CONNECT - May 2019

CONNECT N E WS

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U P DAT E S

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D I A RY DAT E S M A Y 201 9

Hat trick of winners. Sam Jones became the third winner in a row from The Bedford College Group at the educational Oscars, the Times Educational Supplement FE Awards.

BCS BEDFORD COLLEGE SERVICES

EDITOR’S NOTE

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY May 2019

Hello everyone!

6 MAY 2019 – Bank Holiday (colleges closed)

Welcome back for the final term of the year! This latest issue of Connect hopes to keep you informed of all that is going on across the Group.

8 MAY 2019 – The Bedford Sixth Form All Staff Meeting (3:30pm)

The next few weeks will be busy with exams and final assessments, however, there is still lots more going on. This month we have included “What the Papers Say” which highlights the different stories covered by the media from across the group, so keep sending in your news and photos and we can help spread the word!

Corby: 9th May at 9.00am

9 MAY 2019 – Northamptonshire: Kettering: 9th May at 3.30pm

10 MAY 2019 – Bedford: Cauldwell Street: 10th May at 3.00pm in the Theatre The Bedford Sixth Form: 8th May at 3.30pm 23 MAY 2019 Shuttleworth College Open Day (5:00pm - 8:00pm) 27 MAY 2019 – Bank Holiday (colleges closed)

CONTENTS

OLIVIA MORTON

Corporate Communications and Events Manager

PAGE 3

PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE

PAGE 4

ILT NEWS

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP

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YOUR PICTURES

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PEOPLE NEWS

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EQUALITY & DIVERSITY

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SPOTLIGHT ON… LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES TEAM

T: 01234 291026 E: omorton@bedford.ac.uk

Corporation News The final Corporation meeting of the spring term took place on March 28 in Bedford.

In addition to preparing for the summer cycle of meetings the Corporation is also involved in the recruitment process for the new Director of HR. Governors have been delighted to join learning lunches since the last update. These have enabled them to understand how best practice is shared across the Group. Further invitations have been extended for tours over the summer term.

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The priority for the Corporation remains the recruitment of new governors. In addition to seeking external governors, elections for student governors for 2019-2020 will be taking place this term.

If you can help to promote any of these opportunities and would like more information please contact the Director of Governance & Clerk to the Corporation, Rachel Nicol on rnicol@bedford.ac.uk

RACHEL NICOL

Clerk to the Corporation T: 01234 291003 E: rnicol@bedford.ac.uk

A few weeks ago we welcomed our 10,000th student to our Bedford Learning Centre

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Did you know you can follow Ian on Twitter? @ipryce

PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE

Europa League spot

The Times Educational Supplement (TES) recently produced a league table of the top colleges by income in 2017-18.

Typo of the year?

We are lucky to have such an eagle-eyed Director of Governance as Rachel. There have been many stories recently about academy chains behaving inappropriately financially. In that context it was fortunate Rachel spotted this typo in our academy trust minutes. Any better typos this year?

10,000 not out Although we were boosted by a one-off £27m adjustment from the merger it was a good story for us, picked up locally. The interest was obviously sparked by our rise from 44th to 5th place, and the sight of a rural Bedfordshire/ Northamptonshire college rubbing shoulders with the big city kids!

When we opened our first IT Learning Centre in Bedford nineteen years ago it was a big gamble. A few weeks ago we welcomed our 10,000th student so the gamble clearly paid off. The model is a strong one and we therefore look forward to welcoming our 10,000th students at Kettering and Corby well before 2040.

The equality a-gender

Big organisations like the college are now obliged to publish annually their gender pay gap. Education providers – schools, colleges, Universities – have some of the worst gaps in the country, as bad as big banks. In that context I am pleased to report that our 4.8% gap is one of the smallest in the sector, and an improvement on last year.

The statistics also show a very positive story when we look at those at the top end of our pay levels.

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ILT IN THE CLASSROOM PLANET ESTREAM MEDIA ARCHIVE & VIDEO SUBMISSIONS Planet eStream is a video-on-demand service that allows tutors to add video content to their Moodle course pages.

Additionally, eStream allows students to submit video and audio assignments through Moodle in the same way they currently submit written assignments. Tutors can also record some or part of a lesson directly to eStream for future use.

For example a tutor can record an experiment or part of a lesson that is particularly important and add that to Moodle.

If you need to record your students for assessment purposes etc., this can also be recorded directly to eStream with appropriate privacy settings in place. If students need to evidence their work with video they can submit it directly from their mobile devises using the Moodle mobile app.

There is a selection of tutorials available on the Staff Moodle site to get you started. If you need any help or guidance with Planet eStream please get in touch with a member of the Learning Technologies team. We can also provide Golden Hour training, just ask.

Learning Technologies Team contact details: Phone: 01234 291959 (Monday – Friday 9:00am till 17:00pm) 01536 413143 (Wednesday – Friday 8:30am till 17:00pm) Email: moodlesupport@bedford.ac.uk Staff Moodle: https://staffmoodle.bedford.ac.uk

Planet eStream features: • Video and audio learner submissions via Moodle • Grade and provide feedback for video submissions using Moodle’s standard tools • Capture lessons for use later • Upload your own video content • Record students for assessment etc.

• Upload supplementary files such as PDFs along with your videos • Upload images to create browsable photo-sets • Easily add video content to Moodle course pages • Huge archive of videos by category (including large BBC archive) • Advanced archive search including subtitle search • Add quizzes, web links and images to your videos • Output to digital signage

LOOKING FOR A RESIDENTIAL STAY? Are you part of an organisation or group outside of work and looking for residential accommodation?

Remember that the accommodation blocks at Shuttleworth College are available to hire during Easter, Christmas and summer breaks.

For more information, or to book, contact Leanne Cripps on 01234 291783.

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NIGEL GILBERT Learning Technologies Advisor

NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP HAT TRICK IN NATIONAL TEACHING AWARDS Staff from the Group have achieved a hat trick by winning at the prestigious Times Educational Supplement Awards three years in a row.

student learning experience and her own teaching best practice.

This hard work has been reflected in a consistent increase for student achievement.

Our latest winner is Advanced Practitioner, Samantha Jones from Bedford College who won the TES Teacher of the Year 2019. She has worked for the College for over 14 years and moved into the Teacher Education and Scholarship Department in 2013, teaching the PGCE Certificate in Education course, which has since grown by 338% from only eight students in 2013 to 35 students in September 2017.

In 2018 Keith Haynes of Tresham College won Assessor of the Year and in 2017 Judith Larsen, in computing, won Teacher of the Year.

Throughout this time, Samantha has been committed to developing the course, the

Principal, Ian Pryce CBE who joined the team at the awards held at The Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane in March: “These awards are the highest accolade in the educational sector so for our staff to win three years in a row in the realm of teaching demonstrates that we offer the very highest standards.

After this year’s win, Sam added: “Winning the TES Further Teacher of the Year is a real honour and has been a hugely exciting experience.

The FEResearchmeet movement has given staff in the sector the space and opportunity to demonstrate their thoughtful practice and research. It has shown the potential of staff in the sector to shape and develop it. I hope, in winning the award, I can use it as a platform to encourage other leadership teams in the sector to follow the example of the Group and provide their staff with the space and opportunity to develop themselves and the sector they work in.”

Congratulations also go to our Finance Director Pat Jones who was shortlisted in the Leader of the Year awards.”

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP CELEBRATION OF SUCCESS AT LEARNING CENTRES 10,000 success stories Our Learning Centres have helped thousands of people to secure employment through IT training which many missed out on at school.

At a “Celebration of Success” held on April 4th at Bedford Learning Centre in the High Street, Gloria Ochante Cahuana from Peru was recognised as the centre’s 10,000th student and was presented with a bouquet of flowers. Student of the Year was awarded to 58-year-old Tim Jupp who wants a career change after working as a bench joiner. Having passed all his exams, and more, he is hoping to find a job that utilises his skills for analytical problem solving.

The centre enrols over 600 students onto free computer courses each year. Students generally attend two or more two-hour sessions each week at the town centre location, which is open Monday – Saturday with sessions available up until 9pm.

500 fast learners Since opening its doors just over a year ago in the town centre, Kettering Learning Centre has enrolled over 500 students onto free courses leading to all-important OCR ITQ qualifications. Students generally attend two or more 2 hour sessions every week.

At their “Celebration of Success” held on April 3rd, Mayor of Kettering, Cllr James Burton, welcomed the development of employment opportunities for people in Northamptonshire. He was joined

by Principal, Ian Pryce, in presenting certificates and prizes to some of the centre’s achievers. A prize for Student of the Year was given to Dougie Robson who began studying whilst recovering from cancer treatment and a bone marrow transplant. He is now back at work part-time and during the celebrations enjoyed his first glass of wine since undergoing treatment.

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The Speaker of Bedford Borough Council, Cllr Doug McMurdo was joined by Ian Pryce to congratulate the graduates who received certificates. Cllr McMurdo first came to Bedford 40 years ago and worked at what was then Mander College, and is now Bedford College, in Cauldwell Street.

In addition to offering these courses, the Learning Centres support a new initiative with the Open University where people can develop English and Maths functional skills by studying online on the OU’s Open Learn platform.

Ian commented: “I have been saying I have the best job in Bedford for 20 years so it is special to be here in the 19th year of the Bedford Learning Centre which we opened originally in Mill Street - with staff member and actor Jason Riddington-Smith, currently appearing in Coronation Street.”

Students complete courses using Microsoft Office packages in Word, Excel and PowerPoint to gain an ITQ Certificate for IT users at Levels 1 and 2. Additional courses can be taken in Access, Outlook and Publisher.

“The Centre is a very welcoming place and it has inspired me to keep learning.” Learning Centres Manager Pete Burton says: “The Learning Centres are an accessible environment where adults can come and study at their own pace to gain important qualifications in basic IT which is essential to any career or promotion.”

Ian Pryce added: “Learning Centres are a welcoming place for people who want to return to learning in an environment that differs from that offered within other campuses. The best description I’ve heard from a student is that it’s a place for joyful education” Our Corby Learning Centre is due to open in the Autumn. More details to follow in future issues of Connect.

NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP SUPPORT CLARE TO COMPETE AT THE INTERNATIONAL TAEKWONDO FEDERATION EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS Clare Connolly, from our Student Registry department has been training in Taekwondo for nearly eight years. After having her daughter who’s now 3, Clare has worked hard to lose weight, get her fitness up and back competing.

2018/19 has been Clare’s first year returning to competing and she finished this competition year nationally as UK No.2 in sparring.

As a result, Clare has now been invited to compete at international level in Ireland in July at ITF European Championships.

Clare said: “This means the world to me for so many reason I have set up a go fund me page to try and raise the money so I can represent the UK and the Chand Institute.”

If you would like to support Clare please visit: https://www. gofundme.com/j8wdd-itfeuropean-championships

HE TEACHER CONFERENCE LANDS AT SHUTTLEWORTH – SAVE THE DATE The Group’s HE Teacher Conference will be held at Shuttleworth College this year.

The annual event moves around the campuses each year and 2019’s CPD day will be held on Wednesday 26th June. Electronic invites have been sent out to all HE staff and the separate workshops will soon be available to book on.

Although the event is specifically for HE teachers, teachers of adults may also find the event useful.

main research interest focuses on developments at the FE/ HE interface and he has written widely on this subject, including two recent research reports for the Quality Assurance Agency UK (QAA) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA).

This year’s keynote speaker will be John Lea. John is the AoC College HE Scholarship Project Director.

He has worked in a number of roles throughout adult provision in further and higher education over the last thirty years. His

- Political Correctness and Higher Education (2009),

He is also the author of several books including;

He will be speaking about supporting Higher Education in College Settings.

If you want any more information about the event or would like to book on please contact Tasha Blades in Professional Development on professionaldevelopment@ bedford.ac.uk

- Working in Post-Compulsory Education (2003),

- 77 Things to think about teaching and learning in higher education (2012) - Enhancing Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (2015).

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP AUTISM SUPPORT To celebrate Autism Awareness month in April the Additional Support Team at Bedford arranged two awareness events at the Bedford and Shuttleworth campuses where students and staff had the opportunity to find out more about autism. Visitors were able to participate in a raffle, tombola and a “guess the sweets in the jar” competition as well as buy delicious cakes, most of which were homemade by the team.

I’ve got Autism/Asperger’s syndrome.

What support can I get at College?

There are currently two Autism Coordinators and an Autism Assistant for the Bedfordshire campuses who provide mentoring to students with autism. They are based in College House at the Bedford Campus or the room behind Student Services at Shuttleworth Campus.

SURPRISE! SURPRISE! In readiness for Easter the STEPS students made, decorated, filled and delivered 35 boxes of sweets and chocolates. Staff based at Cauldwell Street campus made orders for their colleagues to be delivered as surprise gifts in the week before the Easter break.

The profits will be given to the Child Development Centre in Kempston, to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Thank you to everyone who ordered a box.

At the end of March Dean Beadle visited the Cauldwell Street campus to share his personal experiences of autism, with some hilarious anecdotes on online dating, men’s room etiquette and the complexities of the funfair ride. Using his unique style to draw attention to some of the ways we can prepare our students for the world outside education.

The areas are referred to as ‘Havens’ as they provide a safe place for students to go to during their college day. Students tend to access the Haven when stressed, when needing a quiet space to study or relax, to have their lunch, listen to music or to chat to other students or staff.

Some of the students’ comments about the Haven are:

“It is generally quite quiet and no one makes me talk about what is wrong until I am ready to” “I can eat lunch without being outside or being watched” “Staff are lovely, funny and understanding”

The team also organises social events throughout the year to support the students’ social and independent living skills. These events are open to all students with learning difficulties and run once a month, either on an evening or during school holidays. During Autism Awareness week, the team raised £300 for a special social trip in London for their students.

The display is still up at the Mezz floor in Cauldwell Street and outside the Canteen in Shuttleworth for people to find out more about autism and the support available for students at college.

For more information, contact Elli Kyrou, Wendy Cook (Autism Coordinators) or Lynn Brayford (Autism Assistant).

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AUTISM AWARENESS

On a more serious note he explained some of the issues and anxieties that can exist for our autistic students in classrooms, and how things as simple as explaining the “why” of conventional social norms can help our students to understand social interactions and potentially build friendships and relationships while they are at college, and after.

He discussed how we can support students in their studies to create a safe environment for them to learn and how listening, understanding and taking an extra few minutes can make such a tremendous difference.

Dean provided some practical and useful tips and ideas on supporting students in the classroom, and around college, and his presentation can be requested from Lindsey Francis lfrancis@bedford.ac.uk.

You can follow Dean on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dean. beadlespeaker and Twitter @deanbeadleuk

NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP ANIMAL PLANET TV AT SHUTTLEWORTH Shuttleworth College’s Zoological Educational Centre (ZEC) is to be featured on Animal Planet, a programme which airs on Discovery Inc, the international TV channel.

A crew from London-based production company, Wag TV, visited the college at the end of March to film egg-eating snakes which will be included within the educational programme.

BLUE LIGHT INSPIRATION FOR OUR ACCESS TO HE STUDENTS Before the Easter break, two paramedics from East Midlands Ambulance service visited the Corby campus and spoke to Access to Health students about a day in the life of a paramedic, the routes into training, the difference between a technician and a paramedic, the different job aspects that include the hazardous area response team and the helicopter emergency services.

They answered lots of questions with topics covered such as paramedics pay structure, coping with shift patterns and balancing their home life with the job. They shared case studies with the group and tried to link them to the future career choices the students have once they complete their course.

As part of their visit they also gave the students a demonstration on how to incubate a patient and showed them equipment that paramedics used.

The group finished off the session by looking at an ambulance car where the paramedics explained all the equipment in the car and how it is used.

This new series ‘How Do Animals Do That?’ looks at the science and physics of the natural world and aims to answer some of the most asked questions about the animal world. Each episode is made up of five questions with live action answers.

Carl Groombridge, Centre Curator for the Zoological Education Centre said: “Our reputation for training young people to work in conservation centres around the world is growing year on year. And our new purpose-built £3.65m ZEC, the only one of its kind in the further education sector, will open up a world of opportunities. So the chance to appear on international TV was welcomed.”

See the ZEC’s own footage of animals including alligators on our dedicated pages: www.shuttleworth.ac.uk/zoological/ centre-news-events.html

The Access students really enjoyed this session and said they learnt a lot, it was particularly useful for some of the students who have applied to university to complete paramedic training.

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP LIFE SKILLS PUT INTO PRACTICE ON EXPEDITION TO SHUTTLEWORTH Uniformed Public Services Level 2 students have successfully completed a 36 hour expedition between Bedford and Shuttleworth College.

The group began by hiking their necessary kit over mixed terrain from Cauldwell campus to Shuttleworth College, a distance of roughly seven miles. As part of the expedition they established a camp site and survived on their own cooking using military style ration packs.

The experience was designed to be arduous and take students out of their comfort zone, culminating in an overnight stay in a woodblock, a night time stalk activity and a demanding obstacle course session first thing in the morning. The group performed very well and used the experience to put into practice a variety of individual and team skills.

5* MANOR HOUSE RATING Staff from the Manor House Restaurant have been celebrating after maintaining its Food Hygiene rating of 5, which is the highest grade available, following the local authorities most recent visit in March.

The team of staff and students put in a lot of hard work to consistently maintain the standards throughout the year.

Tutors and staff ensure all students are provided with the knowledge and skills to be able to maintain a safe and hygienic, realistic learning environment in preparation for future employment, setting standards for their future careers.

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP PLANNING PERMISSION GRANTED FOR NEW LOOK WELLINGBOROUGH CAMPUS The latest development for our new Wellingborough campus saw planning permission being granted meaning that we are one step closer to redeveloping the existing campus to provide modern post 16 educational facilities in the town centre.

The new look campus will provide first-class facilities for up to 1,000 additional students by 2021, and see more staff based at the Church Street site.

The Borough Council of Wellingborough, which is the local planning authority, granted planning permission on Wednesday 6 March to redevelop the external facades of the main tower of the existing campus.

Leader of the Borough Council of Wellingborough, Cllr Martin Griffiths, said: “This is one of the most significant developments to take place in Wellingborough. Councillors and staff at the council are working closely with colleagues at Tresham College, and SEMLEP, who have provided funding of £7.5million through the Local Growth Fund, to deliver this ambitious project and I would like to thank everyone involved.

“I look forward to seeing this key site take shape, and the brand new facility being fully open September 2020.

Providing opportunities for young people and promoting growth across the borough are both major priorities for the council. This development helps both priorities by opening doors to young people and providing the local economy with the skills required.”

area’s key growth areas, supporting Wellingborough to develop their local skilled workforce is a crucial part of promoting the type of growth our communities and businesses want to see. To achieve this, students need good quality learning environments.

We’re delighted that The Bedford College Group has got the go-ahead to commence works on their Tresham Campus.”

Principal, Ian Pryce CBE added: “We are delighted to have been given the go ahead for the next step of our redevelopment plans for the Church Street campus to ensure that we are able to offer high quality skills training that is wanted by the local community, both school leavers and adults wishing to train for new careers and promotions. The Borough Council of Wellingborough has been very supportive for our plans together with SEMLEP who have granted the majority of funding to allow this project to go ahead and I am looking forward to seeing students and staff based at the campus from September 2020.”

For more information regarding the planning application visit: www.wellingborough.gov.uk/ viewplanningapplications

Judith Barker, Director for Programmes and Governance, SEMLEP added: “As one of SEMLEP

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NEWS FROM THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP POSTER PROJECT FOR ANIMAL SCIENCE The foundation degree students in agriculture and animal science at Shuttleworth set up and organised a college poster conference as part of their unit ‘Investigating Animals and their Welfare’ (Animal Management students) and ‘Investigating Sustainable Agriculture’ (Agriculture students). This was an excellent opportunity for students to showcase their projects and discuss their findings with staff, peers and guests.

YOUR PICTURES Every month you send the marketing team wonderful images from our different campuses that we post on to our social media channels. Here are some of this month’s highlights.

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YOUR PICTURES Big Yellow Bus visits University of Northampton visited Bedford and Tresham College’s Kettering campus where groups of students were taken to the bus during their tutorial lessons. Each group spent 30 minutes in the Teacher Education room followed by 15 minutes finding out about university life.

County Lines at The Bedford Sixth Form We had an educational theatre company visit today from Alter Ego to perform a piece called ‘County Lines’ followed by a workshop looking at Child Criminal Exploitation.

All first year students were invited and we had over 200 students attend. Below is the publicity image from the company.

Red Box Project Healthcare, Early Years and Access to Higher Education at Tresham College have been collecting for the Red Box Project at the Kettering campus and have made donations.

The project has now given the campus a box so that we can have a box if students and or staff need them.

Kylie Beale, Early Years Lecturer is organising a box of supplies at both Tresham College Kettering and Corby campuses until the government start their new campaign of supplying schools and colleges with sanitary products.

n llatio nsta ist Visit I l a c l ia tri Elec try Spec s u d In

Plaste rin Gobain g Visit Sain t Webe r

ment nage a M l Zoo a Anim Antwerp o t Visit Arb ic crea ulture te tive at lo am get cal s cho ol

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PEOPLE NEWS CURRENT VACANCIES Here are the current vacancies available across the Group. Visit the Staff Intranet to find out more information on how to apply.

Lecturer of Business Location: Kettering Salary: up to GBP 28,000 dependent on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 28/04/2019 Art & Design Lecturer Location: Kettering Salary: Up to £30,000 per annum - dependant on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 02/05/2019 Media Lecturer Location: Kettering Salary: Up to £30,000 per annum - dependant on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 02/05/2019 Lecturer - AAT (Course Manager) Location: Kettering Salary: Circa £35,000 per annum, pro rata dependent on qualifications and experience.

Application closing date: 06/05/2019 Temporary Enrolment Assistant Location: Kettering Salary: £8.21 per hour Application closing date: 06/05/2019 Training Coordinator (Assessor) – Business Location: Corby Salary: Circa £28,000 per annum, pro rata, dependent on qualifications and experience Application closing date: 06/05/2019

17TH INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA, BIPHOBIA AND TRANSPHOBIA

The well-being of sexual and gender minorities can be seriously affected through discrimination. The global theme for 2019 is ‘Justice and protection for all’.

The Stonewall’s 2017 research into the experiences of lesbian, gay, bi and trans students found that significant numbers LGBT students still experience bullying.

Half of LGBT students hear homophobic slurs ‘frequently’ or ‘often’ at their place of education. Staff and managers are not always aware of such incidents as these are not always reported. See the video summary here https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=o6FWZ5YVOI&feature=youtu.be

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BECOME A GOVERNOR

The Corporation seeks applications from talented prospective governors on an ongoing basis. The Bedford College Group serves an ethnically diverse community and our Board should be representative of the local community. In order to improve the composition of the Board in terms of diversity, the College welcomes all applicants and particularly applications from women and those from minority ethnic backgrounds.

It would be much appreciated if staff could promote the governor roles through their links in their communities and log any activity and feedback with me on rnicol@bedford.ac.uk or 01234 291003.

Below is a link to the website page “Become a governor”. www.bedford.ac.uk/about/corporate-governance/become-a-governor

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS The Inter Faith Network website has a more detailed list of festivals with short descriptions.

2nd YOM HA-SHOAH (Holocaust Day) Jewish 6th May – 4th June RAMADAN Muslim 19th VESAKHA PUJA / WESAK / BUDDHA DAY Buddhist 24th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DECLARATION OF THE BAB Baha’i 30th ASCENSION DAY (40th day after Easter) Christian (Anglican)

DIVERSITY CALENDAR – APRIL 2019 For more details and inspiration go to Equality and Diversity on Connect intranet.

6TH – 12TH DEAF AWARENESS WEEK

There are a range of reasons for hearing loss which can happen at different times in people’s lives. Consequently there is a range of ways people with a hearing loss have of communicating. Some people may lip read, others may use one of many sign languages developed in different countries and some may use a hearing aid. The main sign language used in UK is the British Sign Language (BSL).

When you are working with students with hearing loss you need to bear in mind some common considerations, ways of communicating and possible teaching and learning strategies. For details, see here http://www.bbc.co.uk/ skillswise/tutors/inclusive-learning/tutors-article-hearing-impairments Maths glossary in BSL http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/bsl/maths.html Local support Access Bedford works with the deaf and hard of hearing community to make Bedford Borough more accessible https://accessbedford.wordpress.com/ Hear Me Out is a social group for Deaf Youth https://twitter.com/ hearmeout260517 Deafconnect is a charity in Northamptonshire supporting deaf people of all ages http://www.deafconnect.org.uk/

PEOPLE NEWS SORRY TO SEE YOU GO:

EQUALITY & DIVERSITY

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Ali Al-Shammari, Site Maintenance Officer

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Natalia Davey, Teacher - Humanities

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Antony Delve, Lecturer in Sport & Uniformed Public Services

WORK SENSE

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Beverley Dupont, Lecturer - Basic Skills

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Robert Hallam, Training Co-ordinator - Plumbing

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Gary Hilton, Site Maintenance Officer

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Mark Livingstone, Business Development Manager

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Gulam Mahboob, Finance Administrator

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Lorna McCafferty, Customer Contact Assistant (Apprentice)

We normally take our work environment for granted and process sensory information automatically.

However, for some of our colleagues, including people on the autism spectrum, sensory information can be a source of discomfort and distraction. Be mindful of this and consider how you can support colleagues or students if they find the following difficult:

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Sorcha O’Loughlin, Student Data Co-ordinator

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Liam Rowles, Learning Centre Trainer

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Lisa Sloan, Lecturer - Graphic Design

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Alison Taylor, Customer Services Executive

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Ruthlyn Tippell, Lecturer - Computing

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Chloe Weston, Customer Services Executive

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James Woolford, Lecturer in Biology

WELCOME TO THE GROUP: •

Joe French, Technician – Music, Performing Arts

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Kathy Gillingham, Lecturer – English, Business

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Christopher Hart, Facilities Assistant, Estates & Facilities

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az Judge, Customer Contact Adviser, Enquiries & J Admissions

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inda Ross, Library & Learning Resources Support L Assistant

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atalie Rawles, Customer Contact Adviser, Enquiries N & Admissions

STAFF DIVERSITY FORUMS •T he Diversity group (Bedford) is meeting on Wed 1st May, Cauldwell Str. •T he Diversity group (Tresham) is meeting on Thu 2nd May, Kettering.

•T he Staff LGBT+ forum is meeting both in Bedford and Kettering.

These are your forums and a chance to influence the diversity and inclusion agenda in the college!

For more information and to join a group, contact Anastassia Parsons anparsons@bedford.ac.uk

Accessible work environment

Sounds

Some people are unable to block out the noise of lifts, computer fans, kitchens, buzzing lights and may find it impossible to concentrate on a conversation if there is other noise. Sudden loud noises, such as fire alarms, may be experienced as painful. Increased noise could also make it difficult for someone with hearing loss to follow a conversation. Colleagues living with tinnitus have the distraction of intrusive inner noise, which may interfere with external sound.

Visual

Too much light, colour and movement may be very distracting for someone with autism. Bright light may be painful for someone with a visual impairment, or for someone with visual stress. Flickering lights may be disturbing and may trigger epileptic seizures. Some people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder become hypervigilant, and need to keep track of everything that is happening in the room.

Smells

Some people, including those with autism or asthma, are very sensitive to cleaning products, or even to strong perfumes and deodorants. People with autism may find the smells of certain foods very unpleasant.

Touch

Some people may not want to shake hands and may find any physical contact threatening. Others may find particular materials unpleasant to touch, including clothing.

Temperature

Some people are sensitive to temperature, and also have difficulty in regulating their body temperature.

Someone with MS, for example, may get over-heated and find it difficult to work. Extremes of temperature may contribute to flare-ups of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

For accessibility in communication, environment and meetings and events, see the Accessibility page on the Connect https://college.oak.com/Content/Page/ Index/79294702-0d38-4367-88c1-884bb46292ec

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SPOTLIGHT ON...

LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES TEAM

WHAT DOES YOUR DEPARTMENT DO?

WHAT ROLES DOES EACH TEAM MEMBER HAVE?

The Learning Technologies team are here to support all students and staff across the group with any issues they have with the group’s core learning technologies in particular with Moodle but also with BKSB and Mahara. We also support our staff with ongoing training and development (Clevertouch, Moodle, Mahara etc.) as well as support in improving digital capabilities. Along with this we explore and provide eLearning resources such as the interactive learning content from the Blended Learning Consortium that can be delivered through Moodle.

We are all here to support students and staff and we all have extensive experience with the group’s learning technologies.

WHERE ARE YOU BASED? The team has two bases; one at Bedford, Cauldwell Street in room A14 and also at Kettering, Windmill Avenue, room LG 43 (IT Services).

However we are always ready to respond to any queries by phone or email: Telephone: 01234 291959 Email: moodlesupport@bedford.ac.uk

16

May 2019

WHAT CHALLENGES WILL YOU FACE THIS YEAR? We are ready and eager to support the growing number of students across the group along with supporting all staff with any assistance they need with the group’s core learning systems. We will also be busy introducing and promoting new and exciting learning technologies to the group such as Planet eStream, a new video-on-demand system that also allows for video lesson/ evidence capture and student video submissions via Moodle.

WHAT ACHIEVEMENTS DID THE TEAM ACCOMPLISH LAST YEAR? This academic year has been a busy one! The team continue to support staff and students, particularly with the new roll-out of Clevertouch interactive screens (with Golden Hour training and guides on the Staff Moodle). We have also revamped our online user guides on our updated and expanded Staff Moodle pages (staffmoodle.bedford.ac.uk)

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK IN YOUR DEPARTMENT? The team really enjoy supporting all of our students and staff with their dayto-day enquires along with exploring and promoting new and interesting learning technologies.

ANY INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOUR DEPARTMENT? Our quiz team, the BCLT’s, can often be found in the Albero Lounge on a Monday evening. We have been known to win!