CAREER SPOTLIGHT


GIVING STAFF THE COMMUNAL SPACE TO DEVELOP By Donna Lucas


I was recently discussing the importance of providing space and time for staff development and collaboration, away from the classroom or communal spaces such as the traditional staffroom. It made me think that, in today’s world, such spaces can take so many forms. From physical space to virtual. From time in work to facilitating access away from it. It seems staff might be more creative and positive about risk-taking if they have the right environment to exchange ideas and practice. Ideally, all organisations ought to have a designated space for staff to gather regularly to learn and share ideas – at Shrewsbury we have Professional Exchange meetings. I’ve seen lots of practice out there that achieves the


independent learning for students who prefer this. In addition, the impact of the student digital ambassadors, a new role created to support and develop the use of digital technology, has been enhanced as they can work with staff and students on innovative projects. The Innovation Centre has been a huge success


to date and it’s my main priority to create a positive culture for staff, and to push the boundaries of what is possible in FE, which has often been seen as the disadvantaged middle child between schools and higher education. Feel free to contact me at steven.spence@ sheffcol.ac.uk


REFERENCE Price , D. (2013). Open: How we’ll work, live and learn in the future. Great Britain: Crux Publishing Ltd.


CASE STUDY A HI-TECH WAY TO BUILD STAFF CONFIDENCE


Martin Schelle-Hall is head of quality, teaching, learning and assessment at The Sheffield College.


I used the Innovation Centre to carry out full faculty continuing professional development (CPD),


particularly focusing on enhancing learning through technology. The centre gave me a space to be able to carry this out in an environment that the staff really enjoyed. The most pleasing aspect is that we have seen staff using new ideas immediately in their practice, with some actually teaching in the Innovation Centre. The centre promotes collaboration due to the fluid nature of the space. The support of the digital team in the centre has also made staff feel comfortable in taking risks with the technology.


same (see The Sheffield College article, left). I have also noted the success of the following approaches in my college. Providing the opportunity to enjoy a cup of coffee, ideally in a relaxing environment, for example. I really enjoy observing the conversations that naturally occur at the break sessions we provide on our professional development days. We have even been fortunate enough to extend this recently to a complimentary lunch. Staff noticeboard spaces are another example, and


props that make the areas provided for teachers more comfortable, which means plants, lighting and comfortable seating should all be considered. Round tables that promote discussion also help. We have created a resource bank from which teachers can borrow books or teaching resources. Display posters pointing people to useful twitter sites and journals. Promoting shared best practice on the walls or in leaflets has been well received. We produced an impact study on how different teaching experiments had impacted on students and left copies around for teachers to read, and shared this on a college Facebook site. Finally, why not


introduce an invite for suggestions on how staff can improve their organisation and share these with others.


Donna Lucas


is group vice-principal, HR and professional development, at the Shrewsbury Colleges Group and chairs the Association of Colleges’ National HR Policy Group. She is a Member of SET and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.


In inUITION ISSUE 39 • SPRING 2020 31 TUITION ISSUE 35 • SPRING 2019


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