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Clap for carers: How two BGU students are helping the most vulnerable during Covid-19
As the United Kingdom continues to grapple with ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic care providers across the country have been adapting their procedures to ensure that vulnerable people receive the support they need. EarlyBird Lifestyle Support is one of these hard-working groups and they’ve been sharing how the pandemic has impacted their work. Created and run by Bishop Grosseteste University students Damian Taylor (MA Health & Social Care) and Neil Martin (MA Education with TESOL) Earlybird prides itself on being a friendly well-being service supporting people throughout the city of Lincoln and surrounding areas with tasks such as cooking, cleaning, collecting prescriptions and medication, food shopping, trips out, escorting individuals to appointments and more. Damian discusses the changes the pandemic, and associated lockdown, has brought and how the team at Earlybird have adapted to it: “We work with many of groups left most vulnerable to COVID-19, primarily our older clients but also younger individuals suffering from mental health or other disability related problems. We wore a lot of protection anyway, but we’ve had to increase our use of PPE. It’s been so difficult to find supplies for reasonable prices though. We are also finding that many of our clients find the staff wearing the full PPE quite intimidating and try our best not to scare them off. Ultimately our team works to promote independence for vulnerable people, allowing them to lead their choice of lifestyle. That choice can be so easily lost at times like this and I’m proud to think we’re helping people to keep some level of freedom. I’d like to thank all our staff for their hard work during this time. Their enthusiasm and professionalism haven’t dropped once. They’re truly the backbone to the business, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.” Support from EarlyBird is available to anyone in Lincolnshire and the surrounding area, to find out how they can help you visit their website, or get in contact via email at info@ebls.co.uk or on 01522424161. Damian and Neil are the one of the many success stories to emerge from the BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU). If you have got a vision for your own business but aren’t sure where to begin then the BG Futures team are the perfect place to start. With facilities and expert support available in their incubation centre, they’ll be able to get you on the road to success. Visit our website or contact them today to see how you can start your own adventure. -
‘World Changing’ Trans Student Experience Project Included in International Social Psychology Text
The CELT-LTIF funded ‘Transforming the Student Experience’ project has been featured as an example of ‘world changing’ applied research in a new book. The project was co designed and developed through a partnership between trans and non-trans students and staff and has seen many of its recommendations, including more inclusive welcome messaging and trans awareness training for staff and students, either achieved or in the process of going through the University Committee structure. Internationally renowned Social Psychologist Wendy Stainton Rogers was impressed by the project following a presentation by Sue Becker and former BGU student Ashley Ravenwood at the BPS Psychology of Sexualities Section 20th Anniversary Conference in July 2018, describing it as: “…a great project with real progress and outcomes, and a good model to follow”. In her recent book, Perspectives on Social Psychology – A Psychology of Human Being, Rogers features the project as a case study to inspire others to come together and make positive changes in their communities. The project team continue to work to ensure findings and recommendations from the project are embedded into BGU policy and practice and are currently working to publish a paper outlining their approach and findings. The project team are: Alex Dale Whistler – Education Studies and Special Educational Needs and Inclusion Jayde Williams – Primary Education with recommendation for QTS Dr Sue Becker – Programme Leader for Psychology Lyndsay Muir – Senior Lecturer Dr Sue Cordell – Head of Learning Enhancement Dr Claire Thomson – Head of the Centre for Enhancement in Learning and Teaching Dr Gianina Postavaru – Lecturer in Psychology If you’d like to become a part of BGU’s research focused community, speak to a member of our Enquiries Team or join us at one of our upcoming virtual open days. -
BGU Community Supporting Coronavirus PPE Efforts
Members of the Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) community have been working hard to support the County’s drive to get vital PPE to essential front line workers. Luke Pennington, Analyst Programmer at BGU, has been using the University’s 3D printer to create headbands to produce face shields for Health care workers. Although he wasn’t always the biggest fan of the process he was keen to support others when the opportunity arose: “I’m not really a fan of home 3D printing under normal circumstances as I think it raises a number of questions around the environment and the spread of plastics. However, I read in the press about home enthusiasts printing PPE kit for healthcare workers and realised the University’s 3D printer could be an excellent tool for supporting this. As an individual printer I wouldn’t be able to produce enough shields fast enough on my own my but I found a Lincoln group of volunteers coordinating supply and demand and got approval to join in. I have been printing for about 5 weeks now and have produced over 80 shields. The completed shields are sent onto the group which distributes them so I’m not involved directly in sending them out but my first batch went towards the East Midlands Ambulance Service, Lincoln County hospital, local care homes and A & E departments.” Lynne, from Flower Park Care Home, was one of the health care professionals to receive a face shield made by the volunteers and she was full of praise for the impact of their efforts: “It’s fantastic that the group have made these face shields and all of us at Flower Park care home are really grateful as we feel so much safer at work wearing them.” In addition BGU was approached by 3DCrowdUK which is a Non-Profit Voluntary Organisation set up to help provide PPE to NHS and Key Workers during this pandemic. The University’s Hardy Building has now been transformed into a logistics hub for Lincolnshire, collecting and redistributing PPE being manufactured to volunteers all over the county. Alongside BGU’s offer of facilities a number of its furloughed staff, particularly from the Estates team, are volunteering in various capacities from Hub Coordinator to logistics coordinators and drivers. -
How our current circumstances offer a window into Lincoln's history
Dr Andrew Jackson, Head of Research at BGU, has written a series of articles exploring how the current circumstances in which we find ourselves offer a window into the history of both Lincoln and the wider United Kingdom. In the first of these he examines how the introduction of product restrictions by supermarkets harks back to the First World War and the city of Lincoln’s earlier experiences of rationing*. -
BGU Vice-Chancellor: Social-Distancing is tough but we all need to work together to protect the vulnerable
Over the last week we have been repeatedly encouraged by the Government and our emergency services to practise social distancing in an effort to reduce the transmission of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Unfortunately, over the weekend we saw many examples of people ignoring this advice in favour of visiting the country’s seaside towns and country villages. To a point this is understandable, humans are by nature social creatures, and the idea of being locked down and not seeing friends and loved ones for the foreseeable future may seem upsetting. However, the potential dangers of ignoring this advice far outweigh the social implications. Even if you are not showing symptoms, or are unlikely to suffer due to the virus, you may still pose a risk to those who are more vulnerable. This is one of the main reasons that we decided to move learning and teaching at BGU online for the foreseeable future. It was not an easy decision but I am confident it was the best one to make for the health and wellbeing of our students and staff. I implore every member of our community to follow the Government and Public Health England’s advice on social distancing. I am hopeful that we may soon start to see the end of current circumstances but this is only possible if we all make hard choices and work together. Remember that following the advice does not mean you have to completely isolate yourself, we are lucky to live in a technological age with an amazing array of digital communication options available to us. As an institution we are also working hard to craft innovative systems, such as our new Library Live Chat, to ensure that members of community are able to stay in regular contact with us and can continue to access support and guidance at any time. As I said when we made the difficult decision to transition to online learning, I look forward to welcoming everyone back onto campus as soon as possible, until then please stay safe and continue to protect the health of yourselves and those around you. You can find more information on the work being done BGU to support or community on our Remote Learning web page. Yours sincerely, Rev’d Canon Professor Peter Neil THE REVEREND CANON PROFESSOR PETER NEIL Vice-Chancellor Bishop Grosseteste University Full Government guidance on social distancing can be found by clicking here. -
Our top tips for getting a good sleep
There’s nothing more tiring than being stuck at home, but that doesn’t always mean that you can get good quality sleep. To help you during this difficult time, we spoke to our resident sleep expert; Dr Caroline Horton, to get some advice on how to maximise your chances of getting some well-earned rest.Sleeping well can impact positively on both our emotional and our physical functioning, so we suggest the following tips to help with getting to sleep and staying asleep. Please also contact Caroline.horton@bishopg.ac.uk if you are interested in taking part in an online project that aims to improve your sleep. Consistency of routine – establishing a regular work, exercise, and eating routine will impact on sleep. Going to sleep and waking up at very similar times each day can really help to train the body and brain to switch off, and switch on again in the morning.Dealing with anxiety – Most of us have periods where we struggle to switch off, because our minds are racing with current concerns. Unfortunately, with the current and unpredictable situation concerning COVID-19, mental health charities are in high demand, dealing with additional cases of anxiety. This can be troubling enough to deal with, but it can also disrupt sleep, which in turn can increase the frequency and scale of negative thoughts the following day. Switching off is therefore crucially important. Take the time to unwind and relax, as best you can, well before your usual bedtime. That way your body and mind should be more prepared for sleep. BGU has support in place to help with this. Staff can access our employee assistance programme through Perkbox and students can access round-the-clock support via Big White Wall.Boundaries – Similarly, our minds can race when we are busy or on overdrive. This can be when we are excited or active. Ideally, we have a consistent routine that separates out working from leisure, and each of those from sleep. Working/learning from home makes the creation of such boundaries even more challenging. Here at DrEAMSLab, we recommend allowing an extra 30-60 minutes to prepare for sleep. Watching Netflix doesn’t count as preparing for sleep, as that can in fact keep the mind active! Take time to settle and relax. If reading is calming for you, engage with that, but from the page rather than from a blue-light emitting device. If possible, don’t work in the room that you sleep in; keep those environments separate. Don’t use your bed for work. Create work/leisure/sleep boundaries in your routine as well as your physical spaces.General sleep hygiene – There are endless tips and tricks that aim to promote sleeping healthily. Consider signing up to the Sleep Well research study to access current information from DrEAMSLab (now online!) by contacting Caroline.horton@bishopg.ac.uk, and/or consult the following helpful sites:NHS choicesThe Sleep Council Resources from the recent World Sleep Day (13th March 2020) -
Top Tips for PGCE Students
With summer fast approaching undergraduate students will be planning out their next steps after finishing their degrees. Given our over 150 year's of experience in training teachers, many of our students will be considering staying on to begin a career in teaching through a PGCE course. With a wide range of age and subject specialism they're a great choice for anyone looking at a future in education. Although a PGCE may seem like a daunting task former student Jessica Barker has been put together her top tips to help new students succeed in their efforts to become teachers.* I started writing this post way back in September and have added to it throughout my time on the PGCE course. These are some basic but helpful tips that I want to offer any upcoming PGCE students, and most of them apply more generally to trainee teachers coming from other routes into the career too. Read on and hopefully you'll take some of this on board and find it relevant! 1. Take out a loan. Yes, you'll end up with a little more to pay back once you're earning, but that was inevitable after your degree anyway! The student loan can work wonders and top up your bursary to a very comfy sum. For those of you not fortunate enough to receive a bursary in the first place because our government don't deem your specialist subject worthy of one (don't even get me started), the loan will really help. 2. Quit your part-time job. It's going to be so hard to balance a part-time job and the training for a full time career, which quite honestly requires all of your time and effort. Long gone are the days when you'd get home from work and could switch off from it all, you'll now be working long into the evenings and at least one day of the weekend. Don't let a part time job hinder your training year, take the loan out and quit your job. 3. Use your age as an advantage. This is for those of us entering into the profession straight from undergraduate, particularly if you have a baby face. You're entering into a school late, the kids don't know you but they're observant and are going to recognise that you look pretty young. The minute that somebody seems to clock on that you're only in your early twenties is when you should start to use your age as an advantage. Kids instantly have a lot of respect for you when they feel like they can relate to you, so don't be afraid to show them that you're interested in some of the same things as them. There's a real temptation to hide your youth but I've found that chatting to the year eight boys about Fortnite and discussing prom with the year eleven girls really has helped me to win them over. Don't give too much away about yourself, do more listening than talking, but admit that because you're only five to ten years older than they are, you share similar interests - they'll start to see you as more human. Also, even though you know that actually the difference between a sixteen and a twenty-two year old isn't that mammoth, they won't. So they'll still see you as a proper fully fledged adult, even though you might not feel like one yet! 4. Take snacks, water and coffee. Teaching is physically (and emotionally) draining, you can never relax because you have to remain constantly alert, so you're using a lot more energy than your body is probably used to! It's a good idea to take something to nibble on at break time, just to give you that boost through until lunch. Water is a good idea too because working in a school makes you prone to headaches - the bright yellow lights and the noisy kids are a winning combination for heavy eyes and a pounding head, and staying hydrated will ensure that this isn't made any worse than it needs to be. Coffee is good at helping you feel a little more alive, particularly on dreary and dull days when you're having to teach some of your most challenging classes! It's also just good for socialising in the staff room, you have a reason to nip there and make yourself a drink, and you can sit and chat to everyone while you do. 5. Be professional. You're a trainee, people are watching your every move, and that isn't just when you're being formally observed in the classroom. You might think the staff room is a safe place to vent about your nightmare year eight's, but what you maybe don't know is that Satanic Sammy's mother is also a science teacher at the school and is sitting directly opposite you as you don him with that nickname! So avoid over-sharing, even when the other member's of staff are chatting away about personal things, don't get involved. You don't want to give people any excuse to judge you. This doesn't just apply to the things you say, but also be careful around what you do. Even if other staff members are okay rocking up to school five minutes before the bell for registration is going to ring, you can't behave like that. It's annoying but you've got to make sure you're doing everything the "right" way, and be assured, somebody will tell you if you're not! 6. Get involved with extra-curricular activities. As a trainee you're not obliged to help out with book club or choir, but staff will really appreciate you offering a helping hand, and it's a fantastic way to get to know the students. It's nice to show that you're taking a wider interest in the school too (and this will help you tick off Standard Eight of the Teachers Standards) so find out what there is to be getting involved with. Extra-curricular activities are fun to be a part of - they're filled with the kids that are passionate about that activity (be it drama, reading, sport, and so on) so you don't have to worry about bad behaviour, instead it's a nice opportunity to see the students at their best. I ran book club at my last school, and most of you know that I'm not an avid reader, but I absolutely loved seeing the students take an interest and develop a passion for literature. 7. Have one day off a week. You've overloaded with work, but it's important to have some time to yourself too. I honestly can't remember what I did before my PGCE because while on it, 90% of my time was filled with marking, planning and teaching. I tried to have one day a week where I did something completely unrelated to teaching, and it was usually Saturday. I'd go out for a meal or to the shops, I might go for a walk if the weather was nice (sometimes ending up at the pub), I watched some TV or I wrote my blog, just anything that I fancied really. It's so important to switch from your professional self to your personal self, and it makes you feel a lot better about life. 8. Buy personalised stamps. As a PGCE student, you'll be sharing your classes with host teachers - this can be tough, especially on second placement. The kids are usually able to adjust to having two teachers in the classroom, often it's the other teacher who can't. I found on my second placement that some teachers were very reluctant to let go of their classes and still wanted to have a presence within the classroom while I was teaching, which could make it very difficult to establish myself. I bought a personalised stamp that read 'Miss Barker says fantastic work', and i used it whenever a student's classwork or homework was especially impressive. This is first and foremost to give the students some recognition, but it was also for my own sake too! When they got the stamp they knew that it was me who had marked this work, which helped me to build a rapport with them. It sounds really trivial but this has helped so much, because students then reached out and thanked me for marking their book, and wanted to discuss my comments. They appreciated it and recognised that it was me who was putting in that effort. 9. Live at home if you can. This comes down to personal preference because everybody's living situations are different, but for me, I don't think I'd have managed this year if I didn't live at home. Shared accommodation is something I never want to go back to and definitely couldn't have put up with while doing my PGCE. I think I could have managed living alone this year, not in a group, but life is so much easier at home. I'm really lucky to have super supportive parents who I'm very close to, which definitely helped because I always had someone to talk to if I'd had a bit of a rubbish day. I also got all of my meals cooked for me, my pack-up was always ready for me on a morning, my bed was made if I didn't have time to do it, and my clothes were all washed and neatly ironed! You don't realise how much you value these things until you don't have them, and having lived away for three years, I can see just how lucky I am. If you know you'll get looked after at home, move back there. I get that it feels a little strange, to hundreds of children you are a teacher, and yet back home you feel like a teenager - but that's okay! You can be responsible and professional at work, and still have your mum take care of you at home, for this year at least. Also, life is much more affordable when you live at home, and your money will stretch so much further. It's worth considering. 10. Ask for help. So many people from my cohort quit during first placement, about a third of us just dropped out, and I was shocked. As stressful as it was and as hard as it seemed, I couldn't believe people could just give up... then I moved to my second placement and I finally understood. Sometimes you feel under-valued, unappreciated, demoralised and even bullied... and you need to speak out. Expectations vary from school to school and while one placement might be easygoing and quite casual, another might be very strict and on top of things - if you're struggling with the pace of it all, or if you think you aren't good enough, you need to talk to one of your university mentors/tutors. I was having real problems at my placement school so reached out to my school based mentor and made them aware. I then received lots of additional support from the people at university and knew that as hard as the course had become, I could get through it. I ended up being removed from my second placement school and moved back to my first one, this was exactly what I needed and had wanted for a very long time. Things just didn't work out at the second placement and it was affecting my self esteem and happiness outside of work, and because I reached out to the uni and continued to report to them whenever there was an issue, they were able to get me out of a bad situation and into a better one. Don't be afraid to tell people that you're not doing great, it's better to mention it early on than wait until you feel the only option is to quit. The people at university will want to help you, it's their job, and they will act on your behalf and make things easier if you'll only ask. It's a long year full of ups and downs - sometimes with more downs than ups - but it's worth sticking out and completing. Enter into your PGCE year with a positive mindset and face the challenges as they come to the very best of your ability. Enjoy the experience and remember it won't last forever, the end is in sight right from the very beginning and you can do it. I really hope you found this post useful and will take some of these recommendations on board. I recently graduated from my PGCE, qualifying as an Outstanding teacher and having received two merits in both of my assignments, and will be beginning my NQT year this September, and I can't wait. Thank you for reading. Jessica successfully graduated last summer before beginning her NQT year, you can keep up to date with her progress on her blog "Life as a University Graduate". You can find more information on the wide range of innovative PGCE courses offered by BGU on our website. Alternatively you can contact our Enquiries Team or join us on one our Open Days to find out how to begin your journey into teaching. -
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