Posted: 20/04/09
College’s Ashfield campus welcomes new manager
A pioneering college initiative aimed at re-engaging young people in the Ashfield area in education is set to have a new project manager.
Sarah Le-Good, from Spondon, Derby, takes over from Sandra Cowley who previously managed West Nottinghamshire College's Ashfield Project. Now in its second year, the successful project – based at the College’s Ashfield Campus on Huthwaite Road, Sutton-in-Ashfield – was set up to support young people who are, or risk being, not in education, employment or training.
Sarah joins the College having previously worked as employability delivery manager for a private training provider in Derbyshire. Prior to that Sarah spent twelve years working at South East Derbyshire FE College in Ilkeston, managing Foundation Studies, Key Skills and running a small youth offenders’ project.
Sarah said: “I am thrilled to have got the position as project manager for this already successful centre. It gives the young people of Ashfield many great learning opportunities before they embark on studies at the main College campus and it clearly has a real buzz to it.
“I am also keen to take this project to the next level by further improving progression routes for students and to hopefully work with others towards replicating this facility in the Mansfield area.”
The Ashfield Project caters for young people who did not achieve at school due to low attendance or other problems including bullying, undiagnosed dyslexia or having caring responsibilities. It works closely with local partners to provide additional support to the students.
Sarah added: “The external support service relationships are excellent such as Connexions and the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Support Service and I hope I can continue with these good relations and extend the provision available to the learners.”
At her interview, Sarah was introduced to four of the centre’s students who put her 'on the spot' with questions of their own about how she could make a difference to their study experience at the College.
Sarah said: “I thought that having students on the interview panel was great! To actually have the young people at the project find out what their potential new manager was going to be like made perfect sense. The students who joined in on my interview showed how confident they had become during their time on the project.”
Sarah is looking forward to the new term ahead which includes a celebration of achievement event on Tuesday 21 April at 1.30 pm, when students will be rewarded for their best efforts over the past term.
Also being planned is a summer school over the main holidays which will enable young people in the area to find out more about how the facilities at Ashfield can help them embark on a college course to suit their needs.
