Life in lockdown

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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. 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!

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

• Weetabix, Burton Latimer Northants • Leonardo, Luton, Beds aerospace defence & security • Tata Steel, Corby Northants • Goldington Academy, Bedford • Lockheed Martin, Ampthill, Beds • Shefford Town Council, Beds 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. 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. 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”. Alongside the escape room activities major employers also hosted their own events which have been supported by the Business Development team:

Weetabix, Northants

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

Bedfordshire’s Millbrook Proving Ground

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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