodox Christian 25 April - Feast Of Saint Mark The Evangelist – Christian 26 April - Lesbian Visibility Day 28 April - Lailat Al-Qadr – Islam, Yom Hashoah – Judaism, World Day For Health & Safety At Work, 29 April - Ninth Day Of Ridvan – Baha’i 30 April - Saint James The Great’s Day – Orthodox Christian.

Pg.15

Connect

April 2022

Lynsey Travers

HR Manager - Human Resources

STAFF PERKS TOP OFFERS THIS MONTH

The Body Shop – earn 10% cashback Very – earn up to 10% cashback Currys – save 7% in-store and online with Instant Vouchers Wilko – Earn 5% cashback Samsung – save 20% on monitors Don’t forget you can also access the Wellbeing Centre, eCards to say Thank You, view the Social Recognition Wall to see who has been recognised. https://bedford.rewardgateway.co.uk/SmartHub

Pg.16

April 2022