Skills leader gets training overview at Reaseheath College

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Senior civil servant David Russell brought himself up to date with the industry ready skills offered by land based colleges during a fact finding tour of Reaseheath College last week.

Mr Russell, who is Director of ‘Closing the Gap’ within the Department for Education, chose to visit the Nantwich, Cheshire, college because of its outstanding reputation for skills development and engagement with industry.

David Russell visits Reaseheath’s dairy parlour with Vice Principal Dave Kynaston and head of Agriculture Martyn East

He toured the college’s £7.3million industry standard food centre and its commercial farm, which includes a cutting edge dairy parlour and welfare friendly commercial pig unit. During his visit, Mr Russell took the chance to join students being introduced to groundbreaking technology such as how to programme and drive tractors fitted with Global Positioning Systems (GPS), a space-based satellite navigation system.

He also toured the college’s new agricultural engineering academy and motor vehicle workshops and inspected  a state- of- the- art food engineering centre which has just been completed. The £3.6m project, developed in partnership with the National Skills Academy for Food, uniquely combines training in engineering, food manufacturing and farming and is aimed at engineers who service and maintain large scale milk processing plants in factories across the country.

David Russell joins agriculture students looking at screen images of pregnancy testing in cattle

Reaseheath is attracting a growing number of national and regional clients who are benefitting their businesses through tailormade training for their staff. They are also employing graduates because they have the specific qualifications and practical skills they require. The growth has been particularly significant in the farming and food production industries, and in engineering, motor vehicle and land management.

Mr Russell said:  “My visit was truly inspiring.  I was impressed with everything I saw : the industry-standard facilities, the engagement of the students, the enthusiasm of the staff and the vision and energy of Reaseheath’s  Principal and team.

“Above all, it was extremely encouraging and inspiring to see a college which is delivering the Government’s vision for the sector. Reaseheath is  not only responsive to the needs of industry but is totally in partnership at all levels, from course design through teaching partnerships to the layout of facilities.

“It shows what can be done by an institution focussed on excellence and completely orientated towards successful employment outcomes and the skills needs of industry.  And as if that wasn’t enough, I got to drive a tractor too……”

Reaseheath Principal Meredydd David commented: “We were delighted to accommodate David Russell and took the opportunity to show him how we prepare our students for successful careers in industry and the exciting prospects awaiting  them.”

Can horses teach us a better way of doing things?

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Our Entry and Foundation Department is successfully using natural horsemanship methods to help both learners and staff.

Taking elements from techniques used by Monty Roberts, Kelly Marks and other practitioners who specialise in non-verbal cues and body language, the department has developed an equine assisted learning programme in which horses have become the teachers.

Around 30 staff and over 100 students have already benefited from workshops which involve team work with an equine partner.

The initiative is being led by Foundation Instructor Lisa Brewitt, who was awarded the Innovation Award in Reaseheath’s Awards of Excellence 2012 for her work on the innovative teaching techniques. Very few UK centres offer this type of training.

The programme was initially aimed at Pre-Entry to Level 1 students with learning difficulties, particularly those with autism and anxiety behaviour. It can develop self confidence, self esteem, communication, problem solving and team work.

The workshops have been so successful that they have been taken up by students from visiting specialist schools. Lisa has also run seven staff workshops, which cover  scientific and theoretical aspects as well as practical activities. These have underlined the importance of non verbal communication and how this can promote more effective classroom management.

As well as the Foundation team, colleagues from our student welfare and train to gain teams have used the workshops for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). A growing list of external professionals from specialist schools, colleges and secure units have also attended at full cost.

The equine trainers are ponies from our animal management department and equestrian centre and Lisa’s own retrained ex-racehorse. Our animal management department uses elements of the programme.

Lisa says: “Lots of our learners have difficulty with social interaction and in understanding eye and body language. Team work with an equine partner shows you how you can get over obstacles in life such as these.”

Workshops are offered mainly during college holidays. Demand is high, particularly for staff team building and problem solving.  If you want to know more, email lisab@reaseheath.ac.uk.