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#12DaysofBGU Day 8: Darcey Bussell
Ballerina and Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell visited Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln in October to speak to trainee teachers about DDMIX for Schools. Darcey and her DDMIX team worked with over a hundred trainee teachers from Primary and Secondary programmes from the School of Teacher Development at BGU. DDMIX is a full-body aerobic workout for children created by Darcey Bussell and based on 26 different dance genres, from Arabic and Japanese to the Charleston and the Flamenco. The day opened with a special lecture for all year groups where Darcey introduced the programme. Students then split off into smaller groups to participate in sessions with the DDMIX team. Speaking about DDMIX Darcey said, “Movement to music makes children come alive and changes the way they feel. With the DDMIX programme, children get an exciting and diverse learning experience that is physical, aerobic and high time on task. These benefits should be enjoyed by every child. “Dance fitness can stimulate the child’s interest in sport, in the arts and give them the confidence to explore their own creativity in other fields." DDMIX came to BGU through the work of Helen Thornalley, Subject Leader for PE and Dance for the PGCE Secondary course at BGU, who arrived at the University in January. Helen has worked with Darcey and DDMIX for the past three years on training teachers and reflecting on how this work is implemented within schools. Feedback from the trainee teachers is vital for DDMIX to find out what works for children in schools. Helen said, "The opportunity for trainee teachers to work with these professionals who are at the top of their game, and the sharing of their materials with prospective teachers for schools is amazing. “(It was) unique, rich and cathartic for all involved, a very exciting project that I have seen teachers embrace and make it their own." Members of the DDMIX team introduced BGU students to a range of different dances and activities that can be utilised when students go into schools on placements. Jessica Castro, first year BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS student, said, “The session was really good. I thought it was great how they split everything up into sections, which will help us with how to teach the children. “They haven’t just thrown us into the deep end, they’ve shown us how to work with the children and taught us the dances as well so I thought that was really clever. “I’d love to use (DDMIX) in schools. When we go into placements and we have to use PE I’d definitely use something like this rather than what you’d expect PE to be.” Find out more about Training to Teach at BGU. -
BGU Theology Students Provide Uniforms for School Children in India
A group of Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) Theology students have successfully raised enough money to supply over 100 school uniforms to pupils in India with special needs. Carried out in aid of the SDETLAND Project (www.lincswithindia.org.uk), who work with several Lincolnshire rotary clubs to support some the most deprived and disadvantaged children in the world, the students have been working hard over the past year to raise enough money to fund both the uniforms as well as their travel to visit the centre. Georgina Foxcroft, one of the students involved, was delighted to have the opportunity to support the project so effectively: “We asked the SDETLAND Project what they wanted and they said a uniform for the children would be amazing. They receive no government funding, everything they get is from donations and it was the one thing that the school really needed so we were more than happy to provide them. "Being able to take the uniforms out ourselves and meet some of the children was fantastic. It made that connection more personal and proved to us that our efforts were worthwhile.” Returning from the trip, BGU Theology lecturer Mark Plater highlighted why the hard work carried out by the SDETLAND Project was so important: “SDET do a wonderful job of caring for those who generally get left out of Indian society. Tribal people and the disabled are not well provided for by government agencies, so SDET (Social Democratic Education Trust) was developed as a charity to fill in the gaps. "They provide hostels and special schools for children of such communities, and occupational training to help them move on to skilled jobs. I am really impressed with the dedication and commitment of their staff.” Along with the SDETLAND Project, the team of BGU students visited primary, secondary, international and specialist SEN schools along with a selection of sites of religious significance across India to get a wide aspect of education and culture in the country. The students would also like to thank Lincoln business Eliza D Memory, whose daughter is one of their fellow students at BGU, for printing the uniforms. Find out more about studying Theology & Ethics at BGU. -
Bishop Grosseteste University Unveils a Suite of New Courses
Throughout our 150 years of teaching excellence everyone at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) has strived to be at the forefront of innovation in higher education, ensuring our courses continue to meet the needs of a constantly evolving student market. The courses are highly regarded by both students and inspectors for their quality and we are excited to add four new Master's level degree options as well as a new Post Graduate Certificate to our ever-growing portfolio. As with our existing selection of courses, these new additions are designed to support learning with a range of potential study options opening them to any budding student. Dr Graham Basten, Head of School of Social Sciences at BGU, believes the launch of the new courses will mark a step forward in the provision of continuous professional development: “Building on our highly successful undergraduate programmes, our Master's level provision within the School has expanded to incorporate top up degrees to existing students and professionals looking to gain higher level qualifications. These new courses are fantastic opportunities created directly with student learning in mind”. Interest can now be registered for: MA in Professional Studies (now MA in Professional Practice with Children, Young People and Families): A specialised two year, part-time Master's Course designed to support and challenge professionals from a range of formal and informal educational settings and contexts. It aims to produce high-calibre postgraduates who are autonomous, reflexive, possessing of inquiring and analytical minds as part of their continued professional formation. MA in Mathematics Education: Designed for individuals teaching mathematics across all phases including Primary, Secondary and Further Education. The course will give students the tools to refine their own professional practice, to study the latest innovations in mathematics teaching, and to compare international systems of Mathematics Education. MSc in Wellbeing and Learning in Teaching: Suitable for a range of professionals within a variety of educational settings. It is ideal for those engaged in support of mental health and wellbeing in education, such as head teachers, teachers, social workers, school nurses, educational psychologists, police and youth justice workers. MSc in Primary/Community Care: Designed to influence and enhance the nature and quality of provision of care within the Primary/Community care setting. It will facilitate wider understanding for professionals currently in the sector but also for those considering a career within Primary/Community provision of care provision along with management and influences on clinical practice within settings. Post Graduate Certificate in Primary Mathematics: This course is an opportunity to develop mathematical subject and pedagogical knowledge, and is designed for people who are currently teaching mathematics in a primary setting. It is ideal for people who are passionate about the learning and teaching of mathematics and want to be able to influence their colleagues. If you are considering taking your education to a new level and these new courses sound like the path for you, you can sign up for more information on the course pages or contact BGU’s Enquiries Team and start your journey today. -
Innovative Health & Social Care Forums Continue at BGU
The Health & Social Care Team at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in collaboration with Terry Vine, Deputy Chief Nurse at West Lincs CCG, continued their programme of monthly forums for General Practice Nurses (GPNs) with a session focusing on ‘Urgent and Emergency Care in General Practice’. The need for an understanding of urgent and emergency care is being seen more often in General Practice due to increases in condition complexity, access to services and general frailty of the populations served. Central to the forum was a workshop session led by David Hickman from ‘Lives’, which focused on many of the skills for prehospital care and condition deterioration. Supported by over 700 volunteers, doctors, nurses and paramedics, the team at ‘Lives’ are dedicated to being there for the people of Lincolnshire in time of greatest need; delivering immediate high quality care regardless of the location or time of day. In support of the need to enhance the education of General Practice and Primary Care, a consequence of the changing nature of healthcare delivery towards “Care Closer to Home”, BGU plans to launch a new MSc in Primary/Community Care from next year. The course is designed to enhance the nature and quality of provision of care within the Primary/Community care setting in addition to facilitating a wider understanding for professionals currently in the sector as well as those considering a career within Primary/Community provision. Nicki Walsh, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for Health & Social Care at BGU, explains why the forums and new course are so important: “Healthcare cannot stand still; as society’s health and social needs continue to evolve, effective education is critical. Continuing professional development is a vital part of this, especially for practitioners who are isolated from their clinical colleagues by virtue of their practice environment. “The monthly forum, established at BGU, is seen as a means to promote knowledge enhancement and exchange around best practice and to provide regular and relevant educational updates. “The new MSc is an exciting opportunity to take the lessons of the forums a step further providing practitioners with a wealth of essential knowledge as well as breaking new ground in the teaching of Health & Social Care.” The forums are an opportunity for often-isolated practice nurses from across Lincoln and surrounding villages to share experiences and develop and enhance skills. Each forum examines a range of General Practice related issues, whilst the latest focused on urgent and emergency care, previous forums looked at issues around Asthma Management, COPD and Mental Health support. If you would like more information on the forums, or on the upcoming MSc you can contact Nicki Walsh or our Enquiries Team who will be happy to answer any questions you may have. -
BGU Sports Students Run Tag Rugby ‘Megafest’ Alongside the RFU
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) students worked alongside the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and a number of Lincolnshire schools to put on a Tag Rugby ‘Megafest’ for 200 primary school pupils from across the county. Run by BGU Sport, Coaching & Physical Education students with organisational support from Jenny Elsom (Priory City of Lincoln Academy & BGU graduate) and Michelle Mamby (Pembroke Priory - School Games Organiser with the Youth Sport Trust) the all-day event offered skills workshops in the morning followed by competitive games in the afternoon. Both sessions were designed to not only get children active and engaged in sport, but also to build wider skills in including team work and communication. Seb Adams, a 2nd year Sport, Coaching & Physical Education student currently on a Sport Promotion & Leadership placement with the RFU, explained why offering such events for children was an important aspect of their course: “Children can lose opportunities to experience new sports as they reach secondary school. To be able to offer them a chance to take part and have fun with rugby surrounded by expert coaches is fantastic for both their mental and physical development.” BGU works alongside a number of sporting organisations as a part of the Sport, Coaching and Physical Education course including the RFU who are directly involved in the practical delivery of the rugby coaching modules. David Cotton-Betteridge, Community Rugby Coach for England Rugby, has been working with the BGU sports students as part of the Young Ambassador Programme which targets potential coaches. He was pleased to see the students bringing the sport to a new generation of players: “It’s been great to work on this event with the student coaches here at BGU. The Megafest is a fantastic opportunity for children to experience and most importantly enjoy rugby, the day was a great success and we’re already looking forward to next year”. If you are interested in pursuing a future in sports education and coaching you can find more information about Sport courses at BGU on our website or by contacting our Enquiries Team. -
BGU Students Present to National Teaching Conference
Second year Primary Education students from Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) shared their research into 21st Century Digital Literacies at the Annual TEAN (Teacher Education Advancement Network) Conference in Birmingham earlier this month. Led by Senior Lecturer Emma Rogers the students – Charlotte Hallam, Fiona Sanderson, Millie Holland, Christina Flynn, Ellie Marshall and Amelia Challen – presented their collaborative study to a engrossed audience of academics and professionals from Higher Education institutions across the United Kingdom. Their project, funded by the Learning and Teaching Innovation Fund from BGU’s CELT Team, involved 3 Primary classrooms where students and pupils experienced collaborating within a digital space. Their confident presentation was not only well received by the delegates but also a fantastic opportunity for the students (alongside other BGU colleagues) to demonstrate their innovative research skills to the wider Higher Education industry. Emma Rogers was keen to champion their achievements: "It was a great opportunity for the students to present to other universities and they really rose to the challenge. “They represented our University with professionalism and confidence. A wide range of universities were represented at the TEAN conference, with lecturers from around the country sharing their research and developments. “BGU was very well represented with a number of colleagues from the Primary team delivering workshops." The Teacher Education Advancement Network (TEAN) is a collaborative initiative for teacher education providers and associated organisations that strives to improve the quality of teacher training available across the four countries of the UK. BGU is dedicated to bringing cutting edge and innovative research to the Higher Education sector. If you are interested in becoming a part of that drive, contact our Enquiries Team or visit our website today to discover fascinating new opportunities. -
BGU Showcases Health & Social Care Innovation to Health Education England
Last week representatives from Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) Health & Social Care Team had the opportunity to showcase their innovative work to Sir Keith Pearson and Ian Cummings; Chair and Chief Exec of Health Education England as part of an event with United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust. Held at Lincoln County Hospital, the purpose of the event was to discuss health and social care developments in the county. Key organisations and providers from across Lincolnshire were invited to demonstrate workforce transformation and partnership working across the county whilst Education Partners, including BGU, had the opportunity to showcase new course developments for the health and social care sector. BGU has been working hard to forge innovative new paths within Health & Social Care education, from new trailblazing courses to exciting studies, making this event an excellent opportunity to bring all those efforts to the public eye, as Dr Graham Basten, Head of School of Social Sciences at BGU, explains: "Having the opportunity to outline the journey that BGU has been on to grow our Health & Social Care provision was fantastic. Being able to showcase the incredible work in diabetes done by Nicki Walsh (PL for HSC), cancer care work done by Gianina Postăvaru and blood interpretation in clinical practice by myself was a real privilege. “We outlined our BA and MA in Health & Social Care and the foundation degrees available at Grantham and New College Stamford, along with our two new MSc programmes in Primary Care (info.bishopg.ac.uk/msc-primary-community-care) and Mental Health in Learning & Teaching (info.bishopg.ac.uk/msc-in-wellbeing-in-learning-and-teaching). We also discussed our role with LORIC and the new Centre for Rural Health and Care (roseregeneration.co.uk/national-centre-for-rural-health-and-care) based in Lincoln in partnership with UHLT. “The positive feedback from all the guests suggested that BGU is certainly providing a significant role in improving the complex health and social care outcomes in Lincolnshire and the wider East Midlands" You can find more information about our suite of Health & Social Care courses on our website or by contacting our Enquiries Team. -
BGU PhD Candidate Launches New Book for Early Years Professionals
On Monday we celebrated the launch of BGU PhD student Jo Cormack’s new book: ‘Helping Children Develop a Positive Relationship with Food’ for Jessica Kingsely Publishers. The book is designed to be a practical guide for those working with young children to better understand, manage and support children’s relationship with food. Revealing the different ways in which children can relate to food, the book aims to provide those around them with evidence based good practices to help them develop psychologically healthy eating habits. It also tackles issues such as picky eating, obesity and food anxiety. Having worked as a child and adolescent therapist (including with young people with eating disorders) and more recently, as a feeding consultant specialising in picky eating, Jo understands both the importance and the complexity of the discussions surrounding positive attitudes to food: "My work is all about the emotional and behavioural dynamics in eating. I am passionate about helping both parents and professionals understand how to support and nurture children's relationship with food. It is an extremely rewarding area." As a full time PhD candidate at BGU, Jo has built her writing around her studies, but her personal and professional curiosity has made balancing and driving her research an engaging challenge: “I love it at BGU. It’s such a privilege to have time and resources to complete my research.” Jo’s book launch formed part of a packed afternoon with an interactive research seminar alongside Dr Tony Eaude who discussed the complexity of primary teaching, covered in his new book ‘Developing the Expertise of Primary and Elementary Classroom Teachers’. You can find more information on BGU’s Education and Doctorate programmes on our website. -
BGU travels to the Czech Republic
Three members of staff from Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) are in the Czech Republic this week for a series of meetings and visits. Clare Davey, International Administrator, Dr Smaragda Kampouri, Programme Leader in TESOL & Linguistics and Dr Maria Efstratopoulou, Senior Lecturer in Special Educational Needs & Inclusion, are visiting partner institution Mazaryk University during their visit to the Czech Republic. Meetings will be taking place with Mazaryk University’s Faculty of Education, sharing good practice on systems of teaching practice and professional competencies of student teachers. Clare will be meeting with the University’s International Office, sharing ideas and their functions within the University, as well as collating information for BGU students who wish to undertake an Erasmus Study Programme. School visits will include a mainstream primary school and an inclusive primary school with a high percentage of Roma children. Maria will also be teaching two workshops to PhD students on Research methods in Education. Find out more about studying at BGU. -
Monster Storytelling Competition Winner Announced
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) welcomed pupils from the Sir Donald Bailey Academy to announce the winner of BGU’s Monster Storytelling Competition. Part of BGU’s Monster Conference, the competition challenged BGU students to write monster stories for children across three age groups: 0-5, 5-7 and 7-11. As well as writing the monster stories, students taking part also had to submit a video performance of them. Winners in each category, along with an overall winner, were then picked out by the pupils from Sir Donald Bailey Academy (one of BGU’s partner schools). Chloe Pearce, a 3rd Year Primary Education undergraduate student, was crowned the overall winner. Her utilisation of props in her video to act out her story made her the clear favourite with the children who really felt the story had been brought to life. Looking back on the competition, Chloe explained why she wanted to take part: “I really enjoy writing stories for children. It is so important that they have opportunities to read growing up.” In addition to attending the prize giving, held in the Cornerstone Library at BGU, the Sir Donald Bailey pupils were also provided with a selection of books to read across the afternoon. Ruth Pearson, Senior Lecturer in Primary Education, highlighted the importance of this experience and why she and her colleagues felt it needed to be included: “At BGU we believe it is incredibly important when fostering a love of reading in children to give them experience of being in a library and show them the wonders that libraries can offer them” The storytelling competition forms part of BGU’s Monster Conference; an interdisciplinary conference exploring the work of Mary Shelley. The conference continues on the 31st of October with a live reading of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. You can keep up to date with the Monster Conference and all the exciting events taking place at BGU on our website.
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