Key dates to keep note of in your diary on page 2.
Take a look at who has been featured in our very first ‘60 seconds with…’ article on page 7.
Would you like to see some of the perks you can receive by being a member of staff at the Group? Page 14. APRIL 2020
N E WS
|
U P DAT E S
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) took part in an annual exercise at Tresham College in Kettering using the plane fuselage, to work with students in developing skills to handle this dramatic scenario. Students from a variety of courses including Travel and Tourism, Uniformed Public Services and Performing Arts had the chance to get involved.
|
D I A RY DAT E S
|
D I S CO U N TS
Wellingborough Campus update Staff have been busy ensuring we best promote our new look campus and gain support from local businesses. At the end of January, the Marketing team visited key centres in Wellingborough and neighbouring wards to spread the word by leaflet dropping and raising awareness of the developments in the town. Continued on page 8
BCS BEDFORD COLLEGE SERVICES
April 2020
Connect
Damini Patel
Corporate Communications & Events Assistant dpatel@bedford.ac.uk
Editor’s Hello everyone! Welcome to the April edition of CONNECT Magazine! I’m super excited about this issue as it is the first edition of our redesigned staff newsletter. Thank you to everyone who responded to our survey, we loved hearing your thoughts and I hope this issue reflects the beginning of something new. I hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as I did putting it together. Don’t forget to keep sending your articles and photos my way for the next issue by Monday 13th April.
Contents Pg.2
Key Dates
Pg.3
Principal’s Update
Pg.4
Research Network
Pg.5
Wellbeing
Pg.7
60 Seconds with...
Pg.8
Group News
Pg.10
Your Pictures
Pg.11
People News
Pg.12
Professional Development
Pg.13
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Pg.14
Perks
Pg.15
Annual Review
Pg.16
HE Update
Pg.17
Staff wellbeing group update
Pg.18
Quality team Structure
Pg.2
Your Diary Bank Holiday (Good Friday) 10th April
Bank Holiday (Easter Monday) 13th April
Early May bank holiday 8th May
Spring bank holiday 25th May For more diary dates visit www.bit.ly/collegecalendars
April 2020
Connect
Ian Pryce CBE
Principal & CEO of The Bedford College Group
Principal’s Top Class
Top Gun!
When we set up The Bedford Sixth Form six years ago our aim was to create the biggest and best in the area. The latest government A-Level performance tables show how well the team have progressed.
It is always interesting to see what staff get up to outside work. Congratulations to Jon Crawford who has just become the National Drag Racing Champion for 2019, our very own Lewis Hamilton.
Biggest and second best in 2019.
Top Table
School/College
No. sitting A Levels
The Bedford Sixth Form
244
Sharnbrook
243
Many of you will have children doing their Times Table Rock Stars practice at school. What you may not know is that the company behind the international success story is Maths Circle, based in Bedford and they won the top technology prize at the international BETT festival last month.
Redborne
237
Top of the Pops
Kimberley
218
Samuel Whitbread
208
Mark Rutherford
115
St Thomas More
75
Biddenham
71
Bedford Academy
48
We now have a tradition of making innovative pleas to the government for more funding via song covers. The latest plea to our Secretary of State was based on a Simon & Garfunkel classic, complete with spoof album cover courtesy of our graphics expert George Willimott. If you want to listen to “Mr Williamson” or read two other recent Times Educational Supplement articles they can be viewed here:
Sandy Secondary
48
Kempston Challenger
11
School/College
Progress score
Mark Rutherford
0.18
The Bedford Sixth Form
0.08
Bedford Academy
0.01
Kimberley
-0.08
Sharnbrook
-0.09
Biddenham
-0.13
St Thomas More
-0.22
Sandy Secondary
-0.23
Redborne
-0.26
Samuel Whitbread
-0.31
Kempston Challenger
-0.41
Mr Williamson Inflexibility Weirdos
www.bit.ly/MrWilliamson www.bit.ly/inflexibilityTES www.bit.ly/TESFE-weirdos
Did you know you can follow Ian on Twitter?
@ipryce
Pg.3
Connect
Research
Sam Jones MSc (Oxon)
Advanced Practitioner - Research and Scholarship Lead TES FE Awards - Teacher of the year 2019 sjones@bedford.ac.uk
Past, Present The Bedford College Group Research Network is an informal meeting of researchers and those interested in research to share and support each other’s work.
Our past: The Bedford College Group Research Network started life as a conversation in a car park between Catherine Lloyd and myself. We were interested in bringing like-minded people together for the benefit of their research and for the development of the College. The group that formed started as a network of teachers and support staff from across what was at the time Bedford College. Created in 2014, the network had three aims: - To develop each other as researchers - To spread evidence across the College - To promote research across the Further Education sector
Our present: The network grew over the next six years and now has members across Bedford, Shuttleworth and Tresham College. To reflect this we renamed ourselves as The Bedford College Group Research Network.
We’ve worked outside the College to share our research; to this end we’ve shared our research internationally at conferences, in books and journals. This has helped us to shape research in the sector and how the sector sees itself. In recent conferences and sector-based books we have out-represented leading research-focused Higher Education institutions allowing the sector to frame and represent itself to a greater extent. Whilst we haven’t been as successful at sharing our work within the College, we have had an impact that has brought benefits to members and non-members of the network alike. Many of our members had to selffund their qualification so we lobbied (successfully) for the return of financial support of post-graduate qualifications and support for those undertaking research. At present we are trying to develop membership and networks across the three Colleges; trying to find better ways of meeting, collaborating and sharing. As the College gets larger, communication seems to be our biggest challenge. The other issue we are trying to overcome is this idea that the research network is a place for researchers only. Most recently we have been leading on the development of ChIRPs, the College Improvement Research Projects. These projects aim to support any staff member from across the Group who wants to change or improve something about the College, financially as well as academically, develop the capability for researching in the College and empowering staff to shape their practices. You don’t have to be a researcher to complete this kind of project, just have a good idea!
The future: We haven’t deviated far from our initial aims. In the future we would like to continue the normalisation and support of research and innovation across the College and the sector. We would like to welcome staff from non-teaching and teaching positions who want to share non-research-based ways of developing knowledge through maybe project evaluation, practice and updating. We also look to move towards a future where staff and academic research evidence is used to inform College decision making in the same way as marketing research presently does. If you are interested in finding out more contact Sam at sjones@bedford.ac.uk
Pg.4
April 2020
Connect
Caroline Biddle
Executive Director of Human Resources cbiddle@bedford.ac.uk
You Said, We Did
It’s Good To Talk
Following the outcomes of the Employee Survey a specific objective on wellbeing has been developed for the People Strategy.
The Bedford College Group knows that we all face challenges in our lives that can affect our wellbeing. To support employees through these difficult times we offer a confidential Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) where individuals can access information, advice and counselling.
To take this objective forward a cross-college partnership group has been established involving the following people: •
Gina Bubbins, Director of Business Development
•
Jo Baxter, Director of STEM
•
Mel Tew, HR Manager
•
Shaun Wilson, Course Manager, Construction
Invitations went out in February to all employees to put themselves forward to be part of this work, so if you are interested do get back to them. In the meantime we will bring you updates as work progresses, so watch this space…
Make Time For You A healthy lifestyle creates greater energy and productivity, empowering us to do more and to do it better.
Access to the service is free to employees and can be accessed via the details below. If you have any questions regarding the EAP service, please contact a member of the HR Team.
Bedfordshire service Online: www.lap-access.co.uk Telephone: 0800 0833375 Username: bedfordcollege Password: employee
Northamptonshire service Online: www.employeeassistance.org.uk Telephone: 0800 3281437 No username/password required
Taking care of yourself is time well invested. Improve your wellbeing with small steps that easily fit into your daily schedule. - Find time. Trade 15 minutes of social media for movement minutes and taking a short walk or stretch break - Protect time. Block time on your calendar for a movement break, and honour it like you would an important meeting - Buddy up. Accountability partners share goals and encouragement, and help make your wellbeing activities more successful and fun.
Pg.5
Connect
Damini Patel
Corporate Communications & Events Assistant dpatel@bedford.ac.uk
tips to improve your wellbeing at work Take frequent breaks
Organise your workstation
To help prevent stiff and sore muscles, be sure to take a break every now and then. For example, go for a short walk and get some water. Which will also help contribute towards tip number two.
A good declutter always helps you concentrate. Try to keep your keyboard and monitor directly in front of you and place objects you frequently use within arm’s reach.
Drink Water It’s essential to drink water throughout the day to hydrate your body. Even the slightest decrease in hydration can negatively influence your ability to concentrate on your work.
Rest your eyes Give your eyes a break by looking away from your work and focussing on an object in the distance. You should always make a conscious effort to blink more often to help prevent dry eyes.
Pg.6
Take your lunch break Always be sure to take your lunch break so that you can take some time away from your desk or go outside.
Balance your time Have an end of day routine: tidy your desk or write a to-do list for the next day. Use your commute home to unwind.
April 2020
Connect
Damini Patel
Corporate Communications & Events Assistant dpatel@bedford.ac.uk
60 seconds with...
Talisha Governance Administrator Three traits that define you... Patient, Thoughtful and Pragmatic.
Favourite local place? Nothing beats a trip to McDonalds when you need a pick-me-up or even just in general.
Favourite Music? My Soundcloud only consists of Hip-Hop!
Favourite Hobbies? I love a good game of Basketball.
Favourite Movie? At the moment my favourite would be The Death of Stalin.
Favourite thing about working at TBCG? My favourite thing about the Group is that it’s inclusive.
What’s your dream holiday? A spa break in Iceland.
What’s your favourite food? Brownies!
Pg.7
New Connect
*Wellingborough’s local library.
*Bewiched Coffee shop in Wellingborough.
*Bannatyne Health Club in Wellingborough.
*Photos of local Wellingborough business supporters.
Our £10 million Wellingborough Campus recently reached a significant milestone in November with the first cladding panel being put in place. The campus will have a completely new look and will include:
• A coffee shop • Social spaces for all students with free wifi • Industry workshops for - Brickwork - Carpentry - Electrical Installation - Motor Vehicle - Plumbing
• Library • Science laboratories • Fully equipped computer suites The Marketing team have been busy ensuring they best promote the new look campus and get support from local businesses. At the end of January, the team visited key centres in Wellingborough and neighbouring villages to get the word out by leaflet dropping and sharing details of how to apply.
Pg.8
Those of you who live in or around Wellingborough may have received the council’s community magazine called The Link which included details about the new campus. If you’d like to share images to help show your support towards the new look Wellingborough Campus then please forward them to Alarna Sparrey on asparrey@bedford.ac.uk
Teacher Tech on Teacher Training Lecturer and ILT Development Coach Mark Tinney has created a YouTube channel as part of a research project within the Group. The aim of the channel is to support teachers to make better use of technology in the classroom. The channel will be filled with video tutorials on how to set up and develop a wide range of ILT tools (including Kahoot, Padlet, Quizizz and Teded), with practical advice and screen recorded step-by-step instructions all linked to good pedagogy. Subscribe to Marks’ YouTube Channel by visiting www.youtube.com/channel/UCFbwgZxzjamqtClv7gTop4A
April 2020
Connect
Rachel Nicol
Lindsey Francis
Director of Governers and Clerk to the Corporation rnicol@bedford.ac.uk
Corporation The Board was delighted to be able to hold their Development Day on 2 March 2020 in the new Zoological Education Centre at Shuttleworth. Presentations were received from the Executive on the political landscape and market position in order to continue the strategic planning process for 2022 and on the implementation of T levels. The animals, as always, were the stars and a big thank you goes to Carl Groombridge and the staff for the informative tour and helping with the organisation of the day. Both staff governors will come to the end of their 2-year terms at the end of this academic year and therefore an election will be held in May/June to determine the positions going forward. Whether they wish to stand again is not yet known. For more information please contact the Director of Governance & Clerk to the Corporation, Rachel Nicol on rnicol@bedford.ac.uk
Course Manager for Computing lfrancis@bedford.ac.uk
Women in STEM On Monday 9 March, myself and Daniel, the Equality and Diversity Ambassador for the Computing department attended the Chartered Management Institute’s (CMI) talk at The Royal Academy of Engineering, on widening participation of women in positions of leadership in STEM subjects. The panel, chaired by Anna Francke OBE, consisted of some very inspirational men and women in the fields of Engineering, Technology and Science with a focus around “How do we encourage more women to explore careers in STEM and how can men help facilitate that ambition?”. The panel shared ideas on sponsorship, mentoring and increasing visibility within the industry, discussing their experiences and challenges and how equality and balance can be achieved through mutual respect, support and leadership. We both found the event very inspiring, and have come back to the College with ideas to implement in the Computing Department, raising the interest and aspirations of our female students, as well as attracting more women into studies and careers in STEM subjects.
Winning Jon Crawford
Head of Maths jcrawford@bedford.ac.uk
The Head of Maths for Bedfordshire Jon Crawford recently collected the trophy as the UK National Drag Racing Champion in his class. Jon has been racing his modified Volkswagen Golf at nearby Santa Pod Raceway for over five years now. Last year it all came together, with Jon winning both the UK VW Drag Racing title as well as the Santa Pod Racers Club Championship. The first event for Jon’s title defence will be at the Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway.
Pg.9
Connect
Your Every month you send the marketing team wonderful images from our different campuses that we post on our social media channels. Here are some of the highlights from the past month.
Our Uniformed Public Services students at Tresham College were visited by representatives from the British Army. The students completed a variety of obstacle courses that promoted team work to accomplish goals they set before the activity.
We were at the National Apprenticeship show earlier this month and our “matrix style� 360-degree photo stand proved to be popular with school students.
Students from Shuttleworth College visited Martin Lines, an Arable farmer and Chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network (UK) to learn about different farming and environmental techniques.
Our students had a fantastic opportunity to attend an innovative session for #MindYourHead week which raises awareness and tackles the stigma of the growing issue of mental illness in farming.
Tresham College Football and Rugby Academy teams won in local derbies against Bishop Stopford in rugby and Moulton College in football.
Level 2 Hair and Media make-up students were asked to research what Pride meant and plan and design a look to celebrate Pride.
HE Travel & Tourism students recently came back from an amazing trip to the Big Apple. Their trip consisted of visiting the must see sites of New York.
To celebrate LGBT+ month, we have decorated a corridor at Bedford College with all the colours of the rainbow flag.
Former Performing Arts Student Kurt Nagy, now a professional dancer, put on a dance workshop for our Performing Arts students at Tresham College.
Pg.10
April 2020
Connect
Job
Matthew Sanders
Position: Lecturer – Travel & Tourism Location: Tresham College, Kettering Campus
Ellen O’Carroll
Position: Estates & Facilities Administrator Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Associate Invigilators There is a number of great opportunities across the Group for Associate Invigilators to become key members of the Exams department Location: Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire Salary: Hourly rate: £8.72 per hour Application closing date: 31/03/2020
Samuel Jakings
Position: Technician - Media Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Stacey Willett
Position: Learning Support Assistant Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Lewis Crancher
Position: Learning Support Assistant Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Welcome to
Ellie Flynn
Position: Executive Assistant Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Elizabeth Simpson
Position: Teaching Assistant Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Alexander Churchill
Position: Technician – Plumbing Location: Plumbing and Gas Centre, Kempston
Ami McGrath
Position: Training Coordinator – Engineering Location: Tresham College, Corby Campus
Chloe Nisbet
Position: Work Placement Coordinator Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Angelica Salavastru
Position: General Assistant Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Farayi Agbame
Position: Learning Support Assistant Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Shushma Bhanot
Position: Learning Support Assistant Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Irina Tibble
Position: Kitchen Assistant Location: Shuttleworth College
Susan Throssell-Hunt
Position: Centre Administrator Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Tanya Reeves
Position: Teacher – Health & Social Care Location: The Bedford Sixth Form
Laura Tatler
Position: Library and Learning Resources Assistant Location: Tresham College, Kettering Campus
Arun Marshall
Position: Trainee Lecturer - Plumbing Location: Tresham College, Corby Campus
Deborah Ball
Position: Teaching Assistant Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Elizabeth Lynes
Position: Learning Support Assistant Location: Bedford College, Cauldwell Street
Pg.11
Connect
Professional Training There are many opportunities for Professional Development in the workplace including, training courses and joining forums, groups and networks, etc. If you’d like more information please email nmorris@bedford.ac.uk This month we are putting a spotlight on the Women’s Staff Network.
Women’s staff network The network is available to all staff with an interest in gender equality, regardless of their own gender identity. It is a support mechanism and a collective voice for experiences in relation to women/anyone identifying as female and not a vehicle for positive discrimination in favour of women. The Chair of the network is Dawn Fitt (Training Coordinator), Deputy Chair - Hayley Wedgwood-Setchell (Quality Manager) and Executive Sponsor Sarah Baxter (Executive Director of Sales and Marketing). At the first meeting of the network, topics raised for discussion ranged from pregnancy and maternity to workplace culture (sexism, gender stereotypes) and work-life balance. The next meeting of the network is on Wednesday 29th April (alternative arrangements may be made online), 12.00pm – 1.30pm (lunch provided). The topics for the meeting are menopause in the workplace, experiences of women from BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) backgrounds and peer support. For more information, or to join the Women’s Staff Network, please contact Anastassia Parsons, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor, anparsons@bedford.ac.uk
Pg.12
Mandatory Induction Prevent
This training is about safeguarding and supporting those vulnerable to radicalisation. It’s important you understand Prevent and the role you play in helping the College meet its Prevent duty. This workshop will show you what to do if you have a concern. Visit www.tinyurl.com/v7v6rk4 to book onto the next Prevent training session.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding children and young people is everyone's responsibility because it ensures children's welfare is protected. This workshop aims to help you understand your responsibilities for safeguarding children. It explains how to recognise and respond to abuse, how to respond to a disclosure, and how to report and record concerns. Visit www.tinyurl.com/v34cnba to book onto the next Safeguarding training session.
Customer Service
Includes training on how to provide a high level of customer service, to both external and internal customers, which is one of our key objectives. This workshop will provide you the opportunity to share customer experiences and review your current knowledge, skills, and competencies required to increase our customer satisfaction. Visit www.tinyurl.com/qkcsk9b to book onto the next Customer Service training session.
Safer Recruitment
This training is aimed at those involved in staff recruitment and looks at what you need to do to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults from unsuitable people. Recruiting staff can be a lengthy and complex process. Taking a planned and structured approach to recruitment will reduce the risk of appointing someone unsuitable and help to make sure all the relevant steps are taken. Visit www.tinyurl.com/urexqef to book onto the next Safer Recruitment training session.
April 2020
Connect
Anastassia Parsons
Diversity and Inclusion Advisor aparsons@bedford.ac.uk
Diversity 30th Mar – 5th April Autism Awareness week •
Autistic people see, hear and feel the world differently to other people. If you are autistic, you are autistic for life; autism is not an illness or disease and cannot be ‘cured’. Often people feel being autistic is a fundamental aspect of their identity.
•
Over the years, different labels have been used, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), autism spectrum condition (ASC), Asperger syndrome and others, and they reflect the different diagnostic tools used, and the different autism profiles presented by individuals.
•
Thanks to the social model of disability, the term ‘neurodiversity’ has gained popularity to focus on the strengths of neurodivergent individuals (people with autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD) and to embrace and maximise the talents of people who think differently.
•
Autistic people represent a wide range of thinking styles, interests, strengths and challenges. There is a (false) stereotype of autistic people as brilliant but asocial web developers and software engineers, high on IQ and lower on emotional intelligence. Contrary to the stereotype, autistic people often feel deep emotions and empathy; they may just find it harder to express these feelings than neurotypicals. Neurodiversity and autism are separate from mental health – yet it’s also important to be aware that anxiety disorders are common among autistic people.
Religious Festivals
How can you create a more neurodiversity-aware culture in your area? •
Make adjustments to recruitment and selection (staff) and application process/interviews (students);
•
Adapt activities that emphasise social interaction / ‘ice breakers’ to suit neurodivergent people;
•
Make proactive adaptations to teaching and workplace practices: from rules on noise and interruptions, to a more sensitive approach to introducing change, providing information in advance to give people the opportunity to read and absorb in a stress-free way, adjustments to an individual’s workspace such as allowing use of a private office, or a desk by a window, role adjustments where non-core aspects of an employee’s work tasks are reassigned;
•
Use a range of communication methods and be aware of different preferences in communication styles;
•
Avoid stereotypes and jumping to assumptions about individual’s talents and career aspirations;
•
Provide mentoring and access to internal and external support networks;
•
Ensure customer interactions (marketing materials, face-to-face) are inclusive e.g. free of jargon materials with clear layout and in multiple formats, a negative body language and lack of eye contact is not necessarily because of rudeness or lack of interest;
•
Promote a supportive and inclusion culture – neurodiversity requires a different kind of support which does not mean needing more support or difficult to manage.
2nd - RAMA NAVAMI Hindu 8th - HANAMATSURI Buddhist (Japanese) 9th - 10th (14th Sha’ban) THE NIGHT OF FORGIVENESS Muslim 9th - 16th PASSOVER Jewish 12th - EASTER DAY Christian (Western Churches) 19th - EASTER Christian (Orthodox) (Rastafarian) 20th April - 1st May RIDVAN Baha’i 23rd - ST GEORGE’S DAY 24th April - 23rd May - RAMADAN Muslim The Inter Faith Network has a more detailed list of festivals and short descriptions.
Pg.13
Connect
Lynsey Travers
HR Manager (Bedfordshire) ltravers@bedford.ac.uk
Smart
Reward Gateway
The Bedford College Group Perks scheme offers a range of discounts from everyday grocery shopping to entertainment and days out. You can purchase discounted reloadable cards from high street shops and even earn cashback with certain retailers. Staff are currently spending with retailers such as Cineworld, Tesco, Currys PC World, Argos, Sainsburys, IKEA and John Lewis. You can access The Bedford College Group Perks via the Quick Links on Connect or download the ‘SmartSpending’ app through Google Play or Apple App Store.
Top Offers Save 7% at Argos Save 10% at Wickes Save up to 15% at Samsung Save 20% at Red Letter Days Earn 8% cashback at Charlotte Tilbury Please check the website or app for the latest offers
Headlines in the last 12 months 592 Orders placed £59k Spent £5.1k Saved
Pg.14
April 2020
Connect
STRONGER TOGETHER
ANNUAL REVIEW 2019 OUT NOW
Have you downloaded our annual review for 2019 and completed the survey to enter into a free prize draw (conditions apply*)?
DOWNLOAD NOW
www.bedford.ac.uk/about/annual-review-2019
*By submitting your contact details you are agreeing to us entering you into our free prize draw to win a ÂŁ50 Amazon voucher. Your data will only be used for the purpose of the competition and will not be stored or used for marketing purposes. All data will be deleted after the draw has taken place. One winner will be picked at random on Monday 4th May 2020 and notified by email. For more information about The Bedford College Group's Privacy Policy please visit www.bedford.ac.uk/footer/privacy-policy.
Pg.15
Connect
Grace Richards
Higher Education Coordinator grichards@bedford.ac.uk
update The world of Higher Education at the College is continuing at full pace. To help us in navigating this ever-changing sector, we have joined the Mixed Economy Group (MEG). The MEG specifically works alongside colleges to support staff and develop policy tailored to providers of HE in FE. One of the biggest changes for this year is the establishment of the Office for Students (OfS). Office for Students replaces the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) as the sector’s regulatory body, and brings with it a lot of new policies, including Reportable Events. The OfS defines reportable events as any event which effects our ‘ability to comply with its conditions of registration.’ Reportable events are a key way for the OfS to monitor the College and make sure it is acting compliantly. If institutions are guilty of under or over-reporting events, it could result in fines or even affect the College’s registration with the OfS, which could mean we lose our ability to apply for HE funding.
In other news, the National Student Survey (NSS) is back for 2020. As in previous years this is a great way for our final year HE students to have their say, find out what we’re doing well and what we can improve on. All of our final year HND students and Foundation Degree students are eligible, and have until the 30th April to enter the survey. All students will need their 6 digit EBS code, and head to www.thestudentsurvey.com. Whilst we welcome staff encouraging student participation in the survey, please remember that there are strict penalties if it is found that staff are influencing students to answer a certain way. For more information, please email the HE inbox at heoffice@bedford.ac.uk As always, we are continuing to broaden and improve our HE provision. From September 2020 we are excited to be working on a new flexible study HNC / HND route for Business through Pearson. Students will have the option to study all of their modules online at home, with access to College staff and resources. We are also developing a blended option with both online and classroom-based lessons.
If you work in HE across the Group and have an event to report, or would like to know more about reportable events, contact the HE Team through the reportable events inbox: reportableevents@bedford.ac.uk
Pg.16
April 2020
Connect
Jo Baxter
Director of STEM jbaxter@bedford.ac.uk
Staff
Update Gina Bubbins, Jo Baxter, Mel Tew and Dee Tait are currently heading up the wellbeing research for The Bedford College Group. Gina is the Director for Business Development, Jo is the Director for STEM, Mel HR Manager and Dee Tait a Senior HR advisor. Shaun Wilson has also been supporting the team with valued research into mental health. We have been undertaking research into wellbeing and furthering our knowledge on how to support the wellbeing of staff at The Bedford College Group. We have also been listening and collecting facts from all staff at the College to support our research so thank you for all those who have completed staff surveys or spoken directly to us. The findings of this research indicate that
we have three stands of wellbeing to work on which will include emotional (to include mental health), the people strategy and physical wellbeing. We would like to thank all of those who have already supported us with this research and have expressed an interest into this issue. We will be in contact with you shortly to discuss the next steps in the process. In addition we will be asking for further support from yourselves to champion the wellbeing project moving forward.
Pg.17
Connect
Quality Em Lowe
Vice Principal
Petra Williams Director of Quality
Anastassia Parsons
Diversity and Inclusion Advisor
John Guiney Head of Quality
Natalie Morris Quality Manager
Ella Len
Data Coordinator
Pg.18
Nicola Shortland Quality Manager
Heather Neil
Senior Quality Coordinator
Hayley Wedgwood-Setchell Quality Manager
Vacant (TBC)
Centre Administrator
April 2020