Principal’s Update
Good afternoon colleagues,
Welcome to another (hopefully less windy!) week. I hope you are all keeping well.
Principal Recruitment Update
The recruitment agency has now been appointed by CYPES and we expect the recruitment process for the role of Principal to be completed by the end of this term.
Although I currently only have provisional dates for the assessment centre—which will take place at the college—I will share the full, confirmed timeline with everyone as soon as it is received.
Creative Arts Update
You may have seen that ArtHouse Jersey recently published its “Celebrating a Year of Growth and Impact for our Arts Education” review, which details 15000 hours of work with schools and education. GoJ has increased investment in the Arts, and this shows some of the impact. It’s worth a read.
Our Foundation and Extended Diploma students have been collaborating with ArtHouse Jersey around the theme of scale. Over several weeks, they worked closely with an artist to create sculptural pieces. These works will be exhibited at Capital House in St Helier. If you would like more information, please contact Chantal Venton, our Arts Coordinator.
ArtHouse Jersey has also been using our Art Building to host Saturday Art School sessions for younger pupils. We look forward to building on this partnership, and I would like to extend a big “well done” to Chantal and the entire Arts team for forging connections that enrich our students’ experiences.
Senior Leadership Team Focus This Week
- Whole College Projects update from Rafal Niezabitowski.
- Review staffing matters, acknowledging that the current recruitment freeze is creating some approval delays as decisions must be escalated to CYPES leadership and, in some cases, to the CEO Andrew Mclaughlin. Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to address staffing gaps as quickly as possible.
Green Skills Academy & Community Engagement
Last week, we continued our discussions on the development of the Green Skills Academy. More information will be shared publicly in the coming weeks.
I was also interviewed for a podcast encouraging voter participation—a campaign led by the States Assembly. With voter turnout in Jersey remaining low, this is an important opportunity to encourage our community to make their voices heard.
On Thursday evening, I will be attending the Institute of Law Graduation, representing both Highlands College and University College Jersey. This ceremony will be held in our own college hall.
The Senior Leadership Team will also be engaging with government-led updates to Safer Recruitment policies and practices, and I will be chairing a meeting of the Higher Education Advisory Board later in the week.
Union Consultation & Personal Tutor Workload
In their recent consultation meeting with union representatives, Rob Moy and Kate Hobbs discussed personal tutor workload—particularly relevant as we enter a busy period with reports and parents’ and carers’ evenings.
SLT intends to establish a working party to review the current workload pressures on personal tutors. Once recommendations are developed, these will be shared with all staff.
Well-being
I hope you have a positive and productive week.
I look forward to seeing many of you at our International Hot Chocolate Day Well-being Event on Friday!
Best wishes,
Jo
Principal