The event was designed to coincide with the London 2012 Paralympic Games later this year with members of the public being given the opportunity to try out a variety of disability sports including Boccia, Wheelchair Rugby and Basketball, New Age Kurling and Archery. There was also the opportunity for local companies to get involved by holding a team-building session geared around the sports - this proved very popular with about 100 members from a different organisations getting involved and having a great time!

On hand to provide expert coaching in archery was Fred Stevens, an ex-student of Portland College who competed at the 2008 Paralympic Games in the Compound Bow event.

Tours of the College were also on offer with the opportunity to see the College on a normal working day, seeing our students in action! Members of the College’s Board of Governors were also on hand to provide information about Portland and chat with members of the public.

The event has been the most successful Public Open Day held at Portland College, and we are very thankful to all of our supporters who came along and got involved.

Click on the link below to see the full article describing Andrew’s amazing adrenaline fuelled adventures:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/my-disability-doesn-t-stop-me-being-a-thrill-seeker-1-2186079#

The roadshow forms part of the ‘Achieving Fully Inclusive Sport for Disabled Learners’ project which is aimed at promoting disability sport and getting learners involved in sport regardless of their ability or disability. Portand are the lead partner on this project which is being undertaken in association with Sport England and in partnership with three other Colleges. The roadshows will hopefully encourage disabled learners in Further Education to try out a new sport or physical activity, together with showing non-disabled learners the benefits of participating in a disability sport.

On the day students from South Nottinghamshire College took the chance to try out sports such as Boccia, Table Cricket, Wheelchair Rugby and New Age Kurling.

Project Manager Jayne Ball says, “The Inclusive Sports project is a very positive way of engaging young people in sport and showing that everybody can get involved, whether competitively, for recreation or simply to get fitter. Disability sports can get overlooked but this is a great way of showcasing how fantastic many of these sports can be and with this year being the London 2012 Paralympics, the project ties in with what is a very important year for disability sport in the UK.”

Following the roadshow, sports staff from Portland College provided an Inclusive Training session for foundation learning managers, sports coaches and support staff to pass on inclusive strategies for disability sport within mainstream colleges, schools and academies. This included practical demonstrations of sports that can be played by disabled and non-disabled learners at the same time by making simple adaptations in equipment, rules and environment together with discussions about assessing risk, developing confidence and increasing inclusion.

There will be further roadshows and training events held within the region during the pilot of this project, with other College partners holding similar roadshows within their local regions throughout England.

If you would like more information about the project or how to get involved, please contact Paul Watts by email: paulwatts@portland.ac.uk

Foundation learners immersed themselves in a variety of activities about books, reading and how to make both of these things accessible for disabled people. This year’s theme at College was Autobiographies, so learners produced their own pen portraits, autobiographies and collages about themselves in text, video and symbol form.

Staff also got involved with readings of popular books and there was a highly amusing limerick and rap workshop held for the learners. There was also a showcase of a range of accessible technology and devices to assist people with disabilities such as visual impairment to read.

Mark Dale, College Principal said, “World Book Day is a fantastic celebration and we actively encourage our learners to get involved in the world of literature. By making reading and learning through reading accessible, it can open our learners up to new experiences and knowledge that they may otherwise miss out on. The event always proves popular and I am very proud of the work that is produced as a result of the activities taking place.”

The College works with foundation learning students on their plans for when they leave Portland all throughout the duration of their programmes, and this event brings together many companies and organisations who will be able to work alongside these young people as they move into the next stage of their lives.

The event was attended by over 30 different organisations who provided information about their services to our learners and their families.

Mark Dale, College Principal and CEO said, “I was really delighted with the success of our very first transitions day. Our Foundation Learners were able to interact with a very wide range of providers looking at opportunities after College in care, housing, day services and further education and training. Over 30 other organisations supported this event and they seem very pleased with our organisational skills and the effectiveness of the day.”

Showcasing inclusion, sustainability and innovation in art, ArtAbility celebrates the positive impact that art can have on young people and creating artwork through different techniques. The brilliant pieces have been created during this academic year by our foundation learners and employment students and are available for sale throughout the duration of the exhibition.

Attending the VIP Launch were some of the artists, Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council, Keith Walker, the College’s art tutors and support staff, College Governors, College Senior Management and invited guests from education and art backgrounds.

College Principal Mark Dale says, “The artwork on display has been the culmination of the ArtAbility project which has focused learners on art with an underlying focus on sustainability. The learners selected projects and activities that could be achieved through the re-use and recycling of materials, with most artwork produced using surplus stock donated to the art department.”

The exhibition will now run until the 25th March and will be open to the public between 10.30am and 5.00pm on these dates.

Due to our strong links with the business community, in particular with our own start-up Business Units on the College campus, we chose to sponsor the Entrepreneur of the Year Award which was very highly contested.

In a competitive category, the winners were GZero with Stavros Alambritis picking up the award on behalf of the company.

Mark Dale, College Principal and CEO, said of the award, “Portland College is proud to have been involved in the Chad Business Awards and congratulate GZero on their achievement. The College is a keen supporter of local businesses, and our Beeches Business Enterprise Units have helped a number of companies start up and continue to progress since their opening in 2010.”

The College has worked very closely with Nottinghamshire Police over the past ten years, and this has culminated in the Police now taking up a permanent presence on the College campus.

PC Mick Cook, who works within the Safer Schools Partnership, will be based in the NewStart Hall on the College campus every Tuesday afternoon between 1.00pm and 3.00pm. He will be available to answer any questions on policing matters, deal with incidents that may occur and educate students about issues within the local community.

In addition to working with Portland College, PC Cook also covers Ashfield School, Quarrydale School, Sutton Centre and Kirkby College along with all the primary feeder schools within the Ashfield North area.

Brian Harrison, Customer Services Manager at the College says, “We have built a great relationship with Nottinghamshire Police over the last decade and have worked in partnership with them on a number of initiatives around keeping our learners safe, both whilst at Portland College and when in the wider community. I am absolutely thrilled that we will now have a permanent Police Post on the college campus where learners and staff may drop in to ask questions and receive information on keeping safe.“

The exhibition also ran over the weekend following the launch, and continues onto 30th September, & 1st and 2nd October 2011. All of the artwork has been produced by our Foundation Learners and the exhibition is completely FREE to attend. Open to all members of the public, it is a fantastic opportunity for our young artists to have their artwork displayed in a professional setting and the feedback from members of the public has so far been fantastic.

Mark Dale, College Principal says, “It is an absolute delight to see the brilliant work our Foundation Learners produce showcased in the magnificent Yard Gallery at Wollaton Hall. The professional setting is fitting to the standard of the artwork produced and I would urge anyone with an interest in art, or simply the work of our students, to attend and perhaps purchase a piece for their own walls!”

For more information about the event, please contact Anna Ashton on 01623 499164.

In-Folio is an online portfolio system that enables learners to record and present their achievements and abilities. The accessible, simple interface allows learners to store, arrange and organise multimedia content in simple online pages and assists greatly with their communication. The learner can then utilise their In-Folio pages as they progress on to further education or as they look for employment.

The judging panel for the awards recognised ‘the exemplary way in which the distributed team, involving a university, a JISC service, and four independent specialist colleges, approached the project’. Set up over four years ago, the team has members from five different organisations: Portland College, JISC TechDis, The Rix Centre, The National College for Young People with Epilepsy and National Star College, each of whom pooled their funding to help develop the system. In-Folio was also selected because of the impact and vision of In-Folio itself as well as its strong and beneficial impact on the ISC sector’s use of learning technology more generally.

Matt Harrison, Assessment and Access Centre Manager at Portland College says “I am delighted that the team’s collaborative hard work and efforts in developing this system have been recognised. The In-Folio system offers learners the chance to record personal achievements in a fully accessible and simple manner, which they can continue to use as they progress in their education and employment and show to parents, peers, educators and potential employers.”

To find out more, visit the In-Folio website or contact Matt Harrison on 01623 499196.