Resources and News

NVQ Centre receives rubber stamp for quality ... again!

The BCCX NVQ Assessment Centre has been awarded top marks yet again from the OCR External Verifier following his visit.

Tony Shotton said in his feedback he was impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment our staff show to their NVQ programmes and how much he enjoys visiting Black Country Connexions.

Following a Systems Audit and a portfolio sampling session, the Centre was awarded "B" status. L&D Co-ordinator Adrian Pitt said: "This is great news and shows OCR's confidence in the quality of assessment taking place and the evidence staff are producing."

"With more staff due to complete their qualifications and a larger throughput of portfolios in the future, we're hoping Tony will consider upgrading the Centre to "A" status. We know all the policies and procedures are in place and the quality of work is superb."

The NVQ Centre continues to go from strength to strength with the team reviewing qualification routes for new and existing staff, focussing on the NVQ in Learning, Development and Support Services for Young People and those who Care for Them (LDSS) and there are plans afoot to offer NVQs via the Professional Discussion Route. Staff are recorded during discussions with their NVQ assessor around how their practice meets the standards for the qualification. Staff have to show they can't just "talk the talk" by providing product evidence to back up their claims.

The NVQ Centre currently offers Level 3 and Level 4 in Advice and Guidance, the A1 Assessor's Award and shortly, the NVQ 4 LDSS award. All enquiries to Adrian Pitt on 0121 502 7400

Being resourceful!

The BCCx Resource Base has found a new home! It's now in Mezzanine 1 at Lower High Street Head Office.

The Resource Base contains a whole host of books, resources and games to support practice under the following headings:

 

• Asylum Seekers and Refugees
• Behaviour and Adolescence
• Careers Education
• Disability and Special Needs
• Drugs and Alcohol
• Education and Learning
• Equalities, Diversity, Culture, Community and Citizenship
• Health, Sex, Sexuality, Relationships and Gender
• Housing
• Leaving Care
• Youth Offending
• Miscellaneous and magazines

There are resources, for example, on group work. If you need ideas for ice breakers and group work exercises there are books and activity packs to facilitate this. If you're interested in the theories behind practice, there's a section for you. There are resources you can photocopy and take away to use in your work and a section for the latest magazines and periodicals.

Please check with Rachel Gill (or Steph Thomson if Rachel's not around) that the room is available to use, this avoids disappointment. Rachel has keys to access the cabinets where the resources are stored. Before you leave with any items, see Rachel. She'll allocate you a unique number, log what you've taken in our Bookmaster database system and agree a period of time you can keep the resources for.

We'll be updating and upgrading the Resource Base as time goes by. Please contact Rachel Gill for more details on 0121 502 7400

Hi tech spec training room

The Black Country Connexions training room is one of the best Connexions training suites in the region. Fully air-conditioned, light and bright, it's multi-media heaven! It's equipped with video, TV, sound and induction loop facilities. There's an interactive touch-sensitive SMART board and projector screen to display training presentations. Power Point slides can be emailed directly to the training suite and saved to the PC desktop for future use. As well as internet access, there's an Overhead Projector, Flip Chart and stationery to boot.

The training room comfortably seats up to 25 participants, with a lift to all floors. There's a fully-equipped kitchen with refreshment facilities always available. Due to its size and feel the training room is really popular, with internal programmes being delivered on a weekly basis. The room is also used by external trainers and partners to deliver their courses. Many internal meetings and meetings with other agencies take place in the room.

If you're interested in hiring out the Training Suite for an event or a meeting, please contact the Learning and Development team on 0121 502 7400.