Bridgend College

Bridgend College is a further education college supporting over 6,000 students and employing over 600 members of staff across its four campuses in Bridgend, Pencoed, Queens Road and Maesteg. The college offers an extensive range of courses, from entry level through to degree level, in over 20 vocational areas. Over 50% of their learners reside in some of the most socially deprived wards in Wales and their mission is to enable and inspire every learner to 'Be all that you can be'. The college hold five professional development days each year, which are themed across various strands of their strategic plan. On these days, the whole college stops and comes together to learn, share and reflect on practice. They find that this encourages new employee connections to form and supports a more holistic understanding of how they all support the common vision of supporting employees and students to 'Be all that you can be'. All events are evaluated and feedback is used to improve their approach to working practices. Bridgend College has an employee assistance programme, 'Care First', which offers both telephone and online advice on a wide range of subjects from financial advice to advice for careers, in addition to a 24 hour telephone counselling service. Factsheets are also available for elder care and other caring responsibilities.