🔹Principal’s Update
Dear Colleagues,
It was a difficult week for many colleagues, especially in UCJ with the untimely death of one of our students. I want to thank everyone for their contribution to the critical incident team where we try to manage the flow of communication and set support in action as soon as possible. In such a small island, the ripples are always felt far and wide, and unexpected connections reveal themselves where students have grown up together and staff have known young people as students and as friends of their children. Please reach out for support via Axa and counselling services and share any concerns you have.
We had a really good turnout at the Parent/Carers Progress Evening, which will be complemented by the online offer this week. I hope the meetings this week are as popular.
I met with the volunteer staff representatives last week, and they shared some feedback – the agenda is very open – What’s working well in their areas and even better if?
- Student attendance being chased and monitored by the admin team
- Staff bonding in the Information Centre
- Good events and marketing close collaboration with Estates
- Good atmosphere in college – looking forward to coming to work
- Website development going well
- They would like a consistent view of Helpdesk and TEAMS – various support staff see and access in different views.
- Buildings – mould and paint peeling in Turner (JPH), windows tied with string, and some don’t open in UC (JPH), poor ventilation in TU110 111 – all rooms used by externals so will have a wider impact.
- CPD invites – none this term; they want to attend and would like more notice.
- Progress Evenings – consistent expectations around attendance outside of appointments but within the timing of the events.
- Pay day coffee – has it gone?
I have already shared this at SLT, and we are following up on these items.
Last week, Kate Hobbs and I met with the Hautlieu Head Teacher and senior team as part of termly liaison. There are concerns about campus parking as Hautlieu stands to lose 50% of their staff parking to the Oakfield re-development and wider use by the public. The top car park at Hautlieu, where the students park, was reallocated to Hautlieu as it was ours. We also share D’Hautree with staff from La Passerelle now and Hautlieu motorbike users. CYPES will be looking for a campus solution, but busy periods we have zero spaces free, so it is difficult to see how these new users can be accommodated. Please ensure that all users are displaying an HC permit as we are looking at barrier controls this year due to near misses on the D’Hautree access route and drivers parking here with no connection to the site. Rob Moy represents us and will keep us informed of progress when he returns.
Speaking of Rob Moy – the JOA dam building expedition in Kenya is going well with many sore backs and tired muscles. Here are some snapshots.
.
.
This week, I have the meeting of the Higher Education Advisory Board, where we are discussing support for HE students on-island. The full Governing Body meets 4:00 to 6:00 pm this Thursday, and I am meeting with the CYPES Heads representatives to review our relationship with central services. At SLT, we are analysing staff utilisation and timetabling, receiving a Sustainability written update report from Beth Lloyd, and a status update on college-wide projects from Raf.
There have been some inconsistencies in reporting staff sickness; I know myview isn’t the greatest system and is clunky, but it is vital it is kept up to date. I put a post-it just saying myview on my desk to ensure I remember to log activity. We are asking all Heads to report sickness by Friday each week to Tyler Le Masurier. This is important to see trends and pressure points. Return to work interviews should ideally be within 48 hours and after every absence. Thank you for your attention to these matters.
Have a great week
Jo