CONNECT March 2021

Tips to boost your happiness on page 4.

Lockdown 3.0 at Shuttleworth page 6.

Students volunteer at the Kettering General Hospital on page 9.

N E WS | U P DAT E S | D I A RY DAT E S | D I S CO U N TS

How We Celebrated National Apprenticeship Week 2021 National Apprenticeship Week took place from Monday 8 February to Sunday 14 February where the Group was featured in local ITV news bulletins where staff and some of our former apprentices, celebrated by taking selfies to show their support for apprenticeships.

BCS BEDFORD COLLEGE SERVICES

March 2021

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Principal’s Update

Olivia Morton

Ian Pryce CBE

Communications Executive omorton@bedford.ac.uk

Editor’s Working with our local communities

In this issue you can read how we continue to develop links with the local communities we work and live within. This varies from Volunteering at hospitals, designing poster campaigns for local support services and building on partnerships with employers in the area to improve the experiences of their staff and apprentices.

If you would like to add your staff news to the next issue of CONNECT which will be circulated at the end of March, please send your article and photos to omorton@bedford.ac.uk no later than Monday 15 March 2021.

CEO The Bedford College Group

Your Diary All staff meeting

3 March 3.00pm - 4.00pm (virtual)

Shuttleworth College Open Day

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Key Dates

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Principal’s Update

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Research

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Wellbeing

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Life in lockdown

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Group News

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Volunteering at Kettering Hospital

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Royal Society success

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Rapid Testing

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Job Opportunities

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Equality & Diversity

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Staff Perks

Doing our homework

The wrong sort of merger

At our first management briefing of the year we asked managers to discuss with you, and feedback, practices that you have adopted and enjoyed during lockdown/ working from home, that we should keep for the long term.

A number of managers have already made suggestions and all the ideas will be considered and shared in the next few months. We also asked managers to identify areas where the enforced new way of working has produced improvements in productivity or saved money.

I assume everyone has enjoyed the Handforth Parish Council fun and games (did Jackie Weaver have the authority?) and the lawyer who turned into a cat?

Our star local apprenticeship provider Weetabix won tweet of the month however with its suggestion of beans on Weetabix.

For example, online meetings can save travel costs, travel time (a hidden cost) and increase meeting attendance. Please make sure you engage with the exercise. It is important because it seems unlikely that we will fully return to the preCOVID position.

A nice day for a White Paper

16 March, 5.00pm-8.00pm (virtual)

National College for Motorsport Open Day

Contents

Principal’s

18 March, 5.00pm-7.00pm (virtual)

Tresham College Open Day

23 March, 5.00pm-8.00pm (virtual)

Bedford College Open Day

24 March, 5.00pm-8.00pm (virtual)

Easter Break

You will hear much about the government White Paper “Skills for Jobs” that proposes colleges and employers at the heart of a new skills system, building on the work of the Commission for the College of the Future. The paper envisages a key role for colleges but also for Chambers of Commerce and local employers to create a local skills improvement plan. It also proposes a lifetime skills guarantee (access to loans) and a push on higher technical qualifications. We will set out the proposals in more depth at our next staff meeting.

Computer says …Yes!

w/c 29 March

For more diary dates visit www.bit.ly/collegecalendars

It was pleasing to get over 300 laptops from the DfE to help the most disadvantaged students cope with lockdown. Colleges were only included in the scheme last month but at least delivery was speedy even if the wait to be included was long. They will make a big difference to the students.

Upstairs, Downstairs The Bedford Sixth Form has shown exceptional growth this year. Although the building is photogenic it has all the problems you would expect of an old building. We have therefore agreed to invest heavily in developing the remaining upstairs wing, to cope with extra students, but will also look to make important repairs throughout the site.

Perhaps BCS Ltd will put it on their menu when we return? But if you want something to make you smile, dig out the tweet and all the hilarious replies.

Double whammy As UK College of the Year the media is keen to report our views on further education topics. We even managed to appear in the two main FE journals on the same day. The links are here if you’d like to see them. https://feweek.co.uk/2021/02/03/profile-ian-pryce-chiefexecutive-the-bedford-college-group/ https://www.tes.com/news/education-shouldnt-be-aboutpandering-employer-need

Did you know you can follow Ian on Twitter?

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Rachel Nicol

Director of Governance and Clerk to the Corporation rnicol@bedford.ac.uk

Corporation

Sam Jones MSc (Oxon)

Research Paradigm

The Corporation are continuing to achieve excellent governance oversight through a full cycle of virtual meetings. The retirements from the Board of Stewart Briggs and Sulaman Sunny were noted in December 2020.

Research can be an off-putting word. If you Google the word it’s actually defined in fairly simple terms; studying an issue in an organised way to establish facts and new conclusions.

The Board is currently recruiting to a number of external governor vacancies and continues to work closely with Anastassia Parsons to develop a board that reflects the diversity of our student population and inspire tomorrow’s leaders. Please support us by passing on contacts from your own networks and by forwarding any recruitment material when it is posted on LinkedIn.

The problem, is that research doesn’t really look that simple. Educational research for example is often hidden in journals, written in language which can be excluding and restricted by gatekeepers who have very definite ideas of ‘what counts’ as research. Alternatively, it is huge pieces of work, so large in scale that no one person could undertake the work alone, and as such is served up as a monolithic, incontestable ‘truth’.

All Governors miss contact with staff and students on campus but are delighted to be joined in meetings by staff Governors, Amanda Wagstaff and Melissa Peacock and students, Lauren Newman and Abi Stevens. If there are any online events you feel they would enjoy, particularly with your students, please send me the details.

As well as overseeing management of Group operations the Corporation continue to work with the Executive to develop the strategic plan from 2022. A development afternoon in November saw presentations and discussion with Rob Bridge (the new CEO of North Northamptonshire Unitary Council) and Bob Harrison (from Support for Education and Training) on the digital future for FE. The Group’s digital strategy will be taken forward as part of the strategic planning process.

Governors will receive briefings on the internal research projects, as well as the wider strategic context such as that set out in the Skills for the Future White Paper. Such briefing will inform the strategic decisions in due course.

For more information on Corporation matters please contact the Director of Governance & Clerk to the Corporation, Rachel Nicol on rnicol@bedford.ac.uk

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Caroline Biddle

Advanced Practitioner - Research and Scholarship Lead TES FE Awards - Teacher of the year 2019 sjones@bedford.ac.uk

Executive Director of Human Resources cbiddle@bedford.ac.uk

Be Kind The death of celebrity Caroline Flack a year ago, brought the notion of ‘Be Kind’ to the fore again, with many online campaigns and initiatives. Little did we know at that point how hard a year we had ahead of us and how important kindness would be to all of us.

Research from The Harvard Business School shows that carrying out an act of kindness provides people with greater happiness than having kindness shown to them and furthermore, because of this feeling of happiness they were more likely to carry out more acts of kindness.

Can’t out conception of it be broader? Why isn’t updating your subject knowledge and systematically building it into your curriculum or classroom practice counted if you can get a PhD from trying out one person’s theory in a new context?

The fact is it could. In fact there is no reason why we could not begin to develop models of research or enquiry that fit our sector. This would allow staff working in the sector to build up banks of knowledge of what we do that is good and worthwhile, rather than being told what is good and worthwhile but outside agencies. This would allow us to refute and rebut rather than passively or grudgingly accept. It is an interesting proposition and one that could benefit our students and their educational experiences.

March 2021

Let your partner know they look great or next time you video chat a friend find something nice to say about them. We all like a compliment here and there!

Smile Smiling is infectious – the more you smile, the more those around you will smile as well.

So, if you’d like a little happiness boost try some of these, or come up with some of your own – the more variety the better!

Contact someone who may be lonely The pandemic, and particularly lockdown, have left some people alone and isolated. Take time to telephone or video call someone for a chat on a regular basis.

Both discourses can lock out the practitioners themselves, pushing those actually undertaking the educational work to the position of consumer of a higher level of knowledge that is so carefully gatekept and curated. But this doesn’t need to be the case.

If research is about taking a sensible, organised approach to establishing facts, can’t things be done at a small scale and built, in the same way knowledge based case law is built?

Pay a few compliments

Support a Neighbour There may be an elderly person in your street, or someone who has difficulty getting to the shops – offer to do their shopping when you go to the supermarket, or add it to your online order.

Maybe just take them some flowers or a sweet treat.

Express your gratitude Saying “thank you” and “please” are like the oil that lubricates the engine of human interaction. Works every time!

Donate to charity There is an intrinsic value in helping others who need support and at the same time you’ll give yourself a mental boost.

Drive with kindness Lots of opportunities here, stop in a high street to enable someone to park easily, let someone out into traffic, smile and acknowledge other drivers being kind or just be patient when somebody gets in the wrong lane or makes an error.

Try to do one or two of these acts of kindness every week.

Change it up each time. Look at what you get for a few acts of kindness. Your mental and physical health will improve. You are less likely to suffer from heart disease, blood pressure, stress, and depression. It’s a bargain- go for it!

Source: Robert Locke, author of Ziger the Tiger Stories, a health enthusiast specialising in relationships, life improvement and mental health.

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Group News Catherine Lloyd

Director of Land Based Studies clloyd@bedford.ac.uk

article demonstrates TV shortcomings

Life in Lockdown 3.0 During the third lockdown, work has continued at Shuttleworth to look after the animals and plants. The challenges are different this time to the first lockdown, as last March we were heading into spring and the better weather, but this time we have been firmly in winter.

Lambing is underway at Kinghshill Farm with just under 250 ewes expected to give birth to around 380 lambs.

Despite students not being with us, we are collecting videos and even attempting lessons live from the lambing yard!! The ewes are Suffolk X Mules, all in lamb to Charollais rams.

The recently installed weather station at Kingshill is producing really useful data. This is a fantastic addition to the farm and we are looking at ways to use this information going forwards in terms of both farm operations and student projects. Last year we planted areas to provide winter bird food on the farm, which along with putting out supplementary feed is supporting wild birds during the cold weather.

Zoological Education Centre external enclosures and landscaping are now well established providing an excellent resource for students and we received extremely positive feedback from the students last term. Our tropical bird flights have been successfully completed and we hope to encourage training and breeding opportunities for endangered species in the spring. The staff have been looking after our vast collection of animals during lockdown, it is certainly a varied job, from wallabies in the paddocks through to frogs in the amphibian zone.

Writing a critique of the world famous TV programme The Simpsons, has led to teacher Ricky Kingshott being featured in the Media Magazine.

The publication is essential reading for students at The Bedford Sixth working towards an A-Level in Media.

artwork Art students of The Bedford Sixth Form have created some original works based on the Progress Pride flag as part of UK LGBT+ History month.

The fantastic entries were judged by successful designer David Litchfield www.davidlitchfieldillustration.com/ Art teacher Natalie Wells collated the entries into a virtual gallery. The Top 3, were awarded Amazon voucher prizes.

After seeing a news story about how actor Hank Azaria was no longer going to voice the character of Apu, Ricky contacted the Editor of Media Magazine and proposed an article examining the range of stereo types within the show.

“I’m a big fan of The Simpsons, but it has been going for 30 years and some of the representations are not in line with current attitudes.”

ISLA MURPHY

MILLIE ANDERSON

said Ricky.

Activity has been continuing in the walled garden area, with filming of practical demonstrations to share with the students. There is a lot of work looking after the large collection of stock plants ready for when students return to college. The picture shows a flowering Crassula ovata from the Agronomy greenhouse.

RUBY COLLINS

February is a busy month for the Shuttleworth’s herd of Red Poll Cattle. The four yearly herd’s Bovine Tuberculosis test is carried out this month, with all cattle also being blood tested for four of the major cattle diseases in order to (hopefully) maintain our Elite Herd Health status. The first of the cows are due to calve at the end of the month.

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“When studying Media, students are encouraged to think about how certain groups are represented. In the case of The Simpsons, billionaires, police and politicians, who wield great power in society, are worthy targets of satire.

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“However, most of the stereotypes target subordinate groups who are already marginalised, such as the South Asian American community, as represented by Apu, as well as America’s poorest community, through Cletus Spuckler, a redneck outrageously nicknamed the ‘slack jawed yokel’.”

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We love As part of our National Apprenticeship Week celebrations on Monday 8 February to Sunday 14 February, we asked staff and some of our own former apprentices to get involved by taking a picture to show their support for apprenticeships.

Alongside the escape room activities major employers also hosted their own events which have been supported by the Business Development team:

With the last day of National Apprenticeship Week falling on Valentine’s Day, it was nice to show how much we love apprenticeships here at The Bedford College Group. Check out some of the pictures sent in by staff below!

planned a promotional video of their apprentices that is being sent to schools and colleges.

Bedfordshire’s Millbrook Proving Ground

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Weetabix, Burton Latimer Northants

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Leonardo, Luton, Beds aerospace defence & security

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Tata Steel, Corby Northants

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Goldington Academy, Bedford

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Lockheed Martin, Ampthill, Beds

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Shefford Town Council, Beds

during latest lockdown A Ward Host scheme has enabled 67 students from Tresham College to support busy Kettering General Hospital staff during the COVID-19 pandemic which began on 22 January as part of the Ward Host scheme.

The students all from Tresham College, aged 16-35, help staff with patients at mealtimes, make drinks, chat and provide company for them – a comfort which helps them to feel less nervous in the hospital environment.

Weetabix, Northants

Our apprentices took part in events and activities as part of the Beds & Northants celebrations from the following employers:

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March 2021

and Lockheed Martin offered to do a virtual apprenticeship spotlight with our full-time students.

Lockheed Martin

of Ampthill, ran an Early Careers celebration week from 16th February included our apprentices.

They also help patients access schemes like Virtual Visiting – where people use KGH computer tablets to contact relatives. (visiting has currently been suspended during the latest lockdown at the hospital except in exceptional cases such as end of life care) The scheme offers students valuable work experience and help to free-up ward staff to concentrate on clinical care.

Senior A&E Sister Deborah Wale said: “We can be really busy in A&E and have lots of elderly patients. The Student Ward Hosts are playing a really valuable role in providing company for our patients who may be quite nervous and also helping us by performing some of the tasks which take us away from clinical care.”

KGH’s Head of Education, Sheila Turner said: “We contacted Tresham College at the end of December to ask if their Health & Social Care students would take part in an industry placement role to support our ward staff during the current period of significant COVID-related pressure on the hospital.

Apprentices and employers joined in a great activity as part of our National Apprenticeship Week celebrations - a virtual Escape Room challenge played out by staff at Twinwoods Adventures.

We have worked closely with the College to fit students to our Ward Host role which is really helping us to maximise our support for patients and our own staff at this difficult time. Together we have developed an induction process where students are briefed in food hygiene, risk, and hospital procedures.

Players from Twinwoods, with head cameras, acted as the “action actors” taking instructions via live feed online acted instructions from the teams. The finale was a 125ft real life drop taken by the “actors”.

Sarah Nolan, Head of Health, Care and Early Years at Tresham College, added: “The students are loving the work and really feel they are making a contribution. They have received a very warm welcome from staff and they are really pleased to help out and see, first hand, what sort of opportunities working in healthcare provides.

We didn’t hold back on telling students how hard the work would be. Their enthusiasm and desire to help has bowled over many KGH staff. I am so proud of how well the students have behaved and how professional they have been.”

Staff from College will continue to work with KGH to recruit more students to support the Ward Host scheme over the coming weeks and months.

One of the Ward Host’s patients, Pete Chapman, 48, from Market Harborough, came to hospital after a relapse with his multiple sclerosis. He said: “I had a good 20 minute chat with Tricia this morning. It’s really good to talk. It does give you a lift when you are alone in hospital.”

Sir Thomas Moore Ward Sister Tracy Bees said: “It is great having that extra pair of hands to help with all of our everyday tasks. It really helps to take the pressure off. The students are all very keen, happy and smile a lot, which is lovely and helps to boost everyone’s mood.”

To continue the celebrations, the Group is launching its own virtual ‘Apprenticeship April’ event aimed at school and college leavers, parent, carers, schools and employers. This is being offered to all schools in our area, and so far we are receiving a great response helping us to make sure that young people recognise the potential of apprenticeships, how they can lead to degree-level learning and are a real alternative to university.

Students follow the same infection control and COVIDtesting procedures as staff and are supervised to ensure safe working.

Tresham College Head of Health Care and Early Years Sarah Nolan and Ward Host Daisy Saunders outside A&E

Student Ward Host Daisy Saunders with Janice Arnold and Paramedic Jadene Smith in A&E.

They have been taught and assessed to wear appropriate PPE to the areas they are working in which include eight wards, A&E, pathology and physiotherapy.”

Healthcare Assistant Diane Bristow, Student Ward Host Tricia Bonifacio, and patient Pete Chapman in Sir Thomas Moore Ward.

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Royal Society Tresham College Art & Design technician Katie Brosnan has been shortlisted for the Royal Society “Young People’s Book Prize”

comprehend the significance of our microbiome – it helps to educate the future generation about science fields with emergent interest.”

Katie Brosnan is an author and illustrator who has ‘always been a little bit short’ and appreciates the smaller things in life. She has a long-standing fascination with microbes and their superpowers. She loves absorbing information and trying to make it as fun and accessible as possible.

Katie achieved an MA in Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art in 2018. She was one of the UK winners in the ‘Picture This!’ competition and highly commended in the Macmillan prize for Illustration in the same year.

When she isn’t drawing or working on books, she helps to run workshops for children and likes to make her own fermented foods full of microbes in her home in Kettering, Northamptonshire.

Gut Garden is her first non-fiction book, it was long-listed for the School Library Association Information Book Award in 2020.

https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/bookprizes/young-peoples-book-prize/ Gut Garden: A Journey into the Wonderful World of Your Microbiome by Katie, is a visual exploration of the universe that exists within human bodies.

Bodies hide an entire world of organisms called microbes.

They boost immune systems, digest food, regulate metabolism and even impact on mental health.

The Young People’s Book Prize aims to promote literacy in young people and to inspire them to read about science. It also supports the writing of excellent, accessible STEM books for under-14s. The prize is unique in that the winner is selected by judging panels made up of young people at schools across the country from a shortlist curated by an adult judging panel.

Now it’s over to the scrutinising eyes of over 13,000 young judges, drawn from over 500 schools, science centres, and community groups from across the UK, to read and declare their champion. The winner will be announced at a virtual award ceremony taking place midMarch 2021.

raises awareness of local support services Staff from the Production Arts Level 3 at Tresham College in Kettering have been working with local support service, Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse Services (NDAS) to provide good work experience opportunities and create powerful images to be shared on social media pages to raise awareness of the service within the local community.

Last year Zoe, a representative from NDAS, worked with staff and students to provide a brief for students to create images as a live project for a client that provides a support service for victims of domestic abuse and their families in Northamptonshire.

Students set to work on creating the make-up looks on themselves more recently due to COVID-19, however at the end of last year students were able to work with friends/family members of the same household or bubble modelling for them.

NDAS is extremely pleased with the work produced by Tresham College students.

Rapid Testing Goes Live At

Our first rapid testing hub went live at the Kettering campus on 15 January and was quickly followed by our hubs in Bedford and Shuttleworth going live the week after.

Additionally, a provision for 7 members of staff at Corby to be tested was also co-ordinated by the Kettering team.

Mel Tew from Human Resources has been leading the Kettering team, with Amanda Riches from BCS leading the Bedford Team and Barrie Baldwin from Health & Safety with Margaret Currie from Central Admin leading the team at Shuttleworth – we could not have achieved setting these hubs up without our team leaders and are extremely grateful for the additional work they have taken on to implement this project.

Our teams have been made up of a mixture of core staff who have volunteered to take on this additional work, BCS staff who have returned from furlough to support us and Associates who have provided valuable hour and we are very appreciative of every single one of them and the efforts they have put in.

In the first month the teams have carried out 410 staff tests and 40 student tests for those currently attending our campuses.

We would like to thank everyone for their hard work in this project.

ISBN: 978-1908714725

Through Katie Brosnan’s personable illustrations, the book follows the digestive process from the moment food enters the mouth to when waste leaves. Along the way the book explains about this fascinating scientific frontier and gives an insight into the vast ecosystem that exists inside the human body.

The shortlist was selected by an adult judging panel, chaired by Professor Mike Kendall FRS, including Cressida Cowell, the Waterstones Children’s Laureate and authorillustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon books, and former Blue Peter presenter and author Konnie Huq. Judge Cressida Cowell, Waterstones Children’s Laureate, said: “This book was very interesting, the wonderful little characters brought it to life. The field is growing, with scientists only now beginning to Pg.10

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March 2021

Claiming Tax Relief

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Since janaury we have been working on improving and developing the Group’s CONNECT intranet to ensure that it is a valuable resource for all staff to use and contribute towards.

HMRC have now set up a quick and easy online process to make this claim that can be accessed via GOV.UK This link should take you directly to the page providing guidance on making a claim, but if you encounter any problems it can also be found by typing ‘claim tax relief for your job expenses’ in the search box on the main GOV. UK page.

The College moved to working from home arrangements in full for the majority of its staff on Wednesday 25 March 2020 following closure during Tuesday 24 March 2020.

From 6 April 2020 the tax relief is based on £6 per week or £26 per month and prior to this was £4 per week or £18 per month.

The online process is quick and easy and those eligible will receive their full entitlement by an adjustment to their tax code.

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Peace Nwafor

Position: Lecturer - Applied Science

Course Manager in Travel

Position: Head of Bedford Sixth Form

Position: Technician - Fisheries

Helen Smith

Location: Bedford Salary: £31,000 - £33,000 per annum, depending on experience Application closing date: 01/03/2021

Angelina Talbot

Course Manager in Uniformed Public Services

Rebecca Whitehead

» View and apply for our full-time and part-time vacancies via The Bedford College Group vacancy portal which can be found on CONNECT staff intranet.

At the staff meeting earlier in the year it was outlined that whilst working from home, staff will be able to claim tax relief on additional household expenses incurred, such as heating and lighting.

Position: Library & Learning Resources Support Assistant

Luke Sims

Location: Bedford Salary: Associate - (Unqualified) £20.50 per hour Associate - (Qualified PGCE/Cert Ed or equivalent) £21.50 per hour Application closing date: 03/03/2021

If you need any assistance in this please email omorton@bedford.ac.uk. How To Guides are also available, including the Q&A section to support the search function which is accessed via the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of CONNECT homepage.

Abigail Monaghan

Location: Bedford Salary: £8.72 per hour Application closing date: 28/02/2021

Associate Lecturer in Early Years and Health and Social

When uploading documents or any content, you will also be required to add ‘tags’ for the content so it will appear much more easily in searches made by colleagues.

Position: Maths Tutor

Position: Personal Achievement Tutor

Location: Bedford Salary: £31,000 - £33,000 per annum, depending on experience Application closing date: 01/03/2021

Please can all departments check that their areas documents, policies and department information is valid and up to date within your dedicated areas, deleting any documents that are no longer relevant. This is extremely important to ensure that when colleagues search for the documents or news, only the correct information is shown.

Lorraine Marsland

Hannah Northall Associate Student Support Assistant

CONNECT intranet was introduced in September 2017 following the formation of The Bedford College Group and since then it has become one of the main sources of information, news from across the Group, documents, policies and more.

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Welcome to Lee Beaumont

Position: Training Co-ordinator - Electrical Installation

Stephanie Bland

Position: HR Assistant

Michael Turner

Position: Lecturer - Computing Position: Practical Instructor

Training Quality Update

Planning has now begun for the Virtual Summer Staff Conference which will be held on Thursday 1 July 2021.

To support this planning we are interested to hear what you would like to see at this year’s Conference.

Please send any ideas you have for the Conference to professionaldevelopment@bedford.ac.uk by Friday 5 March 2021 If you would like to be considered as a member of the Conference Working Group, please email professionaldevelopment@bedford.ac.uk by Friday 5 March 2021

Professional Development Update Professional Development workshops spaces are still available:

Safeguarding

Position: Student Experience Advisor

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1 March

Robert Gammon

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10 March

Angela Harding

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19 April

Position: Team Leader - Library & Learning Resources

Safer Recruitment

Jonathan Harrison

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8 March

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21 April

Position: Estates & Facilities Assistant

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18 May

Swati Kamble

For more information visit the Professional Development pages on the intranet or email professionaldevelopment@bedford.ac.uk

Position: Estates & Facilities Coordinator

Position: Lecturer - Maths

George Harrison

Position: Maths Tutor

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Promoting LGBT+ diversity and inclusion

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A project for students to wear a colour of the rainbow flag each day www.instagram.com/p/CKwa_h_ HWcS/?igshid=laivqhj21hz. The project also involves sharing of stories from famous LGBT+ film makers and memorable film and TV moments from history.

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A series of articles on the intranet for staff to encourage LGBT+ allyship including recommendations for books, films, podcasts and articles; Using pronouns in email signatures; Performative allyship / genuine allyship; Why LGBT+ History is different to Pride month

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Ebooks on LGBT+ themes are made available for students and staff

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Articles in Connect staff newsletter featuring LGBT+ student reps explaining what inclusion means to them.

Link to the College’s website for highlights from our journey www.bedford.ac.uk/about/equality-and-diversity/ lgbtplus-inclusion Here are several examples from this year’s activities to celebrate LGBT+ History Month in 2021:

Anastassia Parsons

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND WHAT INCLUSION MEANS TO ME Diversity is a fact, inclusion is an act. In other words, diversity is the measure of how inclusive the way we interview and recruit, conduct our meetings, communicate with students and colleagues, line-manage and evaluate others’ performance and so on.

Susan Throssell-Hunt (Centre Administrator and Co-chair of the Women’s staff network)

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A panel discussion with external panellists ‘Let’s talk about being LGBT+’

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A work experience project for Art & Design students to create a banner for the College’s website to celebrate LGBT+ history month, with the winning piece being voted for by students on our social media channels

DIVERSITY CALENDAR Gender equality is not a women’s issue, it is everyone’s issue.

Emma O’Brien (Women’s Representative for Students, The Bedford Sixth Form

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A talk with Sue Sanders, one of the founders of LGBT+ History Month

8th International Women’s Day

In this edition of the inclusion series, we bring the personal perspective of Emma O’Brien and Susan Throssell-Hunt.

“Inclusion is so much more than being part of something.

It is the feeling of belonging in a place and being welcomed every time you walk in a room, the burst of pride you get when someone recognises the little academic milestones you reach no matter how small. We often make the mistake that inclusion is only significant when it comes to large groups. When I first joined the Sixth Form, coming from a school out of the area I knew nobody, the thought of this was extremely daunting as it was out of my comfort zone, but from the minute I walked in, I was welcomed by others who shared my situation and I immediately met a lovely group of people. This might only seem small, but it has changed my view on a lot of things. Never be afraid to introduce yourself and even have a small chat with someone - you never know how it can impact them when they feel like they are part of something even if it is only small!”

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“Inclusivity needs to be the cornerstone of everything we do and take part in. It means remembering that every person is an individual with their own passions, thoughts, struggles and stories to tell. It means embracing our differences, including them in everything we do and not letting them divide us from one another. It means waiting, caring, understanding and above all, including everyone in everything no matter how long it takes to get it right.

I have been part of an international organisation for over 28 years where we work together to get inclusivity right.

This is a work in progress, and we are learning all the time. For example, in meetings, everyone gets an equal amount of time to speak. People may decide not to use their time, but the space will be there, even if they don’t have much to say; some people take longer to gather their thoughts than others. No one speaks twice unless everyone has spoken (or had the chance to) once. We have an interpretation team where language liberation is seen as imperative to the good functioning of an organisation, irrelevant if someone ‘needs’ interpretation.

This all takes time and patience, and meetings are slowed right down – not hugely conducive to the society we live in – hence why I think a fully inclusive society would be very different to the one we live in now.”

March 2021

The theme this year, #ChooseToChallenge, aims to inspire each one of us to help create a gender equal world. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias, stereotypes and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements and help create a more inclusive world. www.internationalwomensday.com

What can you do in practice?

Use gender-inclusive language such as ‘everyone’, ‘students’, ‘people’ and ‘visitor’ Challenge sexist language and gender stereotypes: “Man up, big boys don’t cry”, “You throw like a girl”, “boy’s colour” or “girl’s book” Use the stories of role models to inspire young people for gender ‘non-traditional’ careers Review your area for gender inclusion: uniforms, access to toilets and changing rooms of equal quality, displays and curriculum materials Discuss perceptions of behaviour based on gender stereotypes that may influence your behaviour management and outcomes for students.

Women’s staff network The network is an inclusive group available to all members of staff in The Bedford College Group with an interest in gender equality, regardless of own gender identity. It is an open group and staff are invited to join in at any time.

The group provides support and a collective voice for the experiences of women from all backgrounds and anyone identifying as female in the College. The network does not endorse positive discrimination in favour of women.

Interested? Please contact Susan Throssell-Hunt or Hayley Wedgwood-Setchell (Co-chairs of the network).

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Connect

Religious Festivals

Connect

March 2021

PERKS

1 Mar - ST DAVID’S DAY Christian 11 Mar - THE PROPHET’S NIGHT JOURNEY and ASCENT Muslim 17 Mar - ST PATRICK’S DAY Christian 20 Mar - SPRING EQUINOX Pagan/ VERNAL EQUINOX

Druid/ SHUNBUN NO HI Japanese/ NAW-RUZ Baha’i

28 Mar – 4 Apr PASSOVER / PESACH Jewish 28/29 Mar - HOLI / Hindu 28/29 Mar - HOLI / Hindu 29 Mar - HOLA MAHALLA/HOLA MOHALLA Sikh

Lynsey Travers

29 Mar - THE NIGHT OF FORGIVENESS Muslim

HR Manager - Human Resources

The Inter Faith Network has a more detailed list of festivals and short descriptions.

Rewards for staff at Bedford College Group – Saving you money everyday

Staff are currently spending with retailers such as Currys PC World, Argos, Sainsburys, IKEA , Tesco and many more.

The Bedford College Group Perks scheme offers a range of discounts from everyday grocery shopping to DIY to household utilities.

You can access Bedford College Group Perks via the Quick Links on Connect or download the ‘SmartSpending’ app through Google Play or Apple App Store!

You can purchase discounted reloadable cards from high street shops and even earn cashback with certain retailers!

In the last 12 months £66.5k Spent £66.5k Spent

£4.7k Saved

• Earn £70 cashback on BT Broadband • Earn 6% cashback at JD Sports • Save 5% at B&Q • Earn 8% cashback at Charlotte Tilbury • Save 20% on all appliances with a discount code at Hotpoint Please check the website or app for the latest offers

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March 2021

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