World Mental Health Day 

World Mental Health Day was observed for the first time in 1992 and has been celebrated since as an annual activity on the 10th October each year. The objective of the day is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to unite and join our efforts in support of mental health.

Good health is about both physical and mental wellbeing. Emotional, psychological and social wellbeing are just as crucial as physical health, and they can all impact on one another. Mental health problems affect people in every country across the world.

This World Mental Health Day, do one thing and support positive wellbeing.

It’s important to take care of ourselves and keep both our bodies and minds well / healthy and be able to function well, especially as we learn to live in a world which has been managing for with a global Pandemic for the past 18 months.

Share the message with your network and #DoOneThing from Mind. Whether you use social media or speak with friends, family or colleagues. Do one thing on this world mental health day and start a conversation about mental health.

As employees at WeST you can access a range of support on wellbeing through the new Care First employee assistance programme, please visit the site to find out more and share any feedback on the service with the HR team on hr@westst.org.uk. This is a confidential and free service provided for all employees.

Estates Capital project

Continuing with our theme of capital projects across WeST over the summer. Plymstock has a Football Foundation (FF) framework agreement with the Football Association for grassroots football. This is a 21 year agreement which involved a completely new football pitch installation which included the foundations, lighting fencing etc to allow use of the 3G by the school and for the community. The facility has a lifecycle of the full 21 years, however the pitch has a lifecycle of approx 12 years which has now expired. The West/Plymstock project was to replace the pitch as part of the agreement. 

Funds from the WeST Estates Schools Capital Allocation (SCA) budget was used for this capital project. The old 3G synthetic grass pitch was lifted and disposed, repairs were undertaken to the shock pad and the new pitch was laid. The project took 4 weeks in total and will mean the surface will now pass the Football Association test and means the pitch is approved for league fixtures. We have also upgraded the lighting. The columns are in good condition however the old halogen lighting heads where failing and expensive to operate, these have been replaced with new LED heads, reducing the operating cost of the lighting by 80%. The whole project cost £180,000 in total which was under budget and delivered on time.

Just for the record we did not install the rainbow, but it does look great.

Both the West Estates Team and the Plymstock Premises teams were involved in this project. The result being a fantastic new pitch for the school and surrounding community managed by the schools Community Sports Team, which generates money for the school. 

This is the third pitch WeST have replaced in the last two years. Ivybridge are entering a new 21-year framework agreement with the Football Foundation this year as well as a new pitch installed at Morley Meadow as part of the school build project. Meaning all but one of the WeST 3G pitches are no more than 2 years old, offering a wonderful service to both schools and communities.

TECHSCHEME SURVEY – THANK YOU

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the Techscheme survey last month.  Your feedback has been collated and is being considered.

Once scheme arrangements have been finalised we will publish details of how to apply in the Wednesday Whistle so if you are interested in applying to this scheme please keep an eye on future editions.

In the meantime if you have any questions please email the WeST HR Team at hr@westst.org.uk or alternatively further information is available in the attached FAQ document.

A big thank you to all of you who completed our Starter Experience Survey

We would like to thank all of you who commenced a new role with the Trust recently and took the time to feedback to us how the Trust was doing with its recruitment and selection process.  Your feedback will help us in our efforts to continually improve the recruitment experience of all our potential new starters.

There were many positives, some of which we can share with you now. 

  • We asked you to rate how straightforward you found the application process for your new post.  You gave the application process an average score of 4.69 stars out of 5.
  • 92% of you received an invite to interview less than 2 weeks after the advert close date.
  • We asked you to rate your invite to the selection process and any subsequent communications in relation to it.  You gave us an average score of 4.82 stars out of 5 for this.
  • We asked you to think about your pre-employment checks and to rate us on how we did with these in terms of communication, efficiency and helpfulness (with 1 star = poor and 5 stars = excellent).  You gave us an average score of 4.61 stars out of 5 for this.
  • We asked you to rate your experience of working for the Trust so far (with 1 star = poor and 5 stars = excellent).  You gave us an average score of 4.57 stars.
  • We asked you to look back to before you started work and assess how did in terms of getting you what your needed to get started (with 1 star = you did not have what you needed and 5 stars = you had everything that you needed).  You gave us an average score of 4.25 stars.
  • We asked you how clear the presentation of information was during your first few days (with 1 star = very unclear and 5 stars = very clear).  You gave us an average score of 4.33 stars.
  • 84% of you felt that you were presented with about the right amount of information when you started.
  • We asked you how well you understand how your job supports the Trust's Vision, Values and Beliefs ( with 1 star = not well at all and 5 stars = extremely well).  You gave us an average score of 4.35 stars.

There are areas that you identified where we could do better and we really appreciate your suggestions around this.  The full results are being analysed and will be used to improve the candidate experience of our recruitment and selection process moving forward.  Thank you for your time.

Extremism in Communities Training

As part of this year’s Hate Crime Awareness Week the Police Diverse Communities Team have arranged for renowned extremism expert Nigel Bromage to deliver a two hour masterclass on the dangers of extremism in communities at 10am on 11th October 2021.

Please share with your schools safeguarding leads to see if this input will be of interest to them.

Nigel Bromage is a former far-right activist who spent 20 years engaged with a number of movements and organisations including the National Front and Combat 18 before leaving and embarking on a pathway to help others follow suit. He has helped train schools, community and faith groups, frontline workers and governmental departments.

The speaker has a background in the extreme right wing so the focus of the talk will be around the dangers posed by such groups.

The input will be delivered via MS Teams and is available to anyone with an interest hate crime and extremism. It will be particularly valuable to anyone working within communities. 

Unfortunately we are not able to record the talk for later playback. However, support materials will be made available shortly after the talk.

Title: Nigel Bromage – Extremism in communities
Time: 11 October 2021 10:00:00 British Summer Time

Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting

Recruitment update:

We are delighted to inform you of the following exciting career opportunities within our Trust:- 

Westcountry Schools Trust is also looking for an Academic Professional Initial Teacher Education - Part time fixed-term posts (various hours, 12 months). The main purpose of these roles is to contribute to and lead in the provision of high-quality teacher training by way of tuition, mentoring and assessment of trainee progress in practice and reflection. As such a successful applicant would deliver a defined range of teaching activities and undertake pedagogic research to support teaching and learning development. The role may combine elements of teaching, scholarship, engagement working and administration. Closing date: 9.00am on 8th October, 2021. For more information on this role, please go here.

Boringdon and Woodford Primary School are looking appoint an enthusiastic individual to act as Clerk to the Local Governing Body for both Boringdon Primary and Woodford Primary. The Clerk to the Governors will provide advice to the governing body on governance, constitutional and procedural matters. The successful candidate will have demonstrable experience of the role – showing skills in organisation of meetings, effective & precise record keeping, have great interpersonal skills and be able to work at the times convenient to the governing body including early evening meetings. For more information on this role, please go here. 

Ivybridge are looking to appoint an exceptional individual to join their Reception team at Ivybridge Community College. The Receptionist will often be the first person a parent or visitor sees, the first voice they hear over the telephone or the first message they receive via email.  It is important that the post holder therefore conducts themselves in a professional and knowledgeable manner to give parents and visitors to the College a good first impression and that all enquiries coming into the College are dealt with effectively. For more information on this role, please go here. Closing date: 9am on Friday, 15 October 2021.

Plymstock School are looking for the following vacancies:

Finance Assistant – required as soon as possible. Plymstock are seeking an organised and efficient individual to join their busy Finance Team.  The successful candidate will assist the Senior Finance Officer in the management and monitoring of the Catering Account and Sports Centre Account, as well as undertaking a range of activities to ensure the smooth running of ParentPay, their cashless system for school trips and dinner money. This is a permanent, part-time post – 25 hours pw x 39 weeks pa. Salary – Grade C - Plymouth SCP 5 - 7  (Actual pro-rata salary £11,175 - £11,626) (FTE Salary £19,312 – £20,092) Closing Date: 9am – Monday 11 October 2021. Interview Date: Friday 15 October 2021. 

Administrative Assistant - required as soon as possible. Permanent – 34 hours per week x 39 weeks per year Grade B (SCP 3-4 £18,562 - £18,933) Actual salary £14,607 - £14,899. Plymstock are looking to recruit an enthusiastic, organised and efficient Administrative Assistant to join their busy Admin Team.  The successful candidate will assist in providing administrative support across the whole school and ensure that the computerised systems for student records are kept up to date and accurate. Closing Date: 9am Tuesday 12 October 2021. Interview Date: To be confirmed. 

For more information on these roles, please go here.

Coombe Dean School are looking for the following vacancies: 

Network Manager to develop and implement the ICT service and support function for the school collaboratively with Westcountry Schools Trust (WeST) as required by the senior leadership team. To effectively manage the ICT resources/systems within the strategic plan agreed by WeST and the school. To manage the optimisation of the day-to-day delivery of ICT services and support though a managed service model. This includes managing service delivery performance for all applicable services and corresponding support through SLAs and other key metrics. If you are interested in this role, please go here for the job description and here for the person specification.  An application form can be found here. Application forms should be emailed to khill@coombedean.co.uk by 9am on Friday 8th October.

A Cleaner to work 10 hours per week: Monday – Friday, 6.30-8.30am. Working term-time only plus 3 weeks during school holidays. The successful candidate must be: committed to providing a quality cleaning service and able to demonstrate a sound knowledge of COSSH & Health & Safety Standards. For more information on this role, please go here. Closing date: 15th October 2021 09:00am. 

Hele's School are looking for the following vacancies: 

 A Senior Science Technician - NJC Grade E - Starting salary £19,070 (pro rata of £23,541 FTE). Permanent 35 hours per week, 39 weeks per year. Hele's are looking for an exceptional candidate, who possesses energy and creativity, to join their forward thinking and innovative Science Department. Hele’s is a supportive, friendly and oversubscribed learning community with a very good reputation.  Hele's wish to appoint a dynamic and ambitious team player with the capacity to provide effective and efficient support to colleagues. Closing date: 9am, Friday 8th October 2021.  Interviews Wednesday 13th October 2021. 

Resources Department Assistant – 37 hours pw x 39 weeks pa. Salary NJC Grade C (scp 5-7).  Starting salary £16,538 (pro rata of £19,312 FTE). Permanent. Hele's wish to appoint an enthusiastic and adaptable Resources Assistant to join our team in the Reprographics department. Closing date: 17th October 2021. Interviews scheduled for Thursday 21st October 2021.    

For more information on these roles, please go here.         

Arena are looking for enthusiastic and dedicated sports coaches to join their highly successful team. Due to an increase in their work programme they have a vacancy for two sports coaches one to cover the North Cornwall area of the sports partnership and another to cover the East Cornwall area. Initially the roles will be for approximately 20 hours per week but this could increase. You will need to have a minimum of a level 2 NGB Sports coaching qualification and have had experience in working with primary age children. Closing Date: 13 Oct 2021. For more information on these roles, please go here.