28 October 2011 - SCOLA Principal attends the WEA Conference in Nottingham

SCOLA’s Principal attended the WEA Conference 2011 in Nottingham on 28/10/11 at the East Midlands Conference Centre, University of Nottingham. The conference and workshops focussed on Equality, Inclusion and Action in Adult Education.

At the heart of the WEA’s mission has always been a commitment to widening participation in adult learning: enabling people to realise their full potential and campaigning for every adult to have the right to do so.

After a keynote address which was delivered by John Hayes, Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, delegates were able to attend four sessions through the day from a choice of twenty. Formats ranged from addresses by speakers in the main theatre to participative workshops. Attending were published authors, bloggers and leaders within the adult learning sector and beyond, as well as examples of outstanding practice from within the WEA.

27 October 2011 - SCOLA Principal attends NIACE AGM

SCOLA’s Principal attended the NIACE (National Institute of Adult Continuing Education) AGM which was held in London today! The Annual General Meeting provides NIACE members with an opportunity to make their voices heard in shaping the debate on the future of adult learning. NIACE aims to encourage all adults to engage in learning of all kinds.

20 October 2011 - Horace goes to pilates

Horace’s nose twitched. He smelt the scent of
Autumn, the falling leaves and the snitch of cold
in the air. A ray of sunshine had hit the hedge
under which he had been hiding and stirred the
last vestiges of warmth in his bed of leaves. He
stretched carefully and realised that he could not
hide forever. One day soon he would have to go
back to SCOLA. It was a part of his destiny. Despite
his great embarrassment.

The clock repair class had been fine. It had been Olympian in its compass and the company of those who attended and who had been so generous to a small hedgehog. No, it was the Pilates class that had been his undoing. He still glowed redly with the memory of it.

The start had been fine. There was a gentle warm-up where he stretched and squirmed with great satisfaction. He reached for the sky. He dug down into the ground and twisted to his left and his right. He had even successfully navigated the use of big rubber bands to give a little more effort to the stretch. It was when he started to work with the big blue ball that he had encountered problems.

He was sort of ok when he was asked to lie on his front. That gave a good stretch to the base of his spine though he did keep rolling off and having to catch himself before he hit the ground. There had even been one moment when he had been well balanced and able, just for an experiment, to take all four feet off the ground. He had felt as if he was flying, or swimming without water!

No, his downfall came when he was asked to reverse the process and to lie on his back on the big blue ball. It was inviting trouble. He had raised an eyebrow to the instructor to sort of say, “Are you sure?” But they had seemed full of confidence … and .. who was he to question it? But … well, as you can imagine, big rubber Pilates balls and a hedgehog’s spines are not the best combination.

Briefly, things had seemed ok. And then he began to feel that sinking feeling as the spikes penetrated the ball. For a moment, while he stayed perfectly still, he had the illusion that all might be well. All it took was the smallest of movements, a minor re-adjustment, and he began to hear the hiss of air escaping beneath him. He saw the ground coming towards him. He knew it was an illusion and that he was heading towards the ground.

As he sank he thought he heard someone mutter something about, “Hedgehogs!” He did not know if it was a disparaging remark or even if there was a hedgehog or animal equivalent of racism or sexism. But he felt it keenly. Here he was trying to live a life like any other. It wasn’t his fault. The tutor had ok’d it. But he was being blamed just because he was a hedgehog!

The blue ball finally sank to the ground. He tried to roll over to get up. But he was still sort of attached to the ball and it held him firmly in place. The ignominy! He had to wait until someone saw his plight, came over and helped him up. He had to stand quivering on all fours as they pulled the flattened ball off his spikes. He was embarrassed. He felt belittled. He felt that people were pointing and laughing. Whether they were or not, this was how he felt.

When the ball was off, he fled. That evening at home he reviewed his day. He tried to talk about it with his friend Robin but found that he could not. It was too soon, too fresh and too painful. Perhaps in time … …

He recognised that he might have over-reacted. But he was a sensitive being and didn’t like people making comments. How could he possibly go back and have them pointing him out to one another. No, he would just lay low for a while until perhaps they had forgotten. So, was today the day when he should face up to it?

14 October 2011 - UK Excellence Award Winners

At the UK Excellence Awards 2011 held at the InterContinental London Park Lane last night, the BQF announced the following Award Winners:

UK Excellence Award
• Winner: Bishop Burton College
• Winner: St Anne's Primary School
• Winner: Siemens Industry Automation & Drive Technologies (IA&DT)
BQF Achievement Awards
• Customer Satisfaction – sponsored by Oracle
Winner: Virgin Trains
• Leadership – sponsored by BT
Winner: Phoenix Futures
• Process improvement – sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline
Winner: Co-operative Banking Group
• Sustainable Future – sponsored by TNT Express
Winner: Skanska UK
Lean Six Sigma Award
• Winner: CooperVision
BQF Gold Medal for Excellence
• Winner: The Probation Service
Congratulations to all the winners!

11 October 2011 - Mental Health Open Day

The centre in Belmont has been open for a number of years, and last year won a bid to refurbish, and have added an extra office/interview space and a larger training room with new computers. SCOLA has had 2 Literacy with computing classes there for the last ¾ years, and also started a progression class at Sutton 2 years ago, for some of the earlier students to move back in to the wider college life. We have been exploring how many of their members would be interested in a maths class and are now ready to actually start a basic class, to help them with managing their money, and everyday life.

The Principal, Saboohi Famili, had the privilege of presenting certificates to various students at the Open Day event.

Chris Jackson
Head SfL English & Maths

11 October 2011 - Two days to go to UK Excellence Awards 2011

The Principal, Saboohi Famili, and Deputy Principal, Jenny Sims, will be attending the 2011 UK Excellence Awards on Thursday 12 October, at the InterContinental, London, Park Lane. The HRH the Princess Royal, will be in attendance this year. This gala evening will celebrate the 2011 winnders of the BQF Gold Medal for Excellence, the UK Excellence Award, the BQF Achievement Awards and Six LEAN Sigma Awards. This gala evening is being hosted by broadcaster and journalist, Louise Minchin, and will culminate with a cabaret from leading performers of current West End musical theatre productions of Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.

It promises to be a great evening!

11 October 2011 - SCOLA holds first PIMS session!

The first PIMs session of this academic year is being held at SCOLA's North Cheam Centre tomorrow, Wednesday 12/10/11 from 3.15 – 5pm.

The input, participation and brain power of staff is of utmost value. These PIMS sesions, where we are hoping to find creative solutions to some programme and process issues, will be held on a regular basis.

The session is open to all staff but members of CMT are required to attend if available.

The session is run by the Principal and will use creative leadership techniques to reach meaningful, actionable and tangible outcomes.

Barbara Eayrs
Exec Asst to the Principal

10 October 2011 - iPads @ SCOLA

John Faulkner, Programme Manager and Joanne Barnett, Senior Lecturer for IT, Digital Media and E-Learning, recently attended the 'Future of Technology in Education', a well attended event run by ULCC, aimed at e-learning experts from all over the UK. http://fote-conference.com/wordpress/ . The prominent theme that emerged throughout the day, was around the use of devices such as iPads and smartphones in the classroom and how they can be used to enhance learning anywhere and at any time.

So what is SCOLA doing that is new or innovative to address this topic for their students? The exciting news is that we now have iPads for students' use both to enhance learning in a variety of ways within lessons as well as for wider use at staff and student drop in sessions. Tutors are currently being offered training for using the devices as well as researching the best apps to enhance teaching and learning.

Contact the tryIT centre for details and look out for further exciting open learning opportunities in the next month.

6 October 2011 - Principal attends official launch of the One Planet Experience

SCOLA’s Principal, Saboohi Famili, attended the official launch today of the One Planet Experience – BioRegional’s new multimedia exhibition, at the BedZED Centre in Wallington, Surrey. The exhibition was opened by David Weir MBE, Paralympic Gold medallist. This is a new interactive exhibition that tells the London 2012 sustainability story to inspire greener lifestyles. London 2012 has embraced the spirit of One Planet Living. If you visit the exhibition you will learn what you can do to save energy and reduce waste, and you will be able to take the challenge to see how many household appliances you can power in the energy velodrome.

4 October 2011 - Congratulations to Jenny Sims

Congratulations to Jenny Sims who assumes her new role as Deputy Principal (Planning and Resources) today, 4th October 2011. My congratulations to Jenny on this well deserved new appointment. I wish her well in this role and I am certain that she will continue to be a valuable member of our College and I know that she will maximise the benefits that the new responsibilities will grant her. I am sure that SCOLA staff join me in wishing her success, enjoyment and both personal and professional achievement in her new role and that you will do everything in your power to support her in moving the college forward during the challenging times ahead of us.

Saboohi Famili
Principal