SCOLA supports the Refugee and Migrant Network Sutton (RMNS)by attending meetings and being kept informed regarding the work that they do. RMNS aims to relieve poverty among, and offer assistance to, refugees, asylum seekers and newly settled migrants living, working or studying in the London Borough of Sutton
They offer: friendship, advice, counselling, English Language classes, food & clothes, crisis support.
Any individual or organisation supportive of the aims of RMNS may apply for membership.
Members may influence the policies and strategies of RMNS in the following ways:
• They are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting and any such meeting where major policy changes are to be proposed and discussed
• They are entitled to vote at any such meeting
• They are entitled to attend any meeting of the Management Committee, by previous arrangement with the Chair, in order to give their views on any issue relating to RMNS policy or strategy.
SCOLA is supportive of the work that RMNS does and wish them well for the future!
Saboohi Famili
Principal
Thursday 31 March 2011
Thursday 24 March 2011
23 March 2011 - Students exhibit at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
Congratulations to our Floristry tutor Debbie Sykes and her students who have been selected to exhibit in the Swinging Sixties Floristry and Fashion Show at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 5-10 July 2011.
UK florists and top floristry colleges will be linking to all aspects of the "swinging sixties" with displays, demonstrations and talks, alongside singing sixty themed fashion shows taking place on a stunning catwalk.
Amanda Paul
Snr Lecturer - Business, Management,
Professional & Public Services Manager
Friday 18 March 2011
18 March 2011 - Making dreams touchable : Poetry, Music and Language Learning
Scott Sherriff, a tutor at SCOLA, had an article published in the NATECLA News (No. 94 – Spring 2011) relating to a workshop given by Steve Bingham and Jeremy Harmer. The purpose of the workshop was to demonstrate how poetry related activities could be used in a language classroom.
Harmer and Bingham first met through their involvement with an amateur string group. Their ambitious project grew one evening when Harmer started to read some poetry he had written. Bingham picked up his violin and began accompanying. And so this ambitious project grew.
Harmer began by putting forward a passionate argument in support of the inclusion of poetry in language classes. Tutors were urged not to dismiss poetry simply because it sounds difficult. So much of ESOL gets caught up in the functionality of language, but Harmer argued that no overlook the beauty of poetry is to fail to utilise a wonderful medium for facilitating learners’ engagement with a language.
Scott said that he is sure that many tutors left Spring Gardens keen to infuse their language teaching with poetry and music following this uplifting and inspiring seminar.
The full version of the article can be found on the NATECLA website.
18 March 2011 – Interview with SCOLA’s Principal (NATECLA News)
SCOLA’s Principal shared her views and experiences with NATECLA News. Saboohi said that since taking up her post in May 2010 her completely paper-free office, ipad, blogging, tweeting and fun team-building activities in management meetings had raised a few eyebrows.
One year on she has impressed the staff with her innovative, enthusiastic style land her strong leadership and vision. She is also well on her way to achieving her avowed intention of bringing SCOLA from a good to an outstanding college by the next inspection.
Saboohi shared how she arrived in England 11 years ago as an asylum seeker faced with the prospect of starting her career all over again, having fled her homeland, Iran. As a matter of principle she lives as a resident of the world and as long as she is contributing and feel valued she doesn’t mind which part of the world she is in. This attitude helps her understand some of the cultural differences and enables her to be positive and forward looking.
Saboohi is a great role model especially for ESOL students who are always pleased to see that other people can achieve even though they may not have had English as a first language. She is very much opposed to the changes to entitlement which will affect ESOL from September 2011 and said ‘The cuts simply do not make sense for a progressive nation’.
Saboohi said she misses the nature, the mountains and the welcoming culture of Iran, but that she has a new country now with new friends.
One year on she has impressed the staff with her innovative, enthusiastic style land her strong leadership and vision. She is also well on her way to achieving her avowed intention of bringing SCOLA from a good to an outstanding college by the next inspection.
Saboohi shared how she arrived in England 11 years ago as an asylum seeker faced with the prospect of starting her career all over again, having fled her homeland, Iran. As a matter of principle she lives as a resident of the world and as long as she is contributing and feel valued she doesn’t mind which part of the world she is in. This attitude helps her understand some of the cultural differences and enables her to be positive and forward looking.
Saboohi is a great role model especially for ESOL students who are always pleased to see that other people can achieve even though they may not have had English as a first language. She is very much opposed to the changes to entitlement which will affect ESOL from September 2011 and said ‘The cuts simply do not make sense for a progressive nation’.
Saboohi said she misses the nature, the mountains and the welcoming culture of Iran, but that she has a new country now with new friends.
Friday 11 March 2011
11 March 2011 - EFQM training event
By the end of Friday Jenny Sims and I shall have spent 3 full days in Central London on an EFQM training event. Working at a very high level on rigorous quality assessment this will provide the ground not only for working with outside bodies but also for improvements across the college. It will form the basis for our quality improvement plans for the next five years. If we are able to meet the standards, we shall be well on the way to becoming the providers of an outstanding service. Together with the Own the Change programme it should form the basis for transforming our managers into leaders for the benefit of all. These are exciting times with a great deal of hard work ahead in a very difficult climate. But the dividends should prove well worth the effort.
Saboohi Famili
Principal
11 March 2011 - Own the Change - Shape the Future
Own the Change, Shape the Future is taking shape. Groups responsible for the initial delivery are not only learning about the content but also having to find new ways of working with each other. In this way the process also becomes an integral part of the content.
Each group will present an abstract of their work next Tuesday. For this they will have to analyse their message as a coherent whole within the workshop rather than focus on their individual part. This should aid them present their module in a unified way.
There has been some excellent work taking place. There are many good teachers working in fields that are very new to them. It will be exciting to see how it all comes together. The launch event will be on March 23rd and we have invited a number of notables to join us. We want to share this innovative project, but we are also confident that we have something that is very marketable. (If having read this far you do not have a clue what I am talking about, please contact us and we will be happy to explain.)
Saboohi Famili
Principal
Each group will present an abstract of their work next Tuesday. For this they will have to analyse their message as a coherent whole within the workshop rather than focus on their individual part. This should aid them present their module in a unified way.
There has been some excellent work taking place. There are many good teachers working in fields that are very new to them. It will be exciting to see how it all comes together. The launch event will be on March 23rd and we have invited a number of notables to join us. We want to share this innovative project, but we are also confident that we have something that is very marketable. (If having read this far you do not have a clue what I am talking about, please contact us and we will be happy to explain.)
Saboohi Famili
Principal
Wednesday 9 March 2011
8 March 2011 - 157 Group welcomes Wolf’s recommendations for learning accounts and more flexibility
The 157 Group has welcomed several of the recommendations made by Professor Alison Wolf in her independent report of vocational education, launched this morning.
Lynne Sedgmore CBE, executive director of the 157 Group said, “We believe the Wolf Review affirms the important role of vocational education for 16 to 19 year olds and the successful ways in which FE colleges contribute to this. Although the report is critical of some vocational programmes it is very clear that it is the centralised design of qualifications and the way they have been used by government agencies that is the core of the issue not colleges.
“We have argued consistently for the relaxation of central control of qualifications and so we particularly welcome the recommendation that funding should follow the learner. In our ‘Learning accounts that count’ policy paper, which we published in November 2010, we were quite clear that priorities in the further education system should be based firmly on the informed choices of individual learners and employers, and are pleased to see the explicit reference to learning accounts in Professor Wolf’s recommendations.
“We agree with the recommendations that institutions should be free to offer any qualifications they please from a regulated awarding body, and encouraged to include non-qualifications-based activity; and that young people should have more flexibility in terms of which programme level or type of qualification they can pursue.”
Frank McLoughlin, principal of City and Islington College and chair of the 157 Group said; “We are delighted with the recommendation to make explicit the legal right of colleges to enrol students under 16 and ensure that funding procedures make this practically possible. Many 14 to 16-year-olds thrive in different environments outside school, and we believe that offering provision for them in colleges also makes good economic sense, especially at a time when we need to ensure efficient use of public funding to deliver high-quality teaching and training, with the best possible outcomes for learners. We are pleased that Professor Wolf has endorsed the need for qualified FE teachers to be allowed to teach in schools. This is testament to the professionalism and excellent standards of teaching and learning in FE.
“We need to consider the entire report in more detail, and the government’s response, but there is much to encourage us in our initial reading of Professor Wolf’s findings.”
---ENDS---
---NOTES TO EDITORS---
Professor Wolf’s report on vocational education is available to download at http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/Wolf-Report.pdf
The 157 Group response to the Wolf review consultation is available to download at http://www.157group.co.uk/files/157_groups_response_to_the_wolf_review_of_14_to_19_vocational_education.pdf
The 157 Group Learning accounts that count policy paper is available to download at
http://www.157group.co.uk/files/learning_accounts_that_count.pdf
The 157 Group Real choices for 14 to 19 year olds policy paper is available to download at
http://www.157group.co.uk/files/real_choice_for_14_to_19_year_olds.pdf
---About the 157 Group---
The 157 Group represents 27 of the most influential colleges in the FE sector. It was formed in 2006 in response to paragraph 157 of Sir Andrew Foster’s report on the future of further education colleges, in which he argued that principals of large successful colleges should play a greater role in policymaking.
Lynne Sedgmore CBE, executive director of the 157 Group said, “We believe the Wolf Review affirms the important role of vocational education for 16 to 19 year olds and the successful ways in which FE colleges contribute to this. Although the report is critical of some vocational programmes it is very clear that it is the centralised design of qualifications and the way they have been used by government agencies that is the core of the issue not colleges.
“We have argued consistently for the relaxation of central control of qualifications and so we particularly welcome the recommendation that funding should follow the learner. In our ‘Learning accounts that count’ policy paper, which we published in November 2010, we were quite clear that priorities in the further education system should be based firmly on the informed choices of individual learners and employers, and are pleased to see the explicit reference to learning accounts in Professor Wolf’s recommendations.
“We agree with the recommendations that institutions should be free to offer any qualifications they please from a regulated awarding body, and encouraged to include non-qualifications-based activity; and that young people should have more flexibility in terms of which programme level or type of qualification they can pursue.”
Frank McLoughlin, principal of City and Islington College and chair of the 157 Group said; “We are delighted with the recommendation to make explicit the legal right of colleges to enrol students under 16 and ensure that funding procedures make this practically possible. Many 14 to 16-year-olds thrive in different environments outside school, and we believe that offering provision for them in colleges also makes good economic sense, especially at a time when we need to ensure efficient use of public funding to deliver high-quality teaching and training, with the best possible outcomes for learners. We are pleased that Professor Wolf has endorsed the need for qualified FE teachers to be allowed to teach in schools. This is testament to the professionalism and excellent standards of teaching and learning in FE.
“We need to consider the entire report in more detail, and the government’s response, but there is much to encourage us in our initial reading of Professor Wolf’s findings.”
---ENDS---
---NOTES TO EDITORS---
Professor Wolf’s report on vocational education is available to download at http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/Wolf-Report.pdf
The 157 Group response to the Wolf review consultation is available to download at http://www.157group.co.uk/files/157_groups_response_to_the_wolf_review_of_14_to_19_vocational_education.pdf
The 157 Group Learning accounts that count policy paper is available to download at
http://www.157group.co.uk/files/learning_accounts_that_count.pdf
The 157 Group Real choices for 14 to 19 year olds policy paper is available to download at
http://www.157group.co.uk/files/real_choice_for_14_to_19_year_olds.pdf
---About the 157 Group---
The 157 Group represents 27 of the most influential colleges in the FE sector. It was formed in 2006 in response to paragraph 157 of Sir Andrew Foster’s report on the future of further education colleges, in which he argued that principals of large successful colleges should play a greater role in policymaking.
Tuesday 1 March 2011
1 March 2011 - Impact of Family Learning
I wish to share this valuable testament received by SCOLA's Family Learning Team, which shows the extent of the impact that family learning makes and the skills and expertise of SCOLA's tutors.
"I just wanted to write to say thank you so, so much for the courses you put on for families. They are excellent...outstanding in fact. My son, who is diagnosed with ASD (Autism) has been so blessed and privileged to be able to attend cookery and pottery and the teachers have been very patient and understanding and he has enjoyed the courses very much. He just about engaged with another child at the Wandle Valley cookery course last term and then last Wednesday at St Paul's I saw him interacting (not verbally yet) with another child who wanted to get his attention. It was so good to see this. Also, at cookery he has touched different textures (like in kneading bread etc)...normally he won't tolerate different textures/touch things...for years he wouldn't even hold his own sandwich and he still abhors shampoos and soaps and won't have creams on him etc. So it has been so good for him to touch some different textures and he actually enjoys participating which shows how it has helped his confidence, because normally he would just stand back and not participate in things. He has even tried most of the foods after cooking them, and even found he liked a couple of things he would normally not touch! Even some of the foods he didn't like the taste/texture of, we were so pleased to see him try a very small mouthful of.
So these cookery classes are doing him the world of good. And the pottery class is absolutely wonderful for him too, because he has started to make things out of clay...which means he's touching it and also creating his own piece of work...something I never thought he would do...and he is really enjoying it...so much so that he's talking about it daily and saying "I love pottery. It is my favourite"...it is very rare to hear him express this kind of emotion and enjoy something so much. He keeps asking what we will do at the next session and talking about the objects he has made and asking if we like them and wanting to hear that there are still some more sessions left etc. It is so good and such a relief to see him feeling confident about something and enjoying it so much. It has also been a very welcome relief to hear him talk of something other than bus numbers!
I would just like to say again how good the teachers have been (Fay at Pottery and Polly and Debbie, the cookery teachers), so patient, understanding and encouraging. We are so grateful to be able to do these excellent courses and want to thank whoever sets them up. We are so thankful to SCOLA for running them. We have been very blessed. THANK YOU!"
Saboohi Famili
Principal
"I just wanted to write to say thank you so, so much for the courses you put on for families. They are excellent...outstanding in fact. My son, who is diagnosed with ASD (Autism) has been so blessed and privileged to be able to attend cookery and pottery and the teachers have been very patient and understanding and he has enjoyed the courses very much. He just about engaged with another child at the Wandle Valley cookery course last term and then last Wednesday at St Paul's I saw him interacting (not verbally yet) with another child who wanted to get his attention. It was so good to see this. Also, at cookery he has touched different textures (like in kneading bread etc)...normally he won't tolerate different textures/touch things...for years he wouldn't even hold his own sandwich and he still abhors shampoos and soaps and won't have creams on him etc. So it has been so good for him to touch some different textures and he actually enjoys participating which shows how it has helped his confidence, because normally he would just stand back and not participate in things. He has even tried most of the foods after cooking them, and even found he liked a couple of things he would normally not touch! Even some of the foods he didn't like the taste/texture of, we were so pleased to see him try a very small mouthful of.
So these cookery classes are doing him the world of good. And the pottery class is absolutely wonderful for him too, because he has started to make things out of clay...which means he's touching it and also creating his own piece of work...something I never thought he would do...and he is really enjoying it...so much so that he's talking about it daily and saying "I love pottery. It is my favourite"...it is very rare to hear him express this kind of emotion and enjoy something so much. He keeps asking what we will do at the next session and talking about the objects he has made and asking if we like them and wanting to hear that there are still some more sessions left etc. It is so good and such a relief to see him feeling confident about something and enjoying it so much. It has also been a very welcome relief to hear him talk of something other than bus numbers!
I would just like to say again how good the teachers have been (Fay at Pottery and Polly and Debbie, the cookery teachers), so patient, understanding and encouraging. We are so grateful to be able to do these excellent courses and want to thank whoever sets them up. We are so thankful to SCOLA for running them. We have been very blessed. THANK YOU!"
Saboohi Famili
Principal
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)