Outstanding stars among our dedicated staff have been honoured for ‘going the extra mile’ to contribute towards the success of the Reaseheath group.
The awards were presented last week before a full complement of over 600 staff at a special ceremony following our two day Presentation of Awards to students.
The Reaseheath STAR Award to the most outstanding staff member went to Glyn Ferriday, Director of Marketing, Income Generation and Communications.
Glyn, who will shortly move on to a similar position with Shrewsbury School after 12 years with us, was applauded for consistently achieving 8% – 10% growth in student numbers thanks to his skill set, foresight, innovation and sheer hard work. His teams continually raise the profile of Reaseheath College and its University Centre by expanding engagement with schools and through shows and events.
Other ‘stars’ were:
Recruitment and Events Manager Steph Owen (Principal’s Award)
Steph heads up a team which showcases the Reaseheath Experience nationally to thousands of families through open days, county shows and many popular campus events such as our Family Festival and Lambing Weekends. Her role, which involves meticulous pre-planning, liaising with external organisers and internally with staff, health and safety legislation and many other duties, delivers college-wide benefits. Thanks to the efforts of Steph and her team, this year’s Family Festival and Lambing Weekends were the most successful in our long history, welcoming tens of thousands of visitors.
Senior Engineering Technician Justin Connor (Vice Principal’s Award)
A former engineering student, Justin has been a staff member for 26 years with 18 years in his current position. Under his consistent reign the reputation of the department for relevant and quality skills has never drifted. In his drive to ensure our training resources are top quality, he constantly improves our engineering facilities and now controls 24 workshops.
Wellbeing Team (Chair of Governor’s Award)
This team, led by Nic McCleave, works tirelessly to support students and staff in overcoming personal and work related challenges. Team members always show compassion, empathy and an in-depth understanding of strategies that can be used to help individuals in times of crisis and their impact is undoubted. This year the team gained national recognition by becoming a runner-up in the Association of Colleges Beacon Award for Health and Wellbeing.
Food Centre Quality Co-Ordinator Laura Bateman (Beacon Award for Excellence)
Although relatively inexperienced, Laura has always shown potential and particularly a real appetite for quality management. In the past six years she has risen from technologist to instructor and was appointed to her present role in 2018.
She has perfected every procedure, documented every piece of paperwork so thoroughly and led her team so professionally that in just six months we became the only college in the world to achieve the British Retail Consortium’s Version 7 Grade AA quality accreditation. The achievement of this much respected standard puts us on the same level as world class dairy companies such as Muller, Arla, Dairy Crest, Wyke Farm and Cadburys.
Laura and her team are already working towards gaining BRC Version 8 and she continues to teach at ‘outstanding’ level.
Equine Course Manager and Lecturer Amy McLoughlin (PRIDE award)
A committed and hardworking member of our equine team, Amy leads the educational programmes at one of our outreach centres, Burrows Lane Equestrian Centre, St Helens. She has developed top class equestrian courses and apprenticeships for students from Merseyside and West Lancashire who often come from challenging and diverse socio- economic backgrounds and have varying levels of experience.
She provides novel means of developing necessary underpinning skills and knowledge and regularly organises industry visits to leading equine riders and trainers. Her students also join Reaseheath’s arena parties at prestigious competitions and receive outstanding feedback from leading owners, riders, trainers and organisers.
Amy has also won the Reaseheath BeReady Competition for campaigns focussed on Mental Health Awareness and the effects of knife crime on young people. The second, in the form of a video, reached the finals of the Cheshire Police Schools Knife Crime Media Competition.
Graphic Designer Keith Swift (Outstanding Customer Service (Support staff)
Keith receives his award for the approachable, knowledgeable and helpful service he provides. He is responsible for the greatly improved look and feel of campus thanks to his creative approach to literature, posters and signage. He also gives a very high level of support to staff and students, offering a constant stream of advice on design and receiving very positive feedback from those he has helped.
Public Services Course Manager Suzanne Riddell (Customer Support – Curriculum)
Suzanne consistently goes beyond the expectations of a course manager, leading by example to showcase her industry and encouraging and supporting colleagues and students. This has included supporting student expeditions by volunteering to be the female staff member. Her positive approach ensures that students leave with a positive experience and well prepared for their future careers.
Sports Performance Lecturer Lauren Goff (Community Champion)
Lauren has been responsible for organising a range of opportunities which enable our sports and personal training students to deliver tailored physical activities within our local community. These have included providing a sports massage service at the Crewe Park Run which aided post event recovery for runners. She has also launched an initiative to increase mobility for residents at a care home which includes an exercise class for those with mobility issues. These opportunities have earned our students very positive feedback and a chance to improve their practical and communication skills. They have also been much appreciated by those who have received the services.
Lauren has also delivered a range of activities including assault course challenges and circuit training at primary schools.
Programme Leader for Maths Ryan Green (Innovation Award)
Ryan wins this award for his technological knowledge and creativity which are delivering efficiencies across the Maths and English Department.
In particular he has implemented a new tracking document which automatically creates targets linked to areas of poor performance and points students towards appropriate resources. This encourages students to absorb the subject to a greater depth and allows staff to use their time more efficiently and effectively when answering specific questions. Ryan has also created a personalised information sheet for parents, again improving his department’s efficiency. He has also introduced ‘cross college teams’ which are proving an effective way of communicating with the Maths and English department.
HE Agriculture / Animal Science Lecturer Cara Campbell (Rising Star Award)
Although this is her first full year at University Centre Reaseheath, Cara has made a huge impact by encouraging and developing a high standard of academic work among our undergraduates.
The quality of her teaching on the professional project module is to such a high standard that a poster by one of our undergraduates was featured at the prestigious Total Dairy event, raising the profile of our HE faculty. Earlier in the year another agriculture undergraduate presented research at the British Undergrad Research Conference, adding weight to our recent award of Silver in the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework. Cara was instrumental in both these accolades.
She also has an incredible work ethic and is completing her PhD Thesis while continuing to commit fully to her students, including helping with applications to study at Master’s level.
Quality and Standards Coach Emily Jewell (Best Contribution to Helping Student Progress)
Emily heads up our BeReady programme, a wide ranging tutorial and pastoral care system which prepares students for success in life and work. BeReady activities incorporate Reaseheath’s PRIDE values (People, Responsibility, Integrity, Diversity and Excellence).
Thanks to this programme, students are sensitively introduced to diverse topics such as safety in a range of life and online situations, relationships and consent, British Values, mental health awareness, substance abuse and living with difference. They also develop employability skills, democracy, volunteering and finances.
Our first student conference covered a range of BeReady topics including mental health, self esteem, resilience and presentations from alumni.
Foundation Studies (Level 1) Course Manager Sam Brentnall (Embedding and Supporting Delivery of Maths and English)
Sam has embraced the challenge of embedding maths and English into Foundation Studies coursework and was responsible for a handy guide for parents and easy to follow home work sheets. As a direct result, 35% more Foundation students passed their Level 1 Functional Skills exams last year.
Learning Skills Centre (LSC) Jo Johnson and Denise Hughes (Support Team of Year)
As Head of Inclusion and Resources, Jo has led the LSC to success as a Grade 1 service/support provider and has encouraged LSC staff to follow a learner centred and inclusive approach. This has required the LSC to move from a disability model to a social model and supports prospective and current students, staff and external agencies. Jo has also successfully supported team leaders and specialist staff to role model our PRIDE values both internally and externally.
Our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Lead, Denise is recognised for leading challenging negotiations with external partners to secure the right level of High Needs Funding for our students. She focusses on providing outstanding levels of student support and care, allowing us to offer an exceptional student experience.
Agriculture Team (Exceptional Contribution to Student Experience)
All staff deliver a high level of teaching and put themselves out to ensure all students are on track with studies. Students greatly benefit from additional experiences including a study tour to the USA to view farm practices and helping to bring in the college’s silage using £2million worth of hi-tech equipment supplied by industry partners. Students also enjoy regular offsite visits to farms and other relevant businesses, and a programme of lectures from visiting speakers.
Work Placement Team (Helping Students Maximise Benefits of Work Placement / Employment)
Highly influential in the success of our student work experience programmes, our work placement team is extremely dedicated and well organised, ensuring students make the most of their work experience. Co-ordinators travel nationwide to meet employers and students and promote positive relationships. Their role is highly valued by teaching staff and feedback from employers is superb, making the process of setting up student placements easier. The team also generates new ways of attracting prospective employers into the programme. Students find our co-ordinators helpful in finding a placement and in providing tips on how to make the most of their placement.
