Pulse Autumn/Winter 2011

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

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A College to be Proud of ...

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Keeping staff in the know

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

In This Issue of Pulse:

Welcome New term, new start, new Pulse!

The summer break may be a distant memory, but at least the start of the new term brought with it lots of shiny new things!

For example, the refurbishment work has moved ahead to reveal new, dynamic and modern construction workshops; the new teaching kitchens also look amazing, and would be well worth taking a look at; Goschen has a lovely new reception area; and the main corridor at Kings Road has had a thorough sprucing up. You can find out about the improvements - including the introduction of the employability centre (aka theworkspace), and the new College gym inside.

Another long-awaited and much needed project that launched this September is the Student Intranet. Designed to run alongside and enhance Moodle, we now have a purpose-built tool to communicate and interact with our students. I’m really looking forward to filling up the pages with useful information and new ideas - and hearing how we can grow and develop the site into something really valuable. Do get in touch if you’ve got anything you’d like to be included.

While I have the opportunity, I’d like to thank those of you who gave their feedback as part of the internal communications survey recently. I want to reassure you that we will be taking all your comments onboard, and hope to be able to put some of your suggestions into practice soon.

As always, 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.

Sam Starkey Editor

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

The Uganda Project Teaching and Learning Updates

PULSE

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

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MAGAZ

KINGS ROA

QUADRA

AUTUMN

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Charity Begins at Home

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Staff Nominated for Future Jobs Fund Awards

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New Gym

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Uganda Project Update

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New Faces at Kings Road

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Tech Fair 2011

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Staff Benefits

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theworkspace launch

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Equality and Diversity Celebration

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Where’s Everyone Gone?

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Sustainability Working Group 2010/11 Report

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Introducing the New Students’ Union President

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Births and Marriages

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A College to be Proud Of ...

2010

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Pure Hair and Day Spa ... page 1

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First-aid Corner

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Staff Summer Party

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STAFF

TRAINING UPDATES

GETTING TO KNOW YOU and much more

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

Student Intranet Students at the College now have a new information site where they can access their e-mails, electronic learning plan and Moodle pages from one place - the Student Intranet.

The College worked with Bristol-based website developers, Nudge Digital, to create the new online portal. Investment in the intranet is a direct response to student feedback and has been designed to free-up Moodle so that it can be used for the purpose for which it was intended - teaching and learning.

The new Student Intranet is a fresh, easy to navigate site where students can easily find general College information and keep informed about enrichment activities. There is also a feedback section and a diary of events where students can add their own calendar items.

General information that is not related to a course, and that was previously on Moodle has now been transferred to the new intranet site. To upload and edit content, staff should contact Paul Smith (psmith@cityplym.ac.uk) to request access and receive training.

Once this has been done, staff can edit the site in the same way that the College website can be edited.

Students are also able to access the new intranet from their home PCs and mobile phones - making it easier for them to complete work and assignments outside of the College.

Feedback is currently being gathered on the first phase of the project, so please do let students know that they can e-mail feedback to marketing@cityplym.ac.uk.

The Student Intranet has many features, some of which have taken inspiration from websites such as iGoogle and the BBC. As on these websites, users are able to personalise their homepage so they can see information that is directly relevant to them. There is also a newsfeed for students to receive updates and see forthcoming events, as well as a calendar to put all their important dates and deadlines in.

Charity Begins at Home Every year there is a huge amount of fundraising going on at the College - by staff and students. Last year we raised nearly £7,000 for the NSPCC Dragon’s Den Challenge in just six months, and there were numerous other causes that benefited from staff and students’ efforts.

Some of the NSPCC fundraising activities.

This year the charities to benefit from College fundraising activities are local organisation ShelterBox, in light of the environmental disasters happening around the world, and a cause much closer to home, the Make A Difference (MAD) Fund.

The MAD Fund has been set up by the College to support those of our students who need sponsorship to undertake a potentially life changing experience, an experience that has nothing to do with their course here at the College.

The fund will help students representing their sport at a regional, national and even international level, or those wanting to volunteer with organisations like

Keeping staff in the know ...

Raleigh International or the Sir Francis Chichester Trust.

This year’s Students’ Union president, Stephen Hockley - an A level student - is being supported by the MAD Fund as he raises over £5,000 to fund a gap year with Project Trust as a teaching assistant in Japan. Like many of our students, Stephen is already grasping all the opportunities that are available to him locally - he volunteers for the Plymouth Refugee Centre with other members of his family, and is part of the College’s Duke of Edinburgh Gold team. However, Project Trust organises gap years where the individual makes a contribution to the community in which they are based (www.projecttrust.org.uk) as well as gaining invaluable life skills and a life changing experience.

If you have any fundraising ideas then please let Marketing know - we can help to publicise your activity and get others involved.

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

Staff Nominated for Future Jobs Fund Awards The College had a number of staff who were working with us through the Future Jobs Fund.

Four of them were nominated for the Future Jobs Fund Awards in July …

• Adam Glanville from MAPP was nominated for the Contribution Made to the Job Provider Organisations Through Individual Effort or Teamwork award. Adam has since been working with the College on a casual basis.

• Chelsea Gray from Train to Gain was nominated for Outstanding Work Performance. Chelsea now has a permanent position with MIS.

• Matthew King, who was with Partnerships, was nominated for the Contribution Made to the Job Provider Organisation Through Individual Effort or Teamwork award.

• Malora Foreman, who worked with the Faculty of Health, was nominated for the Development of Skills and Performance Through Effort award.

Well done to all those who were nominated!

New Gym Recently relocated and refurbished, the College gym is now situated next to the Sports Hall in K015.

The gym offers a diverse range of cardiovascular machines, resistance machines and free weights to suit all fitness levels and abilities. It has a variety of additional equipment to allow creativity and progression to be achieved by its members. The brand-new flat screen TVs and up-to-date sound system will help you with your workout too! A water cooler is available for you to top-up your water bottle to ensure optimal hydration, as well as notice boards full of hints and tips on nutrition, training, exercise techniques and much more.

The gym is staffed at all times by Kim or Ryan, who are fully qualified fitness professionals. They will take you through the induction process when you join, and as part of your membership they offer a personalised programme to suit your goals with continual support and reprogramming, should you require it, to ensure you keep on track and meet those goals.

To join, simply complete an application form and choose how you’d like to pay for your sessions. If you opt for a basic Activity Pass (which is free), you pay per gym session at a cost of £2.50 (or £10 for five sessions), or go for an Activity Pass Plus. The Pass Plus costs £30 and provides you with a year’s access to the gym - and other activities - at no extra cost.

Forms are available from the gym or Student Centres - or get in touch with Kim Eschbaecher on extension 5281.

Opening times: • Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays 12.00 noon - 2.00pm and 4.00pm - 6.00pm • Wednesdays 2.00pm - 6.00pm • Fridays 12.00 noon - 2.00pm

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Uganda Project Update For the past few years we have been sending useable but unwanted items to Uganda through All Nations Christian Care (ANCC), a registered charity in Uganda. We have been working closely with Engage South West and Emerge Poverty Free to send items such as IT equipment, machinery and library books that are no longer needed at the College to Uganda in the hope that they will help to improve the quality of education in the country.

For further information on the Uganda Project, please contact Ian Caunter on extension 5874.

Since agreeing to support ANCC in September 2009, equipment has been sent regularly to the Human Technical Development Training Centre in the town of Lira. It is hoped that the items will not only help with education, but also have an impact on the lifestyle of those living nearby. The College is permitted to ship over up to three 20-40 foot containers, which costs a maximum of £50 per container, but more often than not the shipping is completely free.

Ian Caunter, the co-ordinator of the project, visited the Training Centre in Uganda in July. Whilst there, he taught the students and carried out a mini audit to check the equipment that the College had donated had arrived, and that the staff knew how to work the items.

Due to the increase of equipment and students, the Training Centre is building more training rooms, student accommodation and teaching rooms. Buildings are currently in construction to house and train the increasing number of students - in our last update it was mentioned that between the academic years 2009/10 and 2010/11 the number of students enrolling at the Training Centre doubled from 500 to 1,000. Now, this number is set to increase even more, which is a fantastic achievement and wouldn’t have been possible without the help of City College Plymouth, Engage South West and Emerge Poverty Free.

College equipment being unpacked.

Woodwor ki ng

Students and staff can download photos from Ian’s visit to Uganda on the Action for Sustainability Moodle site.

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New Faces at Kings Road As the plan to bring as many departments onto the two main campuses continues, many courses from the Faculty of Construction’s Camel’s Head Centre will be moving into the newly refurbished construction block.

There will be some new faces to welcome around Kings Road, including:

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Painting and Decorating, and Plastering • Barry Punter • Syd Dart • Chris Manuell • Craig Paterson • Kevin Hynes • Laura Minards • Anne-Marie Matthews

Gas • Mark Chambers • Chris Souness • Ted Couch • Kevin Stewart • Chris Franklin • Kevin Doyle • Jackie Lawley.

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Tech Fair 2011 The extremely successful first annual Technology Fair took place in July, to allow our staff to showcase examples of their good practice in the use of technology for teaching and learning. The technologies being presented were very diverse; VLE linked handset voting systems to gamebased student induction activities, motor vehicle inspection head cams to VLE/web technologies ‘best use’ tips. Business support teams were also in attendance to demonstrate the services and facilities available to enhance the learning experience.

Extracts from the event feedback*

Interested or Very Interested

Were you interested in the digital equipment on display?

Would you be interested in borrowing any of the equipment?

Would you be interested in a short Moodle training course?

91% 86% 70%

* Total number of feedback respondents: 44 (approx 20% of total attendance)

As a follow-up action from the event some innovative project ideas will be centrally funded by the College.

This event signifies the College’s commitment to innovative initiatives and coincides with the recent publication of the new Technology Enabled Learning Strategy (TeL). The Technology Enabled Learning Implementation Team (TeLIT) has been established to action the key aims and ambitions of the TeL strategy.

During the day over 200 staff attended the event as a part of their programmed professional development activities. A significant amount of positive interest was received by the exhibitors and also in the feedback gathered via an electronic questionnaire. The upbeat atmosphere at the venue was enhanced by refreshments and electronic rhythms performed by PIPPA staff.

Preparations will soon be underway for this year’s Tech Fair, so please contact Paul Scarsbrook (pscarsbrook@cityplym. ac.uk) if you would like to be involved with the planning.

Thank you to all staff who attended the event and also very special thanks to all that presented their good practice and helped make it a great success.

Staff Benefits Did you know that the College works with local businesses to bring you discounts and offers, which are exclusive to staff members?

Whether your car or home needs some TLC, you have a formal occasion you need a new outfit for, or you are planning a day or evening out, there are discounts that you can take advantage of. Perhaps you are looking for a special piece of jewellery or fancy a round of golf - the College has arranged discounts for those too!

Local businesses that have agreed to offer College staff discounts and offers on their services or products, include: • Plymouth Battery Centre • Prudence Gowns • Pennywell Farm Activity Centre

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Theatre Royal Honors Flowers Chinafleet Country Club St Mellion International Resort SW Blinds Plymouth and Torbay Tool Hire The Gembox Boringdon Park Golf Club The Eastern Eye.

To see the full list of staff benefits and discounts, visit the Human Resources pages on the staff intranet - http://staff2/mod/resource/view. php?id=2961.

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

theworkspace Launch You may have noticed a new addition to the services the College offers ...

The College’s new employability centre, theworkspace, has opened in the main corridor at Kings Road - offering a range of activities to support the employability agenda for students. Teresa Gardner and Sharron Robbie have joined the Employer Engagement team in managing the centre, and will be putting their combined network of employer contacts to good use to ensure theworkspace becomes a real employability hub for the College.

The centre and its staff will work cross-College in order to enhance the opportunities for both students and staff by providing access to, amongst other things: • staff CPD - an opportunity to go back into industry to refresh skills • work experience - using our extensive range of employer contacts to give students real-life work experience which really adds value to their

academic study • employer lectures - providing a real insight into specific careers and industries of interest to both staff and students • employer visits - taking learning out of the classroom and into the real world of work • volunteering opportunities - a great way to maximise those CVs. If you are keen for your students to experience real-life work placements, projects or to hear from one of our employer speakers, just let us know and we will do the rest.

Should you wish to discuss the chance to go back into industry give us a call or drop in to see us and we will try and arrange an industry visit for you.

We are open during normal College hours and can be contacted on extension 5896 or via e-mail at theworkspace@cityplym.ac.uk.

Equality and Diversity Celebration

Actively opposing unfair treatment Recognising and celebrating diversity

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Supporting all students to succeed Treating everyone with respect and dignity Actively opposing unfair treatment Recognising and celebrating diversity

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Treating everyone with respect and dignity

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These colourful posters use the protected characteristic symbols developed with student and staff consultation. The posters promote the College’s commitment to promoting equality of opportunity for all our students and staff, and create an environment where people treat each other with mutual respect and value and actively celebrate the benefits that diversity and difference bring to the College and our society. Some of the posters feature our equality and diversity STAR -

Supporting all students to succeed

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The College has introduced a new celebration wall in the main entrance to Kings Road, and new posters and displays throughout the College’s campuses. You have probably seen the new posters and celebration wall by now, but just in case you haven’t, examples of the posters which were produced by Cathie Maddock, Equality and Diversity Coordinator, and the MAPP team are opposite (along with a picture of the new wall at the Kings Road entrance).

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Pregnancy & Maternity

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If you would like copies of these posters please contact Cathie Maddock on extension 5721 or e-mail cmaddock@cityplym.ac.uk.

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Where’s Everyone Gone?

After the various office moves that have taken place over the summer, it might be the case that you can’t find the team or person you’re looking for! Here’s our guide to where everyone is ...

Library Computer Room KI202 Marketing K203 Martin Nash KH103 Online Testing K709/10 Painting and Decorating Staff KW105 Painting and Decorating Trade Excellence KW107 Painting and Decorating Workshop KW103 Paul Scarsbrook K208 Plastering Staff KWM03 Quiet Study Room K112A Sarah Ogorek KHM107 SLDD Classroom K024 SLDD Team K021 Steve Milnes KHM107 KW042F Tiling Workshop Union Office KW124 Woodwork Staff KW040

BLI Admin KHM106 Central Admissions K203B Deputy Head of BLI KHM105 Dianne Evans K025A Employability Centre K029 Energy Centre KW036/37 Engineering Staff K715 Fay Steer K206 First Aid Room K021B Food Service Lecturers KH214 Gas Assessment Centre KWM02C Gas Assessment Staff KWM02C Gym K015/A Hair and Beauty Staff K410 K316/317 Higher Education Staff IT Staff K207/K613 Learning and Development K025 Learning Support K038A/B

Student Parking Entrance Student Parking

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1st floor K101 - K111 IT Support Desk K103 HE Centre K104 - K110 1 Main Building 6 Construction Building Library K112 4 Engineering Building Ground floor 2nd floor K201 - K210 Ground floor KW001 - KW025 K002-K029A 3rd floor K301 - K317 KW034 - KW049 Electrical Reception 4th floor K401 - K414 Student Centre KW032A Engineering Sports Hall KC14 5th floor K501 - K507 Media & Print Production Motor Vehicle Costa Café KC15B 5th floor Hair & Beauty Reception KW034 Display Area KC15C 6th floor K601 - K616 Energy Centre KW036 5 Hospitality Building Wholefood Delights KC15E 7th floor K701 - K715 Construction & Engineering Main Hall KC16 Ground floor Skills for Life Office K707 Offices KW038 Exams Office K006 Cité Brasserie and Deli Prayer Room KW039B 3 SLDD Office K012 Cité Restaurant Innovation Centre Plumbing & Heating KW041 Gym K015 1st floor Mezzanine Lower ground floor Tiling KW042 Medical Room K021B KHM111 - KM110 KI B001 - KI B08 Plastering KW043 Finance & Enrolment K026 1st floor KH101 - KH112 Finance Directorate Wood Trades KW045 Student Funding K027 Business & Leisure Industries Human Resources Gas Assessment Centre Student Services Help Desk K027B Ground floor Office KHM104 KWM02 College Shop K028 2nd floor Mezzanine Refectory Air Conditioning KW110 Employability Centre K029 KHM201 - KM204A 1st floor KI 101 - KI 110 1st floor HELP Team K038 2nd floor KH201 - K224 2nd floor KI 201 - KI 208 KW101 - KW134 Painting & Decorating KW101

Kings Road

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

Sustainability Working Group 2010/11 Report The College has gone through an exciting year developing sustainability initiatives thanks to the support of the Sustainability Working Group, Sustainability Focus Group and the faculty Sustainability Future Groups. The College continues to drive for change educating staff, students and stakeholders on enhancing the College’s ‘green’ credentials and encouraging everyone to think about the environment.

The end of year report (2010/11), outlining the College’s successes, has been produced by the Sustainability Working Group and can be downloaded in full from the Estates page on the staff intranet. Outlined below is a summary of the College’s key achievements.  The College website now has a section on sustainability.  Sustainable Future Groups have made excellent progress over the last academic year and are continuing to embed sustainability into the curriculum.

 Staff

and students now have access to the College’s Energy Remote Monitoring (ERM) system. It’s hoped that this will broaden the students’ learning experience. For more information contact Martin Sings (msings@cityplym.ac.uk). To access the systems visit: http:// smart.tac.com/erm, using the username CITY COLLEGE PLYMOUTH and password GUEST.  The College continues to support the Uganda Project by sending unwanted useable equipment to the training centre in Lira.  Aramark continues to progress with local and sustainable purchasing.  Fairtrade status has been maintained by being proactive through selling and using Fairtrade products.  The College continues to encourage staff and students to use public transport, bicycles and car sharing to get to College and has set up a ‘Bike Users Group’. For more details contact Laura Wellington (lwellington@cityplym.ac.uk).

 £5,870.40

was received through the Post-16 Transport Partnership to cover the walkways of the existing bike shelter, as well as purchasing lockers for commuters.

For further information on sustainability visit Action on Sustainability on the Moodle site. You can save unwanted resources going to landfill by advertising them on the College S.W.A.P Store on the staff intranet. Any suggestions or feedback please contact Laura Wellington, Sustainability Officer on extension 6803.

Introducing the New Students’ Union President The 2011/12 Students’ Union President is Stephen Hockley, here he introduces himself and outlines his plans for the year.

“I’m now entering my second year of A levels studying chemistry, maths and physics and over the coming months I’m hoping to make sure that the voices of the students are heard loud and clear.

I am also hoping to provide better representation for the student body across the College.

This year I’ll continue to fight against EMA cuts and further develop the bond between the staff and the Students’ Union. I’m keen to get my new executive committee elected so we can work together in our aims for the year. One of our priorities will be to build up the reputation of our Students’ Union throughout the student body. City College Plymouth students

Keeping staff in the know ...

are lucky to have such a well supported Students’ Union and we will be more active in supporting the students throughout their time here.

The staff here at the College can offer a wealth of knowledge and expertise on a really wide range of topics, and I want to make sure that the students are using this knowledge bank in the best possible way. I also want to make sure that channels of communication between staff and students are open and transparent, and that all students can have their say on the issues the College faces.

I’m excited about the year ahead of me and about what we can achieve by working together to make positive things happen at the College. I am also keen to meet the staff and students to listen to ideas and views which could help the College move forward.”

Stephen’s diary is managed by James Rimmer from the Student Liaison team, so any enquiries can go through him (jrimmer@cityplym.ac.uk or extension 5093), or you can e-mail Stephen directly - president@ccpsu.org.uk.

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

Births and Marriages Sam Phillips, PA to the College Directors, gave birth to Benjamin Charles on Wednesday 20 July.

Rebecca Cornish, Beauty Technician, gave birth to Bethany Ellen on Wednesday 18 May.

Bridie Waycott, Employer Liaison Officer at Workbased Learning, married John Isaacs on Saturday 25 June. The couple went to Playa Tourito in Gran Canaria for their honeymoon.

Jake Daniels, Plumbing Technician, eventually became a proud father on Monday 8 August baby Nyall had kept his mum and dad waiting!

Becky Tsianavas, Student Funding Assistant, gave birth on Thursday 25 August to Evangelia weighing 7lb 6.5oz.

Alison Lewis, Acting Director of Employer Engagement, married Neil Blonden on Saturday 11 June in Gunwalloe, Cornwall.

They haven’t taken a honeymoon yet, but are planning to visit southeast Asia.

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A College to be Proud 0f ...

By Liz Myles, Deputy Principal - Learner Experience

City College Plymouth is in the top 10% of further education colleges in the country for the results our students achieved in 2010/11.

The improvements we have been able to make over the last few years are the direct result of your dedication and commitment in response to a focus on student performance. The selfassessment process this year has been a very rigorous and robust process, which we have pulled forward in readiness for an imminent Ofsted inspection.

The final version of the College Self-Assessment Report is the culmination of programme and service area self-assessments, and I would like to share with you the key findings for the College:

 Effective

development of strategic partnerships - the College continues to develop strategic partnerships and good working relationships with key stakeholders and employers in the city, with relevant staff contributing to many local groups, committees and forums.

 Good

safeguarding of students - the College effectively promotes safeguarding and has robust processes in place, resulting in the student rating for feeling safe being in the top quartile.

While the College can never stand still nor rest on any of these achievements, there is plenty to be proud of. It is important that we all understand what the College has achieved and our teams’ contribution to this, and that we know how we can continue on our journey to making City College Plymouth the ‘outstanding’ College we all know it will be.

 Outstanding

Work-based Learning provision - the College’s WBL provision has continued to improve over the past three years and is now 14% above the sector average (2010/11), and for the second year is in the Ofsted ‘outstanding’ category.

 G ood

learner responsive provision - the 2010/11 success rates (long courses) for the College have increased by 11% over the past four years, compared to the sector average increase of 2%, placing the College 6% above the national average and in the Ofsted ‘good’ category. The College has ‘outstanding’ provision in creative industries and leisure, travel and tourism.

 S tudents

make a positive contribution to the local community - the community has benefited from a variety of voluntary activities by students as part of, and in addition to, their course and lots of fundraising.

 Good

engagement of under-represented groups - the College has a wide and inclusive portfolio with progression pathways, and courses at all levels (from foundation through to higher education and professional level). The College deprivation factor increased from 3% to 39% in 2010/11, and there were over 1,000 students taken on with no formal qualifications. We have made a significant contribution to the City Council’s objective to combat learnt helplessness in the city’s most deprived wards.

Graphs show South West general further education colleges’ success rates 09-10 with City College Plymouth 10-11 data added.

 P roductive

and extensive partnership working in response to community needs - our partnership working has enabled us to positively support the business community and keep our provision relevant.

 E ffective

management action to improve performance - demanding targets, simplified systems, investment in continuing professional development and the raising of expectations have all contributed to raising the College’s academic standards.

Keeping staff in the know ...

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

First-aid Corner

By Anita Gunning

Are You Aware of the I.C.E. Campaign?

Most of us carry mobile phones these days with the numbers of our family and friends stored in a list of contacts. If we were to be involved in an accident the paramedics would be able to access that information really easily ... right?

Well, no actually. The information is there but the paramedics won’t know who we’d want them to contact in the case of an emergency.

Solution: Join the I.C.E. Campaign! Store your emergency contacts in your mobile phone’s address book under the entry ‘I.C.E.’ (which stands for In Case of Emergency) and the emergency services will know who to contact. If you have more than one emergency contact, store them in your contact list as I.C.E.1, I.C.E.2, etc.

If you’ve attended a College first aid course, or the regularly held first aider lunches, you will already know about the campaign.

Help spread the word, and take your phone out now!

First-time First Aider

Helen Woodward (left) and Andrea Easton show us that they are qualified first-aiders!

Incidents and accidents are a part of daily life, and so it’s inevitable that your first aid training will one day come in handy. Many newly-trained first aiders are apprehensive about how they would handle a situation, Andrea Easton included.

Andrea recently attended an incident where a student had cut themselves quite badly. She and Helen Woodward needed to take care of the wound and reassure the rather shocked and distressed student. Andrea said, “Before the first aid course I would faint at any wound or at the sight of blood, but due to the wonderful training, I just got on with it and did not give it a second thought! Both Helen and I were both quite chuffed with how we coped on the day.

“I really want to let other first aiders know so they can be confident that when the time arises - their training will stand them in good stead!”

Staff Summer Party

The annual summer staff party was held at the National Marine Aquarium way back in July!

Here are some of the best pictures from the night -the rest can be viewed on the staff intranet http://staff2/mod/resource/view.php?id=3417.

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