CONNECT November 2021

Drinking and your wellbeing on page 4

Celebrating Black History Month on page 9

Professional development opportunities on page 13

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

L-R: Ian Pryce and David Wilkins from TBCG, Judith Barker - SEMLEP, Mark Farmer, Andrew Rowe - The Connolly Foundation, Charles Whitbread - Wixamtree Trust The Connolly Centre for Modern Construction officially opened on Wednesday 20 October 2021. Read more on page 7.

BCS BEDFORD COLLEGE SERVICES

November 2021

Connect

Casey Essom

Corporate Communications Assistant cessom@bedford.ac.uk

Editor’s

Your November Issue of CONNECT Magazine

In this month’s issue, find out more about the official opening of the Group’s new Connolly Centre for Modern Construction. Also in this issue, we have included information about professional development opportunities and how to save on a selection of high street brands this month.

If you would like to add your staff news to the next issue of CONNECT, please send your article and photos to cessom@bedford.ac.uk no later than Tuesday 16th November 2021.

Your Diary GCSE Exams

W/c Monday 1 November

Bedford College Open Event Tuesday 9 November, 5.00pm-8.00pm

Contents Pg.2

Key Dates

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Principal’s Update

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Wellbeing

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ConcernLINE

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Corporation News

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Group News

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Apprenticeship Excellence Award

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Job Opportunities

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Professional Development Update

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Diversity Calendar for November

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Staff Perks

HE Student Rep Training Wednesday 10 November

The Bedford Sixth Form Open Event Thursday 11 November, 5.00pm-8.00pm

Shuttleworth College Open Event

Saturday 13 November, 9.30am-12.30pm

Tresham College, Corby Open Event Tuesday 16 November, 5.00pm-8.00pm

Achievements Ceremony (online) Thursday 18 November

Tresham College, Wellingborough Open Event Tuesday 23 November, 5.00pm-8.00pm

Tresham College, Kettering Open Event Wednesday 24 November, 5.00pm-8.00pm

National College for Motorsport Open Event Tuesday 30 November, 5.00pm-7.00pm

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

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November 2021

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Principal’s Update

Ian Pryce CBE

CEO The Bedford College Group

Principal’s Welcome Nadhim

As I am sure you are all aware our new Secretary of State for Education is Nadhim Zahawi. We also have a new Minister for Higher and Further Education, Michelle Donelan. Nadhim and Michelle replace Gavin Williamson and Gillian Keegan respectively.

The change at the top doesn’t change the issues we are facing in further education, and the College is involved in lobbying for funding for the educational recovery the country needs as well as fighting to protect BTECs and similar wellregarded qualifications.

It has become a tradition that I write a song for each new Secretary of State, which you can find here:

Gender equality

The Group is obliged to report its gender pay gap each year.

The key measure, the mean pay gap, is not perfect but it is a useful indicator.

The education sector has one of the worst gaps of any industry at over 20%. I am pleased to report that our mean pay gap narrowed over the last year for the Group to 3.7%. Many of our staff are employed by BCPS Ltd and the mean pay gap was actually negative at -2.8%. These are strong figures that underline our commitment to gender equality. The race equality working group is looking now at ethnicity pay gaps in the same way.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPE6OKWo_Eg

Picking up the pieces

Many private training providers have struggled to survive the impact of Covid, and we see it as our job to try to help apprentices left stranded where that happens in our community. A major provider in Northamptonshire, Nital Ltd, recently closed, and I am really pleased that our apprenticeships team worked quickly with our subsidiary company Aston Training and has been able to offer training to a large number of the apprentices affected.

Educational philosophy

Given our size and the number of colleges, schools, training companies and subsidiaries that now form The Bedford College Group, we want to bind us together by developing an educational philosophy. Petra Williams is leading on this and we hope many will contribute to the project. We think this will show our communities what we stand for, and also help when staff join by setting out what is important to us and how we approach curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment.

Picture shows the new Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi

Recent articles I have written for the sector https://feweek.co.uk/the-governments-fe-policy-isdangerously-wishful-thinking/ https://www.fenews.co.uk/featured-article/77711-let-sstop-being-so-quick-to-axe-funding-when-colleges-falter

Did you know you can follow Ian on Twitter?

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November 2021

Caroline Biddle

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

ALCOHOL AND YOUR MOOD: Alcohol Awareness Week takes place from 15-21 November and is a chance for the UK to get thinking about drinking. It’s a week of raising awareness and campaigning for change.

Although we don’t always think of it as such, alcohol is a psychoactive substance, meaning it can radically change the way we think and feel. Here, we look at some of the ways that alcohol can change our mood and our behaviour, and how it does that.

Picking up the pieces

The human brain uses a number of chemicals – known as neurotransmitters – to carry messages. One of the most important of these is dopamine, which is often thought of as a ‘happy hormone’. When we start drinking alcohol, our bodies produce extra dopamine, which travels to the parts of the brain known as ‘reward centres’ – the bits that make us feel good and make us want to do more of whatever we’re doing. So, our first couple of drinks are likely to make us feel good. They’re also likely to make us want more to drink. However, if we continue drinking, the dopamine high will eventually be pushed aside by the less pleasant effects of alcohol: confusion, clumsiness, nausea and dehydration.

Loss of inhibitions

Alcohol is sometimes described as a ‘disinhibitor’ – it makes us less cautious and more inclined to do things we would normally be shy or hesitant about. Sometimes, we might be quite glad of that. Sometimes it can lead us to do things that may be a bit annoying but not particularly problematic, like singing loudly or talking too much.

Other times, the consequences can be more serious, for example, if we say something hurtful we regret later on, or try to drive ourselves home.

Alcohol is also a depressant and slows down the parts of the brain where we make decisions and consider consequences, making us less likely to think about what might happen if we do something.

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Depression

Although alcohol is often described as a ‘depressant’, that’s not quite the same as saying it will make you depressed. In small doses, alcohol can make you feel quite cheerful for a short while. What alcohol does though is depress the body’s central nervous system – the system that lets our brain tell our body what to do. That means that alcohol makes us less coordinated, more accident-prone, and less aware of danger.

However, alcohol can make us feel depressed too. The hangover after a heavy drinking session can be a thoroughly miserable experience. A combination of dehydration, low blood sugar, and various by-products of alcohol can leave us struggling to move or think.

Over the longer term, the body becomes used to the dopamine boosts it’s getting from alcohol, and starts making less dopamine to compensate. That means that if drinking becomes a habit, we may become dopamine-deficient and this could contribute to us experiencing low mood.

Anxiety

Alcohol has been described as a ‘favourite coping mechanism’ in the UK and is commonly used to try and manage stress and anxiety, particularly in social situations, giving us what’s sometimes called ‘Dutch courage’. Since alcohol can increase the body’s production of dopamine and serotonin, two of the body’s ‘happy hormones’, it can temporarily make us feel less anxious.

Long-term drinking, however, can lower levels of both these hormones as well as lowering blood sugar and increasing dehydration, leading to worse anxiety. There is also a risk of becoming reliant on alcohol to manage anxiety, leading to other physical and mental health problems.

What to do if you’re struggling

If you are feeling anxious, low or experiencing any other symptoms of mental health problems, or you think that you are drinking too much, you deserve support. You can speak to your GP and get advice and help at www.mind.org.uk You can also find further information and advice on the Alcohol Change UK website.

November 2021

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ConcernLINE The Bedford College Group is committed to providing a workplace that protects its employees from detrimental behaviours such as discrimination, bullying and harassment, sexual misconduct or any behaviour that would concern individuals and make them feel unsafe.

We also understand that it can sometimes be difficult to have the confidence to report this behaviour.

That is why we are introducing a confidential hotline called ConcernLINE to support such reporting. The hotline will enable employees to leave details of their concerns whilst making the choice of whether they wish to remain anonymous in doing so.

The hotline will be available for employees to call 24 hours a day, every day of the year and messages will then be picked up by the HR Managers within the HR team during working hours Monday to Friday.

The line will go straight to a voicemail facility where people can leave details of the concern/incident they wish to report and HR will look into the matter.

To enable this to be as effective as possible, it is useful to provide as much detail as you possibly can.

Useful details will include (but is not limited to):

• The names, role and departments of individua(s) involved • Date(s) and time(s) of events • Details of exactly what took place or continues to take place • Details of any witnesses who may be able to assist when HR look into the matter This confidential hotline is being launched following feedback received from individual employees and our staff forums and is not intended to replace existing systems or processes such as Have Your Say or the grievance procedure, but is an additional support for those not feeling as confident in reporting through existing routes.

ConcernLINE External phone number: 01234 291008 Internal Extension: 5008

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November 2021

NOVEMBER Rachel Nicol

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

News We’re very pleased to welcome the Bedford College Services (BCS) staff back after the summer break. BCS provide hospitality, leisure and entertainment services to The Bedford College Group and external customers with a view of delivering significant educational funding to the Group.

Services that BCS provide include swim and fitness facilities with a 25m swimming pool, sports hall and gym; hospitality and catering in the form of the Munch & Mocha cafeterias and private function catering; and meetings and events facilities. The Venue Hub caters for a variety of event needs whilst The Grand Hall can host weddings and celebrations.

The BCS Board is pleased to welcome two new governors this year, Simon Cox and Phil Gudgeon. Simon has extensive experience in marketing and financial management within the leisure and hospitality industry, and Phil brings management operations experience to the role from a family run business.

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

All month - Movember https://uk.movember.com/

Thursday 4 November National Stress Awareness Day https://www.awarenessdays.com/ awareness-days-calendar/national-stressawareness-day-2021/ Monday 15 - Friday 19 November Anti-Bullying Week https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/antibullying-week

Monday 15 - Sunday 21 November Alcohol Awareness Week https://alcoholchange.org.uk/getinvolved/campaigns/alcohol-awarenessweek-1

Friday 19 November - International Men’s Day https://ukmensday.org.uk/ Thursday 25 November Friday 10 December 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence https://16daysofaction.co.uk/thecampaign/

Picture shows The Grand Hall

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Connolly Centre for Modern Construction The shiny £4.3 Million net carbon building has been made possible by funding via SEMLEP of £2.9 Million together with support of £750,000 donated by the Connolly Foundation towards the very latest construction equipment inside the building and a donation from The Wixamtree Trust of £10,000.

Declared open by Mark Farmer, the Government’s champion of Modern Methods of Construction, on Wednesday October 20th, the Connolly Centre for Modern Construction accommodates some highly specialised equipment on which students will gain the skills needed for jobs, or upgrade their existing skills to match up to emerging ‘modern methods of construction’ sector.

Net Zero Carbon It is expected the building will receive an official A+ on its energy performance certificate making this the Group’s first Net Zero Carbon building.

The exterior of the CCMC complements the shiny look of the adjoining corner-site Brundtland Building, itself a pioneering example of eco-retro fitting. Contractors Ashe have worked closely with Project Manger, Mark Eustace and the Project Team to ensure that the new Centre opened to such high standard on time and on budget ready for the start of the academic year.

Exhibition of Employers

Principal, Ian Pryce CBE said: “We are closing that gap which we see between what happens in industries, and what is taught in College.”

Following the official opening which included a tour of the Centre and it’s machinery, an exhibition open to local employers and students was held and joined by:

Mark Farmer congratulated Ian and the Group’s Construction Team and Project Team for their vision in building the dream:

• Modular Building Automation

“This facility will be helping to re-shape how we deliver construction in the future. It meets the Government agenda for skills and sustainability and I can see it being an exemplar for the rest of the country.

“Leadership has made this possible with Ian and The Bedford College Group being well placed to support the demand for skills in London and the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.”

• Sika • Passive Purple • Beattie Passive • L&Q • Stewart Milne • E3Recruitment • Excel Structures

Judith Barker, Director of Programmes and Governance at SEMLEP congratulated the Group and said this was a pioneer of such construction training buildings planned.

• Intelligent Membranes

Included within the Centre is state-of-the-art equipment including:

• Trussed Rafter Association

• Timber Development UK

• Howick Frama 5600 metal profiling machine to produce metal components ready for self-assembly (Biggest investment in college construction training equipment*) • An industry standard gantry crane to lift components of up to 3.2 tonnes • JJ Smith automated cross cut and sliding saw Alongside the Connolly Centre for Modern Construction, we have the computer-aided design suite linked to the Virtual Reality “cave”, also funded by the Connolly Foundation in 2019, and housed in the Advanced Engineering Buchanan Centre.

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November 2021

On site experience for Adam, 17 Adam Boag, aged 17, from Luton is studying a Level 3 Technical and Professional Construction Extended Diploma at Bedford College. He took up the chance to shadow contractors ASHE to see how the Cauldwell Street building was transformed into the CCMC. He spoke at the official opening on October 20th of the value gained from his training at college and its links with industry.

“Having just entered my second and final year, I am hoping to become a site manager in the construction industry and when ASHE approached the college about the opportunity for students to shadow the site managers, Danny Roberts and Neil Dimond, I was eager to take up the opportunity.

“I’ve always been interested in construction as I grew up in a family which was heavily involved in the industry with my Grandad having his own construction and civil engineering company based in Arlesey, and my Dad working for him for 20 years as a contracts manager. At high school, I took construction as an option for my GCSE’s, and in this I covered the basics for various trades (Bricklaying, Carpentry, Electrics, Plastering and Plumbing) as well as looking at basic health and safety in construction.

“Being given the opportunities to see a project from the site-based, office-based and clients’ points of view was fascinating because each has its own challenges and their own ways of resolving them. During my time at ASHE I was shown how problems have to be resolved and how the priorities of a site manager change in an instant, something that has to be witnessed to be truly appreciated, something that can’t be taught in a classroom.”

Achievement Awards Celebration This year we are hosting our annual Achievement Awards Celebration to recognise students from across the Group in an online event taking place for shortlisted students, staff, employers and guests.

Please save the date for Thursday 18th November from 7.30pm to join us for this fantastic opportunity to celebrate the success of our students. We will be sharing a link for staff to be able to watch the live online ceremony nearer the time.

Picture shows Adam Boag giving a speech on his experiences

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November 2021

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Celebrating Black Staff from the Group celebrated Black History Month by hosting a Black Heroes and Heroines celebration on Wednesday October 20th. The event welcomed guest speakers, showcased music and art within the prestigious South Bank Arts Centre.

Northamptonshire based speaker, Tré Ventour, joined guests for the evening who is an Artist-Educator and Writer (Race and Black History) with published materials including: Critical Studies of Television; Wonkhe; Diverse Ed NN Journal; Nenequirer; Criminology UON; Happy Hood NN Also speaking at the event was maths Tutor for the College’s Art students, Emmanuel Amissah. He has established an online group Africaniwa and explained to guests: “I am came from Ghana in 2005 to the UK. I found people expected me to know about Africa … 54 different countries. I had no idea! During lockdown with friends we formed a group to share our stories and actual experiences within Africaniwa to share our stories. In November we are hearing from someone about forgotten war memorials in Africa.”

Bedford author Desmond Clark was also there with his book ‘Stolen Inheritance’. Desmond is a former student of the College who, as a mature student, progressed from a GCSE in English in 1991 to obtain a degree and Masters.

Copies of the ‘Black and British Book’ by TV’s David Olusoga are being offered to all students across The Group. This new edition of the book is aimed at a younger audience but is good introduction to some of the issues of Black History in the UK. For more information on how to get these please email Carmela Martiello.

The paintings exhibited there were by a range of college art students, staff and specially invited artists. These will all be on show again at the college.

“SpectaculARTS is delighted the exhibition showcases an array of individuals from past and present who have made inspired contributions to culture and society. The exhibition aims to educate society at large and balance under represented or mis-represented aspects of Black history,” says Sharon, “I am so proud to be a Governor at The Bedford College Group which became College of the Year in 2020.

“Bedford College is now leading in its approach for race equality and is one of the only colleges within the UK that has created its own race equality committees for students and staff. As part of my work in the community, I have have had 100s of meetings with a mixture of organisations and so many still have ‘race equality’ under EDI (equality diversity and inclusion) but this topic of race equality is so big as it affects every aspect of life and deserves to be looked at separately. Bedford College has embraced this and I have noticed the commitment for creating solutions.

“It would be my personal dream for The Bedford College Group to lead the way in this area and for this approach to be adopted nationally by all colleges within the UK. “Bedford has such a rich mix of different cultures which work in harmony together, but now its time for Bedford to lead the way. The future is looking better with young people joining the conversation for race equality.”

Organised by member of staff, Carmela Martiello, who commented: “Representation and narrative are key to change.

“Bedford as a town has speakers of 100 different languages and a population of which 28% identify as “non British” heritage.” The area does have a large population of first, second and now third generation Italians.

This October event follows on from an earlier event staged the town’s Quarry Theatre in August.

That was a collaboration between the SpectaculARTS organisation which is pioneering opportunities for young people through the arts. Governor of The Bedford College GroupSharon De Leonardis, is CEO of SpectaculARTS Picture shows L-R Sharon, Tré, Carmela, singer Daniel Vacchio and Emmanuel Pg.9

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November 2021

Towards The Group is expecting to save over 350 tonnes of carbon (the equivalent of driving 76 cars for one year) and more than £88,000 annually, following major infrastructure upgrades.

Following a feasibility study to assess where carbon emissions could be cut, the Group identified its Cauldwell Street campus as the site that would best benefit from improvements.

The Group used over £2.8m of grant funding from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) delivered

by Salix Finance via the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The grant was used to install a water source heat pump (WSHP), Genius Controls, highly efficient mechanical ventilation and heat recovery, hot water-efficient taps, photovoltaic roof insulation and water heaters.

For the installation of its water-powered heating system, the Group focused on its Brundtland Building which had a licence to take water from the river to power its heating system – the licence permits the extraction of 240,000,000-litres of water a year enabling the College to replace old boilers and decarbonise the building. The WSHP is set to save £3,978 annually.

Pat Jones, Executive Director of Finance at Bedford College, said: “We are fortunate to have the River Great Ouse flow by our Cauldwell Street campus, it is through the use of this new renewable heating system that we can save 96 tonnes of carbon, that is a tremendous start to our decarbonisation journey.’

to a very moderate temperature.”

These Genius Controls are expected to save the College just under 80 tonnes of carbon and £13,913 annually.

As many of the solutions were centred on the Brundtland Building energy calculations indicate that this building will receive an A+ on its energy performance certificate making this the Group’s first Net Zero Carbon Building.

Pat Jones added: “The Group will be launching its Social Responsibility Strategy. Staff and students will be invited to participate in the many aspects of this strategy including the plan to decarbonise our ‘built environment’.

This falls in line with the Government’s mission of reaching Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“The pandemic has crystallised the Net Zero issue for us.

Receiving the funding has accelerated our ambition to spread this activity across our other campuses.

“We have some incredibly passionate people here, who are looking at this from many aspects. It will be good to see our staff and students helping to shape our strategy.”

Justin Morris, Programme Coordinator for Colleges and Universities at Salix, said: “Working with The Bedford College Group has been an immense pleasure. I was truly impressed by their levels of enthusiasm and determination to orchestrate and deliver these innovative projects in such a tight timeline. Their passion to improve the Group’s carbon and financial savings through these projects was evident.”

In addition, the Group have installed Genius Controls to manage heating systems across all the sites.

Due to the layout of the Cauldwell Street campus many buildings are south facing and become extremely hot on one side, so the Group also looked at improving the comfort of its staff and students. It installed Genius Controls which operate similar to movement sensors.

Pat Jones explained: “If there is movement in the room, the controls detect that they need to heat the room. If not, the controls reduce the level of heat within the room

Picture shows the Brundtland Building

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November 2021

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Focus on Apprenticeships

At this year’s Apprenticeship Conference, we introduced a new award for ‘Delivering Apprenticeship Excellence’. This award can be won by anyone within the Apprenticeship Team and is open for everyone to vote for who they believe deserves to win. The lucky winner will hold onto this award for 12 months until next year’s Apprentice Conference.

The nominations came in and there were so many amazing stories from across the teams with many worthy winners so it was a very difficult decision for the panel to make. The nominations for the award were: • Matt Clarke • Clare Shemilt • Gordon Window • Nigel Kerwin • Jenna MacGuinness • Bev Holloway Congratulation to everyone who was nominated and you should be extremely proud of the hard work and commitment you demonstrate to our apprentices and employers. Well done toeveryone.

After long discussions, Jenna MacGuinness was awarded as the winner. Here is a little bit about Jenna which may explain why she was nominated by her colleagues and why she is the very worthy winner of the award this year: Jenna said: “Before working as a Business Training Coordinator at Bedford College, I worked at the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx), working my way up from Apprentice to line manage an operations team. Starting out on my Level 2 Customer Service Apprenticeship and going on to complete three further apprenticeships, I reached and achieved my Level 5 Diploma in Management during my time at the company.”

then I have completed my Level 3 Award in Education and Training and Level 4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice.”

Jenna noted: “Building relationships with the Business Apprentices that I work with and watching them come out of their shells and build their confidence, is my favourite thing about being a Training Coordinator. I can relate to my apprentices because I have a wealth of experience in the area. I can motivate them and tell them about my journey to show them what their apprenticeship could lead to. I’m patient with them and they can talk to me whenever they need. I can definitely see the advantages of work-based learning as a result of my own personal experience, academic learning was not a place where I personally thrived, however when I started my apprenticeship at 17, I found a way of learning that suited me and I soon found my feet.”

“There is also such a positive impact for businesses that employ apprentices, as it is possible to mould them and show them the values and principles of the organisation from the outset.

An employer can tailor an apprentice to suit their needs. From my experience of managing apprentices, we could show each apprentice how our company does things but they also went into other departments so they could also learn what that department was about. They become invaluable to the organisation because they have such a wide spread of knowledge.”

“Being nominated and then winning this award is very pleasing, since joining the college I have been on my own personal learning journey, I enjoy sharing this learning with others and helping out where I can to have this recognised is appreciated.”

Congratulations Jenna, the award is very much deserved and please keep up all your hard work with our apprentices and employers. Thank you for your hard work and commitment to ensuring that their journey is the best it can be and for inspiring the future generation.

“By the time I left CILEx, I was managing the team that I started as an apprentice in. Throughout my time I employed and managed my own apprentices. It was nice to see the other side of it. I’ve been an apprentice, I’ve managed them, I’ve worked to develop processes for legal apprenticeships, and now I’m a Training Coordinator for apprenticeships.”

“After joining Bedford College, I began studying for my Training & Quality Assurance (TAQA) qualification which I have completed.

It is one of my proudest achievements to date. For me, stepping out of my comfort zone from CILEx to Bedford College into a new role (and studying for a new qualification) is a personal achievement. It proved I could do something different. Since

Picture shows Clare and Jenna with the award Pg.11

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November 2021

Feedback Joshua Cannell

“I had two assessors during my apprenticeship, Clare and Felicity. Clare helped guide and support me through the introduction parts of my coursework. When Felicity became my assessor, we were communicating as often as we could and she was always looking at ways to improve my work. I had regular meetings with Felicity whether that was for a general catch up or to practice for my end-point assessment. Even though I didn’t pass my apprenticeship first time, Felicity and Sam Roberts, my manager, gave me lots of feedback and support to ensure that I would pass second time. I can’t thank them enough!”

Well done Claire and Felicity for supporting your apprentice.

Michael Kaid

I’ve just (nearly) completed a Level 2 Plumbing apprenticeship at Bedford College. I’d like to thank everyone, especially Roland, both Richards, Sam Sheridan, both the store managers Mark, Rachel behind the desk and everyone else I may have missed. Thank you all for your time, patience, energy and everything that everyone put into either helping me or teaching me and the other students. Thank you for helping me with the qualifications I needed to progress in my life. It hasn’t been the easiest of times. I wouldn’t have done it without them.

Wonderful feedback from Michael who took the time to thank everyone involved in his journey. Well done to you all for your hard work.

Samantha Roberts, Sales & Marketing Manager, Oracle Solutions

Although I have been Josh’s manager for a short space of time during his apprenticeship, I found the support Felicity gave was encouraging and helpful. She was happy to answer any questions we had. She provided Josh excellent feedback and key areas for him to focus on to enable him to pass. We had regular meetings with Felicity, although I wasn’t in them all, Josh did make comments on how helpful it was and gave him the confidence to progress in the apprenticeship. Thank you, Felicity, for your assistance, it is greatly appreciated!

Excellent feedback from an employer on the hard work and commitment shown by Felicity. It is brilliant to see how this relationship with the employer has developed. Well done!

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Job Associate Catering Assistant

Location: Kettering Salary: £8.91 per hour Application closing date: 28/10/2021

Associate Equine Centre Groom

Location: Old Warden Salary: National Minimum Wage for Age Application closing date: 28/10/2021

Land Based Technician - Agricultural Machinery Location: Old Warden Salary:£18,188 per annum Application closing date: 28/10/2021

Work Place Co-ordinator (Full time and part time)

Location: Old Warden Salary: £20,808 per annum, pro rata Application closing date: 28/10/2021

Associate Lecturer in Pre-Employment Training Location: Bedford Salary: Associate - (Unqualified) £20.50 per hour.

Associate - (Qualified PGCE/Cert Ed or equivalent) £21.50 per hour Application closing date: 31/10/2021

Associate General Catering Assistant Location: Bedford Salary: National Minimum Wage for age Application closing date: 01/11/2021

Prince’s Trust and Pre-Employment Training Administrator

Location: Kettering Salary: £18,888 per annum, pro rata. Actual salary £14,923.43 per annum Application closing date: 01/11/2021

Associate – Employment Assistant Location: Bedford Salary: £8.91 per hour Application closing date: 03/11/2021

November 2021

Professional We have the following professional development available to book onto with the links provided: Safeguarding Bitesize Working with our young people and vulnerable adults, you have a duty of care to safeguard and protect. Our interactive safeguarding workshop brings together staff across all of our sites and is aimed at those who want to refresh their knowledge or for our first timers.

We’ve created this tailored bitesize workshop, which is informative, easy to understand and provides you with a great opportunity to discuss case studies, College reporting systems and to share your safeguarding knowledge with others to ensure we all understand current Safeguarding issues and apply correct actions.

To view dates and book please visit: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/safeguarding-bitesizetickets-187520838877

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Conferences and Webinars These development events are non-mandatory opportunities that are intended to compliment your Development Action Plan. Check the additional information to see a description of the event, who the event is designed for and how to book.

Don’t forget to also check out the videos on the Staff Lounge page, where both internal and external contributors post videos about what works well for them.

To view all current conferences and webinars please click here https://college.oak.com/home/ restore?path=https%3A%2F%2Fcollege.oak. com%2FHome%2FIndex%2F3fe6f651-80bb-4bbd-932aefdac7b7fc64] . We do require a Professional Development Training application for us to support.

Training application [here] https:// forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.

Safer Recruitment Safer recruitment is a set of practices to help make sure your staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children and young people. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keep children and vulnerable adults safe from harm.

Safer recruitment should be a continuing process of improvement for every school, college, club, business or organisation whose work or services involve contact with children and vulnerable adults.

To view dates and book please visit: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/safer-recruitmenttickets-173287205697 Mandatory Training These Core Skills are part of the induction for all new starters. They are essential for us all to be able to carry out our roles safely. Please make sure you are aware of which training you are required to carry out as part of your role, and how often, by speaking to your line manager.

To access all training please visit: college.oak.com/home/ restore?path=https%3A%2F%2Fcollege.oak. com%2FHome%2FIndex%2F7abd4e17-d96a-4a3a-a1bea4fe6fc5105a

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Anastassia Parsons

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager

DIVERSITY CALENDAR Monday 15 November Odd Socks day The day marks the start of Anti-Bullying week. Anyone can take part, all you need to do is wear odd socks - it’s a great way to celebrate what makes us all unique. Celebrate individuality, increase awareness of bullying, and raise money for a charity.

Don’t forget to share your photos on Connect and social media.

Monday 15 - Friday 19 November - Anti-bullying Week The theme ‘One Kind Word’ shows the importance of kindness. What are the positive and kind things we can do to halt hurtful behaviour in its tracks?

Religious Festivals

Sunday 14 - Sunday 21 November - Inter-faith week Increase awareness of different faith communities and celebrate the contributions of their members to their neighbourhoods and wider society.

Friday 19 November International Men’s Day The day gives an opportunity to look at men’s issues in relation to health, wellbeing and masculinity.

Saturday 20 November Transgender Day of Remembrance A day to remember those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice and to raise awareness of hate crimes against trans and gender-diverse people.

Monday 1 November - ALL SAINTS’ DAY Christian Thursday 4 November - DIVALI Hindu/ Sikh Friday 19 November - THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S BIRTHDAY Sunni Muslim Saturday 6 November - ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF THE BAB Baha’i Monday 29 November - Monday 6 December - HANUKAH Jewish Tuesday 30 November - ST ANDREW’S DAY Christian The Inter Faith Network has a more detailed list of festivals and short descriptions.

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November 2021

Connect

Lynsey Travers

HR Manager - Human Resources

PERKS

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All you need to do is get in touch with us at info@ barracudas.co.uk – we look forward to hearing from you!

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