Principal’s Update
It was great to see you all at the staff meeting last Monday and to welcome new colleagues to the team.
This week we will be appointing the new Head of Marketing and Communications after a competitive assessment centre, including a presentation, interview, written task, and role-play.
I am attending the Institute of Law’s graduation event in our Great Hall this week. There are great opportunities for developing a stronger voice for on-island HE by collaborating with other institutions. Rob Moy and I will be working with government departments on the new campus scope and development plan on Tuesday. As part of the development of the new strategic plan we will be engaging the community, informing them of the impact of limited flexible space on our ability to meet current and future skills demands.
At weekly SLT, the agenda will be focusing upon our wellbeing work and the College finances.
There’s a main Governing Body meeting observed by governance experts who are assessing our GB and how to make its work even more impactful.
The agenda is:
- Student Ambassador Leadership Team – video and meet the team.
- Principal’s Report (inform/discuss)
- Safeguarding report from Sub-Committee (inform)
- Health and Safety Annual Review (inform)
- Whole college Self – Assessment review (inform/discuss)
- Strategic review / plan (co-create)
There’s a meeting of Secondary School Heads and a Special Education Needs Panel at CYPES in the coming days. The SEN panel will review school applications for exceptional action which may lead to a Record of Need. Records of Need guarantee additional support and resources, but the resources vary depending on the phase of schooling.
Finally, on Friday, many colleagues will be attending the memorial service for dear Innes MacLagan. Rob will speak for us there having worked very closely with him in his compliance role and kept regular in touch with Innes. Many former colleagues will be attending too, and classes may need to be re-scheduled or cancelled so that as many of us as possible can pay our respects. Thank you to Stuart Philip and staff development for re-scheduling.
During interviews, I often ask candidates why they have applied to work here and almost without exception they want to give back in some way to the community. They know Highlands is a really vital organisation, one which affects change for the better. How great is that?
Best wishes
Jo