19 October 2012 - Review of the College

This week saw the start of Phase 2 of the Review of the College. This phase will focus on the Corporate Services functions. All managers involved in Corporate Services functions will be fully involved in the process of research and fact finding and the outcome of their efforts will inform the final proposal in early January. Our approach to this review is that our internal staff will act as main instruments and drivers to inform the changes to come. This will be done through a business process re-engineering exercise and will be in the form of an appreciative enquiry on each of the seven Support Service areas and their sub sections. Twenty-three Corporate Services staff attended the first day of a three day training programme on Wednesday. The feedback received so far has been very positive and there is a great sense of purpose and dedication amongst colleagues to engage fully in the process. To ensure the process will have a high level of objectivity and remains on track we have engaged with two management consultants, Dr Mary Golden and Howard Shepherdson from Experia Solutions. They both have considerable experience of undertaking such reviews at a high level in a range of organisations. Dr Golden has a distinguished record with the Audit Commission and Howard Shepherdson is Ofsted trained and has significant experience of organisational improvement. Both have reviewed services in local government, the NHS, higher education colleges and schools and have experience of outsourcing and also bringing services back in house. The three day training programme intends to train colleagues in process mapping, business process re-engineering and research methodology. Participants will also be equipped with supporting skills such as skills of appreciative enquiry, peer review and the giving and receiving of feedback which is necessary for conducting our Corporate Services review. Over the next eight weeks colleagues will embark on this review and I am sure you will engage in the process regardless of the role they have in the College. The outcome of the review will no doubt have a direct impact on the life of the College as a whole and their input is most value. Saboohi Famili Principal

03 October 2012 - Community Learning in Society

SCOLA's Principal, Saboohi Famili, is addressing an audience of educators and government representatives on the role of Community Learning in Society. She will be speaking to those present on how the College encourages adults to enrol at SCOLA; What support services are available specifically for adult students; The advantages of returning to studies later in life: How colleges can help students maximise their potential; Providing apprenticeship programmes for adults so that they can prepare for future employment; Helping students fund their journey through education; What FE colleges like SCOLA can do to encourage adult learning. Delegates will be given the opportunity to ask questions. The opening key note address was conducted by Prof Danny Saunders entitled New Challenges & New Chances: Moving forwards with Community Learning.