Croydon College Student Life Newsletter- Autumn 2015 by Croydon College

Autumn 2015

STUDENT LIFE Newsletter

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UNICEF

CITIZENSHIP

ENRICHMENT

REPRESENTATION

DID YOU KNOW?

UNICEF

We the UNICEF Steering Group are a group committed to making a change and we act as duty bearers, upholding students’ rights to freedom of speech, equality, diversity and education. We ensure that students have the right to a voice and stand up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, making progress in our community by raising awareness about equality and diversity. We educate students about their human rights, we help promote those rights and we help to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by educating the students. THE UNICEF Steering Group Core Values Statement: UNICEF has renewed their partnership with LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) for an additional three years at a value of £1.5 million and Donald Brydon, Chairman; LSEG hosted the launch event on November 17th for over 80 guests at 7.30 am. The aim of the Charity Trading Day was to raise 500k. The college was invited to bring two students to give a formal presentation on behalf of UNICEF. Vikki Branch and Mahdi Chowdry were chosen from the UNICEF Steering group and worked hard to prepare their speeches. Mark Devlin, UNICEF UK’s Chief Operating Officer introduced the students who then went on to explain why the work of UNICEF is so important as well as the invaluable contribution of college students. The guests were highly impressed with the student presentation

especially as the event included such high profile dignitaries. ‘Please say a very big thank you to the students for their hard work. They did such a brilliant job and presented so well! LSEG were really pleased with the event.’ Laura and Frances UNICEF UK.

“Please say a very big thank you to the students for their hard work” Laura and Frances (UNICEF UK).

The U-Report: The UNICEF Steering group have been invited to take part in an exciting new pilot of U-Report, a UNICEF mobile innovation which promotes children’s rights to participation and freedom of expression. The U-Report is a pioneering, SMSbased system launched by UNICEF in 2011, aimed at empowering young people to become agents of change in their communities. U-Report now has over 1.6 million users registered in 17 countries who receive information and speak out to decision makers on issues that concern them. In 2016 UNICEF UK will be launching a pilot project of U-Report in the UK, with the aim of engaging young people in its design and implementation, evaluating key learning and scaling up later in the year. Nigeria, Uganda and Indonesia are just some of the countries already using U-Report; however this is the first time the technology will be transferred from the Global South to a country like the UK, making it a particularly exciting opportunity. The group will play a key role in this project, providing insight on how U-Report should be run, what questions should be asked, and what change they hope to achieve through it. UNICEF UK will then hope to engage around 15,000 young people in a live test period running from April, giving them an opportunity to try out U-Report and give some feedback. The UNICEF UK OutRight Campaign – Humanitarian Emergencies The UNICEF Steering group have been participating on the OutRight 2015 campaign working with UNICEF UK. OutRight celebrates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and takes place on 20 November, the anniversary of the Convention. The campaign focuses on promoting and protecting children’s rights in humanitarian emergencies around the world. Students have been learning about how humanitarian emergencies impacts on children’s rights around the world, whilst reinforcing their knowledge and understanding of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The world responded to an unprecedented number of extreme emergencies in 2015, and in 2016 there is an opportunity for young people to makea real change. In May 2016, for the first time, the world will come together at the World Humanitarian Summit to forge a new commitment to humanitarian

action. This Summit presents an opportunity for the UK Government to demonstrate leadership in fulfilling its duty to children when they are most in need of their right to protection. Students at Croydon College so far have signed a petition with over 1,000 signitures within a week asking David Cameron to use his influential position on the global stage to call for the protection of children and the promotion of their wellbeing and their rights. UNICEF Steering group members have written letters to the Prime Minister expressing their concerns about the humanitarian crisis and requesting that he promote the rights of children and young people when he attends the Summit meeting in May. A new UNICEF UK project UNICEF UK have asked the Steering group to share their views and to work on a collaborative project with the UNICEF office in Yemen to share the experiences of young people from around the world with one another. This will involve sharing the words and experiences they associate with common words and phrases like “family, school and friends”.The Yemen office is working with children and young people in Yemen to get their views on a couple of specific questions. Prevent training Later in the autumn term the group attended a training session with Kat Cooper the HE & FE Regional Prevent Coordinator. The session looked at the issues surrounding ‘extremism and terrorism’ with a variety of activities designed to assist students in their role as duty bearers for human rights. The group were able to discuss what is meant by the terms ‘terrorism’ and ‘extremism’ and to explore how young people might get involved in violent extremism as well as some of the ways extremism can be challenged.

The UNICEF Steering Group Charter 1. To promote the rights of all young people and the staff as members of the college community, ensuring positive Equality and Diversity behaviours across the college community. 2. Ensure student voice is being heard, monitoring the representative process to make sure there is a democratic and nondiscriminatory process. 3. Offer a safe space for students to voice their opinions respectfully and without discrimination. 4. Be the voice that represents those who are not able to stand up for themselves. 5. Raise awareness of the importance of volunteering to bring about positive change to the lives of young people within the college as well as the wider and global communities. 6. Influence and shape positive change in the college and wider community to protect children and young people in danger of violence and exploitation. 7. Collaborate with UNICEF UK to find solutions to global challenges and make sure theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re solved forever, focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals. 8. Work with external agencies on high profile campaigns to promote human rights and justice for all using the power of a community of voices. 9. UNICEF members should be committed and professional but make sure we balance our role with our course commitments. 10. To consolidate and improve knowledge and understanding of global citizenship. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What an enjoyable session. The students were so well motivated, energised and engaged and were a credit to your college. I have attached the Core Values statement that they worked onâ&#x20AC;?. Edward Watson, Inner Drive Trainer

UNICEF Steering Group Training sessions Team work and Problem Solving During the October half term student attended a half day training session on Teamwork and Problem Solving. This session explored the importance of listening carefully, persuading others, communicating clearly and coordination of a group. The session also looked at the mechanics of problem solving before considering strategies to help work under pressure when problem solving. What did you most like about the workshop? The group activities. Team work and drawings. Everything. The interactive aspect. The cards game. Interactions with others, good problem solving techniques. The first activity where communication was tested.This workshop more interactive and delivery of the workshop which helps everyone get involved and I made new friends. Working together and learning new skills Each activity was clear. Playing of the games. The communicating and the interaction. Teamwork activities we did. That I did practice work with other people. Activities, drawings. That I got to know other people and respect their opinions. What was the most important thing that you learnt? Communication is key. Problem solving. Team work, communication and problem solving. I learnt about effective communication. Working in a group, team work. It is important to be clear in communicating and listening. Take the lead and speak up. Building confidence and working together. I learnt how to communicate. Communication skills, listening skills, how to give an idea in group work.

Outstanding Achievement - Croydon Civic Award Ceremony The Croydon Community Civic Awards Ceremony was held on Thursday 24 September 2015, at Fairfield Halls, and once again this year Croydon College students were recognised for their outstanding volunteer contributions to the local and wider community. The Winners: Fatima Beeston â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fundraiser of the Year The UNICEF Steering Group: Volunteer group of the Year. Mohamed Al-Kaisi Young Volunteer of the Year was highly commended for his work.

UN Human Rights Day STAR Group (Student Action for Refugees) was started in September and we are the first FE College to run a satellite group for the charity. The students have met each week and already have entered the Star bake competition, the sales of which were donated to STAR charity to help them set up more activities for refugees. The group raised £178 in one day and was awarded the ‘best cake design’ beating many other FE and HE institutions in the competition.Having attended the STAR training workshops during the October half term the group is now leading the conversation sessions with ESOL students who are keen to develop their speaking skills. Digital Inclusion - Go on Croydon Go ON UK is the leading digital skills charity which argues the powerful social and economic case for universal basic digital skills, working alongside Age UK, Argos, BBC, Big Lottery Fund, E.ON, EE, Lloyds Banking Group, Post Office, Sage and TalkTalk. The college is now working in partnership with Go ON Croydon offering students an invaluable volunteer opportunity to become Digital Champions as part of their Pledge Awards. It is planned that the student Digital Champions will offer IT support to those students and staff across the college who may benefit from this skill development. They will also be encouraged to identify which community groups will benefit from access to these support workshops before then organising and running these in the college.

Student Experiences My name in Dunya and I am a student in Croydon College and am a member of the STAR group I am delighted to be able to speak at this event. We are the first and only college running the Star group which is Student Action for Refugees. We joined Student Action for Refugee society to raise awareness and make refugees feel welcome in the UK. As the Star group we aim to run various campaigns that include equal access, and detention. At the moment we are working on providing workshops such as drama and music for young people who studying in the ESOL classes. In The UK there are 270 nationalities and 300 different languages. Having lots of different cultures, religions and styles has made Britain a country which is very mixed and colourful. This mix of cultures and styles has influenced music, art, dance writing and sport and lots of other great benefits. Hibo: As a Human Rights college we take very seriously the right to education, safety, health and voice. When talking about refuges they also have the right to life within a safe environment and to be cared for as their life is at risk in their own country.

as teachers, engineers, doctors, who help by sharing and using their knowledge. The diversity of cultures that enter UK could help create new ideas for UK in terms of selling and making new products and make UK a more loving, and social environment through the sharing of the many different cultures. Candle Light Vigil Working closely with the UNICEF Steering group as part of International Human Rights Day, on December 10th a candlelight vigil was organised to stand together in recognition of those refugees in camps and in Europe who will be suffering this winter. The world is facing the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Only 2% of the world’s refugees are in Europe. 86% live in developing countries. STAR groups across the UK are calling on the Prime Minister to take a fair share of refugees arriving in Europe, increase resettlement places, extend family reunion schemes, and support the search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean.

Refugees coming to UK offer with a range of skills, knowledge and experience such

“The group raised £178 in one day!”

CITIZENSHIP

Scrutiny Panel Meeting After nearly six months of intensive training and research, a group of college students successfully took the role of local Councillors and led the Scrutiny Committee meeting at Croydon Town Hall “On Tuesday the 17th November. After looking at the borough objectives, the students decided that youth homelessness would be the topic for the meeting. Sara Bashford, Chair of Scrutiny Children and Young People subcommittee stated that she was very pleased with the choice of topic. The students were formally co-opted onto the Children and Young People Scrutiny Sub-Committee, and recommendations arising from their meeting have gone to the Council’s Cabinet for response. Students led the meeting in a professional manner and conducted the proceedings with knowledge and understanding of the underlying issues surrounding youth homelessness. Their questioning on the subject, was in-depth, and insightful and they regularly probed the councillors further not satisfied with the response. Councillors present at the meeting remarked on the confidence and articulation of the students and Kristoff Kerr was highly commended for his chairing skills.

upcoming Full Council meeting where they will be invited to attend. The Council would like to thank the students for giving up their time and for identifying the subject. The Council would like to thank the Governors for creating an environment which allows students to participate in such enrichment activities and looks forward to strengthening the partnership which has been created by this project.” Solomon Agutu Head of Democratic Services and Scrutiny

In total, the students questioned officers for over 2.5 hours. The success of the project has led to the Council looking to expand the project for future years. The students’ achievements will be recognised at an

“Eight Students from Croydon College successfully took the role of local Councillors”

The Student Experience The scrutiny meeting last night went well, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be, reasons for this is because I knew my subject well (with the research done before hand), being part of this scrutiny team, and being prepped beforehand with numerous meetings every week, guests coming in to speak to us, breaking down the topic of housing for young people into smaller subjects, it was a great experience of building up myself (through building on my research skills, teamwork skill, confidence, public speaking) as well as playing a part in the community through meetings where we can tackle or raise concerns and help the council solve (or begin to solve) key issues more efficiently. Through the summer holiday, our group was formed by DI herself, she must be thanked, as she was the mediator between the council and the students, without her, this wouldn’t have been as successful as it was. We met Ilona and James (Croydon Council) who kept in contact with us through regular meetings every week, they also provided us with any assistance we required, and they were there for support as they helped and guided us through this journey. We met together as a group and discussed many topics that had relevance and needed to be solved in the local community of Croydon, we decided that they all in some way related to the housing for young people, so we now had our topic! Housing for young people. After deciding our main topics, we decided to break it down into smaller categories, We all decided what we wanted to research within this topic, so I researched ‘the availability of affordable houses’, we decided to have the five chunks broken down from the main topic was ‘the availability of affordable houses’, ‘the availability of advice for housing’, ‘the legislative perspective’, ‘the vetting process’ and ‘homelessness’.After thorough research and looking at the council, their policies and various other services that help and how they help housing for young people. We had to generate constructive and purposeful questions. “Being part of the Scrutiny Panel on young people housing was an incredible experience right from the first day of preparation to the actual meeting that was held at Croydon Town Centre on the 17th of November, 2015. It was quite an informative

meeting as well as an eye opener, hearing the report from the various officers and the way they responded to the questions I and other members of the scrutiny panel asked. Though we did not completely accept what is being done at the moment to tackle young people homelessness, we are hoping that positive action will be taken to ensure that homeless young people find a place to stay. The event was awesome! Thank you”. Francis Uwagboe “To be part of the Scrutiny Panel was an amazing experience. I learnt how important the topic of Housing for Young People is in Croydon and the impact that the housing shortage and high costs of rent are having on young people. I feel that it has improved my confidence and public speaking skills. We were treated as equals and I felt the officers and councillors really listened to what we had to say and am pleased that they are going to follow up on some of our recommendations. It was a fantastic opportunity!” Vikky Branch

The student achievements were recognised at a full Council meeting where they were each presented with a certificate for outstanding achievement from the Mayor of Croydon: Stronger Communities Partnership Board – Preventing Extremism The meeting was presided by Croydon Council’s Director of Safety; Andy Opie The college was invited to bring a group of students to attend the Preventing Extremism Meeting at Bernard Weatherill House. The purpose of the meeting was to report on the findings and evaluation of the Croydon’s partnership work on preventing Extremism.

“The experience at the meeting of today was amazing, it made me feel like young people are listened to and also that they are being taking in to consideration more than we actually think. We were eight students and in our various tables we were given the chance to speak and give our view, it was really surprising for me to know I was in the mix of leaders of community and I just a simple student was given the chance to attend their meeting, sit among them and actually talk and share my views and in addition been given the opportunity to present on behalf of young people our view to other leaders. It was really fulfilling’”. Gloria Nsiah .

“The meeting progressed by dividing into group to decide on strategies and ways in which Extremism can be tackled. During this meeting there were several points delivered in our separate groups. These points then later on had to be delivered by an individual in the group, Gloria (Student Vice Activities Officer) and Peter (Student President) stood up in their selected groups to present their findings”. Points raised by the college students as good practice included the weekly Hot Topics on Moodle encouraging students to have a say about political and topical issues. They also mentioned the use of trained professionals to give student talks on extremism and offering the opportunity for open discussion about any issues students may have regarding this topic. “Please can you forward my thanks to the students who attended and made a valuable and much appreciated contribution. ‘If any of the students want to get involved with the sub-group who are going to prepare the preventing extremism action plan, they’ll be very welcome. Their enthusiasm and perspective would be a great asset to the project.”. Simon Bashford Community Partnership Manager.

Student – Led Debates and discussion forums Kristoff Kerr has been leading on the organisation of monthly discussion forums for students addressing key topical issues and inviting in several external guests to support the events, including Gavin Barwell Local MP for Croydon, Emily Churchill-Zaraa from Refugee Week UK, Carl Parker from Croyodn Borough and Abid.Raja from the Black Police Officers Unit. Huge Congratulations to Kristoff who has been offered a conditional place at Oxford University to study Experimental Psychology: “Applying for Oxford has been a phenomenal experience. My journey through the application has been an extremely exciting one, filled with some fright, but which taught me invaluable lessons. The interviewing process, though nerve-wracking, was awesome, which required for me to stay in Oxford for a couple of nights. This allowed me to appreciate the true beauty of the university, as well as socialise with my fellow candidates, where I realised that an ‘Oxford student’ is just like any other student who has worked tirelessly for their place in a university. I regret absolutely nothing, and I am continuously working to achieve my official place within Oxford.” Kristoff Kerr Active Communities Fund: Croydon College students have been invited to sit on the borough Active Communities Fund and Imran Rahman has been selected to represent the college The principal task of the Panel is to review and assess the bids to the Active Communities Fund and to make recommendations to the Chief Executive for decision on: - Which bids should be funded - How much funding should be offered - Any conditions of funding for particular bids In making their recommendations, the panel will have to bear in mind the budget available to the fund. The budget for the whole year is £180,000.

ENRICHMENT

The Enrichment Fair The Student Life team hosted the annual Enrichment Fair, in the Common room, at the beginning of Term. The aim of the event is to provide an opportunity for learners to meet the Enrichment staff and to make informed choices about the extra curricular activities which will form part of their progress meetings.We were fortunate enough to have representatives from several external agencies and charities, that we work with attend the fair, such as St. Christopher’s Hospice, Cancer Research UK and London Citizens. They promoted their services and volunteering opportunities to our new students.If you wish to find out more information about Enrichment, details and schedules of the activities are available on Moodle in the ‘Student Life’ section under ‘Enrichment’. Alternatively, the Student Life Team may be contacted in person, via the Student Common room (Undercroft) or by email on; studentlife@croydon.ac.uk Cultural Awareness Month The Student Life Team is hosting ‘Share Your Story’ Event this year, in the Student Common Room (Undercroft). Students who came to the UK as refugees whether recently or some time ago are encouraged to tell the story of why they decided to travel to the UK and explain how easy or difficult is was for them to settle re language/ financial barriers etc. This is an opportunity for student groups to come together and relate shared experiences in the hope of dispelling some of the sweeping statements and generalisations made by much of the popular media accusing the majority of refugees of being economic migrants. The audience was also treated to a variety of performances which were dotted amongst the programme including Dinara Abisheva, who is an ex ESOL student, is also an accomplished flutist and played in the national orchestra in Kazakhstan! Hair &Beauty students delivered a dazzling fashion show displaying clothing and

hairstyles from around the world whilst two talented Performing Arts learners closed the show with a rap performance aptly called ‘Change’ which discussed the fusion of cultures that refugees face when they move suddenly from one country to another. The results of the Cultural Awareness Month art competition were also announced.The entries were on display in the Student Common room for the audience to view as they arrived and left the venue; Overall winners and joint effort from: Dip CULINARY SKILLS L2. Daniela Pain Heather Frier Jordan Collins Highly Commended; Hannah Cole (DIP CARING FOR CHILDREN). Feedback from those that attended was positive and it is hoped that we can sponsor a similar competition during Refugee Week in Term 3.

Dunija Nezami (Beauty, L3 student) was actively involved in the ‘International Hair & Fashion Show’ she wrote. “I had a lovely day. We had to be in college before 9:45 and we went to our salon to get ready for the cultural awareness show in common room. I had to get ready quickly so that I had time to give a speech, at the same event, about the STAR group which stands for Student Action For Refugees. When I came to college, I was very nervous. Gina my student friend, washed my hair and blow dried it and then did my make-up. She was a great help and I was able to get ready easily. When I was ready I was a bit shy with my outfit because I had to walk across the college to get to the Common room. When I reached the Common room I met another friend Hibo (H&SC, L3) who was already practising her speech. I tried practising too! After a while, there was an introduction on the stage about the STAR group and Emily Crowley who works from STAR, gave her talk. I was very nervous because it was time for Hibo and I to make our speeches! I read and tried to be positive and even I wanted to say more about where I was from originally and how did I came to the UK and what difficulties I have faced, but I didn’t. After my speech I joined my classmates who were waiting for me to return so that we could begin the fashion show. We had to parade around the Common room several times so that the audience could have a good look at our traditional outfits and hairstyles whilst Clare Price (Team Leader, Hair & Beauty) explained on the microphone which country each of us represented. It was a nice experience”. Black History Month; External Performance “I was so proud of our Performing Arts students last night at the ‘From Shame to Strength’ programme staged in the Croydon Council Offices building on the last day of Black History month. Organised by Magdalene Adenaike, our students created visual communication pieces that embodied in particular the tragedy of abuse towards women in the home. There was a talk by Nero Ughwujabo CEO of Croydon BME Forum. The evening ended with a ‘Question Time’ forum where the audience participated with questions and The Worshipful Mayor Of Croydon, Councillor Patricia Hay-Justice. HRH, Princess Deun Adedoyin-Solarin, HRH Muzvare-Princess Betty Makoni and Vee Roberts

– Director Insight2 Marketing and the organiser Magdalene Adenaike. The former four women, spoke about their own tragic experiences of being in abusive relationships and how they found strength to overcome and rise from the ashes. Extremely moving testimonies and also very inspiring”. James Miller (Lecturer, Expressive Arts)

Safer College Weeks (November 2015) As part of our ‘Working Together for a Safer College Weeks’ (9th – 20th November), the Student Life Team invited various external organisations to come into the College to promote their work to students and staff. Guest speakers from the Met Police ‘Prevent’ programme, made presentations to several Level 3 student groups about the issues surrounding radicalisation whilst Croydon Community Against Trafficking (CCAT) continued their on-going campaign to raise awareness of the concerns regarding problem of human trafficking in the local area. The Flavasum Trust charity kindly offered to deliver anti-knife crime workshops to approx 100 of our learners. They used a hard hitting video to stimulate discussion about the impact of knife crime on the families of the victim and the aggressor and how knife crime can affect those family members/friends who move in completely different circles of society from the victim and perpertrator. The Curriculum Enrichment Team covered the issues surrounding Domestic Violence in their timetabled classes with ESOL, Entry, Level 1 & 2 groups throughout the week whilst Enrichment’s

Croydon during 30th Nov – 4th December. Eleven students snapped this opportunity to gain valuable experience of working with an NHS team.Several of them are parents and had to juggle the drop off/ collection of the children in order to take part. Fred Semegura wrote; “On behalf of my colleagues, I would like to thank all of you and the students who volunteered during the National HIV Testing Week which we concluded yesterday. It went very well and all the college volunteers did very well. We are very grateful for their contribution to the campaign’. As promised, we would like to present certificates and formally thank all those who participated in the campaign. We can arrange for your side to come to us at the Council Main Offices at Bernard Weatherill House”. Curriculum Enrichment Barclays LifeSkills – Business students An introduction to the initiative :

Domestic Violence Student Ambassadors took it in turns to staff a stand in the ground floor, Rotunda space at lunch time each day to promote ‘healthy relationships’. World Aids Day 2015 World Aids Day (WAD) is an International day, observed on 1st December each year, and is used to raise awareness about HIV and Aids around the world. To recognise this day, a team from Croydon NHS staffed a stand in the College foyer giving advice and information on HIV and Aids and distributed the iconic red ribbons for a small donation. Representatives from the Terence Higgins Trust (THT) also promoted their work and the need for screening for sexually transmitted diseases. Kerry Starrett (Croydon NHS, Young People’s Sexual Health Service) emailed the following day to say; ‘It was a great success! Thank you for hosting and looking after us’. In the run up to World Aids Day, Fred Semegura (Croydon NHS, Sexual Helth Promotion Lead) met with our Access to Nursing and Access to Public Health & Social Care learners and asked for volunteers to assist his team on the mobile testing unit which was to tour the borough of

The initiative is about getting 16 to 19 year-olds to run crowdfunding campaigns to improve their local area. By doing this they will gain a lot of skills, such as learning how to write press releases, learning to pitch to businesses, developing creative skills like creating and editing videos and images, and entrepreneurial skills. Barclays will then be accrediting their work, so the skills they have gained from this experience can be formally represented on their CVs. To give an extra helping hand, Spacehive will be teaching 16-19 year olds how to run a crowdfunding campaign, and Barclays will be match funding their projects. Art Exhibition During November, the School of Art area hosted a student exhibition in partnership with Enrichment titled ‘Dungeness and Beyond…’ Where ‘experiential met exploration’. A group of forty students from different disciplines, be it graphic design, fine art, 3D design and fashion and textiles exhibited their work. The promotional statement describes the event thus; ‘This showcase is in response to concepts such as of freedom, beauty, destruction, the sense of sight, emotional responses to environment, structure, weather, memories and speech’.

Christmas Event Once again, the Enrichment choir led the sing along at the annual Student Life Christmas Event in the College foyer. Like last year, a group of elderly local residents, from Age UK were invited to attend. Students from across the College, including the Christian Union and UNICEF Steering groups with an assortment of staff formed a substantial crowd that sang heartily! The choir’s performance was boosted by the presence of Rokhsan Heydari (Lecturer, Music Technology) and two of her friends who accompanied the singing with their beautiful voices and their professionalism. HE Law PSU opportunity The Personal Support Unit (PSU) is a charity that supports litigants-in-person, witnesses, victims, their family members and supporters. They have been speaking to HE Law students offering a unique volunteer opportunity that will strengthen their future employment options. The PSU provides trained volunteers who give free, independent assistance to people facing proceedings without legal representation in civil and family courts and tribunals. The volunteers work with clients to establish for themselves what might be the next best step to pursue their case, and help them to access legal advice from other organisations where appropriate.The Personal Support Unit (PSU) London Service volunteers assist people who do not have lawyers. College volunteers will attend hearings with clients in civil court in Croydon. Once the students have signed up for this volunteer opportunity, they are required to attend training sessions and to shadow staff in the offices in the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London. Let’s Get Cooking project Let’s Get Cooking, is part of the Children’s Food Trust, and has an existing network of thousands of schools and has worked with Universities, Local Authorities, community setting and large companies through their partnership with SSP. The college has signed up to an opportunity for some funding accompanied by a free two-day accredited training for two hospitality staff and on going support to help run cooking sessions with students across the college. The cooking sessions will encourage independence and will aid those life skills which students will find invaluable as they move on from further education. SSP (a leading operator of food

Visit of Aloun Ndombet Assamba – High Commissioner Jamaica

and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide) is keen to be actively involved in the project and intends to send representatives to meet the students attending the cooking sessions and offer insight into jobs both in the hospitality industry and further reaching, from marketing to accountancy.

The Honourable Aloun Ndombet-Assamba gave a stirring and inspirational talk about aspiration and the importance of choices when looking at career options. She also emphasised the value of volunteering which enhances skills development and experience so often required by employers. Information about a planned visit in November and December by the Jamaican Agencies to engage the diaspora in the UK was disseminated to the students. Martin Roche /Inspector Town Centre and Central Cluster has agreed to getting the Cadets come in to talk to the public services students , along with a representative from the Specials, so that they can give an insight in what the job means to these staff and how it benefits or impacts on their lives. The visit was inspirational in offering our students a very thought provoking insight into working towards an aspirational approach in their future lives following the talk given by HC. The visit was a resounding success!

They have many part-time work opportunities around London and have agreed to inform students involved in the project of any vacancies as they arise. As the project progresses those students living on their own and the ESOL student will be offered the cooking workshops to be delivered by hospitality students. Food Trolley Borough Christmas Appeal More than 400 food parcels were handed out via the Croydon Food Network and the council’s family resilience service after the collection, now in its fourth year. College students once again supported this campaign and in only 4 days wheeled over two trolleys worth of food to the Civic offices. Access students were the leading group in the collection with Science, ESOL and Childcare donations contributing to this hugely worthwhile cause. Frank Widdowson, chairman of the Croydon Food Network, said: ‘These donations have made a huge difference to people’s lives by providing food to Croydon families in need.’

St Christopher HospiceVolunteer Opportunities Staff from St Christopher’s Hospice attended both the Enrichment Fair and visited several classes with Health & Social Care, Childcare and Access students to discuss volunteer opportunities within this sector. Thank you very much for all your help last week. I have already begun to get follow up e-mails from students asking for more information and I believe one student has applied over the weekend. I am due to meet with all my colleagues here that I know have had other discussions with Croydon college so we have a bit more togetherness moving forward - Jonathan Punton Volunteers Officer

Young Roots Young Roots started a pilot programme this term, delivering a weekly study session to newly arrived ESOL students, co-facilitated by study mentors from across the college. We recruited nine mentors throughout the term with the assistance of Di Layzelle. Starting with a core group of 6 mentors (Annie, Marzia, Bernice, Dorothy, Veronica, Erika), this gradually grew as mentors brought other students and Di continued to refer those who were interested. The mentors all went through a training programme (once per week for 4 weeks) and were then ready to commence sessions. The mentors displayed tremendous commitment, contributing and engaging positively in training sessions, asking questions, bringing great energy and respecting each others’ views. They were particularly patient in waiting to hear from Young Roots on training room confirmation and, attended without fail. Once the training was completed, we had a small gap before the sessions could start. Of the challenges that presented was initially a lack of space to hold the sessions and then a lack of attendance from ESOL students. Even so, mentors continued to attend sessions and show their commitment. They were incredibly committed to assisting their fellow students, with many of them having had similar experiences of coming to a country/ college and not knowing the language. In instances where students did not show for the sessions, the mentors thought creatively about how they could engage them, providing ideas on how Young Roots staff could try and approach the ESOL department. Three mentors even went to classrooms to spread the word (Emanuel, Adriana, Ming Yuan Ma). In interacting with ESOL students, all mentors showed tremendous professionalism, again thinking creatively on how to engage students, bringing much energy and creating a very welcoming environment. We have recently had three new mentors join (Emanuel, Adriana and Yuan Ma) as well as interest from other students. All have supported each other, provided feedback and taken part in our weekly debriefs. They’ve set targets for next term and have shown a particularly high level of professionalism. Young Roots has thoroughly enjoyed working with this group and know that they will provide a much needed, high quality and professional level of support in the new year. We would like to thank the college staff and students for the support provided

and the willingness in being flexible in achieving our joint aims. Katrina Munir – Young Roots - Bridging London Project Manager SAFE DRIVE STAY ALIVE The SDSA event and subsequent follow up work is organised by a partnership between representatives from all three emergency services, NHS, Borough and Transport for London. The aim is to reduce the disproportionate number of road casualties among young road users. The facts are shocking, on average one in five young people will crash their cars in the first year of driving and they are most likely to have people of their own age as passengers. The threat of young people being killed or seriously injured on the roads is unsurpassed; in fact no other cause comes close. The college has signed up to workshops for all Schools during the week of the 29th February. Health & Social Care Royal Marsden Charity funds raising event Staff and Health & Social Care, L3 students presented Janet Tobin, Schools Fundraising Executive (Royal Marsden Hospital) with £88.18 they had raised through their Big C ‘Canary Yellow’ Day which took place last October. Keen to continue their support, the learners are planning to organise their very own ‘My Marsden March’ this year which is proving a very popular event in many schools, colleges and universities. For information on how your tutor groups can get involved, please email charity@royalmarsden.org

Sport and Health Gym & Swimming Scheme:The partnership with Fusion Lifestyle to hand out free one day passes is fully up and running with more than 40 students signed up and over 50 tokens collected so far this term. As you may be aware the scheme allows students access to a local leisure centre to use the gym, swimming and other exercise services for one day per week FREE. The scheme is also aimed at rewarding and improving student attendance and punctuality to lessons as it is a minimum requirement to meet the college expectations before you can collect a pass, and they are both checked every 2 weeks.

Football Despite a disappointing start to the football calendar with a number of matches having to be cancelled for various reasons the college got off to a winning start on Friday 20th November beating AirSports 8-4. As the scoreline suggests it was a very open and attacking game with lots of individual ability being displayed, none more so than Maxwell Iyamu Ogeieriakhi who instantly worried the opposition with his skill and direct thinking which led to him scoring a hat-trick on his first appearance for the college. Jiu Jitsu: Ever fancied learning martial arts, knowing a bit of self-defence or improving your fitness? If so then the Kiyoshido Jujitsu club that take place in the common room every Tuesday 7pm – 9pm could be the place for you. HeartStart Next Training date confirmed – Tuesday 16th February 2016. Please contact Ben Stopani (stopab@croydon.ac.uk) to book your place. Yoga Due to numbers of attendance and confusion caused by delivering 2 back to back yoga sessions there is now 1 weekly Yoga session that take place within the common room on Wednesdays 3 – 4pm. Zumba Current programme (Tuesday 5pm – 6pm) is going so well we are having discussions regarding a second session and a number of students are also requesting different sessions that can be delivered by their favourite instructor Rachael Morgan. Other potential options include; Legs Bums & Tums, Aerobics, Contemporary dance, Nutrition and many more. Bodyball Still have the Christmas appetite? Come along to the Body Ball session on Thursday evening (5 -6pm ) in the Student Common room!’ Table Tennis Is ever popular in both the common room and the specific sessions which cater for all levels of abilities including 1 to 1 coaching. However as with previous years the highlight of table tennis is the term 1 league which has had more matches than any previous year and is generally more competitive with the first place changing on a regular basis.

New activities - Due to student demand we have now launched a Friday sessions in both Basketball & Football as well as the traditional Wednesday sessions; Basketball at Waddon Leisure Centre 2.30 – 4.00. Football at Duppas Hill Park 2.30 until 4.00. - We are now looking to launch an open access community coaching programme with the aim of running both educational and sporting programmes for local schools and groups. - The student led Healthy Working Party is to be formed with the intention of evaluating the health & sport offer but also looking to improve services available and improve health awareness within the college. Common Room Golf The weekly golf challenges that take place every Monday between 12.15 – 1.15 have been a huge success with an average of 20 students per session getting involved. Although for many this is the first experience of golf it has proved successful in both improving individual ability but also retaining the interest of those involved. The students involved are aware of the internal competition; however after learning that 1st place gains a £20 shopping voucher things have started heating up and many students requesting to have a second or even third attempt. There is also a competition between all the Colleges that take part in the challenges and when it was last updated Croydon College were the clear leaders. See table on the community golf website (http://communitygolf.co.uk/) If you would like any other information or would like to join any of the sporting activities please see Ben Stopani in the Student Common Room or e-mail at stopab@croydon.ac.uk Sports Level 2 (Sponsored by Chelsea FC) The new BTEC Certificate Sport L2 group have worked closely with the Student Life Team and Ben Stopani (Health & Sport Officer) in particular.As well as participating in the Curriculum Enrichment and Open Access programmes, the learners have been volunteering to assist Ben with coaching our ‘Step Up to Work’ groups to encourage them to be more physically active. Likewise, several also volunteer to work with Ben and a group of our ESOL students.

The Student Common Room: “You can be on your own or with friends or do your work”

“I enjoy meeting new people”

“It is a relaxed atmosphere”

“I enjoy the free WiFi”

“I enjoy every moment”

“I enjoy eating my lunch with my friends”

“It is a nice place to socialise”

“A warm, welcoming place”

“I am learning to play pool”

“I enjoy it’s diversity and the way it is managed by the staff”

“I enjoy the comfy sofas”

“The staff are friendly and helpful”

“….there is so much to do”

“I enjoy playing mini golf on Mondays”

“I enjoy playing games on the Xbox”

“I can finish my assignments on the computers”

“I can eat in peace while everyone else is doing their own thing”

“Everyone is friendly”

REPRESENTATION

Student Representation LOOP is a student-driven ratings and review site which has been developed in partnership with a group of colleges and sixth forms. The LOOP training process equips students with the skills to gather constructive feedback from other students. Several groups of HE and FE students including the UNICEF Steering and the Student Parliament members have attended the LOOP Constructive training session and completed an online survey about their college. The training session equipped them with transferable leadership skills in giving feedback effectively, negotiation, prioritisation and solution driven problem-solving. . The LOOP Student Board Luis John Music L2 has been invited to become a member of the LOOP Student Board. The LOOP Student Board is a group who helps to direct the growth of LOOP as a social enterprise. Luis has been chosen as it was considered that he is an individual who will be motivated and committed to helping to promote LOOP in the college.

The best thing about this College / University… “The fact that students have the right to a voice, is amazing because it creates a sense of importance for students and this improves both the work ethics as well as social life” “This college is a rights respecting college. I feel proud and happy to study here. We got a freedom to enjoy our rights and the staff not only the teachers the other staffs are respecting by all and all feel the equality” “The best things in college are, in my area in health and social care is the teaching style of the some teachers and we get support from our teachers and we have a assignment support, also the students life where you get the opportunities to build up your confidence and its very supportive” “UNICEF is helping the children, our college well. That its easily accessible, with the tram, buses and trains” “The student life programme enrichment, extra curriculum, teaching, timetable” “Is that they support you with everything you need; if they cannot help they make sure that you receive advice outside that help you in what you need”

“The training session equipped them with transferable leadership skills”

“I strongly believe that activities and events are definitely the best thing in college”

“The best thing about Croydon College is the support and the friendly manners of the staff”

“They set target goals for you to achieve”

“The welcoming and friendly community”

“Student Life is one of the best things in this college”

“There is a platform for students to get employability skills, friendly staff and help is available when needed”

“Diversity of students in the College and University”

“The degree is accredited by the University of Sussex”

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know?

Jack Petchey Award Our own Nee Morgan-Petch (Creative Media Prod, Level 2) has won the John Petchey Award for drama! ‘…the presentation was on Tuesday the 8th of December when I received the medallion ...I won the Jack Petchey Award through my (external) drama group called Croydon Youth Arts. The members nominated me because they thought that I deserved to win this award. Our show was about saving a theatre and I learned all my lines off by heart within the first week! I won this award for outstanding achievement and because I am someone who you can rely on who would always do things well and put in a 100 per cent of effort’. Nee Morgan-Petch (Creative Media Prod, Level 2) Armistice (Poppy) Day Claire Rich (Childcare, Level 2) led the parade of her Cadet group, T.S. Defiance NTC, from New Addington to the British legion, Alwyn Close Croydon as a mark of respect. Chaplaincy The Bishop of Croydon is about to appoint a new Chaplain to work with the College. We have also had an application from a Catholic priest. Look out for more details about this! In the meantime our thoughts continue to go out to our current Chaplain, Revd. Nana Kaya Baffour who has been unwell for some time now. Are you an early bird? If you arrive at College before lessons begin at 9.40am, you are welcome to wait in the Student Common room (Undercroft)!

Forthcoming Events UNICEF Development Goals Awareness Week. UNICEF Steering Group Conferences for students and school children. Humanitarian Emergency Works hops . STAR Conversation Club. UNICEF Steering group, STAR group. ABLE 2B ‘Talk about Respect Exhibition and Citizenship Event. Student led Debates and Discussion Forums: (British Values, Faiths & Beliefs, Resisting Conspiracy Theories, and Online safety). Faith Awareness Week. Healthy Lifestyles Week. Chinese New Year. Safer Driving borough events LGBT History Week. International Women’s Day. No Smoking Day. Easter Event. Age UK Easter Event. MOD Mock Interviews. Domestic Violence Youth Ambassadors. Peer mentors. Prevent Training Police Counter Terrorism – Project Griffin with Public .Services students. Student Parliament and Student Ambassador . Report Writing and Data analysis training for Student Parliament mebers and UNICEF Steering group members.

“The Student Life Newsletter is collaboration between students and the Student Life team who have written it.”

Noah Alliston Alexandra Fazekas Luke Giles Zoe Hanks Shane Hendrickson Sean Matthew-McDonald Jaroslava Paskova