Investing in our staff is a priority at Activate Learning and so we are delighted to announce that two of our Land-Based Faculty Managers, Cat Stephens and Ruth Orrell-Harris, both based at Merrist Wood College, have graduated from the Land-based Colleges and Universities Aspiring in Excellence (LANDEX) Leadership Programme.
This programme is for middle leaders working in colleges with specialist Land-based provision. Cat and Ruth benefited from the insights from a range of current Principals and senior leaders with Land-based experience and specialist guest speakers, alongside Leadership and Management input from the Landex specialist team.
Over the duration of the programme this academic year, Cat and Ruth visited six other land-based colleges: Plumpton College, Chichester College Group, Hartpury College, Myerscough College and East Durham College.
Both staff members were supported by Jo Manser, Director of Curriculum and Delivery.
Ruth said: “Participating in the programme has been an amazing opportunity. It has been invaluable to develop new knowledge and skills on leadership and management in the FE sector.
“I particularly enjoyed visiting a selection of land-based colleges and developing an understating of their strategies for business planning, curriculum planning, talent management, recruitment challenges, quality strategies and much more!”
Cat added, “The course covered a wide range of leadership and management theories and how to put them in practice for various situations.
“It was great to see the other colleges and how they tackled challenging situations in the sector. Importantly, the course gave me the opportunity for reflection on my own performance to help improve myself and my team. I can’t shout about the course enough and I am very grateful to my employers for pushing me towards it, as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.”