We had a great response to this years Student Services Awards and, as always, it was lovely to read about so many fantastic projects, teams and individuals. After much deliberation we decided our runner-up and winner in each of the 3 categories and announced them at our annual conference gala dinner at the Park Regis Hotel in Birmingham on Monday 3 March.

Inspirational Project of the Year

Runner Up: Support for Care Experienced Learners at Exeter College

Winner: Belonging, Being, Becoming! at Stoke on Trent College

Newcomer of the Year

Runner Up: Theresa Strange, Chaplain & EDI Coordinator at Bridgwater & Taunton College

Winner: Leanne Aldred, Learner Engagement Manager at Gateshead College

Student Services Team of the Year

Runner Up: Student Services at Nottingham College

Winner: Student Services Team at USP College

Educating students about democracy and politics is an essential aspect of the work of colleges and we all want to provide our students with the best possible information and support to ensure that they can engage fully with the political process. It is also an essential part of the personal development of our students, a key focus for us in the sector.

A new College Democracy Toolkit has been launched to support colleges with this. Developed by The Politics Project, sponsored by National Association for Managers of Student Services (NAMSS) and supported by the Association of Colleges (AoC), the toolkit contains a range of useful resources and guidance on how to organise election hustings, promote discussion and bring democracy to life.

NAMSS are delighted to bring you this resource which provides access to a host of free materials from lesson plans to guides to set up hustings and templates to invite in MPs. It has a wealth of information and support, and even better, we are going to keep adding to it so please visit the “FE Zone” regularly.

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eK3Vy4xf

Link to the FE Zone: https://www.democracyclassroom.com/fe-zone

NAMSS Executive, Sharon Cousins, recently contributed to the paper Expanding Childcare: time for children, parents and family learning includes analysis and recommendations from experts including labour market economists, children development and parental engagement experts, organisations representing working families, childcare groups and family learning specialists.

The paper considers in particular the advantages and disadvantages of the new childcare entitlements announced by the Government. These extend the existing free childcare entitlements so that by September 2025, working parents with children aged 9 months to 2 years old will join those of 3- to 4- year-olds, who are already entitled to 30 hours free childcare.

Authors also look at wider issues for childcare including the professionalisation of the childcare workforce, pay and strategies for childcare workforce development.

The paper looks at the benefits of free childcare and examines its role in supporting not only the important aspects of child development and parental time for work, but also time for parents to develop themselves through adult learning, participate in skills training to get a better job, and engage in family learning to the benefit of the whole family.

The report concludes with recommendations from Campaign for Learning.

Read the paper in full here.

We are delighted to announce that Navigate will be the proud sponsors of our Student Engagement Conference on Wednesday 17 January 2023 at the Novotel in Birmingham.  This 1-day event focuses on the development of enrichment, student voice and the student experience with a keynote speaker and 16 workshops to chose from.  Open to NAMSS members and non-members tickets will be available to book after October half-term. 

Nominations for the next Student Services Awards are now open with the deadline for all submissions and supporting evidence being 12noon on Wednesday 31 January 2024.

Award Categories and Criteria

Student Services Team of the Year

This award aims to highlight the outstanding and valuable work of a student services team. The team can be from any student support discipline including careers, well-being, student funds, student union / engagement, enrichment etc

Your award submission should;

• Highlight tangible outputs and sustained impact of your chosen team
• Promote diversity and inclusion
• Outline the impact of the team on students and the wider college community

Newcomer of the Year

This award will celebrate an extraordinary individual who is new to a student services team. The nominee should have joined the team since 1 September 2022.

Your award submission should;

• Outline why the nominee is a worthy recipient of this award – what have they done and what impact has this had?
• Include feedback from students and/or staff which supports the rationale for the nomination
• Demonstrate how the nominee’s work or actions has gone above and beyond to add value to the team and the wider college community

Inspirational Project of the Year

This award recognises the impact of an innovative project which has made a significant difference to the student, team or college experience and/or outputs.

Your award submission should;

• Exemplify an idea or initiative which has positively impacted the experience of students and/or staff
• Demonstrate how the project has impacted vulnerable and disadvantaged students (this may include widening participation)
• Foster a culture of collaboration and innovation
• Have robust impact measures which demonstrate sustained impact
• Outline quality assurance measures and, where applicable, any plans for future sustainability of the project

You can read the full NAMSS Awards & Criteria 2023/2024 document here.

Nomination form: https://bit.ly/namssawards24