A duo of national award wins recognising Greenhead College’s student support!

We are delighted to announce that Greenhead College has won two national awards for its student support during lockdown.  

Our Additional Learning Support Manager, Claire Berry, was announced as a winner in the ‘Covid Above and Beyond’ category at the virtual Sixth Form College Association Award ceremony held last week.

The College was also a Bronze Winner for the 2021 Lockdown Hero Award for Learner and Community Support at the Pearson National Teaching Awards.

These awards recognise the outstanding support Claire and the Additional Learning Support team, as well as the wider staff community, provides to our students.

During the lockdown, the ALS team continued to work in college to provide a safe, secure and supportive learning environment for those students still attending and virtually supported those learning from home with daily wellbeing reminders and virtual wellbeing drop-in sessions.  Mentoring across all areas of SEND continued via TEAMS and, as students navigated their way around studying online, Claire’s remote study skills sessions proved very popular.

In 2020, Claire introduced the nationally recognised MoodMaster programme, a positive, hands-on approach to physical and emotional wellbeing, which is available to all students.  Greenhead College is one of a small number of college’s nationally who are qualified and licenced to deliver the programme, which helps students to learn about themselves and their mental health in a secure and comfortable environment. Several MoodMaster courses were held during the academic year in a virtual setting and will continue to run as a permanent offering to our students. Student feedback has been extremely positive:

 “MoodMaster has been a big help to me since starting at Greenhead. It has helped me so much in understanding how and why I’m feeling like I am”

“I have found the MoodMaster programme really helpful, I have benefitted from it so much! I enjoyed the content and learnt useful techniques to help with my anxiety, so I would definitely recommend this course”

In addition to MoodMasters, Claire introduced BACES (Body care, Achievement, Connecting with Others, Enjoyment and Step Back). This consisted of bite sized reminders to self-check your wellbeing, including tips, ideas, research activities and resources. These were shared daily on the College’s Instagram account and weekly roundups on the website. BACES increased connectivity at a vital time, when both students and staff were finding the lockdown difficult to cope with.

The College also ran connections activities  where both students and staff signed up for various virtual activities from making scones, gaming groups, debating and football activities, managed by Senior Tutors Diane Beaven and Anna Shaw. These activities allowed for students to socially interact and engage with each other, during a time when social interactivity was limited.   

Simon Lett, Principal at Greenhead College said:

“We are thrilled that Claire has been recognised in this way at the prestigious Sixth Form College Association Awards.  It is a reflection of the time and energy she and her team have put into supporting students throughout the lockdown period. Well done to Claire and the entire ALS team!

The College was also a Bronze Winner for the ‘2021 Lockdown Hero Award for Learner and Community Support’ at the Pearson National Teaching Awards – a real testament to Claire, the ALS team, and the wider staff community including our Tutors, Teachers and Support Staff for the vital role they play in supporting our students.”