FYI May 2014

STAFF NEWSLETTERMAY 2014

Events, 60 seconds with, doing our bit, sports and more...

NewsTraineeships,

construction, the hair show and more...

A word from the principal

Pantone© 2685CPantone© 241C

p10

p3

p2


FYi MAY 20142

to the South & City College Birmingham Staff Newsletter

WelcomeA word from

MikeHopkins


2

May 2014

3 College news9 60 seconds with...9 Staff member of the month10 Doing our bit10 Competitions10 Sports academy11 IT11 Customer relations11 Upcoming events12 Schools team12 Hello & goodbye12 Juliette appeal13 Pastoral team14 How to...15 Marketing

Co

nte

nts

W ith the final half term break over we are now in the last part of the academic year, a time which will be crucial for many of our students in gaining their qualifications. Their achievements and success

rates are not only key to their futures but to our success as well, as this is something that was looked at in our recent quality improvement consultation, and will be looked at in the Ofsted inspection as well.

Whilst the quality improvement consultation was somewhat stressful, it was very necessary and useful and there is no substitute for experience. I have no doubt that most members of staff will have picked up something they can improve on for the Ofsted inspection as a result.

For my part I was extremely pleased at the amount of work and commitment there was across the college to making it a success and particularly that we were seen to be one college and one staff, not two colleges still merging. I know that we have a lot of work to do before the Ofsted inspection but we now know exactly what we have to do and what are the priorities. I really believe that we will be prepared for the Ofsted inspection when it comes. Well done and thank you.

Just to remind you, the FYi is for all staff and anyone can contribute. If you would like to have something featured, please email the marketing team who put it together at [email protected]

Finally I thought that as an addition to my introduction I would end with my quote of the month:

“Nothing changes if nothing changes”

FYi MAY 2014

FYi MAY 2014


3

Coast2Coast secures nine sponsors

The college can announce the official sponsors of each stage for the Coast2Coast cycle challenge which will raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust in association with The Stephen Staunton Foundation [Wednesday 28 May].

Local businesses from around the West Midlands have pledged to help the charity bike ride get well on its way to reaching the £50,000 target which has been set by Principal Mike Hopkins.

Mike will also be leading the challenge, which will see a group of cyclists pedal around 800 miles over nine days, travelling from coast to coast across the UK and Ireland this summer (July 19 to July 27).

The sponsors are as follows:• Day one sponsored by Wassifa Showcase.• Day two is sponsored by East End Foods.• Day three is sponsored by Subway

franchisee, Aksar Khan. • Day four is sponsored by DesignBP.• Day five is sponsored by Phoenix Green &

Alvesta Energy.• Day six is sponsored by AB Waste.• Day seven is sponsored by Packt. • Day eight is sponsored by Aston Manor Brewery.• Day nine is the final leg of the ride and is being

sponsored by Hollywood Monster.Principal Mike Hopkins said: “By working with

well known organisations in the region we hope it will have a greater impact in raising awareness of what we’re trying to achieve for the two charities as well as the good work they do for young people.”

Media students from the college will be involved in supporting the project by filming and editing videos to capture the ride in detail.

If anyone wishes to ride or help out with the final day celebration from the Ricoh Arena in Coventry to Digbeth Campus then please get in touch with Jacqui Dawson for more details ( [email protected]).

News

College news

Recent quality eventThe week before half term, the college used external

consultant, to look at the quality of our curriculum and support divisions.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all, for your hard work and support. Your openness and dedication ensured that the week was not only very useful, in our drive to improve the standard of all that we do but also that the week went smoothly for our visitors.

As always, the 12 visitors to the college commented on how happy, motivated and welcoming all the staff and students were and how much they enjoyed working with you all.

The outcome was particularly helpful, in that it allowed us time to reflect on the things that we do really well, of which there were many. It also identified those things that we could improve to make our students experience even better. I’m sure that we all agree that we can use their advice and expertise to continue in our drive for excellence.

The consultants clearly saw a college that is united, with a common vision and values and high aspirations and expectations for our students. They felt that this was the best and most effective merger that they had seen and felt that staff should be proud of all that we have achieved over the last two years.

I personally found the experience very encouraging and it reinforced my view that we are a good college with the potential to be better than good. I learnt a great deal not only about the process but also about all the wonderful things that you and your students are engaged in. We don’t celebrate our achievements enough and it was wonderful to hear impartial people doing just that.

There is a detailed report which is to follow which will ensure that we are all clear on what needs to be done going forward.

So thank you again I was really proud to represent you.Phyllis Warde



FYi MAY 20144

NewsNews

Students on a sugar high with sweet sales

Retail Fusion, a sweet shop set up by retail students at the college, has been a roaring success since first opening in early December.

In the five months Retail Fusion has been trading at the college, the sweet shop has raised nearly £2,300 pounds of revenue, with £1,200 coming in as gross profit. Highlights include the recent Capital and Vamps concert that took place in Digbeth auditorium and this month’s hair and beauty show where the shop made a whopping £260 in one day.

Retail Fusion are available to attend college events and have already been booked up for the upcoming open day, the fashion show as well as an employment and a charity event. The department are also speaking with Kings Heath’s market manager for an off-site market day stall on the high street

Retail tutor, Naz Nazarali said: “Retail Fusion continues to grow and generate excellent sales and profit, which in turn will benefit the division and learners with various enrichment projects planned for the next academic year. The goal and vision is to now develop this into a full-time enterprise run by the students across the college.”

If anyone would like to book Retail Fusion for their event or have any products they wish to sell then please contact Naz at [email protected] for more information.

College hosts WorldSkills UK Caring competition

The college hosted the first two heats for the West Midlands region WorldSkills UK 2014 Health and Social Care Competitions on 13 and 14 May 2014.

Heat one saw some fantastic skills being delivered by competitors, with person centred care being demonstrated throughout.

Health and social care students and staff from the college also played a central role in the competition. However our students will compete at a different venue due to impartiality.

Principal Mike Hopkins said: “At the college we believe competitions help boost students’ confidence, whilst also giving them an excellent experience.

“Good luck to the South and City College students, and the other students, who are still yet to compete.”

Seven young people find jobs through Traineeship scheme

Seven young people from Birmingham, including a jobseeker of four years, have been offered full-time Apprenticeship jobs through

one of the region’s first Traineeship programmes.

The college have championed the scheme by delivering one of the first Traineeships in the region that has followed through with full-time work as business administrators upon completion through a partnership with Birmingham City Council.

Amy Braithwaite, aged 22 from Castle Bromwich, had been unemployed for four years before

signing up to the scheme. She said: “I would recommend to any young person who is struggling to find work to look into taking up a Traineeship as it’s helped me to turn things around.”

Principal Mike Hopkins said: “Through our partnership with the council we have been able to give seven young people who were struggling to find work the opportunity to develop their skills and improve their employability.”

FYi MAY 2014


5

NewsNewsNewsNews

The college has taken part in celebrating excellence in the construction industry at the Built Environment Hub’s Celebrating Construction Awards 2014.

The college sponsored the Leadership and People Development Award which was awarded to Bournville Village Trust – Building a Future – Bournville Propertycare Services.

More than 600 hundred leaders and innovators from across the construction sector gathered at the ICC, Birmingham, to celebrate West Midlands’ most inspiring construction projects and people.

College sponsors excellence in construction awards

Principle Mike Hopkins said: “We believe passionately about the positive impact Apprenticeships have on the construction industry as well as other industries to bring new talent in, and also the benefit to young people themselves.”

Steve Fellows, head of asset management from Bournville Village Trust added: “Working with South and City College Birmingham has enabled Bournville Village Trust to train not only technically excellent apprentices, but fully rounded social housing professionals.”

Students help to restore historic Birmingham building

last six months with building firm Fairhurst Ward Abbotts Limited who are completing the restoration and rebuilding of the historic Newman Brothers Coffin Fitting Works situated in the Jewellery Quarter.

Since undertaking the partnership three students have secured full

Construction students from the college have been working on a restoration project for one of Birmingham’s most historic buildings in a bid to develop their skills and be ready to enter the industry.

Nine students have been on two week placements across the

time work or Apprenticeships in the construction industry thanks to placements at the Coffin Fitting Works.

The two million pound restoration of the grade two listed building has been under construction since last summer with the project being overseen by the Birmingham Conservation Trust. It is due to be opened to the public as a museum toward the end of September 2014.

Ozan Ghani, 18, from Handsworth is studying carpentry at the college and is currently on a two week placement.

He said: “Coming to work on this project has given me chance build on what I’ve learnt at college. I’ve also had the opportunity to learn new skills around restoration techniques.”

Principal Mike Hopkins said: “It’s a real achievement for our students to be working on the multi-million project at the Coffin Fitting Works. With the construction industry starting to pick up again it’s great to see the college playing an active role in securing our students placements and preparing them to enter the workplace.


FYi MAY 20146

NewsNews

Hair, beauty and barbering students from the college wowed an audience and put on a hair-raising show at their annual showcase event and competition.

Over 60 students on full time, part time or Apprenticeship courses took part in the competition, creating diverse, exciting and dramatic looks for their models around the theme ‘A Night at the Movies’.

The students who study at the college’s Hall Green, Handsworth or Fusion Centres had to create whole looks including make-up, hair styling and outfits with many students hand making their own costumes. Level 1 students based their designs on romantic movies, whilst level 2 students focussed on thriller and level 3 on fantasy films.

The incredible finished designs were shown off on the catwalk in front of a 400 strong audience of local hair and beauty businesses, friends and family. Four highly regarded local experts judged the students’ work; Edith Webster director of The Hair Company in Solihull, Bill Brown, founder of BEX Live, Gloria Spense who set up a the first Handsworth based hairdressing training centre in 1985 and Shabana Yasmin a former

student now working as a freelance make-up artist and winner of last year’s competition.

Edith said: “I thought the standard was excellent, and much better than what I expected from a college. The whole evening had a fantastic atmosphere and I was blown away by the presentation.”

Students were awarded prizes at each level based.

The winners were:Level 1 hair: Faduma Omar

Level 2 hair: Salam Yohanes

Level 2 beauty: Ghazala Shabnam

Level 3 hair: Meleasha Ottey

Barbering: Natalie WilliamsElizabeth Farebrother, assistant

director of hairdressing said: “I am so impressed at the standard, drive and passion they showed tonight. I think what they have showcased really stands them in good stead for getting jobs when they complete their courses.”

Other students were involved with the event, with retail students running a stall selling sweets and snacks, as well as selling raffle tickets for the college’s nominated charity, Teenage Cancer Trust, and music and media students providing technical, sound and film support.

A hair-raising night at the movies

FYi MAY 2014


7

NewsNewsNewsNews

Retail students hear from Asda managers

College trains workers for growing construction industryThe college is providing the skills and training needed for the growing construction industry in the West Midlands, amid fears of skills shortages.

Training on average 1,500 people a year across the different construction trades and professions at a dedicated construction centre in Bordelsley Green, the college aims to provide each student with the skills, qualifications and experience needed to work in the industry.

With the construction industry beginning to show signs of national recovery - the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have reported a rise of 0.3% in construction sector in the last quarter (GDP report 29 April 2014) and the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

have estimated an output growth of around 4% in the sector by the end of 2014, resulting in a skills shortage of 60,000 trades people.

However, the college is on hand to ensure people who want to take the opportunity of available jobs in the industry gain the skills they need to be first in line, whilst providing the industry with the workforce needed to sustain growth.

Since September, 150 construction students have undertaken work experience placements arranged by the college with leading employers such as Balfour Beatty, Willmott Dixon and Wates Construction, gaining invaluable skills and contacts within the industry and resulting in 33 students being offered jobs as a direct result.

The college has also placed 175 young people into construction related Apprenticeships with local employers.

Mike Hopkins, principal of the college said: “We have seen an upturn in construction in the region and there are jobs for our students who are finishing courses with us now – in fact many of them are being offered jobs ahead of even completing courses so they can go straight from education to employment.

“But what is even more positive is the number of jobs are set to rise and so those who are considering embarking on construction training over the next few years can be secure in the knowledge there will be jobs waiting for them.”

Students training to join the retail industry at the college had a great experience by hearing what managers from Asda had to say about the industry.

Andrew, a fresh trading manager and Sandra, a community liaison manager both based in Birmingham spoke to the students about working in the retail industry, what it is like to work for Asda and also how they got

to where they are today.Andrew told the students he and

his team at the Asda in Shirley believe in the three “S”s: service, sales and standards. Andrew said: “I believe Asda’s culture is happy and friendly and from a business view is structural.”

The students also had the opportunity to watch videos on what sales, service and standards mean

to the staff at the new Shirley store, and then they were able to question Andrew and Sandra about their roles.

Murtaza Nazarali, retail tutor added: “It’s great to have retail industry experts come in and share their knowledge with students. It gives them real insight to what employers are looking for from future employees.”

Winners at the RoSPA Awards 2014The college has been awarded a highly commended in the Education and Training Services Sector in the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2014.

The college has received a sector award for the second year running, this year achieving ‘highly commendable’ for our excellent approach to workplace health and safety and continuous improvement in accident and ill health prevention for the benefit of our staff, students, visitors and partners.

Dawn Ward, the college’s health and safety manager said: “The award means everything; it is the ultimate benchmark to reflect our hard work and commitment.”


FYi MAY 20148

NewsNews

Music student organises musical extravaganza for charity

A student from the college has organised a lively musical show as part of her qualification and to raise money for charity.

Roxie’s Confessions – loosely based on the hit musical production Chicago – masterminded by HND in Popular Music student Hannah O’Connell included singing, dancing and acting and proved to be a roaring success with about 100 people attending.

Helped by fellow students in areas such as stage management, sound and tech, Hannah also called upon friends in the entertainment industry to create a dynamic and uplifting performance.

The show raised £324 for two charities Wythall Animal Sanctuary and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Hannah, aged 21 said: “We aimed to create a unique show sure to give our audience the feel good factor. The whole Roxie’s Confession cast has a great love for live music and we wanted to create something that was fun, live and memorable.”

Email it to

[email protected]

Got something to go in the staff newsletter?

Construction students build centre for young people

Construction students from the college have used their skills to complete a full internal fit-out of a youth centre for young people in Kings Heath, Birmingham.

32 students aged between 16 to 18 years old who are studying different construction trades at the college took the room from an empty shell to completed project in under a year.

Committee members from the All Saints Youth Project aimed to create a dedicated centre for young people in Kings Heath but didn’t have the full funding to pay contractors to undertake the work. They approached the college for help to fit out the empty shell benefitting from the work, but also providing students with vital on-site experience.

Soon after a small team of tutors, assessors and member of the centre’s committee began to plan, design and programme the project. After the professional survey and drawings were drawn up, work began.

Plastering apprentices also joined the project. They boarded and plastered the centre to a

professional standard. Painting and decorating and wall and floor tiling students helped complete the project, working as a team to finish the project in the allotted timeframe.

Loris Cimarosti from South and City College said: “The students have done an excellent job and should be proud of the work they have achieved.

“They behaved very professionally – arriving onsite, finding out what needed to be done and then getting on with it - exactly what employers in the industry want.

Kiu Wai Lam, the Young Leaders coordinator from All Saints Youth Project said: “It was always part of our vision for our Young People’s Centre to be made by young people; so when this partnership with the college arose we jumped at the opportunity. “

Callum Baker, aged 19, who is studying a plastering at the college said: “I think it is just as important, if not even more important that students like me get to go out and have the opportunity to work on projects like this alongside their courses.”

FYi MAY 2014


9

Regulars

60 seconds with... Jackie Chylla

Job title: Senior ReceptionistCampus: Digbeth Campus (Mainly)

What are some key responsibilities of your role?My main responsibilities are looking after the monthly rotas, supporting the rest of the reception staff and helping out the range of people who come through the doors of the college.

How long have you been working in the college? I have now been with the college for 13 years.

What has been your greatest challenge? I would probably say my greatest challenge was for my assessor when I was studying my NVQ in Customer Service Level 3.

What do you believe is your greatest accomplishment at the college? I know practically all of the college extension numbers across all the campuses.

Tell us something interesting about you? I have been very fortunate enough to met the boys from Take That, and yes that does include Robbie Williams too.

If your life turned in to a movie what actor would you be? Oh I’d be an 80s action hero like Bruce Willis! All action but I’ve lived to tell the tale. Yippy-ki- yay…

St

aff member of the m

onth H H H H H H

H H

H H Samantha

King Exams Officer

MAY:

Motor vehiclePraxis Europe tripIn December 2013 and March 2014 two groups of ten students from the college embarked on a training programme to Istanbul for two weeks with a company called Praxis Europe.

We arranged an induction night at the college for the nominated students and their parents from both groups to meet the team from Praxis Europe. Masood Yasin (Chief Executive) and Assad Afzal, delivered the introduction and expectations required of the students and had a brief look at what would be happening on the programme.

We take student to Istanbul to get away from all the distractions of home life, friends and easy communications and put them out comfort zone immediately where there is a language barrier and cultural difference they have to overcome as part of the programme.

Team building exercises occur in the morning, then students are sent off to their respective garages, the first group in December had five at Renault and five at Land Rover. The second group in March had five go into Renault and five in Porsche. These are fantastic garages to work in, I have never seen any in the UK as good by a long way. The students are allotted a technician to work with for the duration of their two weeks. They have to learn to communicate with their technician and other members of staff within their respective garages. They will work on live cars, as these are working dealerships on the public’s vehicles, i.e. paying customers. So they have to understand the implications of their work and the responsibilities it comes with.

Both groups has been nothing short of amazing with their respective technicians and even to this day they are still in contact with them and talking about going back to visit them again.

The experience is so fantastic. Working on first class vehicles with one to one training, is something we could never do back at college. They are finding out first hand, what it is like, working in proper garages and how they work as teams, individuals and also in different departments to get an end result.

My feelings are, of total disbelief, a total change in the students and seeing how they have matured and grown in stature, they have become such a tight net of people establishing a new network of friends across Europe.

The work done by this project cannot be underestimated and lives have truly been change for the better. Encompassing cultural integration and better communication throughout European countries.

Once again I cannot praise this programme enough and other members of staff should get involved along with many more students.

The students from both groups are now, hoping to get involved further with the Youth in Action programmes, involving further embellishment of their lives and those whom come in contact with them.

Submitted by Robert Hampson

Email it to

[email protected]


FYi MAY 201410

Regulars

Doing our bit

Zaf, the director of All 4 Youth & Community will be the main lead for the 2014 case study once again for the Enterprise Catalyst.

All 4 Youth & Community won the BBC Sports Community Project Of The Year in December 2013 for giving the youths the opportunity to get involved in free sports activities and get in to further education.

From starting four years ago, Zaf has managed to get over 7,000 young people involved in his projects and has just been short listed for this year’s ITV Pride Of Britain Awards.

In the next few weeks, Zaf and his team would have done 100 projects and will be on Heart FM and BBC WM to talk about reaching this mark.

Sports academyCricket The cricket team have progressed in the annual Warwickshire Under 19’s competition, the next round is planned for May 21, but the outdoor T/20 competition has been heavily disrupted by the weather as the first two fixtures have both been cancelled.

Football The men’s first team have concluded all of their fixtures and finished a creditable fourth in the league with a record that reads: P16 W7 D4 L5. The disappointing results were the draws more so than the losses as in all four matches we were by far the better team and were just unable to put away the chances we created.

The second team have finished sixth in their respective league, which given the number of players utilised and the struggles experienced by the coaching team each and every week to actually field a side is quite an achievement. Their record reads: P16 W5 L11

I would personally like to thank the coaches for the continued effort and as a team would plead with staff from across centres to release players who would be available to play on Wednesday afternoons (preferably under-19s).

Competitions

The annual National Hairdressing Federation competition took place on 17 March at the prestigious Blackpool Winter Gardens. Hair and beauty students from schools and colleges across England competed against each other in a variety of categories including cut and blow dry, ladies avant garde, bridal, junior drag queen and fantasy.

Nicole Hunter and Kareen Thompson studying combined hairdressing level 3 decided to take on the challenge and entered two models into the fantasy section and another into the junior drag section.

Thirty hair and beauty students and staff set off to support Nicole and Kareen as well as to soak up the combination of hair and beauty skills being demonstrated.

The contest was extremely competitive and the judges had a

tough job in deciding the winners.There was an escalation of

applause when Kareen Thompson was crowned first place of the junior drag category.

Both stylists worked extremely hard and presented work to a high standard, we are so proud of them.

This competition is an excellent opportunity for students to demonstrate the skills they have gained and to complement their learning. Well done!

Submitted by Liz Fairbrother

World SkillsCarpentry student Jake Willis shares his thoughts on competing at this year’s World Skills in February:

“On the first day of the World Skills National finals it suddenly

dawned on me I needed to give it my very best shot. I will admit I was nervous, because of competing in front of so many people over the course of the week. But I enjoyed it, and it was definitely a new experience for me.

Now, I feel more self-confident and I believe in myself more than I did. I felt supported by all the tutors in the carpentry department, and it goes without saying I could not have done it without them.

I feel now things can only get better, I am in a new territory and everything is a step forward in my career. I am looking forward to the future and the possibility of competing in the World Skills finals in Sao Paulo in Rio 2015.

Life is a challenge and this surely is a big test for me personally, fingers crossed!”

FYi MAY 2014


11

Regulars

Upcoming events

June 2014

World of work week 2 - 12 June 2014Main event at Bordesley for all students on 4 JuneInvite any of our students to come and talk to 40 employers about jobs and work experience.10am – 2pm Bordesely Green CampusMulti Purpose HallBuses availableContact Heather Spooner for more info

IT

Changes to IT 2014/15 During the summer, IT will be deploying Office 2013 alongside the current version of Office 2007. Staff and students will still be able to use both versions for a 12 month period, before we remove Office 2007 from the college systems at the beginning of the 2015/16 academic year. The introduction of the latest version of Office will provide smoother integration, stability and make it easier for staff and students to use the Office 2013 apps at home. Staff and students can get Office 2013 for five PCs and devices for free while they work or study here. The 2014/15 academic year will include training sessions and videos to assist users with the transition to the latest version, with dates and locations to be confirmed.

Additional changes:

• All students email addresses were changed last year to [email protected] and during the summer all students will be moved over to Office 365.

• The college’s main internet connection and inter-sites will be upgraded to 1Gb, providing a tenfold increase in internet speed to all users. Increase and speeds will depend on concurrent usage at that moment in time. This upgrade will allow richer multimedia, heavy streaming sites and video conferencing.

• A dark fibre link being installed between the two Bordesley buildings which will increase network access, speed and reliability for all users.

• The anywhere learning portal, which has provided thousands of additional learning hours to students, is due to be expanded.

All of the changes are designed to provide staff and students with a secure, reliable and faster user experience.

Customer relationsLSF The LSF team are in the process of creating a survey with any students who have had access to LSF this year. This will give us some robust data on how the LSF supports students through their time at college. If you have any suggestions could you please contact Jo Prendaville or Sapreena Kumari. We will be sharing any findings with staff towards the end of the academic year.

AdmissionsThe admissions team are currently working with curriculum teams to decide the cut off dates for interviews for this academic year. This information should be shared with all staff as soon as the dates have been proposed.

The 16-18 interview dates have been given to all curriculum directors and once these have been confirmed, we will let all staff know. The general consensus is to keep them on Wednesday on a fortnightly basis.

Customer liaisonComplaints from 1 January 2014 to 30 April 2014 have reduced by 32% compared to the first term. Historically, complaints increase in the second term due to the complaints procedure being reviewed and published (students become more aware of the procedure around this time). Although the review has taken place it was not due to be published until May this year and could be a contributing factor to lower numbers. The average closure time for the period continues to be at six days (similar to last term) which is well within the ten working days (14 days) service standard.

For a detailed statistical analysis of complaints received during the period, go to Elvis and click on customer liaison and complaints.


FYi MAY 201412

Regulars

Schools teamKeep warm strategyThanks to all the curriculum staff who have responded with dates for any keep warm activities your students have already applied for. Construction will be hosting a regional final for SkillBuild on 10 June and have used this as a vessel to call in any 16-18 year olds who have applied for a construction course.

If you have any end of year shows you’d like to use for the same purposes, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible.

Summer tastersSummer tasters have been scheduled for the first two weeks in July. Thanks to all staff who have come back to us with dates and activities. This has been communicated to schools and we will be getting back to all curriculum divisions by mid-June with final numbers.

Student ambassador campaignWe ran a student ambassador campaign from April to May. The team got some really high-quality candidates from the recruitment part. Once we have finalised who will be representing divisional areas, we will let all curriculum staff know.

Hello & goodbye

New staff

Leavers

Nigel Sidwell Lead Assessor/Trainer: Electrical Installation

Karl Townsend Assistant Director: Electrical Engineering

Thomas McClure Motor Vehicle Technician

Chris Hayden Sales Consultant

Leslie Bennett Internal Assessor: Motor Vehicle

Sarah Gunn Childcare Assessor

Sharne Whitehouse Apprentice: Administrator

Flavio Izidoro Torrao Motor Vehicle Technician

Muzibar Rahman Lecturer: Maths

Carl Hughes Lecturer: Motor Vehicle

Aaron Mansfield Community Liaison Officer

Bern-Nadette Browne-Bynoe Nursery Nurse Assistant

Martin Pouncey Lecturer: Construction Tiling

Schukurja Karim Catering Assistant

Aiesha Muriyum Assessor (Business/Admin/Customer Serv/Retail)

Susan Watson Catering Assistant

Harkesh Ram Deputy Director: Automotive Engineering

Simon Faulkner Lecturer: Travel and Tourism

Sean Kilker Placement OfficerEmail it to [email protected]

Got something to go in the staff newsletter?

Juliette appeal

A few weeks ago I cycled around the different campuses and busked some songs to raise money for the Juliette appeal. I was really pleased, not only with staff for putting up with my singing but also with how students donated money and supported what I was doing. I would like to say a big THANK YOU to them all. If a society is measured on its kindness then our college society is one of the best. Submitted by Tony Stephens

RagSTo RicHeS CompetitionWednesday 11 June 2014 | Starts 7pmauditorium, Digbeth campus

FYi MAY 2014


13

Regulars

Pastoral teamBT Work Inspiration On 19 May the work inspirational team from BT came to talk with our students at Ladywood. The programme delivers CV building skills, social media impact (the affects of Facebook in the world of work), goal setting, body language and interview skills and product challenge.

The students engaged in the activities set and enjoyed what they learned. As the day wore on, confidence increased. Students were given a certificate for their contribution and effort. Many thanks to Mark Paintain, John McGarry and Douglas Lonsdale for helping to get the students there. The event has also been successful at Tyseley, Balsall Heath, Hall Green and Fordrough.

EN Start Up Shazia Parveen ran an EN Start Up workshop at Digbeth. The session highlighted the support and financial incentives available for those wanting to start up their own business venture.

The talk was particularly useful for those who are thinking of starting up their own business, especially construction, hair and beauty, sports and catering. It’s quite a thought provoking session and for those of our learners going to university or taking other paths it’s worth listening to the options available to them.

Further sessions have been arranged, which are flexible so can be changed.Mon 2 June - Hall Green - two sessions - am or pmTues 3 June - Construction - two sessions - am or pmWed 4 June- Looking for work event - EN Start Up’s marketing team will attend and confirm times etc.Thurs 5 June - Handsworth - two sessions - am or pmMon 9 June - Fordrough - two sessions - am or pmTues 10 June- Tyseley - two sessions - am or pmWed 11 June - Fusion - two sessions - am or pmThurs 12 June - Digbeth - two sessions - am or pm

Progression weekThe pastoral team will be involved in progression week. A letter will go out to parents for students who would like to move to another course or who need more advice and guidance whilst considering their futures.

Attendance postersIt is fantastic to see the attendance posters are being used around the centres. This gives a clear indication to students and tutors regarding attendance and also shows improvements.

Curriculum and tutorialsThe pastoral team will continue to give advice and guidance on tutorials and the study programme. Individual training can be arranged but the team will also come out to divisions and train staff on Fridays.

Submitted by Yvonne Francis

FASHION & TExTILES STUDENTS present

12 & 13 JuneDIGBeTH AuDITORIuMDOOR: 6:30PMSHOW: 7PM Tickets available from Friday 23 May from the finance desk at Digbeth campus


FYi MAY 201414

Regulars

How to...

Connect to the college-connect wireless network

iPad/iPhone1. From the home screen tap settings > Wi-Fi settings > turn Wi-Fi on2. Click the symbol next to college-connect wireless network3. Turn off auto-login, scroll down to proxy and set to auto4. Click back and click college-connect5. Once connected a login page should be displayed6. Login using your college credentials:a. Enumber for staff + usual passwordb. Snumber for students + usual password7. If login page is not displayed, open browser and you will be given a login page. Once connected you will be able to browse the internet.TroubleshootingIf a connection to college-connect cannot be established, select college-connect from the network list then tap forget this network and wait two minutes before attempting to connect again.

Android1. Go to settings and click Wi-Fi2. Tap college-connect and tick show advanced options3. Change proxy to manual, under proxy hostname type Proxy.sccb.ac.uk4. Under proxy port, type 805. Under bypass proxy for, type *zd-01.sccb.ac.uk or con-zd-01.sccb.ac.uk, dg-zd-01.sccb.ac.uk6. Click connect7. Open browser and a login page will be displayed8. Login using your college credentialsa. Enumber for staff + usual passwordb. Snumber for students + usual passwordandroid versions below 2.3 are not supported on the college wireless network

Windows laptopsFirst make sure your browser is set to automatically detect proxy settings

internet explorerSet in Internet Explorer: tools > internet options > connections tab > LAN settings button > tick automatically detect settings (untick all other boxes)

FirefoxFirefox menu > options > advanced tab > network tab > settings button > auto-detect proxy settings for this network

chromeGoogle Chrome uses the system/Internet Explorer proxy settings. Change the settings via Internet Explorer. Alternatively, in Chrome click the wrench button to the right of the address bar > options > under the bonnet / under the hood > network > change proxy settings button > LAN settings button > tick automatically detect settings (untick all other boxes)

To view and connect to available wireless networksWindows 7 and 81. Open connect to a network by clicking the network icon ( or ) in the notification area2. In the list of available wireless networks, click college-connect, and then click connect.3. Once connected a login page will be displayed login to this using your enumber for staff and snumber for students.

TM

FYi MAY 2014


15

COMPETITION 2014

South & City College Birmingham would like to invite you to attend the West Midlands regional heat of SkillBuild to be held at the construction centre on

10 JUNE9AM – 6PMCome and see the best construction students from across the Midlands competing for a place in the national finals at the NEC.

SKILLBUILD

HEATS IN: CARPENTRY | JOINERY | CABINET MAKING | BRICKWORK | PLASTERING TILING | PLUMBING | ELECTRICAL | PAINTING & DECORATING

T: 0800 111 6311E: [email protected] | www.southandcity.com

/southandcitycollege /southandcitycol

THERE WILL ALSO BE A CHANCE TO HAVE A GO YOURSELF AT ALL THE TRADES AND TEST YOUR OWN SKILLS.

JD0402 - Skill Build poster.indd 1 20/05/2014 09:05

Regulars

MarketingPRIn May, the college was mentioned in 40 pieces of media coverage (includes newspapers, industry publications, online, radio, TV etc), 18 of which were directly generated from the PR work undertaken by marketing.

These included coverage on the college’s construction students who undertook work at the All Saints Youth Centre in the Birmingham Mail, a performance in the Digbeth auditorium organised by a student also in the Birmingham Mail and the care competition held at our Bordesley Green Campus in a number of industry publications.

There are also a number of other news stories available to read on the college website newspage.

Website & Social Media • User engagement through social

media has become more possible for us and we have been working on adding a personal touch to our social media channels, to give social media users confidence in getting in touch with us

• We had 72 new Facebook likes

• We’ve built on blog content which in turn has improved our SEO - search engine optimisation (how easy it is to find us on search engines including Google).

• A microsite has been built for the Coast 2 Coast challenge that the college is running this summer – www.challengesccb.co.uk

• Open day campaigns have been put in place to improve exposure; at the last open day we found that most of our visitors had found out about the open day from the college website

• The most popular page on the website this month was

www.sccb.ac.uk/courses

Design The graphic designers undertook almost 40 pieces of design work during the month, which include creating a new international prospectus, open day advertising, the fashion show marketing materials, revamping the employers guide and items for the upcoming SkillBuild competition, amongst many more.

General A guide to the marketing CMF has been created and includes information of how and why it is important for the information in the marketing CMF to be up to date. It also includes what type of information is needed to market each course. Find the guide on ELVIS/MIS/Guidance/1 CMF

FASHION & TEXTILES STUDENTS present

THURSDAY 12 JUNEFRIDAY 13 JUNEDOOR: 6:30PMSHOW: 7PM Tickets: £3:50Available from Friday 23 May from the fi nance desk at Digbeth Campus Auditorium, Digbeth Campus High Street Deritend, Digbeth, B5 5SU

T: 0800 111 6311 | www.southandcity.com/southandcitycollege | /southandcitycol/southcitycol | E: [email protected]

JD0400 - Fashion Show_A2 poster.indd 1 19/05/2014 09:43

T: 0800 111 6311 | E: [email protected] | www.southandcity.com

Although we will try our best, we can’t promise that everything will go in.Your feedback and comments on FYI are welcome. Email [email protected]

Send your stuff to [email protected]

To save resources and paper, this newsletter will be sent electronically to every member of staff and will be available on Elvis. A small number of hard copies will be printed and sent to each division. If you are happy to just receive your electronic copy or would like to reduce or increase the number of hard copies you receive, please contact us on [email protected] to let us know. Thanks.

Got something for the newsletter?

Want to be the subject of 60 seconds with? Have an event, achievement or charity work to share?

We are looking for:EventsAchievementsNewsSpottedWhat do they do?How to’s

Documents

FYI May 2014