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soundLINCS Continues Hitting all the Right Notes
It has been announced by soundLINCS that they have been awarded £776,569 - following a competitive grant application process - by the National Foundation for Youth Music (Arts Council). Bishop Grosseteste University was a partner in the bid and will participate in this exciting three year project across the East Midlands. Dr Pat Beckley, Early Years’ specialist within the School of Teacher Development, and Professor Chris Atkin, Head of Educational Development & Research are the two academic leads from our university. Our participation builds on an existing project with soundLINCS focusing on early years’ music curriculum materials. -
Foundation Degree Sets Dad of Three on Road to Learning
A father of three from Boston set off on the road to postgraduate study by enrolling on a Bishop Grosseteste University foundation degree course at Boston College. This week Dave Callow (37) will graduate with an honours degree from BGU at Lincoln Cathedral – and he is now set to embark on a master's course at the University of Lincoln. Dave left school at 16 with a good set of GCSEs, and after studying Art and Design at Boston College he tried factory work, landscape gardening and office roles, but he didn’t settle into a permanent career. After becoming a full-time dad he realised he needed a rewarding occupation. “I wanted to be an example to my kids,” he said. “I didn’t want to be coming home to them feeling miserable from a job that left me unfulfilled.” He approached Boston College for careers advice, began volunteering at his local school and re-took his Maths GCSE. In 2012 he enrolled on the BGU Foundation Degree in Applied Studies (Learning Support) at Boston College and soon found himself being challenged to think about his work in school in fresh and interesting ways. “It awakened a thirst for knowledge,” said Dave. “I wanted a deeper understanding of social issues and injustices. At my work setting I found I was suddenly more aware of the complexities of children’s lives outside of school. “The connection between what we were learning in the modules and the day-to-day work was so strong; I felt drawn to working with families and to making a positive contribution to society.” One of the benefits of BGU’s collaborative partnership with Boston College is the opportunity it offers to people to study locally, said Dave. “At that time, as a full-time Dad in Boston, I just couldn’t have gone anywhere else. It gave me such an important step on the way.” At the end of his foundation degree in Boston Dave stepped up to the BA (Hons) degree in Applied Studies in Education at BGU in Lincoln. “I’ve loved the experience of being in a university,” he said. “The BGU campus is lovely, the library is amazing and the tutors are nice and helpful. I like the structure of the progression year - the way the modules had been planned allowed us to become more independent as the year passed.” As he neared the end of his degree Dave knew he wanted to continue studying, so he spoke to careers staff at BG Futures and undertook an in-depth psychometric test. He applied for the MSc in Social Work at the University of Lincoln and within a few weeks he had been offered a place. Dave recognises that he has come a long way since he started. “When I think now about the first presentation I had to do on my foundation degree, it was one of the scariest days of my life! But now, at the end of the honours degree, I feel much more confident in my ability, my knowledge and myself. Even though I’ve finished my degree, I’m still reading about the things I’ve studied – it’s definitely unleashed something within me that wants to go on learning.” BGU’s Foundation Degree in Applied Studies is a work-related programme that enables working practitioners (or experienced volunteers) to study alongside their work and family responsibilities. Students choose from three pathways: Learning Support, Early Childhood or Children & Youth Work, according to their work role. The course is validated by the university and delivered at three colleges in Lincolnshire – Boston College, New College Stamford and North Lindsey College in Scunthorpe – as well as at BGU in Lincoln. It usually runs over two years. -
Mother and Daughter Celebrate Graduation Success
A mother and daughter will graduate together next week after completing their respective courses at Bishop Grosseteste University. During the ceremonies in Lincoln Cathedral, Judith Coe (46) will receive a merit for her Foundation Degree in Applied Studies (Early Childhood) and Hannah Coe (23) will collect her Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). Two years ago Judith, a qualified nursery nurse, was running a series of childcare groups in Spilsby, East Lincolnshire, when she decided she wanted to invest in her career and develop her professional skills. She has been studying for her foundation degree while continuing with her full-time job and raising a family. The course is a work-related programme that enables practitioners (or experienced volunteers) to study alongside their work and family responsibilities. Students choose from three pathways: Learning Support, Early Childhood or Children & Youth Work, according to their work role. “For two years I have managed to juggle family commitments, my job and my course,” said Judith. “And now coming out the other side with my foundation degree, I feel much more confident in myself and am looking forward to developing my career further.” Meanwhile Hannah, who has a passion for sport, is about to begin her first year as a qualified teacher following the completion of her PGCE in Primary Education. “I’m planning on spending my next year working as a supply teacher,” said Hannah. “I believe this route will help me put what I have learnt into practice and give me an opportunity to gain experience in a variety of settings. “I am so proud of Mum and all that she has achieved. How many people can say that they’re graduating at the same time as one of their parents?” -
Ofsted Praise for BGU's FE Teacher Training
Bishop Grosseteste University’s further education teacher training has been praised by Ofsted for having a “clear vision and an extremely strong commitment to their engagement with partners in the FE and skills sector”. The report, published on Thursday by Ofsted, follows a highly successful Ofsted inspection of early years, primary and secondary provision at BGU in Lincoln in December 2015. In this latest report of FE teacher training the inspectors found that “the university has ensured that their strategic vision and strong partnership development prepared capable, confident and skilled practitioners”. It added that BGU’s “leaders show the university’s positive response to the local and national need for skilled practitioners in FE, as part of their wider commitment to professional and career development”. Nationally the FE and skills sector has experienced considerable and continuing change, and inspectors commended BGU for reviewing, restructuring and extending its provision. The “dynamic and well considered actions” of leaders have created a strong partnership, reinforced by the “dedication and enthusiasm” of tutors and mentors, the report said. Inspectors found that the institution, which has been training teachers for over 150 years, continues to lead innovation which flourishes in the “safe learning environments” created by the partnership. Trainees “are not afraid to challenge themselves by trying out new and innovative ways to help their learners succeed”. The Ofsted inspection took place in May 2016. Dr Nick Gee, Head of the School of Teacher Development at BGU, said: “We are delighted by this report which once again highlights our clear vision, strong leadership and total commitment to partnership working. “To have secured ‘good’ OFSTED judgements in all age phases (early years, primary, secondary and FE) demonstrates the true depth and breadth of our expertise and places us amongst a very exclusive national pool of universities.” Matt Shough, Head of Higher Education at New College Stamford, said: “We are delighted that the report has recognised the work that the university and colleges have done in providing high-quality teacher training in the further education sector. “We are particularly pleased that the inspection recognised the care, support and challenge that the trainees receive from our tutors and mentors and consequently the high expectations set for them as emerging teachers.” Sally Reeve, Teaching and Learning Manager at Lincoln College Group, said: “We are immensely pleased to see that the hard work and dedication undertaken by the partnership and the commitment of the staff and trainees involved has been recognised by Ofsted. “We are also extremely grateful for all the support BGU has given in the preparation for the inspection and during it. This is a great team result with a positive impact on our trainees’ confidence.” To view the entire report visit the Ofsted website here. If you're wishing to pursue a career in the education, training and skills sector please see our Certificate in Education, Training and Skills or Professional Graduate Diploma in Education, Training and Skills. -
Education Talk to Mark International Women's Day
Education expert Dame Sally Coates will give a talk at Bishop Grosseteste University on Monday (7th March) to mark International Women’s Day. BGU and the Lincolnshire branch of the English Speaking Union will host a talk entitled Educating for the Future in the Hardy Building at 6.30pm. Dame Sally Coates has always worked in inner city schools in London and has been in teaching since 1976. She started work as an English teacher in Peckham Girls’ School, now The Academy at Peckham. She was Principal of Burlington Danes Academy, an 11–18 Ark Academy in Hammersmith and Fulham, from 2008 to 2014. The school was graded outstanding by Ofsted in November 2013. She acted as Executive Principal at Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton until July 2012 and was Executive Principal of Ark Putney and West London Free School until July 2014. Dame Sally chaired the Review of the Teaching Standards and the Skills Test Review. She also served as a member of the Key Stage 2 Test Review Committee under the chairmanship of Lord Bew. In September 2014 she joined United Learning as Director of Academies South. She is currently chairing a review into Prison Education. The Coates Review will report its findings to the Secretary of State for Justice in early in 2016. She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2013 New Years Honours List. Her book – Headstrong: 11 Lessons of School Leadership – was published in February 2015 and will be available for sale and signing after her talk. Drinks and canapés will be served from 6pm, and the talk will start at 6:30pm. If you would like to attend please email daisy.wedge@bishopg.ac.uk or call 01522 585635. -
BGU’s Teacher Training Praised by Ofsted
Bishop Grosseteste University’s teacher training partnership has been praised by Ofsted for making “an important contribution to the recruitment, selection and supply of teachers to local schools and the wider region”. The inspectors found that high-quality training, provided through effective partnership between the university and schools, “ensures that teachers trained by the university present as confident and effective practitioners, who are valued by their employing schools”. Trainee outcomes, the quality of training and the overall effectiveness of the partnership in securing consistently high-quality outcomes were all graded as good in primary, early years and secondary programmes. The two-stage Ofsted inspection took place in June and December 2015 and the report was published today (26th January 2016). The report praises BGU’s “vision for continuous improvement” and “involvement in current educational research”, keeping the historic institution at forefront of teacher education and recruitment. As a member of the prestigious Cathedrals Group of universities, BGU has a warm, caring ethos. The inspectors recognised this, commenting that across all phases “the partnership provides trainees with very high-quality levels of pastoral care and support”. Inspectors found that the institution, which has been training teachers for over 150 years, continues to lead developments through cutting-edge educational research: “University tutors’ involvement in current educational research provides a sharp edge to the training programme,” they said. Trainee teachers are also involved in research, and experience “good levels of coherence between the courses taught at the university and the school-based experiences”. These connections between theory and practice led inspectors to comment on “trainees’ useful research projects”, arguing that “the consistently good quality of this training is evidenced in extremely thorough audits, varied and interesting assignments”. “We are very pleased with the inspection judgements, which all mirror our own self-evaluation,” said Dr Nick Gee, Head of the School of Teacher Development at BGU. “We are particularly delighted by the recognition given to our excellent pastoral support, the full involvement of our partnership, the embedding of research within our training and the strength of leadership and management throughout all levels of provision.” Key findings in the report are: Leaders in all phases share a common vision for continuous improvement. Team-working within each phase leadership team and across the entire partnership leadership team is a strength. Together, all leaders demonstrate the capacity for further improvement. The partnership makes an important contribution to the recruitment, selection and supply of teachers to local schools and the wider region. The partnership provides trainees with very high-quality levels of pastoral care and support. Visit the Ofsted website. -
BGU Seeks Future Research Leaders
Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln is seeking six future research leaders to take up six full-time PhD studentships starting in spring 2016. As part of its ongoing strategy to increase its research activity, BGU will award the studentships to six candidates who can demonstrate their academic achievement and future research potential. The successful students will have the opportunity to work alongside BGU’s world-leading academics for up to four years. Studentships are being offered in two areas: Education and Related Studies, and Health, Social Care, Psychology and Wellbeing. The former will look at topics such as children’s spirituality, global issues in early childhood education and care, and enterprise education, while the latter will consider such subjects as human nutrition, psychosocial cancer care, and sleep, memory and dreaming. “We are looking to attract candidates with the ambition and ability to launch their research careers at Bishop Grosseteste University,” said Professor David Rae, Executive Dean for Research & Knowledge Exchange at BGU. “This is the first major investment by the university in developing its PhD programme by funding four-year studentships across areas of research excellence, and we plan to grow our involvement in research and innovation with further commitments in the future.” BGU will provide each successful student with a bursary and payment of their tuition fees for PhD study at the university. The PhD will be awarded by the University of Leicester under its validation partnership with BGU. The minimum entry requirement for a research degree programme is an upper second-class honours degree, or an equivalent overseas qualification, in a relevant subject. These studentships are restricted to applicants with citizenship in the United Kingdom and European Union. For more information and how to apply, please click here. -
Children’s Spirituality Top of the Agenda at BGU
A total of 75 delegates from more than 15 countries converged on Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln for the biennial four-day event. Led by Dr Kate Adams, Head of Research at the university, and held in partnership with the International Association for Children’s Spirituality (IACS), the conference ran from Tuesday 26th until Friday 29th July. Dr Adams said: “There is a significant recognition that the spiritual dimension of life is often undervalued in societies which are consumer-driven and market-orientated. We wanted to explore the many elements of children’s spirituality through dialogue between those from different disciplines and cultures.” Entitled Spirituality and the Whole Child: Interdisciplinary Approaches, the conference attracted many of the world’s leading experts, practitioners and postgraduate students and was a forum for those working in education, social work, chaplaincy, psychology, youth work, ministry and neuroscience. Keynote speakers came from prestigious universities from across the globe and included John (Jack) Miller from the University of Toronto, Canada; Joyce Ann Mercer from Yale Divinity School, USA; and Jacqueline Watson from the University of Exeter, UK. They shared their research, insight and wisdom and stimulated debate on alternative schooling, restorative spirituality for traumatised children and integrated working to support children respectively. An additional 44 papers and workshops were delivered covering themes relating to spirituality in different contexts. These included the early years through to adolescence, music, art, meditation, mindfulness, children’s literature, resilience and religious approaches. During the conference, Dr Adams was elected as Co-chair of the association. “I am honoured to have been voted in to this role by our members,” she said. “IACS is an inclusive community which values the spiritual lives of children and young people, irrespective of their faith or lack thereof. It is particularly pertinent to BGU as a church university to be central to this significant work which is being conducted across the globe.” A series of social events took place during the week and included the formation of a community choir by conference delegates. The choir was led by Frances Kelly, a recent recipient of a British Citizen Award for services to community music-making in Lincolnshire. The delegates also enjoyed a bespoke tour of Lincoln Cathedral as seen through children’s eyes as well as a conference dinner showcasing the outstanding talents of BGU chef Jack Bridges and his team. -
Excellent student satisfaction
BGU is the second highest ranked public university in England for student satisfaction. Figures released today from the National Student Survey show that 92% of BGU students are satisfied with their university experience - that’s 7% higher than last year’s score and six percentage points higher than the sector average. Significantly seven courses reported overall satisfaction above 92%. Education Studies, Theology & Ethics achieved 100% satisfaction while three other courses – Early Childhood Studies, Primary Education with Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status and Applied Studies – all recorded satisfaction levels of 97%. Dr Ruth Sayers, Executive Dean Learning, Teaching and International, welcomed today’s findings: “This is an excellent result for BGU and demonstrates our commitment to working in partnership with our students to improve their teaching and learning experience. We take what our students tell us very seriously and are always keen to hear what they have to say. We’ve introduced a number of initiatives to help give them a greater input including a new student engagement facilitator role which has been created to enhance and further develop a culture of staff and students working in partnership across the university. We’re also delighted with the overall response rate, which was 81% of eligible final year students, and would like to thank the Bishop Grosseteste Students’ Union (BGSU) for their support in encouraging people to take part.” BGSU President Kieran Parrish said he is thrilled with the outcome: “This shows that the students recognise the high quality of service they are actually getting from the university and that the relationship is one which is strong and transparent. From an SU point of view it is excellent to see how engaged and happy the students are, however, we know that there is always room for improvement. We are relishing the chance to build upon this and push ourselves to provide better for the students in the future.” The NSS statistics follow on from a succession of positive results for BGU. In April, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) published its review which found that BGU met its expectations in all areas – academic standards, learning opportunities, information and enhancement. In July, the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey revealed that BGU is one of the top three universities in the UK for student employability with 97.2% per cent of students who leave BGU with an undergraduate degree finding work or continuing to study six months following graduation. Also during the year, Ofsted gave a very positive rating for all of teacher education – early years, primary, secondary and further education – and praised BGU for having a “clear vision and an extremely strong commitment to their engagement with partners in the FE and skills sector”. The Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, said it’s been an extremely successful year. “We’ve achieved some outstanding results this year which show that we provide outstanding facilities and support,” he explained. “It is also worth highlighting that we’ve recorded increases in all of the eight NSS question categories and attained one of the biggest rises in the country for overall student satisfaction. We conduct our own in-house survey every year and receive very positive feedback but it is very encouraging to see our students saying this in public. However, there is no room for complacency and we will keep growing the range of subjects on offer and further invest in improving our up-hill campus so that we can continue giving the students an excellent experience.” -
Mother and Daughter Graduate Together at BGU
A mother and her daughter graduated together from Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln on Wednesday 20th July. Carol Bailey (57) and Sammie Steadman (31) graduated with a Foundation Degree (FdA) in Applied Studies (Early Childhood). They both work at the Sunshine Children’s Centre in Burgh-le-Marsh near Skegness and juggled their studies and full-time work during their two years at BGU. Carol works full time as a supervisor at the centre while Sammie is the Deputy Manager. Carol never thought she would study at university but the foundation degree was the right fit for her because it requires a minimum of two years’ experience of work with children in their early years. “My daughter and I were working 37 hours and a half per week and going to university in Lincoln from Skegness on a Monday. It was difficult and time-consuming as even the weekends were being taken up, but it was enjoyable at the same time,” said Carol. “We knew everyone else on the course was in the same boat and we would talk to each other as everyone was either in full-time work or doing 12 hours’ voluntary work. “I never thought I could do anything like this so it’s definitely a proud moment, and graduating alongside my daughter has made me even prouder.” Sammie has now decided to continue via the top up degree onto a BA (Hons) degree in Early Childhood Studies this September. “I was really happy to go to university with my mum. It takes us an hour to get there so it was nice to have that time together to catch up,” she said. “It’s going to be weird going back to BGU without my mum in September but I’m going back with people who I’ve already met in the past two years, so I should be fine. “My mum and I are grateful to BGU as all the lecturers were friendly and responded to all our emails.”
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