Luminate Education Group have taken the lead in organising a one-day choices fair for 14-16 year olds across North and West Yorkshire.
Taking place on Tuesday 18 October at Elland Road’s Centenary Pavilion, the group have developed the event to showcase the wealth of opportunities open to young people following their GCSEs.
With an increasing number of post-16 options available to students, choosing what to do next can seem like a daunting prospect.
By hosting further education colleges, sixth form colleges and apprenticeship providers, plus training companies and employers all under one roof, this event will provide young people with the information they’ll need when considering their next steps.
The occasion will also provide an opportunity for employers to meet students from across the region, inspire the next generation of talent and promote their organisation
If you or your organisation would like to reserve a space as an exhibitor, then please complete this booking form, or contact sibh.megson@luminate.ac.uk for more information.
We are pleased to announce that, from September 2022, University Centre Leeds (UC Leeds) will have its own stand-alone board to oversee decision-making on statutory, financial, quality and curriculum matters.
The creation of an independent board symbolises a new chapter for UC Leeds and is a reflection of the ongoing commitment to higher education from Leeds City College and Luminate Education Group.
With 1,400 students and 58 courses, the curriculum teams at UC Leeds have dedicated significant time and effort to ensure they are meeting the needs of learners. In response to this, Luminate has won a bid to invest £12m for a new HE space at Magbate, which will further improve student and staff experiences, as well as allow for growing capacity.
Such successes, alongside what is happening in the sector in relation to the Office for Students’ (OfS) requirements, means that now is the perfect time to invest in a dedicated board. This will enable more focus and resources to be committed towards helping UC Leeds achieve its goals, which include becoming a higher education institution with awarding body powers, as it forges ahead.
Governance in education is incredibly important as it not only holds UC Leeds to account, but also helps them be even more strategic and forward-thinking within the communities they serve. It enables them to more closely scrutinise the quality of the education that they offer to students, so they can be more competitive and outcome-focused. At the centre of this decision is ensuring that the university centre continues to offer quality educational experiences for students.
Having a specialist board is an exciting development for UC Leeds that will result in governors contributing to strategic planning and decision-making, as well as advising on curriculum to ensure they maintain the highest standards.
The independent board will be responsible for oversight of quality and standards, as well as overseeing a strategy for continuous improvement. A Chair of Governors has already been appointed – Mark Garratt, who has over 11 years’ experience in senior roles at a number of UK universities.
He said: “Having been on the board of Leeds City College as the higher education link governor since 2017, I’m delighted to now become chair of the newly formed University Centre Leeds Board.
“These are exciting times for higher education in the UK, with universities taking an active and important role in helping to prepare students for an increasingly diverse range of careers.
“I look forward to working with the executive team to support students from all backgrounds in transforming their lives.”
The board will be made up of members from a broad range of professional backgrounds, to represent UC Leeds’ core curriculum offer of healthcare, STEM, legal and creative arts subjects. A student member of the board has already been identified, and nominations for a staff member to join will soon open. We will share further information on this with you soon.
Our member, Leeds Sixth Form College, has launched its new branding, to reflect a renewed set of values and vision for the future.
In 2019, we officially announced Leeds Sixth Form College as a member of the group in its own right, highlighting its commitment to invest in quality A levels and academic study, adding to Leeds City College’s offer.
The re-brand coincides with the development of Pudsey Sixth Form College, signifying our investment in Level 3 provision, particularly increasing capacity for the growing demographic among 16-year-olds in Leeds.
It also provides a stronger connection between the two sixth forms as well as better reflecting who Leeds Sixth Form College is, what it does and where it’s going.
We want the sixth form to be known for providing young people in Leeds with ‘limitless futures’. With more choice and more opportunities, the experiences learners could have are endless.
With this in mind, they have committed to three key values:
Confident – encourage learners to be independent and resilient, so that they have the confidence to set their aspirations high.
Straightforward – provide students with a clear and direct pathway to the next step in their futures, whether this is higher education, apprenticeships or employment.
Forward thinking – inspire all learners to be innovative and progressive, and in turn celebrate student success in all forms.
We held our second teaching and learning conference on Monday 4 July focused on learning and development for teaching staff and co-professionals across Luminate Education Group.
This year’s conference theme ‘Unlocking Potential’, was an opportunity for colleagues from across all member organisations to come together with a common purpose around their collective passion for high-quality teaching, learning and assessment.
More than 1019 delegates from Leeds City College, Keighley College, Harrogate College, Leeds Sixth Form College, University Centre Leeds and Leeds Conservatoire attended the conference that addressed topics such as climate change, work-based learning, leadership and management development, supporting learning and excellence in teaching, learning, assessment.
Conference organiser, Jennifer Miccoli, said: “It was wonderful to see colleagues coming together from across the group to network and share best practice.
“Our fundamental role as an education group is to ensure our learners are accessing excellent education from driven, well-trained teachers and co-professionals who are consistently transforming lives. We have so many members of staff across the group delivering ground-breaking projects that are making a real difference to students’ lives.
“An event such as this was a chance to not only come together as a group, but to reflect on what we have achieved.
The conference was opened by keynote presentations from:
Well respected motivational speaker and life coach, Jaz’s keynote spoke about what it means to be a ‘human first’. She also gave insight on how educators can learn how to unleash their true potential, be more resilient and drive change.
What it takes to Unlock Potential
Jo Smedley, meanwhile, spoke about the importance of overcoming barriers and the three keys to unlocking potential.
She said: “There are three keys to unlocking potential; awareness, willingness to change and adapt, and the growth zone.
“We are now living in a world where we have to cope with an ever-changing landscape.
“Often we lock ourselves away and get on with ‘comfort and safety’. But, there is power in being vulnerable and we have to be more open now so that we can embrace a ‘growth mindset’.”
‘COP 26 Climate Canopy’ Experience the science
Alison Smith – artist and educator
With sustainability practice high on the agenda across Luminate Education Group, Alison Smith’s session gave insight on how to become a climate advocate, and how to have positive conversations with students and colleagues, who work in a wide range of settings, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
She said: “If you’re an artist, incorporating STEM subjects is really crucial – art is a brilliant way of expressing those ideas and telling those stories.”
There was also an opportunity to explore the five metre long, interactive artwork.
Dispeling what we think we know about autism
Dean Beadle
Other highlights included motivational speaker Dean Beadle, who shared his experiences of living with autism and the myths and misconceptions associated with it.
Breaking down barriers and tackling key issues
While the conference hosted a wide range of external speakers, a number of speakers across the group engaged with delegates, with Advanced Practitioner, Laura Kayes, sharing her current research on poverty informed practice and Sixth Form Teaching & Learning Programme Manager, Olivia Bowers’ session on helping students to retain, reuse and recall.
Overall, the conference gave colleagues the opportunity to access workshops and sessions that helped develop creative thought, in line with the group’s strategic priorities and in fulfilling the vision of the TLA Strategy 2021-23 ‘The Power of Potential.’
It also highlighted the key role that educators across the group are undertaking in the community, and in the region.
Resources:
Resources from all five sessions are now available here
How did we do?
We would love to hear your feedback about the conference – what we did well and what you would like to see at next year’s Teaching & Learning Conference. Fill out the evaluation form here.
Leeds North West MP Alex Sobel has visited Leeds City College’s Quarry Hill campus as part of a wider campaign to promote digital arts.
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Video Games and Esports Chair, visited the Creative Arts School, which is home to 1200 students and has an ESports lab, dance and music studios, TV and media studio and the 200-seat Chroma Q theatre.
He was welcomed by Bill Jones, Deputy CEO of Luminate Education Group, Quarry Hill Campus Principal Suzy Gallagher, Rob Reed, Programme Manager for Digital Arts and Maya Jermy, Curriculum Leader for Animation and Esports.
Rob, Bill and Suzy outlined their vision for the department and future plans for expansion. They also told the Labour MP that a lack of government funding within the sector was having a direct impact on recruiting staff with subject-specific skills.
Rob said: “We are happy to have hosted Alex Sobel and to have shared our vision for the department. We run a number of courses that include computer games, animation and esports and our curriculum is responsive to the needs of the games and animation industries.
“Alex is an advocate of education, particularly the digital arts, and getting the opportunity to discuss the most pressing issues and challenges we are facing as a department and sector was encouraging.”
Other key topics covered during the tour included the importance of making connections with industry bodies and SMEs across the region, to encourage more work experience for students. There was also an in-depth discussion about the under-representation of female students in the games industry.
Rob added: “It is not only important for us to encourage girls, who in some cases, feel unseen in an industry perceived as ‘male’. It is also our duty to educate boys and help them understand how they can help combat the negative stereotypes.”
After the tour Alex spent time with the second year level 3 games development students, who were exhibiting their final work at Mabgate studios, as part of the Creative Arts Fragments exhibition.
He spoke to several learners about their experience of the course and had a tour of their 3D virtual gallery space, using a VR kit.
Alex said: “What an inspiring group of young people, with so much talent. It was great to see their work and talk about opportunities within the video games Industry.”
