Pulse Autumn Term 2012

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Keeping staff in the know | A College to be proud of | Keeping staff in the know

pulse CITY COLLEGE PLYMOUTH STAFF MAGAZINE

AUTUMN TERM 2012

S TA F F M AG A Z I N E

In this issue of Pulse

Catherine Sims Editor

Hello and welcome to the autumn term edition of your staff magazine, Pulse. As you can see we have had a bit of makeover, thanks to our colleagues in MAPP, with a fresh and clean new look - I hope you like it.

In this issue read about the College’s ‘good’ Ofsted report, the allotment project, theworkspace a year on, and what some of our staff got up to last term.

If you have any other suggestions that don’t fall into any of the above categories, please get in touch anyway!

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

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Getting to Know You

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Ofsted Success!

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Life Outside of City College Plymouth 6

As ever, I’m always on the lookout for articles, so if you have any of the following e-mail me at marketing@cityplym.ac.uk: • news - any type of news relating to the College or other activities involving staff and students • pictures - do you have an interesting, funny or unusual picture to share? It could be related to your job or something outside of work • profiles - do you or a member of your team want to raise your profile amongst your colleagues at the College? Perhaps your whole team would like to promote what you do for the College • adverts - promote College training events, lectures or special offers • advice and tips - if there’s a tip or piece of advice you think will help staff in their day-to-day work, tell us and we’ll let everyone know.

Catherine Sims Editor

Gentle Reminder

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Equality and Diversity in Action

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College Sponsorship

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Sustainability Updates

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News from the Nursery

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Corporate Relations Team

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Engineering Building Refurbishment

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Innovation in Teaching, Learning and Technology Fair 2012

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theworkspace … One Year On

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Congratulations to . . .

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Gentle Reminder…

Safeguarding and Security Valid on or until Company Name

Contractor’s PASS

Welcome to City College Plymouth

Visitor This Pass must be returned to point of issue upon departure

Pass Number 0001

Please return to reception before you leave. Thank you

Any Student

City College Plymouth

10615820 Dob: 16/11/1997 10/11 STUDENT UNDER 16

Staff

We are very fortunate at the College as we do not have many of the security problems that some innercity colleges face. We have a welcoming and relatively open campus, which is a really positive feature of life here. However, we need to balance that openness with the need to provide students and staff with a College environment in which they feel safe. To support that commitment there is an expectation that staff will visibly wear their ID badges at all times when on College premises. This also applies to students and visitors to the College - they too should always be wearing or, in the case of students, carrying their College identity badges.

Staff should routinely ask to see the identity badges of individuals who are on College premises to ascertain their reason for being here. When a visitor is found without a badge, please take them to Reception where they can be signed in.

When a student is found without a badge, please take them to their Faculty office where they will be reminded of the requirement to carry their ID and the incident recorded.

Please do your bit by wearing yours and challenging others who aren’t!

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Getting to Know You Pulse delves into three new colleagues’ past and present lives

Matt White joined us in October as Allotment Project Coordinator.

What is your role at the College?

As part of the National Lottery’s Local Food Project I will coordinate and help create a new, exciting, green space within the grounds of City College Plymouth. The disused land located at the end of the student car park will be transformed into an allotment style, community garden. As the Allotment Project Coordinator, I will enable students, staff and the local community to understand the benefits of growing their own produce.

The allotment will become a unique area within the College, where people can learn new skills, stay fit and healthy and enjoy the natural environment.

What do you hope to achieve at the College?

My aim is to encourage people to grow fresh, delicious produce and incorporate it into their daily meals. I can guarantee dinner will taste remarkably better when you know you planted the initial seed!

I aim to make gardening accessible to all ages and hope to break down some of the stereotypes associated with the traditional, welly clad, Brussels sprout growing English gardener! I hope to find a diverse group of individuals who will help me create an exciting and attractive green space in the middle of Plymouth’s built-up environment.

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What made you want to work at the College and where have you previously worked?

For the last three years I have lived and worked on a family-run small holding in Cornwall. We have developed a productive vegetable garden, an orchard and have kept a variety of animals. I have also worked as a self-employed gardener where I have learnt a lot about garden design. Working for the College will provide me an opportunity to pass on my knowledge and encourage people to grow their own produce.

I spent a year in South America where I worked on a number of organic farms and sustainable tourism projects. I also worked for the Energy Saving Trust where I gave advice on reducing energy and waste in the home.

What do you like most about the College so far?

I am very impressed by the efforts made to reduce the College’s impact on the environment. Having walked around the College it was great to see everyone’s enthusiasm towards Fairtrade initiatives, recycling, renewable energy and the new allotment project. I am very pleased to see that the centerpiece of the quad area at Kings Road is a greenhouse and gives me hope there are already a number of enthusiastic gardeners!

What do you like to do outside of work?

Outside of work I volunteer and support the charity ShelterBox. ShelterBox is an international aid agency based in Cornwall which provides emergency aid to families affected by natural and man-made disasters. I recently became a response team member and I will be deployed at short notice to deliver lifesaving equipment to families who have been displaced from their homes.

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Nina Sarlaka Vice Principal - Enterprise

Nina Sarlaka joined the Senior Leadership Team as Vice Principal Enterprise, in June.

I want to ensure that my directorate operates effectively across its many and varied responsibilities, including Marketing, HE, Partnerships, Corporate Relations, student employability and international recruitment. I also want to ensure that the College is acknowledged for the great work it does operating at the heart of economic and social regeneration within Plymouth and the wider region.

What made you want to work at the College and where have you previously worked?

Despite being in the City for over 17 years, I had no idea or appreciation of the significant and successful work of the College until I became a Governor a few years ago. I was really impressed and jumped at the opportunity to join the College when this position became available.

What is your role at the College?

As Vice Principal Enterprise, my role includes developing and optimising the College’s interface with students, stakeholders, partners and customers, leading on the development of purposeful, mutually beneficial, sustainable relationships externally. A major element of my role concentrates on building upon the strength, reputation and profile of the College to ensure further business growth.

Previously, I was Director of Operations at Tamar Science Park; ran a variety of SME support services for Business Link across Devon and Cornwall, and dare I admit it in these troubled economic times, but … I began my career in banking in Yorkshire and London.

What do you hope to achieve at the College?

I work as part of a tight Senior Leadership Team to embed our new strategic drivers of opportunity, enterprise and employability across everything we do.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Long coastal and country walks, lots of varied reading, boot camp exercise, pilates and spending good quality family time with my partner Tony and our two children, Alex and Jess.

What do you like most about the College so far?

The amazing team spirit, especially evidenced around Ofsted, recently. Also, the fact that it changes people’s lives and engagement in training and education.

What do you hope to achieve at the College?

I hope to be able to help students fulfill their potential by giving them the resources and skills to become independent learners.

Vicky Wregeslworth Dyslexia Assessor

Vicky Wregeslworth is one of the College’s Assessors.

What is your role at the College?

I am a Dyslexia Assessor and Tutor and my role includes implementing a range of teaching methods appropriate for our dyslexic students. I trial, deliver and monitor individual strategies appropriate to our dyslexic students’ strengths and weaknesses, as well as preparing teaching materials and practical exercises.

Basically, I support students who are dyslexic to help them complete their studies.

What made you want to work at the College and where have you previously worked?

I wanted to work at City College Plymouth as it would give me experience of working in a large further education college, as my previous workplaces have been in secondary schools. I have worked for the past ten years in a secondary boarding school in Reading, Berkshire, where I taught geography, history and English, and then retrained as a dyslexia tutor.

What do you like most about the College so far?

The best thing about City College Plymouth is the people that I work with. Everybody is extremely friendly and approachable - I have been made to feel very welcome and have settled in quickly.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I enjoy nature, walking, horse riding and kayaking outside of work.

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Good with Outstanding Features Phil Davies, Principal

It is official. The College is no longer satisfactory. We are a GOOD college, and we have some OUTSTANDING features! This is no small achievement - especially as we were the first college to be inspected using the new Ofsted common inspection framework. Equally worth noting is that in the last year the majority of colleges saw their grades fall.

The Ofsted inspection report has now been published and is in the public domain. It actually makes a good read, and I would encourage you to take the time to read the report. There are lots of really positive aspects of the College that have been highlighted in the report, and overwhelmingly the reader gets a sense of a dynamic organisation that has the student at its heart.

The way Ofsted write their inspection reports has changed, and the emphasis of the new style report is on teaching, learning and assessment. Listed below is the summary of key findings from the report: • the proportion of learners achieving their qualifications has consistently improved since the last inspection and is now high

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• provision for apprentices in engineering and learners in hospitality and catering is outstanding • teachers have high expectations and aspirations for learning, resulting in high standards of learner behaviour and mutual respect • teaching , learning and assessment are good and all learners take part in well-planned lessons • teachers make good use of their extensive industrial knowledge, motivate learners to do well and inspire them to progress to higher level courses and employment • high quality teaching and learning resources provide realistic working environments, which enable learners to develop very good employability skills • all staff are strongly committed to continuing to raise the quality of teaching and learning and to further improving the experience of all learners • the college provides a very inclusive environment in which previously under-achieving groups of learners enjoy high levels of success.

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The report also gives the College a very clear steer on what we need to work on to become an outstanding college.

• Learners on a minority of courses make less than expected progress.

• A minority of lessons still require improvement and not enough are outstanding.

• Learners do not always have the opportunity to develop their English and mathematical skills to a higher level.

• The college’s own evaluation of teaching and learning is not sufficiently reliable.

• Governors do not yet have detailed reports and training to monitor outcomes and the quality of teaching and learning.

As I said in my letter to all staff and my Principal’s Briefings, the way that everyone pulled together in such a committed and determined fashion bodes very well for the future of City College Plymouth. We have come a long way since our last inspection in 2008, and have some way to go before we realise our ambition to be outstanding. But we know what we have to do and we most certainly know where we are headed. Thank you to everyone - this is a team effort with everyone making their contribution.

Ofsted Inspection Grades 2011/12

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Engineering and manufacturing technologies (ER)

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Life Outside of City College Plymouth We take a look at what our staff have been getting up to outside of their day jobs

James creates a big bang!

Olympics Games Maker

College lecturer, James Wilson, has gained a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Ambassador Contribution Award, in recognition for his work at this year’s Big Bang South West event held at the University of Exeter. James was one of five STEM Ambassadors to receive an award for his outstanding contribution in 2011/12.

What a summer … what an amazing two weeks. We all cheered, jumped up and down, were on the edge of our seats and cried! The Olympics touched the nation and Team GB and London 2012 made us incredibly proud to be British. One lucky sports lecturer, Lisa Thompson, was chosen to be a Games Maker. Here she tells us all about it.

STEM Ambassadors promote their skills to young students, actively encouraging them to enjoy STEM subjects, and informing them about the unique career opportunities that are available.

Although I had applied some five years earlier, my amazing Olympic experience really started in July 2011.

As soon as London secured the winning bid, I applied to be a volunteer. I was offered the position of Selection Event Volunteer where I interviewed potential ‘Games Makers’ from all over the South West. On completion, I was interviewed for a volunteering position with the Event Services team - the biggest services team, often referred to as the ‘Unofficial Face of the Games’. I was lucky enough to be offered a role as a ‘Last Mile Way Finder’ - yes, the one with the big pink finger - based at the Excel Centre!

James is a career language teacher currently teaching ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and EFL (English for Foreign Languages) at the College.

James said: “I feel particularly honoured to have received this award. When I became a part-time teacher in 2006 I had more time to devote to volunteering for the Devon Wildlife Trust, working mainly at the Wembury Marine Centre.”

“This work has given me sufficient knowledge in the fields of marine biology and environmental education to be accepted as a STEM Ambassador. I am able to use my ability to transmit my own enthusiasm for marine biology to young and older people alike, from preschool to the university of the third age!”

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In preparation, I undertook three training sessions in London including orientation, role specific and venue training. On completion, I was ready to collect my uniform (tee shirt, trousers, jacket, hat, trainers, socks, bag, umbrella, water bottle and a watch), and the very important ‘Olympic Accreditation’ to allow me access in and around the venue.

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With my training complete, uniform ironed, bags packed, and, most importantly, my nails suitably painted, I was ready for my two week Olympic experience. My shift times were varied from 7.00am starts to 1.00am finishes. I was given different zones for each shift, for example the Hub, Canning Town, West Silvertown and the Pontoon, as it was the Way Finder’s job to mark out the last mile route.

On shift I gave directions, transport information, venue and sport guidance. There were also lots of high fives, picture requests and offers exceeding £50 for the pink finger! The eight hour shifts passed quickly - meeting so many welcoming and friendly people, plus the free hot lunches and endless supply of Coke and chocolate also helped. At the end of shifts, Way Finders could explore the stadium and watch some of the events - I was fortunate enough to watch the men’s table tennis final!

On the 10 September, I was one of the lucky 9,000 Games Makers to attend the Olympic and Paralympic parade. We represented the 70,000 volunteers and were given the best viewing area for the event. A few days later the Olympic parade came to Plymouth to present athletes and Games Makers from the South West. On both occasions, it was special to receive recognition for our hard work and be within touching distance of the athletes.

To remember the experience I was given a selection of thank you goodies including a certificate, pin badges, wristband, a special edition Games Maker relay baton and a letter from the Prime Minister. Being part of the Olympics was a once in a lifetime opportunity, something I will never forget!

Personally, I had tickets for swimming, beach volleyball and boxing. Audience participation was at its best. I had an amazing time soaking up the atmosphere and watching the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’.

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Equality and Diversity in Action

Cathie Maddock Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator

Cathie Maddock, the College’s Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator, gives us an update.

Inspirational projects across the College contribute to the promotion of equality and diversity and our student success. One excellent example is ‘Anna’ a Learning and Skills Improvement Service funded film project in partnership with the Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust. College media students produced a film to guide the recognition of a young person in danger of sexual exploitation. This video, and others made by our Work-based Learning department and ESOL students to promote responsible sexual relationships, can be found on the Equality and Diversity Resources Moodle site.

Other projects included: • the Fairtrade Festival organised by our business students, and the Paralympics, an event for our students with disabilities and learning difficulties and our local community

• a pregnancy and young parents support project built partnerships and provided support mechanisms which raised success rates for students who were pregnant. A transition project developed better practice in supporting the transition of students from special schools into further education through partnership working. Further examples include projects to re-engage young people and address the high drop-out rate at 17 in Plymouth.

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The College runs Leonardo placements in 15 European countries, with 66 students and 33 staff on placements in 2011/12. Project Search, an exciting partnership between Derriford Hospital, the College and Pluss, provides work experience through internships - aimed at progressing young adults with learning disabilities into sustained mainstream employment. This project is now being developed with placements for interns within the College.

Plymouth Institute of Production, Performance & Arts

Projects planned for 2012/13 include an Awards for All funded project to provide residentials for students with learning difficulties and disabilities, a Grundvig sponsored project to share mental health best practice across six EU countries, and a project to build a specialised centre at Kings Road for students with severe autism spectrum disorder.

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The Breakfast Club … putting students at the heart of all that we do Head of Student Journey, Dianne Evans, enlightens us. The College’s Breakfast Club was launched on Monday 10 September at both Kings Road and Goschen. This exciting new initiative means that students are able to choose a healthy breakfast (cereal/toast/fruit) and a choice of drink (tea/coffee/fruit juice) absolutely free of charge. Breakfast is served between 8.00am and 8.50am each weekday morning during term time. Students need to ensure that they have their ID card available so that Aramark staff can scan the barcode.

It would be great if all staff could publicise this service to students and remind them that consuming a nutritious breakfast plays an important role in maintaining a healthy diet.

Research shows that people who eat breakfast are less likely to snack throughout the day, consume less fat overall and have better general nutrition than people who skip breakfast.

A healthy start is also likely to improve students’ concentration during their lectures!

Gazelle Colleges’ Group City College Plymouth has accepted an invitation to join the prestigious Gazelle Colleges’ Group. The College is one of only 19 colleges whose leaders have publicly committed to preparing their students for a more enterprising economic environment, characterised by small and growing enterprises.

Gazelle was created in 2011 by five college principals with an exclusive focus on building a recognisable cluster of entrepreneurial colleges within five years. Gazelle combines the exceptional experience of entrepreneurs who have succeeded in business with leaders in the further education and wider public sector. They believe that in the current economic global climate it is vital to foster a new generation of social and commercial entrepreneurs; entrepreneurs who can add value to communities, bring innovation to existing businesses and who can create their own employment with confidence and ambition.

In a recent interview with The Herald, Principal, Phil Davies, said: “Being a Gazelle Group College is particularly pertinent for supporting an economy such as Plymouth’s.

The vast majority of our businesses are micro or small to medium sized enterprises. However, this is also a national trend with employment opportunities coming from smaller and more varied companies. In the current economic climate it is essential that we foster an enterprising spirit in our students, equipping them with

the skills and attributes required to add value to our communities. To do this the College is changing the way we do business and the way in which we deliver our courses.

“What does this mean for our students? Well, it means we are creating a learning environment at the College in which our students get more than their core qualification.

They will be taken on a journey that helps them to discover and develop their innate creativity, to take informed risks and be confident in taking opportunities for themselves. Studying with City College Plymouth will improve their chances of employment, self-employment and business creation.”

Recently, students and staff from the College participated in MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival in Sheffield (19 to 21 September), sponsored by the Gazelle Colleges’ Group.

The MADE Festival was a two-day master-class in building a Great British business, and brought together 3,000 guests from across the country. 50 high profile speakers included Claire Young, BBC Apprentice finalist in 2008 and founder of School Speakers; Kanya King MBE, founder of the MOBO Awards; Wayne Hemmingway, co-founder of Red or Dead; Robin Rowland, CEO of YO! Sushi and Dragons’ Den, Peter Jones CBE. Students attending the Festival included the first enterprise and entrepreneurship students from the College’s Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, hair and beauty students, and the new President of the College’s Students’ Union, Luke Taylor. Luke said: “One thing that really struck me was the perseverance of the entrepreneurs I met and listened to, regardless of what was thrown at them.”

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College Sponsorship The College has a long history of support for local sport, the arts and business, and sponsors a number of initiatives throughout the year. Sponsorship raises our profile in the local community and helps us hit the right market at the right time. Recently, we have sponsored:

UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders We are sponsoring the 2012/13 season for local basketball team, the UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders.

As well as advertising, the sponsorship package includes a number of projects that will help the College get into local schools including, 100 hours of player time for schools liaison and promotional activities.

The College has also negotiated reduced price entry to all BBL Championship (League) games for City College Plymouth staff and students on production of their photo ID badge. Adult tickets will cost £8, and students and under 16s will cost £4. There is also a reduced fee of £20 for a family ticket.

For fixtures, please visit www.plymouthraiders.com.

Get Hired New for this year, the College is sponsoring The Herald’s ‘Get Hired’ campaign, which is an editorial campaign to raise awareness of all the opportunities on offer to people in Plymouth looking to improve their chances of employment.

Get Hired forms part of The Herald’s recruitment pages each Wednesday. It follows the journey of unemployed students, who are attending the College’s PACE centre on Union Street. We have already seen some successes with students successfully securing employment or progressing to other College courses.

The supplement also includes ‘Top Tips’ to help people in their quest to find employment.

Get Hired will finish with a ‘Job Scene’ style exhibition, which the College will be involved with.

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Face of Plymouth The College has been sponsors of the high profile Face of Plymouth for a number of years. As well as having our logo in The Herald every day for two months, our sponsorship package gives us access to the winners and we can use them for College events and ceremonies.

Head of Hair and Beauty at the College, Louise Harrop, represented the College on this year’s judging panel.

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Sustainability Updates

Laura Wellington Sustainability Officer

The College’s Sustainability Officer, Laura Wellington, gives us an update on what’s been happening around the College.

It’s only taken three years, but the College’s allotment project is now taking form. The area of wasteland at the bottom of the student car park was initially cleared at the start of summer and the contractor is now on site carrying out ‘phase one’ of the project by levelling the plot, stabilising banks, reconstructing the old dry stone wall, providing a water supply and building the foundations for the raised beds.

Converting food waste into fertiliser To help reduce the College’s impact on the environment and minimise the amount of waste we send to landfill, the College is one of the first 150 businesses in Plymouth to team up with a consultancy called alpha:logic (www.alpha-logic.com) and have its food waste collected for composting.

Food waste from the Aramark kitchens and Costa shops, along with compostable waste that is generated through the College’s hospitality building, is being collected twice a week and taken to Langage Farm where it is broken down in the farm’s Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant and converted into a useful fertiliser to improve pasture land. Anaerobic digestion is a treatment process which harnesses natural bacteria to produce biogas and a residue known as ‘digestate’ from waste biodegradable materials, such as agricultural manure, slurry, food waste and sewage sludge.

As the land used to be an old railway track, a Geotextile liner will be laid down across the entire site to restrict any cross-contamination and fresh top soil will be imported for the growing beds. Historic features, like the old cast iron railings, will be restored and granite used for bedding features. For conservation purposes a 15 metre scrub buffer zone has been retained at the far end of the site to preserve the habitat for a rare Lesser Horseshoe bat that uses the old railway tunnel.

Phase two of the project will involve College construction students, allowing them to put skills learnt on their courses into practice to complete the raised brick beds and sculpt the design of the 11 plots. With the new Allotment Co-ordinator, Matt White (see page 2) now in place, this exciting community project will have students, staff and local residents using the site, learning about gardening and sustainability by January 2013.

Level 2 Diploma - Food Preparation Students

The drivers behind the commissioning of the £3.6 million AD plant at Langage Farm were three-fold. Firstly, the farm was looking for a sustainable solution to improve the quality of its grazing land. It is also keen to reduce energy costs and to take more resource efficient approach to the disposal of waste materials from its farm and factory. By introducing AD the farm is also able to generate its own power, feeding any excess back into the National Grid, employing waste heat on site and spreading the resulting digestate back on the land where it improves the grazing quality for its 250 Jersey and Guernsey cows.

Food waste can take anything from 40 to 100 years to decompose in a landfill site, yet it only takes 69 days in an AD plant. With landfill capacity running out and increasing costs to dispose of waste, it not only makes good business sense to convert waste into a useable commodity but it also saves the College money!

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News from the Nursery Nursery Manager, Julie Griffiths, keeps us updated.

After a busy summer and start to the new term, including hosting our popular Kids’ Club, the nurseries at Kings Road and Goschen have now welcomed most of our new little ones and their families.

If you are interested in more information about the curriculum for our youngest students, contact the nurseries. Alternatively, there is up-to-date information on www.foundationyears.org.

New curriculum We are extra busy this year as the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum has changed to the ‘Reformed EYFS’, and there have been some significant changes.

Supporting students We are continuing to build close links with the College and the wider training community in supporting students undertaking childcare training. Last year we were happy to support students through: • inspiring placements at our ‘Outstanding’ nursery provision • attending, with some of our children, facilitated play experiences in the new teaching room (GC018), which has been set-up to replicate a nursery.

This enabled nine students to practice interacting with and observing children, peer observe their colleagues’ practice and talk to experienced practitioners • holding ‘mock interviews’ in theworkspace, based on ‘real life’ interviews, for nine level 3 students • successfully supporting 12 level 2 students undertaking work placements, including eight from childcare, two from ESOL and two early years students from UCP Marjon • offering on-going employment to two College level 3 students following successful placements with the nurseries.

People are often surprised that such small children have a curriculum, and are not spending their days ‘just playing’. The EYFS is the framework that we use to ensure that children aged from birth to five years have an exciting, safe, secure and happy experience in the settings they attend. The framework ensures that children’s care, development and learning needs are met by their practitioners, and the environment that supports them in a fun and accessible way. It includes the legal welfare requirements as outlined by the government.

We observe, assess and plan play opportunities to ensure that children are able to make the best possible progress, using our professional knowledge to both support parents and involve additional support where needed. All this is backed-up by processes and paperwork - which this year have changed and we’re all working hard to take all these changes on board.

The focus of every child’s day is ‘fun and opportunity’ in an inspiring and nurturing environment.

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For this year we are with hosting or ten work placements for students and will continue to offer facilitated play opportunities and interview practice.

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Curious

kitten

Being supported A childcare member of our team successfully completed her level 3 qualification with the College last year, and another of our team has embarked on her level 2. Two of our practitioners are undertaking their Foundation Degrees in Early Years with the College. As a team we have undertaken bespoke manual handling, first aid, safeguarding, sustainability, and health and safety training - all of this enables us to meet the needs of the children entrusted to our care to the highest standards.

As a whole team, we’re proud of our:

• I Can Early Talk Accreditation, achieved in 2011/12 • Outstanding Ofsted inspections, achieved in April 2012 • journey towards achieving accreditation as a Makaton Centre of Excellence for Plymouth.

We would like to say a big thank you to the City College Plymouth community for all the on-going help and support they offer that enriches the lives of the nursery children.

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The College’s employer-facing team has had a makeover!

Sharron Robbie Head of Corporate Relations

Sharron says: “The creation of the Corporate Relations team focuses our employer engagement activity in a way that really places the employer at the centre of what we do. We aim to deliver a quality service, setting us apart from competitors, whilst adding real value and a differentiated offer to our customers.

“We are also keen to build on the success of the Employer Endorsement Scheme to achieve greater engagement with industry in order to support students and staff to gain real benefits around opportunity, enterprise and employability.”

The College’s employer-facing team has had a makeover!

The newly created Corporate Relations team brings together experienced staff from across the College to increase and extend the range and nature of the work we do within the business community. The team, led by Sharron Robbie, Head of Corporate Relations, comprises Key Account Managers, an Employer Co-ordinator, an Operations Co-ordinator and a Telemarketing Assistant.

Located at Kings Road, the team is keen to work with colleagues across the College to support the new strategic direction around opportunity, enterprise and employability.

The College requires strong partnership working with local, regional, national and international employers, and the Corporate Relations team is positioned at the heart of building and maintaining sustainable and productive relationships with key stakeholders. The team is responsible for the management and development of the College’s Employer Endorsement Scheme, which supports not only income generation and profile raising, but most importantly our employability agenda, giving students and staff access to industry talks and visits, work placements and CPD opportunities.

The team works closely with the College’s Marketing department to deliver a comprehensive and integrated business-to-business sales and marketing service - ensuring that key messages are delivered to external stakeholders in a professional, timely and consistent manner. This includes EmployerLink - the College’s quarterly newsletter, regular

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e-newsletters, press releases, a variety of corporate events held at the College and via a range of business-to-business networking events, all of which aim to raise the College’s profile within the business and wider communities.

The team aims to deliver exceptional levels of account management and customer service in order to ensure that the College is the first stop for employers seeking training solutions to meet their business needs. It is vital that we are able to engage in a two-way flow of communication with industry professionals so that we gain vital labour market information and in order to share best practice and to support curriculum development to meet future market needs. Existing employer relationships and informal groups are currently being formalised via the implementation and management of a number of faculty specific employer advisory groups, and the Corporate Relations team will be working closely with faculty staff to ensure these employer groups add real value to our employer engagement activity.

The team is responsible for managing employer enquiries and should be the first point of contact for industry. This enables enquirers to not only receive relevant and up-todate information, but also allows the team to cross and up-sell the College’s offer - maximising opportunities to engage, build relationships and generate revenue. Faculty staff should refer employer enquiries to the Corporate Relations team via extension 5026 or e-mail employers@ cityplym.ac.uk.

S TA F F M AG A Z I N E Reception Desk - White Laminate

Replica Eames Table and Chairs

Concrete Project Matt & Scratched Finish

30 Reception Sofa - 3 seater + 2 seater (Upholsted in below)

Ground Floor - Location Plan

Teak Coloured Wooden Flooring

MARINE TRADE EXCELLENCE

Engineering Building Refurbishment

Ground Floor - Location Plan

Following on from the amazing refurbishment of the construction building, the College has been awarded a £1.5 million Enhanced Renewal Grant and £100,000 Renewal Grant by the Skills Funding Agency to further improve its estate. The next phase of the College’s property strategy focuses on a £4.5 million refurbishment project for its engineering facilities.

Head of Estates, Gilbert Snook, gives us an update.

The newly refurbished engineering facilities will be very modern, bright and clean with glass and aluminium opening up workshops to create open-plan workspaces.

These light and airy workspaces will house aligned disciplines in clusters to create trade-excellence areas.

There will also be a modern social area with seating and coffee shop type facilities.

MAIN ENTRANCE

Phase one of the works covers all parts of the engineering building, except automotive, fabrication and welding will have to be decanted to other sites to allow courses to continue. The engineering courses will go to Estover and electrical installation to Picquet Barracks.

In December we will establish a subgroup of the Health and Safety Committee which will have regular meetings to consider safety matters during the building process.

Attendance at that meeting will be open to all and the dates will be issued through the Staff Bulletin.

We will be developing an area on the College’s website, where current/potential students and staff will be able to see details of the new workshops, receive progress updates and other interesting information concerning the project.

This project is progressing to programme and building works will start on 21 January 2013. All elements of the project, including the new electrical installation workshops, will be complete by 23 August 2013.

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S TA F F M AG A Z I N E

Teaching and Learning

Innovation in Teaching, Learning and Technology Fair 2012 On 10 July the College held its second Teaching, Learning and Technology Fair (TLT) in the main hall, throughout the main concourse, theworkspace and in various spin-off teaching rooms. Learning Review Manger, Karen Kingdom, tells us more.

The TLT Fair was all about sharing good practice. Staff who participated in the TLT Fair provided practical demonstrations, activities and guidance for teaching and learning sessions. There were opportunities for staff who visited the event to talk to their peers as well as take part in activities and watch demonstrations. There were also a number of workshops throughout the event which staff could attend without prior booking - these workshops were well attended and interesting, and included: • embedding sustainability into the curriculum • ‘shark infested waters’ - team building activity • food and drink service - mocktails, Barista coffee making and flambéing fruit • food preparation practical demonstration using video and short throw projection • Prezi - online software tools to inspire students in the classroom • Tarsia software - for creating pairing and sorting activities • mobile devices and the use of the VLE. Staff were asked to complete a short questionnaire on the day. Here are a selection of comments:

What were the most useful parts of the TLT Fair?

• Networking, being able to meet and interact with other fellow peers and departments.

• A good opportunity to share innovations in the College.

• Able to gather different ideas for activities to keep students engaged.

• Hands-on practice using a wide variety of teaching aids.

• Good ideas on how to get some difficult ideas across to students.

• Finding out about resources that are available.

• Prezi introductions, Tarsia software, Optivote, Moodle.

What impact will this have on your teaching and learning practice for 2012/13?

• Able to share resources with other staff.

• Using Optivote in lessons with students.

• Trying out ideas seen.

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• Have designed a Prezi presentation to use with students.

• Try more quizzes, more quick fire appetiser and recap tasks.

• Further improve Moodle for students.

• Use information and resources for functional maths to consolidate knowledge for students.

• Some fabulous student-related tools.

What part of the TLT Fair did you find the most useful and relevant to your students?

• Finding out how to create a quiz using Optivote.

• Demonstration of EduApps, Moodle, e-books, Prezi, Tarsia.

• The use of additional learning aids such as mind mapping.

• EduApps stand presented good material for resources that staff can borrow.

• Assistive technology stand presented relevant software/tools for supporting students.

• Sustainability stand, resources and workshop how easy it is to embed this into the curriculum.

• Games development stand very interesting. Good displays in the corridor and main hall.

How do you feel the TLT Fair could be improved?

• To be held earlier in the year.

• Make the fair open to external exhibitors/colleges relevant to teaching, learning and technology.

• Do not hold on a staff training day/or no other training to take place on the same day - allocate one of the staff training days to the fair.

• More stands and staff involved to share good practice.

• Better publicity.

In total, 198 staff attended and took part in the TLT Fair and workshops (same as 2011). Staff rated the overall effectiveness of the fair as 72% good or better.

A BIG, big thank you to all the staff who gave up their valuable time to plan and organise the event, and to those who facilitated workshops and provided demonstrations, activities, resources and were able to share their good practice on the day.

S TA F F M AG A Z I N E

city college plymouth

theworkspace ‌ One Year On Teresa Gardner Head of Employability and Skills

The College is celebrating its one year anniversary of the employability centre, theworkspace. Head of Employability and Skills, Teresa Gardner, gives us an update.

Launched in September 2011 to support the employability agenda for our students, this dropin centre has created access to a range of activities and opportunities with local, regional, and national employers. The activity in theworkspace encourages our students to improve their communication skills, learn how to work effectively as a team and build their confidence.

In the past year we have run almost 270 workshops and helped over 2,500 students. Our aim this year is to help more students in achieving their goal of securing employment.

The valuable support from our employers helps students compete effectively in the market place.

Members of the Employer Endorsement Scheme have provided a high level of support ranging from industry specific talks, to site visits and work experience.

For example, two students who completed diplomas in business, administration and finance gained work experience in the design and print of street wear through our established relationship with local company, Frontline Image. Both students undertook a bespoke training programme for four weeks, designed by the company, and this then led to paid summer employment.

Feedback from the company was extremely positive and the two students excelled in their duties.

Mock interview workshops are another great way to engage students with industry. These sessions, conducted by employers, have been very successful and provide an opportunity for students to experience the complete recruitment process from start to finish. BTEC public services students undertook interviews with key personnel from Plymouth City Council, and the panel provided feedback to all of those interviewed.

The new programme of activity for the autumn term is packed full of workshops to help students improve their CVs and get ready to apply for seasonal vacancies over the Christmas period.

The range of talks from different volunteering organisations are designed to encourage students to give up some of their time to help others whilst learning new skills that will enhance their employability. We are always keen to receive information about charities offering volunteering opportunities. Please contact us with details of any charity you would like us to promote so we can work together to develop our students’ skills.

The series of employer talks in the latest programme feature a product development talk from Phillip Hamilton, Managing Director of Wrigley’s International, who is well placed to explain to students how to market a product effectively. Jo Fairley, Founder of Green and Blacks Chocolate, will also be coming to the College to deliver student talks, and the team from the Arctic Jubilee Challenge are delivering several sessions on their ground-breaking expeditions.

The team is keen to encourage more students and staff to use its services. The range of workshops to support tutorials can be booked by e-mailing theworkspace@cityplym.ac.uk or call extension 6825.

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S TA F F M AG A Z I N E

Congratulations to . . .

Talkback Co-ordinator, Emily Ball, who married Mike Gouland on Saturday 9 June at Wembury Church, followed by a reception at Crownhill Fort.

Staff from the International Office had a bit of a logistical nightmare when Diana and Jackie married on the same day - Friday 31 August. Diana Vreugdenhil married Jim Strang at Saltash Registry Office, followed by a traditional English tea party at home and an evening reception at Heskyn Mill. Jim has been offered a new job working as a teacher in an MoD school in Cyprus from January 2013 so they will soon be off to a new life in Cyprus with their daughters, Neeve and Cerys.

Marketing Officer (Events), Kate Wells, who married Paul Morris on Saturday 9 June at Pendennis Castle.

Jackie Zhang married Raymond Sieh at Plymouth Registry Office, followed by a reception at Le Vignoble Wine Boutique Store, Royal William Yard.

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