About Bridgend College

After the appointment of a new Principal/CEO, a series of workshops for all staff were held to explore the kind of organisation that staff wanted to work in. Out of this work, the College’s mission, values and behaviours were agreed. ‘Be All That You Can Be’ became the College’s mission and grew out of staff’s commitment to all of their learners. Their values and behaviours stemmed from this mission and from asking staff to reflect on the kind of colleagues they would want to work with. Commitment to the mission and values is demonstrated in a variety of ways. Regular briefings always begin with the mission/values slide. High performance is recognised not just in terms of actions but in terms of values and behaviours. Reflective time is built into meetings to ensure that they are focused on how they behave in these situations. As well as regular briefings with staff, the Principal/CEO takes a personal interest in employees. Important events in the personal life of a staff member are acknowledged with a card or a letter. The Principal/CEO also encourages ‘visibility in the right way’ for all Leaders, recognising that ‘visible autocrats’ do nothing for the culture of the organisation so interactions need to be meaningful. On top of this ‘Learner Walks’ are also undertaken, with regular interaction between staff and students. 

A strategic approach based on College needs rather than individualised wants allows the Bridgend College to target learning and development linked to strategic objectives. This ensures that all staff receive the necessary learning and development they need to enhance individual, team and ultimately organisational performance. The key objectives for developing staff are based around: Teaching, Learning and Assessment, Skills for Success, Managing Learner Behaviour, Meeting Stakeholder Expectations and Leadership & Management Development. A wide range of activities and events are used to deliver this development, including cross College learning and development days, where the College closes its doors to learners to allow staff to come together. There are also short, sharp, innovative and dynamic 30 minute ‘How To’ sessions on a wide range of topics , as well as access to an e-learning and Learning Management System (LMS), which offers a wide range of topics including Finance, IT Skills Development, Management, Personal Development, Customer Services, teaching and learning and English/literacy skills. There is also an opportunity to undertake a wide range of academic and professional qualifications linked to an individual’s job role. For teaching staff, there is the opportunity to work with teachers from other local colleges to enhance their pedagogical skills and develop a culture of collaboration.

In Bridgend’s most recent Staff Survey, 99% of staff said that they support the College mission statement and around 98% of staff said that they understood and supported the College’s priorities and strategic themes. This demonstrates the impact of their communications around the College’s mission and values and is also the result of regular staff workshops, facilitated by the CEO, where staff are included in shaping the direction of the College. A conscious effort is made in staff briefings to recognise individuals or teams that demonstrate values and behaviours, which reinforces the distinct culture of the organisation. Although results have improved from the bottom quartile to the top quartile in the country, they focus on the “how” as well as the “what”. Managing the culture of the organisation is of primary importance as without this they would not have achieved these results, together with the highest level of engagement in staff and learner surveys.