Reaseheath College has raised its standards of education still further by joining the WorldSkills UK’s Centre of Excellence and benefitting from its world class teacher training programme.
The pioneering initiative, which is partnered and co-funded by educational charity and awarding body NCFE, aims to raise standards in technical education and training through shared international best practice.
Reaseheath College was one of 11 educational institutions to become part of the Centre of Excellence programme in 2022 and joins 47 fellow members throughout the UK. The programme, which delivers skills development workshops and exclusive Continual Professional Development (CPD), aims to empower educators to gain a fresh perspective on their teaching practice and to return to academic and practical sessions with new skills and a renewed sense of passion and purpose.
Since its launch in 2020, it is estimated that the initiative has benefitted almost 2,000 educators and 37,000 students and apprentices nationally by raising standards and performance. Last year, 82% of lecturers on the programme said it had helped them make positive changes to their teaching and training practice, in turn equipping students to better meet the needs of the industries they were about to enter.
Reaseheath lecturers who have been selected to join the first programme are Andrew Gould (Curriculum Area Manager for Construction), Micah Jinar (Programme Leader, Construction), David Adams (Course Manager and Advanced Practitioner, Motor Vehicle), Dee Slinn (Course Manager Food and Business), Kirsty Bourne (Course Manager, Business and Events) and Jack Stanyer (Course Manager, Adventure Sports).
The current programme is delivering a mix of on-line and face to face sessions running throughout December and January. They include a module on Mindset and Psychology and the running and evaluation of a pressure test, and conclude with a final consolidation and networking event in February for all new Centre of Excellence educators.
Assistant Principal John Kendal, who is leading on the initiative, said: “This programme will be of significant benefit to the college. It will develop our teaching staff and enable them to deliver innovative and high quality training and assessment. It will also inspire our learners to meet their full potential and increase their skills and confidence. This will apply to all parts of their lives and lead to progression into high quality apprenticeships, technical education or employment.”
Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE, CEO of WorldSkills UK, said: “The Centre of Excellence is a radical new way of bringing global insights to local economies. In order to deliver the world-class skills that employers require to be internationally competitive, we need to invest in the educators who are training young people for the future.
“Mainstreaming excellence in training standards and delivering directly to tens of thousands of students and apprentices at their places of learning is key to attracting inward investment. This will lead to high quality jobs which will help boost economic growth throughout the UK.”
Reaseheath College has a long-standing relationship with WorldSkills UK. Young talent from our construction, food technology, horticulture and floristry departments have competed successfully in regional and national competitions for many years, and four students have gone on to represent Britain internationally.
In the early 2000s Steve Williams, a horticultural apprentice who has since progressed into management and lecturing, won a silver medal at the WorldSkills global finals in Paris, while in 2007 floristry student Natalie Stanyer was awarded fourth place and a medal of excellence at the WorldSkills finals in Japan.
In 2015 Reaseheath trained landscape gardener Matt Beesley won silver at the WorldSkills finals in Sao Paulo, Brazil, followed this summer by former butchery apprentice Jason Edwards successfully representing England at the World Butchers Challenge in California. He was selected as a team member after winning gold and bronze medals at WorldSkillsUK national butchery finals in 2021 and 2019.
David Gallagher, Chief Executive at NCFE, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Reaseheath College to the WorldSkillsUK Centre of Excellence. Outstanding educators are essential to achieving a technical education system that creates positive change and unlocks potential.
“This initiative supports the UK wide delivery of leading practice in the technical and vocational space, with more institutions and educators joining the programme each year. This focus on excellence is crucial for the UK to grow a prosperous skills economy that will drive productivity and our global competitiveness.”
Learn more at www.worldskillsuk.org
