Police ESOL at Sheffield College - Cities of Migration

David Blunkett MPLaunches CoVE 3Third World boostfrom HillsboroughStudents 2World class Diningreturns to Sheffield 3Genetic linkbetween bananasand humans 10re:vival fashionshow 06Carrier bags, old tin cans, yoghurt pots and magazines -just a load of rubbish? Not any more! Fashion studentsfrom Hillsborough College transformed these familiaritems usually found in our bins into exciting andbreathtaking garments.Veolia Environmental Services staged a spectacular fashion show atSheffield City Hall for some of the 2500 members of its RecyclingChampions Club. The event was aimed at encouraging more recyclingin the city and provided an opportunity to work with the localcommunity through Hillsborough College.Twenty HND Fashion Design students took part in the event. Theirbrief was to select a favourite designer who inspired them andcreate an environmentally friendly garment by using onlyrecycled materials. The students spent many weeks researchingtheir project as well as experimenting with various materialsbefore making their final choice.In addition, there was an exhibition of the student's workthroughout the year, which gave guests the opportunity tosee some stunning garments, one of which had been selectedby Clothes Show Live for its show in Birmingham.Sheila Smith, tutor on the HND Fashion Design course,said: "This has been a wonderful experience for our studentswho have thoroughly enjoyed the whole project. To have theopportunity to showcase their work in a professional fashionshow is what every student dreams of. We are very grateful toVeolia Environmental Services for their support."Continued on back page.Look out for our Inspection Reviewin the next issue of The ReporterThe people in these stories have all found success at The Sheffield College. If you feel inspired to join them, just give us a call on 0114 260 3603.Keeping you in touch with your local College - March 2006

2Apprenticeship celebrationBrendan Ingle was the special guest atThe Sheffield College’s annualApprenticeship Presentation Eveningin January at Sheffield United’sPlatinum Suite.Administration ApprenticesMotor Vehicle ApprenticesEmployers received aplaque of recognitionfor taking part in theApprenticeshipprogrammeOver 250 guests including apprentices,local employers and college staff wereinvited to the event to hear speeches fromBrendan and Mike Firth from the Learning& Skills Council (LSC) South Yorkshire.The achievement rate of Apprenticeslast year at the College was 61%, against anational average of 39%. Funded by theLSC, Apprenticeships are a mixture ofwork-based training and education.Apprentices learn on the job, building upknowledge and skills, gainingqualifications and earning money at thesame time.John Taylor, Chief Executive at TheSheffield College, said: “Only by equippingour young people with the skills they need,can the UK enjoy internationalcompetitiveness. I am confident that thelabour force will benefit greatly from thenew skilled workers that have nowsuccessfully completed Sheffield College’srobust and specialised Apprenticeshipprogrammes.We have worked hard to make theApprenticeship programme a success andwe are very grateful for the invaluablecontribution employers in this region havecontributed to that achievement.“The successful Apprentices at thisyear’s event represent a wide range ofvocational areas including; carpentry,plumbing, engineering, childcare,administration, health & social care, dentalnursing, pharmacy, hairdressing, beautytherapy, catering & hospitality, motorvehicle, and heating & ventilation.

3David Blunkett MP launches CoVEJulie Byrne, Castle College Director (second from right), with David Blunkett MP (centre) at the launch event with invited guests.David Blunkett MP joined leadingemployers and training providers at anevent to mark the official launch ofSouth Yorkshire’s Centre of VocationalExcellence (CoVE) in Health and SocialCare.Funded by the Learning and SkillsCouncil (LSC), CoVEs are specialist areas ofvocational provision characterised by closelinks between colleges, business partners,other employment interests andcommunities.Building SkillsA celebration of the achievements ofyoung people with learning disabilitieswas held at Norton College as studentson the Skill Build received theircertificates.It is the first year that Norton Collegehas run the Skill Build courses, which isaimed at students with learningdisabilities. The Essential Skills AwardThe Health and Social Care CoVE hasbeen awarded £650,000 by the LSC over a 3-year period from 2005, with the aim toproduce qualified and skilled workers withexcellent employment and career prospects,which meet the needs of the economy.Castle College is the lead organisationof the CoVE, which will run in partnershipwith Doncaster College, In Touch Care Ltd,Sheffield Trainers Limited and RotherhamCollege of Arts and Technology.CoVE Manager David Dale told guestsat the launch that the initiative is alreadyrecognises the achievements studentsmake in developing important skills thatenable them to take full part in theordinary routines of life.Peter Mitchell, Additional SupportManager, says that staff at the College havedeveloped a stimulating curriculum thatfirmly places the student at the centre of itsdesign. Peter said: “We are very proud ofthe efforts the students have made. Somehave gone into open employment andalmost all have made the successfultransition from College.having a noticeable affect on the industryin South Yorkshire. David said: “The CoVEworks directly with employers, residentialand nursing homes, Social Services andcare trusts to deliver relevant and robusttraining and has introduced thirteen newcourses in direct response to employerneeds.“Over 130 employers in the region arenow using the CoVE’s services to delivercourses in care and health, with CastleCollege delivering the Access to MentalHealth Nursing course.”“A key feature of Skill Build is thepartnership working with other agencies.This course has had considerable inputfrom the community health team, SocialServices and supported employmentagencies. Our students and staff really arecontributing to the re-shaping of servicesfor disabled people in the city.”Alan Stewart, Director of NortonCollege, presented the students with theirEssential Skills Award certificates.

4Third World boost fromHillsborough studentsBig-hearted students fromHillsborough College raised£1,700 in just 30 days to buy aclassroom in a Third Worldcountry, by coming up withimaginative ways to get people todig deep money and winning thehearts of the local community.The Foundation Medicine Studentswere horrified to learn that, whilstBritain spends £2,590 per child oneducation, over 100 million children inthe Third World are so poor they do notget the opportunity to even go to school.Oxfam, who run the initiative to buildclassrooms in the Third World, gavepermission for the fundraising to be donein their name and College Director, TrevorPollard, gave the students his full support.Part of the fundraising initiativeinvolved a photographic competitionwhich John Kerr, lecturer in photographyat Hillsborough College, was happy tolend his support to. The studentscontacted John who devised acompetition with 3 categories,‘Portraiture’, ‘The Home’ and ‘Anythingtaken with a mobile phone’.John said: “The selection teamfrom the Medical Foundation groupwhittled the entries down to a finalfew and then I was asked for myopinion to help them decide thewinners.The quality of the entries wasvery high, particularly for theportrait section which was themost popular.”The winners of the categorieswere:Portraiture Winner - Frances DuncanThe Home Winner - Caroline TsangAnything taken with a mobilephone Winner - Fennie Chen"The Long Bar"by Fennie Chentaken on amobile phoneiPodsurprise for FACTS duoAlan Stewartpresents theiPod toJoe CrannTwo Sheffield school pupils wonstate-of-the-art Apple iPods afterhaving their names selected at randomfrom 900 entries in a prize draw.Chloe Marsden (15) from BirleyCommunity College and Joe Crann (15)from Newfield school both completed thefeedback form in FACTS, the College’sannual publication that gives Y11s lots ofadvice and contacts as they are decidingwhat to do when they leave school.Joe had forgotten that he had enteredthe competition and was pleased to findout he was to be the proud owner of abrand new iPod. “I’m delighted,” said Joe,”I am going to Norton College inSeptember to do four A levels and amreally looking forward to leaving schooland becoming a student.”

5DramaticresultforMarc!One of the UK’s leading drama schools broke with its own protocol to offer aplace to a Norton College student three months ahead of its May deadline.Traditionally, Bristol Old Vic interviews students throughout the year and makesformal offers in May. But the selection panel were so impressed with Marc Whalley(30) from Norton College that they wrote to him straight after his interview to confirmthat one of the coveted places at the school was his.Marc is a student on the full time BTEC National Diploma in Acting and his tutor JoBeadle says she is ‘absolutely delighted’ by the news. Jo said: “Marc is an extraordinarystudent. He hasn’t done a lot of drama in the past but he is totally dedicated andcommitted and is one of the most wide ranging talents I have ever seen.”Trainee scores national scoop after one month in the jobA trainee reporter who started his firstnewspaper job just a month ago hasseen his story splashed across thefront page of the nationals.James Coxon, who joined the DerbyEvening Telegraph last month, says he is"still wet behind the ears" but knewimmediately that he had a big story whenhe heard about the jobless dad of 14 whowanted a bigger council home for his wife,mistress and children.And after the story appeared in thelocal paper on Tuesday, it was lifted by allthe nationals yesterday - including theDaily Star, which ran it on the front pageunder an 'exclusive' tag.After receiving a tip-off, James - whorecently completed a fast-track NCTJcourse at Norton College - tracked downMick Philpott's mother and persuaded herto give him the dad of 14's phone number.He then spent an hour chatting on thephone to Mick, who told him the country is"going down the pan" because the councilcan't find him a house bigger than hiscurrent four-bedroom pad.James, (23), told HoldtheFrontPage:"The story started off small but as I learntmore and more it grew and grew."Because I'm inexperienced I turned tothe news desk who guided me through, soit was a team effort, but they were goodenough not to take it away from me."(Reproduced courtesy of NikkiSargeson at HoldtheFrontPage)Angelic £3000 for Cancer CareA group of high profile culinaryAngels handed over a chequeto Breast Cancer Care for nearly£3000, the proceeds from aunique event where leadingbusiness women from acrossYorkshire and Humber tradedthe board room for an apron.The eight-strong team tookpart in the Angels’ Kitchen atCastle College’s Sparks restaurantlate last year. The idea came fromFiona Blacke, Executive Directorof the Learning and Skills CouncilSouth Yorkshire, and was basedaround the TV series Hell’s Kitchenwith celebrity chef GordonRamsay.The Angels prepared a sevencoursemeal for guests and soldtickets to family and friends toraise money to support womenwith breast cancer. Fiona Blackesaid: “We raised more than weever imagined and, as a group ofAngels, are delighted to havedone something so positive forother women as some of ourgroup have had a personalrelationship with breast cancer.”Lesley Thompson, anoutreach worker for Breast CancerCare - based in Sheffield at thenorth and midlands office - wasinvited to a lunch at Sparks withthe Angels to receive the chequefor £2960, Lesley said: “This is anamazing amount of money whichwill be used to train volunteerswho work with women withbreast cancer.”

6World Class Dining returns to SheffieldCelebrity chefs will join the region’shome grown culinary stars for the secondseries of Master Classes at CastleCollege.Ready Steady Cook regular LesleyWaters was the first chef to take part in thefour-month programme in February. Lesleystudied French cuisine at Ealing College forthree years before joining Prue Leith'sRestaurant in 1978, where she rose to therank of senior chef.As well as her appearances on ReadySteady Cook, Lesley has also presentedCan't Cook, Won't Cook and made guestappearances on Food & Drink and Who'llDo the Pudding? Lesley has written severalcookbooks and currently hosts cookerydays at her home in Dorset.The Master Class series was launchedlast year and attracted some of the country’sleading chefs to Castle College. The initiativeis part of the College’s ‘Skills forBusiness’, where world-class professionalsare invited to the College to share theirskills and experience.John Janiszewski, Catering TeamLeader at Castle College, was responsiblefor the outstanding success of last year’sMaster Class programme and is delightedto be able to run it a second time. John said;““We are very proud of our excellent contactsin the gastronomic world and I amabsolutely delighted that we have onceagain been able to secure such a prestigiousline up.”For further details or to make a reservation,please contact the College on 2603215.College in national finalfor 4th year runningFrom the intense regional heats of theNestlé Toque d’Or, the UK’s most prestigiouscatering college competition,Castle College is one of just four teams tohave made it through to the Grand Finals.The Castle College team will be competingin the Toque to Toque at the finals inApril against three other college’s -Lancaster & Morecambe College,Kilmarnock College and South TraffordCollege - all of which are from the north ofEngland.This is the forth year running that theCollege has been in the final line up andtutor Mick Burke is confidant that they arein with a good chance of taking the topprize.Martin Webster, events manager,Nestlé FoodServices said: “It was a rollercoastertour with heats from Croydon toGlasgow! We have seen some fantasticstudents showing determination in thekitchen and a passion for what they aredoing – it says a lot for the future of hospitality!It was a hard task to choose just fourfinalists but we feel those selecteddeserved their place, illustrating realpotential for a great future in catering.”Nestlé Toque d’Or restaurant will behosted at The Home Show, where eachteam will realise their dream as theirrestaurant concept is brought to life. Eachteam of students will take ownership oftheir restaurant – front and back of house –to prepare, cook and serve 100 covers tomembers of the paying public. As chairmanof the judges’ panel, celebrity chefJames Martin will be attending the finals tooversee each team and pass his expert eyeover the proceedings.Commenting on the regional heatsJames says: “Firstly I would like to congratulateall those that entered; clearly atremendous amount of hard work wentinto creating and delivering the conceptsand the menus. Having entered the competitionas a student myself and not gettingthrough to the final, I know it is noteasy!

7Passion to InspireA Castle College catering tutor whoentered his first national competitionto ‘see what skills he had’ has scoopedfirst prize and a gourmet trip toChicago.Len Unwin was one of 10 finalists inthe ‘Passion to Inspire’ competition, whichwas held at the Hotelympia, the UK’sbiggest event for the catering industry.This prestigious competition is open toall chefs who are given just one hour toprepare, cook and present a two-coursemeal for two people, suitable for modernlunchtime dining. In addition to planningand prepare the meal, Len was required topresent a wine to accompany the maincourse dish from a list supplied on the day.Len’s winning menu was ‘smokedcannon of lamb on Mediterraneanvegetable gateau with confit of butterbeans and a lamb reduction,’ followed by‘bitter chocolate mousse with oeufs a laneige’.Commenting on his success, Len said:“I was incredibly surprised to win! It wasmy first competition and I only reallyentered for the experience and to whatlevel of skills I had compared to otherpeople in the industry.”Not only did Len win first prize in the‘Passion to Inspire’ competition, he wasalso awarded a Gold award in the SalonCulinaire competition – that ran alongsidethe main event - which recognised hissuccess in scoring over 90% of marks fromthe judging panel.David McKown from Sheffield University(right with Len Unwin and Bob Phipps,Steelite marketing manager (left)Youngest competitor takes major prize14-year-old Lea-Anne Smith beat nearly6,000 students from over 580 schoolsaround the country to take the firstrunner-up title in the SpringboardFutureChef 2006 Grand Final. Over 200guests attended the Grand Final of thenation-wide competition atWestminster Kingsway College inLondon, eager to see the culinaryworld’s future stars in action.When Lea-Anne won her regional heatshe needed an industrial sponsor toprepare for the finals. Mick Burke fromCastle College was appointed to the postand, along with Lea-Anne’s teacherMarianne Massey from North DoncasterTechnical College, gave up every Saturdayto prepare for her big day.Mick said: “Lea-Anne was brilliant onthe day. Considering she was the youngestfinalist by two years she held her ownagainst some stiff competition andgenuinely was pipped at the post. BrianTurner apparently said that it was the onlytime he has ever been overruled!”Lea-Anne secured her place on thewinner’s platform with a main course ofrolled spiced loin of pork served withcaramelised red cabbage, fondant potatoand an oyster sauce, followed by a dessert,described as ‘fantastic’ by the judges, of apavé of bitter chocolate, ginger andorange mousse, served with a snow eggand vanilla seed orange compote.Brian Turner CBE, Chairman of theFutureChef competition, spoke about theoverall quality: “The dishes were allexciting, extremely well turned out anddisplayed great workmanship. It wasobvious how much thought had been putinto every dish and the tastes weresublime.”Mick says he is confidant that Lea-Annewill become a well known chef of thefuture and is delighted that she hasdecided to attend Castle College’sProfessional Chef’s course when she leavesschool.

812th year of Higher CelebrationsThe Sheffield College held its 12thHigher National Certificate andDiploma graduation ceremony forseveral hundred students all sportingthe prestigious cap and gown.College recognises and celebrates thesedifferences and, by using the talents andskills of its staff, ensures that suchdifferences are positives and not barriersto learning.Steve Knowles, Chair of Governors atthe College, welcomed the students andtheir families as they received their awardsfor successfully completing a HigherEducation programme.The College has a wide-ranging HigherEducation portfolio, which includesDesign Communication, Art & Design,Building Studies, Civil Engineering, SportsDevelopment and Coaching, LeisureManagement, Travel and Tourism, BusinessStudies, Care Practice and ManagingHealth and Care Services.In his address to the audience, MrKnowles said: “We all enter post-16education via different routes, we all havedifferent backgrounds, we all havedifferent past experiences and we all havedifferent support needs. The SheffieldSheffield students learnto lead with GandhiRajmohan Gandhi, grandson ofMahatma Gandhi, spoke to Sheffieldstudents at two events co-ordinated bythe Sheffield leadership charity Learnto Lead.A renowned author and former senatorand journalist, Gandhi responded to anafternoon presentation on the themes ofidentity, local issues, education and life frompupils at local schools.At the evening event, Gandhi joined adiscussion with an audience of across-section Sheffield community,including dignitaries, students from TheSheffield College, The University of Sheffieldand Sheffield Hallam University, and others.The Gandhi events form the climax ofan education programme put together byLearn to Lead for students in Sheffield.Aimhigher, a government funded agency,together with The Sheffield Collegesponsored the events. Kate Karmy, YouthServices Manager of Learn 2 Lead, says “Thisis a special opportunity for young peopleacross Sheffield to interact with a key leaderand express their ideas about what’s goingin the world.”

9South YorkshirePart of UniqueEuropeanNet-Trainers’ProjectA European project that qualifiestutors to teach on-line has this yearbeen extended to a further sixEuropean counties, bringing the totalnumber to nine.South Yorkshire Further EducationCollaboration (SYFEC) is the UK arm ofthe European Net-Trainers’ Project,which has run in the UK, France andGermany since 2003.E-learning experts from all overEurope met at Furtwangen University inGermany, which acts as the coordinatorfor this Leonardo da Vinci project. It wasagreed at the meeting to extend thenetwork of original countries to includenew partners from Spain, Italy,Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republicand Bulgaria.Julia Duggleby, Online LearningManager at The Sheffield College – amember of SYFEC – added; “The Net-Trainers programme is unique in Europeand is a model for the transfer of onlinecourses into other European languages,as well as for the harmonisation ofEuropean qualifications.“All partners will issue a nationallyaccredited certificate. The EuropeanNet-Trainers Association will also awarda European Net-Trainers certificate tolearners successfully completing thecourse.”OpenSourceThe Sheffield College has become thefirst college in the UK to deliverintroductory courses in Open Sourcesoftware, a revolutionary alternative tohigh-priced commercial products suchas Microsoft Office.Under its successful Skills for Businessbrand, The Sheffield College is offeringshort accredited courses in Open Source -the first courses of their kind at level twoin the country.David Pickersgill from Skills forBusiness said: “Open Source software hasthe potential to save businesses a greatdeal of money. It is free, it can bedownloaded from the Internet and thensubsequently used on most computersusing either your pc drive, mp3 player oriPod.”Investingin PeopleFor further informationcontact 0845 600 6220or http://www.skillsforbusiness.infoThe Sheffield College’s Skills forBusiness unit has been awarded thecoveted Investors in People (IiP) award.Skills for Business was launched in2004 with the ambitious remit ofdelivering world-class business trainingand consultation to companies in SouthYorkshire. Since then, it has succeeded inestablishing sound working partnershipswith Microsoft, Nikon, Adobe, Sony andAvid to deliver seminars around the latesttechnology. Skills for Business was alsobehind the series of unique Master Classesat Castle College which attracted some ofthe country’s leading chefs to the city.The IiP process is a rigorous QualityAssurance framework that assesses anorganisation’s commitment to developingits people to help achieve its aims andobjectives.Peter Harrison, manager of Skills forBusiness, said; “The team have put a lot ofhard work into the initiative over asignificant period of time, but in particularhave made excellent progress in the pastthree months which has been recognisedby us being awarded Investors in Peoplestatus.”

10Exploring thegenetic linkbetween bananasand humansThe genetic link between bananas andhumans was revealed to students atCastle College as part of NationalScience Week 2006.A series of lectures was held at theCollege in March and organisers hoped totop the half a million people who took partin events across the country duringNational Science Week last year.Castle College students enjoyedintriguing lectures such as, ‘The BiggestEpidemic in History’, Are we Alone, Does ETexist?’ and ‘Victim Recovery’, which lookedat the role of recovery teams called to massfatalities such as accidents, naturaldisasters or terrorism incidents. Audiencesheard that the teams are also called toincidents where bodies are decomposedand they work on behalf of the coroner torecover and identify the victims.Dr. Miranda Trojanowska from CastleCollege says that the events werecaptivating. “The exploration into thegenetic link between bananas andhumans by Dr. Teare is a fascinating talkabout genetics,” said Miranda.Dr. Teare is a lecturer in the Divisionof Genomic Medicine at theUniversity of Sheffield.“In 2005, over 1,500 eventswere organised as part ofNational Science Week andCastle College were proud tohave contributed that - this yearwe planned even more.”National Science Week iscoordinated by the BritishAssociation for theAdvancement of Science (BA)and is supported by theDepartment of Trade & Industryand sponsored by the Economic &Social Research Council.

11Police welcome ‘studentsfrom a fascinating mix ofcountries’A new partnership between SouthYorkshire Police and The SheffieldCollege is giving students whose firstlanguage is not English theopportunity to find out how the policeforce operates.The 10-week programme is open tostudents on English for Speakers of OtherLanguages (ESOL) courses at the College,who might be considering police relatedcareer options or just hoping to betterunderstand the police service and the law.Mahmood Hussain from The SheffieldCollege explained what the course willinvolve: “The course runs from February toMay and is the first of its kind to offer workplacements and experience within SouthYorkshire Police and its partners in bothpolice and civilian jobs, as well as a policevolunteers scheme.“Police ESOL aims to develop Englishlanguage skills in the context of improvingcommunity safety and communicationsbetween the police and minority linguisticcommunities.“Some of the lessons will deal withuncomfortable issues such as domesticviolence and racism, which will besupported by more light hearted tasks andgames to extend and reinforce languageand knowledge.”A version of the programme has beensuccessfully piloted in South Wales.However, the work placement andvolunteer element have been added to theSouth Yorkshire model.Mahmood added: “The coursematerials were developed through theBasic Skills Agency in Cardiff. By working inpartnership with South Yorkshire Police,we have extended the course and will bebuilding activities into it.“This will be the first time that thepolice have been involved at the deliverylevel and for the course to be linked toTrinity qualifications.”Supt John Brennan, who opened thecourse on behalf of the South YorkshirePolice, said: "We are delighted to work inpartnership with the Sheffield College inpresenting this course, a first for our force.“It is very significant that the studentscome from a fascinating mix of countries,which emphasises the multi-culturalnature of our communities in Sheffield.We are putting a considerable amount oftime and resources into this project, andwouldn’t it be great if we were able torecruit some members of staff as a result!“Every one of the students had a goodimpression of the police in this country,and I am keen to build on that excellentstart."

121st placeJosephine Jones2nd placeJennifer Williams3rd placeLui-Ann SuiTheresa Morrison,Communications Manager atVeolia Environmental Services,came up with the idea back inSeptember and said: "Wewanted to run an event for ourRecycling Champions whowork hard to help increaserecycling rates in our city."It was also an opportunityto reach a wider audience byoffering a design project with adifference to the fashionstudents at HillsboroughCollege. Both the studentsand their tutors haveworked exceptionallyhard to produce garments of the higheststandard. We've all had a fabulous night!"The winning student was JosephineJones who received a cheque for £1000 forher beautiful garment made from cast offsfrom the Lloyd Loom factory. Second prizewas awarded to Jennifer Williams for heramazing recreation of Christian Dior's NewLook in bubble wrap and third prize went toSui-Ann Lui for her funky outfit of anewspaper jacket, bubble wrap trousers andamazing flip flops made from card andplastic bottle tops.PO Box 345, Sheffield, S2 2YYTel: 0114 260 2600 Fax: 0114 260 2601 www.sheffcol.ac.uk produced by The Sheffield College Publicity Unit 03.06