A Week of Development, Wellbeing and Celebration for Chelmsford College Staff
With the learners of Chelmsford College now off for a well-deserved summer break, staff members enjoyed a week of professional development from the 29th June to the 3rd July. Each day had a dedicated theme allowing all Chelmsford College staff members a chance to enhance their skills and knowledge.
The Executive Leadership Team kicked the week off with an all staff welcome on Monday morning, setting the tone for the week. Various open and directed sessions followed including “Making a Good Safeguarding Referral” led by the Safeguarding Team, Epilepsy Medication Training and more.
The Professional Development Week also featured two conferences with the first one, the Stronger Together Conference, starting on Tuesday 30th June. With a dedication to being Inclusive by Design, the aim of this conference was to allow space for staff to reflect on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in meaningful and practical ways. The day began with an all staff welcome from staff members Amy Izod, Deviee Bouri and Principal David Warnes before handing the microphone over to external guest speaker Katie Potts. Katie works for Anglia Ruskin University and visited to discuss her own experiences working on EDI within education with a goal of sharing best practices. A mix of sessions led by external guests and internal staff then followed including an eye-opening “I Don’t Know How to be Trans” workshop delivered by Adelle Barker. As a previous alumni learner of Chelmsford College, it was great having Adelle back for such a moving session. Through storytelling and her heartfelt and honest approach, the session encouraged open conversations and explored what allyship for the LGBTQ+ community looks like in real life, beyond policies and posters. The College’s Health and Safety Administrator, Andy Pierce, also led an insightful “Inclusive Learning Environments” session which looked at how staff can make impactful instant changes to make learning environments even more inclusive and accessible.
A highlight of the week came on Wednesday with a dedicated WellFest day, which allowed staff to book onto different sessions to take time for their mental health beyond just professional development. With a variety of sessions including mindful colouring, bird or bat box making, foot massages, yoga, Lego workshops, badminton and floristry to name but a few, there was a great atmosphere across the day with staff enjoying the mix of exciting sessions.
Thursday concluded the conferences with the FE Futures Conference. The aim of this was to provide staff with clear up-to-date information about the changes the further education sector is facing. With an all staff welcome from Principal David Warnes and the Head of Teaching and Learning Development, Claire Wood FSET, external guest speaker Brendan Sheppard then delivered a thought-provoking workshop to all staff. Brendan is a very experienced professional having worked for both the BBC and ITV as a Director and as Assistant Principal, Lead Practitioner and Head of Department within further education, meaning his lived experience brought a personal sincerity to his workshop. As a qualified trainer to mentors and coaches, Brendan’s session provided practical support strategies for staff and encouraged staff to speak to people whom they usually would not have the opportunity to. Once again, various sessions followed throughout the day open for staff to book onto. This included sessions such as Apprenticeship Reforms led by Lead Work Based Tutor Anne Jones, Ofsted Unlocked and a sustainability focused session delivered by the Head of Sustainability at Sharp, Bjoern Bauer which looked at the role of sustainability within further education and the steps Chelmsford College can take moving forward to support this.
Friday ended the week on a high with supported experiments, a Staff Awards Ceremony and an all staff BBQ. Teams spent the morning visiting other departments supported experiments which looked at what they have been working on over the last academic year before voting for a winner to receive a £300 prize. The annual Staff Awards Ceremony followed which saw various prizes awarded to staff for their hard work and achievement across the year. This included awards such as New Staff Member of the Year Award and Certificates of Achievement for Outstanding Work in Training and Development. After celebrating and acknowledging the staff community through the ceremony, all staff then enjoyed a tasty BBQ made by the College’s Refectory Team.
Professional Development Week proved a success and allowed staff to come together for an important cause. On behalf of all staff at Chelmsford College, a big thank you is owed to every external guest speaker and internal staff who delivered sessions, to the facilities and organisors of the week who ensured it ran smoothly and as planned and to the Refectory Team who provided lunch for all staff throughout the week.