Pulse Magazine

PULSE S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

SPRING 2011

Julie McLean

Wins Herald Business Award!

Big College

Health Check

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Getting to Know You

Staff Activities

Keeping staff in the know

S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

In This Issue of Pulse:

WELCOME

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Julie McLean Wins Corporate Citizen Award

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Former SU President on Brink of Making Political History

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Equality and Diversity Matters

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The Herald’s ‘NSPCC Dragon’s Den Challenge’

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Big College Health Check

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Refurbishment Project

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Getting to Know You

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Information From Printing Plates to Gigabytes

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Staff Activities - Summer 2011

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College Good Practice

If you do have any comments, suggestions or success stories you’d like to share, then please e-mail me at marketing@cityplym.ac.uk.

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So, What is Partnership Development?

Sam Starkey Editor

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Births and Marriages

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Guidance for the Disposal of Confidential Waste

Welcome to the Spring edition of Pulse, and what a warm and sunny welcome it is!

But it’s not only the sun that has been shining at the College recently, so too have one or two members of staff. Big congratulations must go to Julie McLean for her Herald Business Award - such a fantastic achievement, and one that will no doubt raise the proďŹ le of our Work-based Learning team and go some way to recognise their continuing hard work.

And speaking of hard work ‌ well done to everyone that gave their time (or spare change!) to contribute to the ‘NSPCC Dragon’s Den Challenge’. I’ve had fun looking through all the pictures of cakes, costumes and curry that helped make the challenge so successful.

As you are reading through this edition, please remember this is YOUR magazine. We’re always on the lookout for stories and feature ideas, so please do get in touch if there’s something you want to be reading about next time.

PULSE S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

The Uganda Project

Teaching and d Learning Updates

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MAGAZ

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AUTUMN

PRINCE’S

TRANSFORMM S

Back Issues

KINGS ROA

Summer 2010

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QUADRA

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The Sustainable STEM Resource Project

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ADHD Workshop

2010

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Previous issues of Pulse can be downloaded at http://staff2/.

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GETTING

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Keeping staff

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S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

Julie McLean Wins Corporate Citizen Award Our very own Julie McLean is celebrating after winning the Corporate Citizen title at The Herald’s Business Awards. Julie, who is Head of the Workbased Learning department, was one of three inspirational women nominated for the award.The list included Sylvia Bird from Plymouth Citybus and Plymouth Better Together’s Dr Tean Mitchell.

Julie was nominated for the award by colleague, Sue Reed, who says that Julie has dedicated her life to education for more than 25 years; “She started on a training scheme, working her way up to become head of a £5.5 million department, and has been the driving force behind many new pilots.

“Julie has changed 25,000 lives through activities such as training for the Gatsby Technical Education Pre-pilot aimed at raising the profile of science, technology, engineering and maths Apprenticeships. This has been so successful that it is about to establish a working model that will lead to a UK-wide science park Apprenticeship scheme.”

Julie McLean and Sue Reed

The award was presented to Julie at the glittering Herald Business Awards Ceremony, which was held at Boringdon Park on Thursday 14 April. Thrilled at receiving the award, Julie said: “I was absolutely speechless as I really didn’t think I’d get it! It’s an absolute honour to be recognised for doing something that I truly love, especially in my home town of Plymouth. What makes it even more special is the fact that the actual award was made by City College Plymouth students!”

Former SU President on Brink of Making Political History Former City College Plymouth student and Students’ Union President, Shane Chowen, could be about to make history. After two years as Vice President (Further Education) of the National Union of Students (NUS), he is standing for the top job, with the backing of senior officers. If he wins, he will be the first NUS President who hasn’t been a student in higher education, giving a voice to students at further education colleges, who until recently, were often on the sideline of politics.

There are twice as many students in FE as there are in universities but despite this, students from further education colleges have not been known for their political activism. Shane’s current role, as NUS Vice President with a specific responsibility for further education, was introduced just a few years ago to give greater union support specifically to these students.

Keeping staff in the know ...

But Shane believes that it’s not that they are apathetic, just busy; “Further education offers such a wide range of courses and training routes, it can be difficult to engage students in politics particularly those involved in work-based learning. They simply may not be around very much.”

Now things are changing, he says. More than 100,000 NUS members took part in protests against the abolition of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) in recent months, including City College Plymouth students, who played an integral lobbying role.

Shane said: “Having a President who hasn’t been through higher education would be a real step change for the student movement. If I do become President, I’d be keen to redefine commonly held perceptions of what a student is.”

The new NUS President was elected at the NUS Annual Conference in April. Unfortunately Shane was pipped to the post by another HE representative.

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S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

Equality and Diversity Matters A special forum has been set up for students and staff to give a voice to those experiencing difďŹ culties relating to matters of equality and diversity.The range of areas covered by this are: age, disability, gender, gender identity, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation (the protected characteristics).

The Forum will also be consulting the College community to establish its views on equality and diversity matters and what it would like from the Forum.

The Forum will promote activities to foster greater understanding between people from diverse backgrounds.

It will also support the College in meeting the equality legislation requirements and help it eliminate any discrimination on the grounds of any of the protected characteristics.

This year, for the ďŹ rst time, we are producing a separate Equality and Diversity Annual Report to give a picture of Report versity Annual our College community and Equality and Di celebrate some of our activities AND ENGAGEMENT IN )F you want to ďŹ nd out about our staff and student disability proďŹ le or our gender pay gap, take a look. You can read about our involvement with Project Search, P6 Fair Trade, International Women’s Day, Chinese New Year and our anti-knife crime project.

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This is how one student who has Asperger’s Syndrome expressed their thanks for the support from the Learning Support team;

The Forum will contribute to equality analysis and support the development and implementation of policies, schemes and initiatives across the College. At our recent meeting we looked at the potential effects of the refurbishment project for the tower block and the plans for renovating the construction building to ensure they meet everyone’s needs.

“In the past I used to self-harm as a way of coping with my home and College life, and also stress. Over the last year I have become much more conďŹ dent and happy with myself. I have not needed much support from the Learning Support team this second year. This is because they felt that I was capable of completing the course on my own, however, support was offered if and when I needed it.â€?

Our staff representatives (who can have a professional or personal interest in the group they represent) are: s AGE #AROLINE (EWER ,INDA *ORDAN s DISABILITY $I *ONES 0AUL "UNCE 3AMANTHA (ARVEY

Caroline Hewer, Becky Clarke s GENDER #ATHIE -ADDOCK s GENDER IDENTITY %MMA ,LOYD 3TEVE -ASON s PREGNANCY AND MATERNITY "ECKY #LARKE !LISON Chapman s RACE ETHNICITY NATIONALITY 4HERESA "RISBANE )NGALL s RELIGION OR BELIEF (ELEN 3MITH s SEXUAL ORIENTATION %MMA ,LOYD 3TEVE -ASON

Find out what equality and diversity means to our community. The report is available from our College website www.cityplym.ac.uk on the equality and diversity page.

If you have any issues you would like to raise please contact the relevant staff member or if you are interested in being an advocate for one of the protected groups please contact Cathie Maddock, our Equality and Diversity Coordinator, on extension 5721.

The Equality and Diversity Forum and the Annual Report will help the College meet the new Equality Duty. The Equality Duty is a duty on public bodies and others carrying out public functions and came into force in April 2011 as part of the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Duty consists of a general duty with three main aims.

The general duty requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to: s ELIMINATE UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION HARASSMENT AND victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010 s ADVANCE EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY BETWEEN PEOPLE FROM different groups s FOSTER GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT groups.

This is an exciting time for equality and diversity as we continue the journey to deliver concrete beneďŹ ts for all of us across different spheres of life: at College, at home and in our communities.

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S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

The Herald’s ‘NSPCC Dragon’s Den Challenge’

Faculty/Service Area

Fundraising Activity

Amount Raised ÂŁ

Arts and Sciences Business and Leisure Industries Employer Engagement

November Culture CafÊ Public Services - Fancy Dress Christmas Card Donations Sale of Burt’s Crisps Christmas Card Donations Winter Car Health Check Mufty Day Hair Show Staff Christmas Party Bake Sale Christmas Card Donations Aramark Bookshop Collection Tins (Goschen) Collect Tins (Kings Road) Sale of Flower Shop Goods PA’s Rafe Quiz and Curry Night Quiz and Curry Night Bake Sale X 2 (Funding) Rafe at Enterprise Dinner Ice-Rink Event One Day, One Heart, One Pound Rafe at Pure Salon Event Winter Wonderland Healthy Heart Week Bake Sale (Nursery) Health Club Rafe Student Liaison Mufty Various Activities

11.06 995.55 12.66 42.65 15.00 41.00 273.51 1,315.55 147.08 170.29 32.59 32.48 76.43 75.69 54.50 602.00 580.00 538.72 328.56 252.50 416.50 82.50 68.13 83.07 56.38 79.90 25.00 106.23 140.26

Engineering and ICT Finance Health Human Resources Library and Learning Resources Miscellaneous

3-4 #OLLEGE %XEC Student Services and Marketing

Work-based Learning

Keeping staff in the know ...

We did it!

We raised ÂŁ6,655.79 for the NSPCC! City College Plymouth set out to raise a minimum of ÂŁ5,000. We are delighted to report that we smashed that amount and raised ÂŁ6,655.79!

Unfortunately, the College hasn’t won the challenge, but we have come a very respectable third place - only £54.21 behind second place rivals, Nash & Co Solicitors!

Winners of the challenge, Drake Circus Shopping Centre, raised a massive ÂŁ10,308!

A huge thank you to all staff and students for all the wonderful things you did to raise the money for this fantastic charity.

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S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

The Big College Health Check Student Services Manager, S Nicole Pethybridge (pictured), N gives Pulse the results of the g recent Big College Health Check survey.

A big thank you to all 499 members of staff who took part in the ‘Big College Health Check’ during January and February.

This has provided a wealth of information about your current situation and your views on topics such as healthy eating, alcohol, exercise, drugs and sexual health. You have told us your views and also rated the services we provide.

From this we have found that 93% of you find the College a safe place to be. Satisfaction with those that use services such as ‘sexual health’, ‘stop smoking’ and ‘drug support’ is high.

However, there are some things we can do to make City College Plymouth even better: s INCREASE FURTHER THE SAFE ENVIRONMENT s PROVIDE GREATER AWARENESS OF THE SERVICES AVAILABLE s WORK TO REDUCE SMOKING s PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT ILLEGAL DRUGS s PROVIDE MORE HEALTHY EATING OPTIONS s PROVIDE A GREATER RANGE OF ACTIVITIES AND EXERCISE opportunities.

Following the results of the survey, focus groups have been held so we can find out from staff and students how they would like us to action their feedback over the coming months.

Big

Health Check

Refurbishment Project - Keeping You Informed!

So, the trucks are here, the scaffolding is going up and the car park is full to the brim. It can only mean one thing - the College refurbishment work is underway!

Earlier this year it was announced that City College Plymouth was successful in winning two grants from the Skills Funding Agency to enable us to take forward our long awaited Property Strategy. The first of which will be spent on new catering equipment within the hospitality building training kitchens and replacing the roof covering of the construction building.

The second grant was awarded to the College to contribute to the partial refurbishment of the construction building - with the overall aim of consolidating the construction faculty. This will involve creating new, modern open plan workshops and display spaces. Additionally, the Kings Road tower block will be re-clad to enhance the building’s appearance, and to provide a tough and environmentally-friendly screen against the sun.

Morgan Sindall are the contractors that have been appointed to carry out the work, and we will be working closely with

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them to make sure students and staff are given up-to-date information on progress and any possible disruption.

A new mini website has been created to publish updates and reports on the refurbishment, and as a place to house plans, drawings and schedules for anyone who would like to know more about the project. This can be found at www.cityplym.ac.uk/refurb.

Also on the website are details of a helpdesk number that has been set up to answer any urgent queries about the work taking place, or assist in the case of any emergency.

Helpdesk - for emergencies or urgent queries please call: s EXTENSION 6142/7049 s MOBILE 07788 583262.

If you have a general refurbishment-related enquiry you can contact the Estates office on: e-mail: estatemaintenance@cityplym.ac.uk or by calling extension 5310.

S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

Getting to Know You Kim Eschbaecher joined the College in March as the Student Liaison Activity Co-ordinator. It’s her job to give students and staff lots of additional fun things to do!

Q. What did you do before joining the College?

I was a primary school supply teacher and before that I worked in sports development at Ivybridge Community College.

Q. Can you give a brief synopsis of your job here?

It’s a really great remit ... basically it’s my job to organise a programme of on-site and off-site activities for the students and staff. Some people might be surprised at what we’ve got going on ... for instance, at the moment we’re running this really funky dance-exercise class called ‘Zumba’ which you just have to try! Then we’ve got kayaking and other more traditional exercise classes such as body conditioning.

P Pulse caught up with Paul u Scarsbrook (pictured), Head of Learning Resources, to chat about his new role at the College and his future hopes and aspirations.

Q.What did you do before joining the College?

I was undertaking voluntary work in Kenya (teaching English and music to primary and secondary school children) funnily enough, similar to my predecessor, Hilary Rees.

Q.Can you give a brief synopsis of your job here?

As well as directing libraries, study centres, MAPP, Moodle support, etc, I’m being kept busy on a number of projects including creating an Information and Learning Technology strategy and action plan, and piloting a new electronic voting system to collect feedback from students

Keeping staff in the know ...

But it’s not just sporty stuff: we will also be running less-energetic activities like creative writing classes and we’ll be setting up a debating society. Another great part of my job is organising trips - at the moment I’m sorting out a surfing trip for everyone in the summer!

Q. Has the job met your expectations?

Yes - I’m really enjoying it, as there is so much to get stuck into!

Q. What is the best bit about your job?

Working with the rest of the Student Liaison team and working across two sites - no two days are ever the same!

Q. What’s the most frustrating part of your job?

Not enough hours in the day. Also, the College is such a big place and there are so many people to meet, so it can take time finding the right people that I need to speak to.

Kim Eschbaecher - top left

Q.Tell us something interesting about yourself?

I take part in the World Pilot Gig Rowing Championships every year in the Isles of Scilly which as well as being really hard work are great fun. They’ve been described as the best on the planet! So far, I’ve won three bronze medals and I hope to get another medal when I compete in May. Q. What would be your desert island essential?

A surf board!

and staff. This is particularly exciting as, linked directly to the VLE, it will be able to record individual information, as well as group information - to determine experience and make improvements, if necessary. Additionally, it is an effective way of assessing prior student knowledge as well as introducing more interactivity.

We expect to roll this service out in May, and it will be available throughout the College.

Safe loan of digital equipment - the library has some electronic equipment it can loan-out such as, I-pads, digital cameras and video recording equipment. So we are in the process of putting together a procedure to maximise the use of the equipment for staff. We will also be able to determine which equipment is of use, share good practice and target future investment. A list of available equipment will be housed on the LRS Moodle site from the expected May launch.

seeing the positive change it has made both to the individual, and their role at the College.

In my short time here, I’ve also made head-way in restructuring part of the team - which will start this month. As a result, I’ve also been able to create four new jobs, giving more responsibility. So I’m looking forward to seeing the positive benefits to the staff and the College as a whole.

Q.What is the best bit about your job?

Being able to make changes. I’ve found great delight in reengineering people, and

Q.What would be your desert island essential?

My wife!

Q.What is the most frustrating part of your job?

Trying to overcome resistant to initiatives.

Sometimes it’s been difficult convincing people that change is here to stay and can be for the better.

Q.Tell us something interesting about yourself?

I’m very passionate about music and play the violin, piano and harpsichord.

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S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

Information From Printing Plates to Gigabytes Newly retired, Head of Library and Learning Resources, Hilary Rees, tells Pulse about her 32.5 years at the College …

Like Paris, further education is a moveable feast and so too are its learning resources! When I started I knew little about the sector but quickly saw it changed people’s lives for the better and that was important to me.

During my time there were so many alterations, so many different people.

In retirement I shan’t remember the names of all the reports and initiatives but I will remember the people and the commitment to helping students. Let me give you a quick overview of 32.5 years of learning resources at City College Plymouth.

The service I led adapted continually to meet the information needs of students and staff. What started as the College library grew to become the Learning Resources Service. Libraries came - chiropody in 1984, Goschen library and private study area in 1994 and the study centre in 2008 - and went - the Dockyard annexe library, the construction library at Wyndham Square, the chiropody library to the university and latterly the study centre. The service expanded to include media recording and later creation, print and electronic production, private study and computer facilities, remote as well as local resources. Inevitably there was physical movement and I never needed a gym subscription because there was always stock, furniture and shelving to move.

The staff increased from four to 34 to support the increased range of services and facilities. The paper-based stock was supplemented by e-books, online databases and journals and links through portals to subject specific and peer reviewed materials and the university collections. Study facilities served the needs of individuals and groups, further education and higher education students

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and the work and research needs of staff. Reprographics joined the Service in 1992 to form a converged and comprehensive resources service for the curriculum and now offers graphic design, media production and direct audio-visual support. Photocopiers, distributed throughout College, have been replaced by “multi-functional devices” for copying, printing and scanning into electronic format.

This was one of the first colleges to automate its library systems in 1982. It has continued to lead the way, choosing a web-based system some years ago and will, no doubt, go on to consider open source options and cloud computing.

Computer facilities began with a handful of BBCs (remember those?) now there are 200 private study computers. In the last two years a new collection of mobile technologies was purchased to enable staff and students to explore their possibilities for teaching and learning.

Under the new management, I am sure the emergent use of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 for learning will expand.

In the early nineties I acquired a formal equal opportunities role. I met the then principal in a corridor who said he was minded to re-establish the equal opportunities committee and I suggested that this time it was given some funds and some authority. He replied “And you will chair it.” I said, firmly I thought, “No, I won’t.” He replied “I wasn’t asking you”! From that little interchange came vigorous strategic support, funding, training and, a decade later, a Beacon Award for the College.

The College has always supported and encouraged staff to take up training and external professional responsibilities.

In my case membership of national committees, further qualifications, involvement in the Higginson Committee on IT in further education and as a regional assessor for professional chartership. My deputy, Ann Gandon,

served for many years on the regional professional committee and acted as a supervisor for new professionals.

I’d like to pay tribute to the many people who made our successes possible, especially teaching colleagues who provided guidance on curriculum resource needs, the senior management, human resources, finance and IT teams. Then there are the past and present members of the LRS team themselves, working to support and develop the users. In particular, I would like to pay tribute to Ann for her endless support, effective upward management, efficiency and dedication over a quarter of a century.

I said, at the beginning, that I started off young and idealistic. I am no longer young, but I remain idealistic. I found a home that suited me in further education. It may be undervalued, underrewarded and often under-recognised but it is a hugely important sector of education which can, and does, make a positive difference to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people each year. The LRS team makes this possible, working with and operating, like others across this friendly college, by being flexible, responsive and looking for solutions. I am proud to have been part of it and worked over the years with so many dedicated people committed to helping students achieve. No matter what the future brings I know that you will carry on doing just that - it is what further education is all about.

S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

Staff Activities - Summer 2011 Did you know that the activities on offer to students are available to staff too? Student Liaison Activity Co-ordinator, Kim Eschbaecher, tells us about her team’s plans to get us all ďŹ t for the summer!

The Student Liaison team organises a range of activities for both students and staff from ďŹ ve-a-side football to kayaking!

How much?

Once an induction is completed, a tailor-made programme to help you achieve your personal goals will be written by one of our ďŹ tness staff.

Netball

The activities and the gym are available to staff with an Activity Pass Plus which costs ÂŁ30 and is valid for 12 months. These can be obtained from the cash ofďŹ ce at Kings Road and Goschen, and application forms can be collected from the Student Centres. Alternatively, activity vouchers are available at ÂŁ2.50 each or ďŹ ve for ÂŁ10.

A staff and student netball session will take place after Easter on Wednesdays in the sports hall at Kings Road from 5.00pm to 6.00pm. We’d like a few more people to get involved so come along and see what great fun it is!

College gym (KW103)

Fitness classes/badminton

You’ll be pleased to know that we’ll be reviewing opening hours from September to make them more accessible, but currently they are: Monday to Thursday 12.00 noon - 1.30pm and 3.00pm - 6.00pm.

Please note: anyone wishing to use the gym must complete an induction prior to their ďŹ rst visit. Please contact Kim on extension 5281 to book an appointment.

Don’t forget, we have a Zumba class on a Tuesday from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, and badminton on a Thursday from 4.00pm to 6.00pm in the sports hall at Kings Road. Body conditioning is being held on a Monday from 5.15pm to 6.15pm in the dance studio at Goschen.

College Good Practice DeďŹ nition: a practice that results in efďŹ cient and effective use of available resources to achieve quality outcomes for the beneďŹ ciary.

Good practice ‌ students ďŹ nd it incredibly beneďŹ cial, as they have one pack that houses all of their module information, so they are able to refer back to previous lessons with ease.

Beyond satisfactory ‌ Pulse identiďŹ es some of the many examples of good practice happening around the College.

Good practice ‌ staff are able to use the document as ‘notes’ to identify lessons that didn’t work or exercises that were too easy. So it also acts as a tool to improve each module year-on-year.

Example 1 - Carol George Good Practice - HE Module ule 'UIDES &INANCE Management Accounting).

Carol is one of the College’s ďŹ rst adopters of module guides - a student pack containing all of the lesson information for the entire academic year.

Module guides work well for: static subjects eg ďŹ nance and accounting.

Not so good for: live subjects eg business environment.

Keeping staff in the know ...

“Not only is it an effective study tool but it’s environmentally-friendly, as it reduces the amount of printing each student needs to do,� says Carol.

Too good? Students have been known to skip the odd lesson as they’ve used the module guide instead!

Example 2 - Charlie Legg Good Practice - ‘Aim Higher’ funding to enable and encourage student progression.

Charlie has successfully used ‘Aim Higher’ funding to purchase equipment, which has

Charlie Legg with two of his star footballers

been used by the higher education sport students to train further education students in their chosen area of expertise.

Good practice ‌ exposes further education students to higher education practices and encourages greater higher education aspirations.

Good practice ‌ enables higher education students to practice their theory and practical training techniques as well as gaining valuable experience. “This has been a particularly effective method of encouraging more students into higher education, whilst making sure our foundation degree students are getting the hands-on experience they need,â€? says Charlie.

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S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

So, What is Partnership Development?

Partnerships Manager, Fiona Horrell, tells Pulse how Partnership Development works to identify and support a range of partnerships that enhance the College’s ability to offer a greater learning experience to students, for example, applying for and attracting new funding streams to pay for additional opportunities and/or better equipment.

Here’s what Partnership Development does: 1. acquires funding for projects from external sources including, for example, European funding (eg ESF, Leonardo), educational support funds (eg LSIS) and charitable grants (eg Big Lottery)

Births and Marriages Congratulations to ‌

Student Liaison Assistant, Petra Vesinova-Khan, who gave birth to Vincent on 22 November 2010.

Management Accounts Assistant, Leanne Toy, who married Darren King on 3 December 2010. Mr and Mrs King enjoyed a monthlong cruise around the Caribbean and America.

2. ensures projects are audit compliant, that is, appropriate and accountable 3. manages and supports projects in an effective manner, assisting those faculties delivering the projects 4. adds value to the student experience via, for example, the co-ordination and funding of European placements and obtaining MONEY TO PAY FOR BETTER AND OR NEWER EQUIPMENT 5. builds relationships with the voluntary, community, public and private sectors to promote partnership opportunities and to make the most of funding opportunities 6. ensures that the paperwork is completed correctly to ensure that funding is received and that it is audit compliant.

Credit Control Supervisor, Donna Luscombe, who gave birth to twins, James and William, on 29 December 2010.

Cross-College working The following employer case study is an example of how Partnership Development and the Employer Response Team (ERT) work together ‌ The multi-national company Toshiba recently closed its factory in Plymouth after 28 years. The closure was carefully managed and redundancies staggered with the ďŹ nal members of staff leaving in February 2010. City College Plymouth was chosen by Toshiba to handle the retraining of 20 members of staff who were being made redundant. The company contacted ERT and asked for its assistance.

Meanwhile, Partnership Development had recently acquired a pot of FUNDING FROM %3& 3&! TO HELP THE #OLLEGE lNANCE TRAINING FOR PEOPLE WHO had been made redundant.

Marketing OfďŹ cer, Catherine Sims, who gave birth to Isabel on 31 December 2010.

NVQ Assessor, Craig Osborne, whose wife gave birth to Elizabeth Ruby Osborne on Thursday 6 January.

ERT approached Partnership Development and was granted approximately ÂŁ5,000 for the Toshiba training programme.

Once the project was up and running ERT worked with the various College faculties who were delivering the training. A variety of courses were taken up by the 20 former Toshiba employees including IT, PAT testing, 17th edition, CSCS and ďŹ rst aid.

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Careers Advisor, Sharon Gowans, who married Chris Stallard on 1 April 2011 in Florida.

Mr and Mrs Stallard honeymooned in America.

S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

Guidance for the Disposal of ConďŹ dential Waste What happens if conďŹ dential waste falls into the wrong hands?

Identity fraud is one of the UK’s fastest growing crimes, affecting individuals and businesses alike. In the UK alone there are 4.3 million victims of identity fraud to date. Identity fraud can occur to an individual when a person’s personal information is used by someone else without their knowledge to obtain credit, goods or other services fraudulently.

Your legal obligation The Data Protection Act 1998 legally requires the College and its staff to dispose of conďŹ dential waste in a safe and secure manner. It is essential that all staff are aware of the College’s procedure to dispose of such waste. A failure to dispose of conďŹ dential information securely is a breach of the Act and the College can be ďŹ ned up to ÂŁ500K accordingly.

Any record produced by the College which contains information on identiďŹ able individuals or commercially-sensitive information must always be treated as conďŹ dential. The format of a record has absolutely nothing to do with whether it is conďŹ dential or not. E-mails may be just as conďŹ dential as formal letters.

Step two: facilities available at College 1. OfďŹ ces that produce a large volume of conďŹ dential waste on a regular basis (like faculty admin ofďŹ ces, HR, legal etc) have blue conďŹ dential wheelie bins (with a secure lockable lid). All staff should know where their closest lockable conďŹ dential wheelie bin is and always use them to recycle their conďŹ dential waste.

2. )F YOU ARE CLEARING OUT AN OFlCE ARCHIVE STORE AND YOU KNOW that you will be recycling a large quantity of conďŹ dential waste, then (if available) you can request a wheelie bin on a temporary basis or order clear recycling bags by contacting the Recycling OfďŹ cer on 078005 081700. Staff are required to label the clear bags as ‘conďŹ dential waste’ to ensure the contents are shredded.

ConďŹ dential secure wheelie bin label

Clear bag with ‘conďŹ dential waste’ label

Your moral obligation Staff are asked to remember how much they value their own privacy. Failure to dispose of personal information securely is a severe security breach and can result in emotional distress and potential ďŹ nancial loss for members of our College community; members to whom we have a duty of care.

The College’s procedure All staff are required to adhere to the following conďŹ dential waste paper procedure to ensure they act responsibly and conďŹ dential waste is shredded securely. Staff should at no point request their students to sort conďŹ dential waste (even if it is from previous years).

Step one: is your paper waste conďŹ dential?

Material which belongs to any of the following categories must be treated as conďŹ dential: s records containing personal information (ie photos, signatures, home address, telephone numbers - eg UCAS forms, pay roll and pensions records, completed questionnaires, staff ďŹ les, research grant applications, parental consents etc) (Note: examination scripts and student coursework, assignments and projects should also be treated as conďŹ dential waste if any personal information is on the documents.) s records of a commercially sensitive nature (eg contracts, tenders, purchasing and maintenance records, legal documents) s records concerning intellectual property rights (eg unpublished research data, draft papers and manuscripts).

Keeping staff in the know ...

As the conďŹ dential waste is shredded by hand it is really important that staff pay attention to the label on the bin and do not put in any plastic poly pockets, general waste paper like leaets or metal items like paper clips.

Step three: collection of your conďŹ dential waste 1. Once the bin is full, staff should call the Recycling OfďŹ cer to request the bin to be collected and exchanged (please give at least 24 hours notice if possible).

2. Once the bag has been ďŹ lled to a maximum weight of 10kg (due to manual handling regulations), the member of staff is required to tie the bag up and label the bag as ‘conďŹ dential waste’ to ensure it is shredded.

3. Staff who are not located at Kings Road are required to call the post room (extension 5303) and request a collection from their ofďŹ ce.

All staff should ensure that conďŹ dential waste is kept in a secure location pending collection eg in your ofďŹ ce. Please do not leave bags containing conďŹ dential waste in public places like corridors.

Remember that you are personally responsible for the records’ security until collection has taken place.

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S TA F F M A G A Z I N E

The Sustainable STEM Resource Project The College was successful in winning funding from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) to deliver a training workshop aimed at producing sustainability training resources.

The workshop was developed to provide STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) teaching staff with a CPD opportunity to encourage them to embed sustainability into the curriculum. The outcome of the workshop will enable College staff and students to utilise the College’s energy data (including information relating to renewables) for teaching purposes within the classroom and the wider community environment.

There were three specific aims to achieve by undertaking our Sustainable STEM Resource Project: s ENGAGING AND INSPIRING TEACHING STAFF TO FURTHER THEIR knowledge of sustainability issues and utilise information gained in the classroom, thus further embedding sustainability in the curriculum s CREATION OF ONLINE RESOURCES FOR EXPLORING ENERGY management s MAXIMISING THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE BY GIVING STUDENTS THE opportunity to explore College case studies and resources that are directly relevant to their environment.

The workshop was held on 28 March in the hospitality building, which gave the catering students an opportunity to prepare a ‘sustainable lunch’ for the delegates, using local produce and Fairtrade foods which in itself helped to embed sustainable ideas into their own curriculum.

Photos highlighting the wonderful ‘sustainable’ lunch the College’s hospitality students produced for the delegates

The morning session was a training seminar where delegates heard presentations from a number of specialist partners including Regen South West, Plymouth City Council and an energy efficiency specialist, Schneider Electric. In the afternoon there was a workshop where staff were able to get ‘hands-on’ with the College’s energy data analysis system; discuss a number of actual College case studies of energy efficiency projects and work on ideas for developing training resources.

The training resources will be made available through the College’s Moodle site and will shortly be piloted in the classroom. They will also be reviewed and updated regularly to make the best use of the ‘live’ and historic data available.

ADHD Workshop Students from the Faculty of Construction attended a workshop to learn about the symptoms and effects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) during STEPS week.

The 19 students who attended the workshop were the first group of College students to be given an insight into, and awareness of, this condition.

The workshop was a great success and helped to remove the myths which often surround people who have ADHD. It allowed the students to appreciate the different learning styles and to learn about famous people who have this condition.

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Understanding this disability helps students to understand each other not only in the learning environment, but also in social situations. It helps foster greater friendships and peer support.

The students were totally engaged throughout the twohour session and received a certificate to add to their portfolio.

Heather O’Donnell (pictured) facilitated the workshop with assistance from Sam Harvey.

Adrian Heath, Head of Faculty of Construction, handed out the certificates to the students and commended them for their enthusiasm.