The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t stopping Capital City College Training student, Sherif Sheble. Recently we helped get him a job as a Security Officer which allows him to work full-time, even during the lockdown. He is also still studying with us (remotely) pursuing his passion of becoming a counsellor. 

Sherif was at ‘rock bottom’ and unemployed when he found out about CCCT at his local ‘back to work’ organisation. He spoke to one of our advisors and expressed a passion for counselling. We got Sherif straight onto one of our counselling courses, but he also needed a job and income quickly, so we signed him up onto our Employability/Door Supervision course – this gave him the skills needed to secure a job at Danhouse Security, one of our partner employers. 

Sherif started his security job the very next day and has been working at the Unison Centre on Euston Road for the past three months, where he is a Supervisor.

Sherif’s tutor, Monique Howard, said: “Sherif was on Universal Credit when he joined the course and had been unemployed for a while. He had lost quite a lot of his confidence, but he really got into the Employability/Door Supervision course and loved his interaction with the other students who were in the same boat as him.

“I watched his confidence grow and when he successfully completed the course and applied for his licence, he felt confident enough to apply for a job with Danhouse.”

Sherif told us: “My tutor Monique helped shape my course to help me. She added an English tutor to improve my customer service levels.  I really really enjoyed it. I owe the college and Monique a lot. The courses have been great and CCCT have even helped me find a job. With it currently being so hard to find a job, CCCT made it easy. And it is all thanks to my course.

“The course helped build my confidence.  What I love about your college is the excitement for learning. It’s great. The teachers are amazing. The support I got from all of my tutors was amazing, they helped change my mental health for the better.”

Sherif loves his job, but his passion is still with counselling, so while working, he continues to be a remote student on our Counselling for Young People and Children course. Sherif said: “After completing one more counselling course with CCCT, I want to go to university to study Counselling and one day do it as a full-time job.”

Learning English as a second language is not easy but during the coronavirus pandemic it is even more challenging.

We sat down (virtually, of course!) with Chloe Jacobs, one of our English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) lecturers to find out how she has been supporting and motivating 16-18 students in these difficult times. She also told us about a creative writing project to encourage them to look into a future post Covid-19 world.

“Around half of my 16-18 students arrived in the UK as unaccompanied children seeking asylum having fled countries in fear of their lives. 

“Many of them have suffered with trauma from the devastation of war and atrocities in their own countries and feel stressed and anxious. They feel lonely and isolated and in many cases do not have an established support network of friends or any family here or at all.

“They are unlikely to understand all the government rules around coronavirus, and many live in hostels where they do not have a lot of personal space during lockdown. 

“They are generally in low spirits and feeling anxious having migrated to a place of education and safety, and now it turns out that that is not the case. Some received little or no education in their home countries and are worried that they will not be able to get the education that they have struggled so hard to reach. 

“A lot of the non-asylum seeking 16-18 ESOL students who arrived with family as economic migrants are also worried about getting even further behind in their education, having arrived in the UK before completing their GCSE-equivalent year in their countries. 

“I was concerned that this could lead to many of them feeling they might as well give up.

“At CANDI, we have provided financial support to help all students access online learning during the coronavirus pandemic. Switching to remote learning has been hard for many ESOL students, particularly at entry level. Using the group chat in Microsoft Teams has enabled them to react and respond even more during online lessons.

“Pair and group work are pivotal to language learning, and these have been replicated by running smaller groups simultaneously on Teams and jumping between them to monitor students’ progress. This has been combined with self-study, including websites such as BBC Learning English and the British Council’s ESOL Nexus, as well as help with course progression and preparing for job interviews.

“As ESOL teachers, we have explained the Covid-19 legislation in a way they can understand, updating them about any changes and how they can keep themselves safe in lockdown. One of our online class projects I used to keep them motivated came from asking them what they had been up to during this time. 

“The discussion led to a lesson on the present perfect continuous tense (eg I have been working, we have been chatting, etc). Students were asked to find out what their classmates had been doing at a fictional reunion in 10 years’ time and then write articles for a 2030 college alumni magazine.

“Reading the students’ articles was so incredibly heart-warming, and it was so good to hear them sounding so happy in an alternative reality, which hopefully will turn out to be their actual reality in 10 years’ time.

“The whole project felt so pertinent where there is a need to keep aspirations high at this difficult and unprecedented time.”

Although our buildings are currently closed, we are still open for business and are accepting applications for courses starting in September. Click here to find out more and to apply for ESOL courses for 16-18s and adults.

A printer furloughed during the coronavirus pandemic from the job he has done for more than 20 years has told how he is looking forward to a new career as a plumber.

Father of three Tim Mansfield, 38, from Woodford, north London, returned to college in March 2019 having been concerned about the future of the printing industry.

He initially enrolled on a free Plumbing for Beginners short course and is set to complete a Plumbing Level 2 Diploma at CONEL this summer.

The diploma was also free – CONEL is London’s First FREE College, and all courses from Entry Level to Level 2 are free to students, regardless of their age or income.

Tim said: “I’ve spent 22 years in printing and the demand for paper-based products has been decreasing.  I was concerned about my job situation, and thought it was time to make the jump.

“CONEL’s free short courses were exactly what I needed. They gave me the opportunity to try different trades without having to overcommit until I knew what I wanted to pursue more seriously. If they hadn’t been free, I’m not sure I would have taken the chance.

“The teachers are well-qualified and approachable, and always on hand with advice and support. I’ve made some great friends at CONEL and learnt some great skills that I fully intend build upon in my future career. I’m excited about starting a new chapter.”

CONEL has been offering free short courses for more than two years with many students going on to study at higher levels to get the skills they need for further study or employment.

Courses are available in accounting, business, construction, hairdressing, beauty therapy, healthcare, childcare, English, maths, IT, engineering, hospitality, culinary arts, science and sport.

All courses at CONEL are available through online distance learning during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Paul Oatham, Curriculum Manager for Construction, said: “The free short plumbing courses have proved very popular with those looking at new careers, or just wanting to learn a new skill that can help them with jobs around the house.

“Tim is one of the many success stories that we have had. He applied himself well during his studies and I wish him all the best in his plumbing career.”

The government lockdown has been a testing time for hundreds of thousands of people across the UK. For student Victoria Oki, it was the final hurdle, in a long list of setbacks, that stood in her way of achieving her Business Administration Advanced Apprenticeship.

Working at North Middlesex Hospital as a Ward Clerk, Victoria is studying her apprenticeship through Capital City College Training and the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London. By sitting her exam during lockdown after a series of setbacks and achieving an impressive Distinction, she proved that with grit and determination, not even a pandemic could hold her back from achieving her dream of becoming a project manager.

Like many people across the globe, the arrival of Coronavirus meant life as we knew it was put on hold as the world dealt with this unprecedented crisis. Student Victoria Oki had her heart set on completing the Business Administration Advanced Apprenticeship last year but due to unforeseen circumstances this was not to be. A three month illness meant Victoria was unable to study or work, setting her behind. Looking back at those months Victoria said, “It was a difficult time because I knew I was really falling behind and I had my heart set on finishing by September 2019. Sometimes things are just out of our control.”

On the road to recovery, Victoria worked night and day to catch up. However, in December she faced another setback when her handbag was stolen. Inside her bag was a flash drive holding her entire project to date. Devasted, Victoria sought a way to come back from this major setback. Realising that she’d sent a rough copy to her tutor a while back she was able to utilise her project management skills and piece her project back together.

“I have a good relationship with a fellow student who I worked closely with. We have the same drive and work ethic and we push each other. Together we set a goal to get a distinction and we went for it!” With lockdown now in place they set up study groups via Zoom, hit the books and practiced for the final assessment, a critique of her project.

The day of the assessment came and Victoria spent an hour face to face with an assessor on Zoom. “I was able to share my screen on Zoom and talk through my portfolio. It was tough and she asked a lot of in depth questions. I had worked really hard up to this point and after everything I’d been through, this was the final hurdle,” Victoria said.

Victoria passed with an astonishing Distinction. She is currently working a Ward Clerk at North Middlesex Hospital and has been throughout the lockdown. She said, “I am so pleased. All of my hard work has paid off and I never gave up. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. I’m really proud of myself. My end goal is to be a Project Management within the NHS and after everything I’ve been through, I know I can achieve it.”

The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London is among the best colleges in England for mental health support for staff and students. CONEL was a runner-up in the prestigious Association of Colleges Beacon Awards after being shortlisted in the NOCN Group Mental Health and Wellbeing category.

The annual Beacon Awards, in their 25^th year, celebrate the best and most innovative practice at colleges across the country, and this award is timely recognition of the excellent support the college offers its staff and students.

CONEL created a mental health strategy that has been embedded into the daily life of the college, designed to equip students and staff with the knowledge and support to identify and manage mental health issues.

The college actively promotes positive mental health and well-being and supports those experiencing difficulties to overcome barriers to enhance their resilience and achieve their full potential. This starts when students are interviewed and enrolled, and continues during their course and progression to further study.

To ensure that learners receive the best mental health support and well-being guidance, CONEL works with many local and national organisations including the NHS, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) teams, Mind, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, drug and alcohol services, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England, Freedom From Torture, Cruse Bereavement Care and the Refugee Council.

Staff mental health is equally supported through a range of co-ordinated activities and training to promote good health and well-being, such as health checks, yoga, meditation, diet quizzes, informative alerts and resources.

They also receive updates and training on key issues such as online safety, as do students, along with resources and focusing on events such as Mental Health Awareness Week in May and International Mental Health Day in October. 

Assistant Principal Hilary Moore, said: “One in four of us in the UK will have some kind of mental health issue in our lives. This prompted us to produce our mental health strategy to support those who are struggling – particularly in these difficult times.

“We are thrilled to have been among the finalists of the Association of Colleges Beacon Award for Mental Health and Well-Being, which is fantastic recognition of the positive approach we have taken in responding to and managing these issues.” 

Understanding and managing mental health has become even more important with the coronavirus pandemic having a huge impact on people’s lives and their well-being. Hilary added: “Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak we are offering mental health support online and reassurance to our staff and students while they are at in lockdown at home.” 

The COVID-19 outbreak is a global tragedy and for families in Sri Lanka – especially those living in rural towns – it has been very difficult. Many cannot access essentials such as food, face masks and hand sanitiser. CONEL’s Assistant Principal, Marcia Summers, has been helping the charity Their Future Today (TFT) and the Sri Lankan NGO, Women’s Development Centre (WDC) to offer support to those in need.

Since the lockdown came into effect in Sri Lanka on 18-20 March, families in poor areas of the country have faced many new difficulties. Although Government guidelines enforce strict rules on wearing protective equipment in public, there is a nationwide shortage of these things. So, WDC have been training staff to make face masks and hand sanitiser, helping supply rural villages who would otherwise not have them. WDC is also delivering nutrition training to rural communities and showing those most at risk from malnutrition how to grow nutritious food.

Marcia’s story with the charity started in 2013 when she visited Sri Lanka on a family holiday. Before setting off, Marcia was introduced to the WDC, which had been set up in the 1980s to educate, support and strengthen abused women in Sri Lanka. The CONEL Assistant Principal agreed to visit and support the NGO during her time in the country, taking clothes and stationary and to help out in the Women’s Development Centre. The centre is still providing relief for women subject to abuse.

Since then, Marcia has fulfilled an important role revisiting the country each year to help with the charities’ operations.

To support the effort, Marcia has raised funds for the Women’s Development Centre, organising bike rides, clothes sales, fundraising suppers and sponsored swims, and setting up Just-giving pages. She has also encouraged two members of the WDC to take part in the college’s free short course Nutrition Level 1 – an 8-week course which will help the WDC staff members deliver training in rural locations in Sri Lanka. These members will be expected to visit local communities in Sri Lanka to deliver nutrition lessons, and donate masks and hand sanitiser.

TFT and Marcia are now raising money for food parcels for disadvantaged Sri Lankan families. These parcels contain enough dry essentials to keep a family of six going for one week, and cost just £10. So far Marcia has raised nearly £400, which will pay for 40 parcels – keeping 240 people fed for a week.

Founded in 2005, following the devastating impact of the Asian tsunami of December 2004, ‘Their Future Today’ was set up to end the institutionalisation and suffering of vulnerable children disadvantaged through poverty in Sri Lanka. Marcia has helped the charity’s Shelter for abused women in the Kandy district and remote Tea Plantation villages, by supporting these rural areas with books for schools and clothes for the children, which they would not otherwise get.

If you would like to donate to help Marcia’s COVID-19 Sri Lanka Appeal, click here.

For the last couple of months, the world has changed massively since the arrival of the pandemic virus known as Coronavirus from China. CONEL sports student, Pierrette Simuene, talks about how has it affected education for students in the UK.

“In March 2020, all primary and secondary schools, colleges and higher education closed and we are all on partial lockdown. My college, the College of Haringey, Enfield, and North East London closed on 20 March 2020 and as per Boris Johnson’s request online classes began.

“I study the Sport – Level 3 course because I have an interest in sports and have knowledge and background in this sector. I also participate in sports professionally outside college in Track & Field. I also study this course because I would like to take on sports journalism in university and continue with this in my career path and be a presenter for companies such as BBC sports and Sky. I believe this course will help me to do this and help me learn different factors of the sporting industry. 

“Online classes on Microsoft Teams have been incredible and the experience has been better than I expected. The teachers really try their hardest to make the lessons seem as if we were in college, which is fantastic as this helps us students understand the topic and the assignments further. However, the online sessions do have their disadvantages – some students have problems with their internet connections and others have may have other people in their property and not be able to listen properly due to the noise, which may reduce their rate of concentration. 

“On the other hand, my sibling’s online classes differ to my online classes, because in the UK a lot of secondary school students are not verbally getting help from their teachers – they are being set homework and revision, using programmes such as Show My Homework. This differs massively from my college, as they are not being able to receive the help they need. Also, GCSE students are massively impacted, but they can take exams when the pandemic has gone. 

“Although there are online classes for all individual pupils in my class, my friends have also found this challenging as lot of them are visual learners and they like to work in small teams and participate in small groups to help them guide them though the different stage of the assignments. This helps them aim and target themselves to achieve Merit and Distinction. However, they do enjoy the ability of being able to learn online and continue to complete work to finish off the year.”

By Mike Johnson, director of online tutoring platform PiTutor

Online learning is very new to a lot of you. The closest thing to online learning you usually do is when you accidentally learn something from a meme.

Right now you will be getting bombarded with resources from school and expected to learn independently, but where were the lessons on independent learning when you were actually in school?

So it’s understandable if lots of you and your parents feel like your new way of learning presents its own challenges, but with a few key techniques self-teaching online is definitely possible, and to prove it, here’s a few highly successful and self-taught people who did it before the internet was even a thing:

• Leonardo Da Vinci – learnt to become a world-class inventor, artist, mathematician and more
• Albert Einstein – left school early to pursue his own ideas
• Benjamin Franklin – couldn’t afford school but read everything that came into the printers where he got a job age 12
• Agatha Christie – learnt independently at home which she says made her more creative, and it clearly worked
• Thomas Edison – well known for learning from 10,000 failed lightbulb attempts before eventually making one that works
• Malcolm X – educated himself in a prison library before using his newfound ideas and vocabulary to inspire millions
• Henry Ford – learnt by experimenting with machinery before inventing the production line to make Ford cars
• Colonel Sanders – self-taught making awesome fried chicken

Here are a two things I have picked up working as an online tutor for the last couple of years:

1. Don’t be passive
   
   When you are using resources such as YouTube videos it’s very easy to just watch and learn. “I’m understanding all the material”, you say to yourself – so you’re learning, right? Well probably not.
   
   The real world is not like the matrix where you just download information and it is then miraculously in your long term memory ready for use. In reality, if you’re lying in bed watching Maths videos on your phone you might be able to answer some questions immediately after but if someone asked you about the content of that video a week later you might as well have spent your time watching memes because, unless you’re Rainman, the knowledge has just slipped away.
   
   “Why can’t I have a better memory?”, you might ask yourself in despair. You’ve got a perfectly good memory, you just need a better method!
   
   What you need to do instead is practice active learning. To do this you need to challenge your brain. Think about it from your memory’s point of view. If you’re just consuming information that you understand then there is no strong signal to your brain that this is something you NEED to remember.
   
   Your brain takes in a crazy amount of data every day. Every second even. Unless something really stands out, and more importantly, has value for the future, why would your brain bother remembering something?
   
   What you need to do is perform something active that challenges you to think about the content and signals to your brain that this is something important.
   
   Here’s a few ways you can do this:
   – Don’t just take notes. Instead, pause the video every so often and actually try and summarise your understanding of what you just heard. Most importantly, while you do this you must focus on the meaning of what you’re learning.
   – Use mind maps for notes to make connections between different parts of the content. Digital mind maps are better because it’s easy to reorganise as new connections appear to you.
   – Include two different ways of thinking about something – for example, written information and a picture
   – Practise questions or create your own
   – Start a YouTube channel summarising topics. You will remember more of what you teach and you can help other people so it’s a win-win technique.

2. Too much of a good thing

Online resources are great, but if you consume too much of the same content in one go it is very unlikely you are going to remember it.

It feels really productive to watch a whole series of videos, take active notes and then answer a bunch of past paper questions which by the end you are getting correct 100% of the time to the point it’s becoming easy. If I ask you next week you’re probably not going to remember a whole lot.

“But..” you protest, “isn’t that what you said before? I actively engaged in the content by making notes and thinking about the meaning, and then I answered questions to engage my brain and check that I’ve actually learnt the content. What more do you want from me??!!!”

Fair question. Now you are using all the right techniques – which is great – but that’s still not enough. It’s not your fault though! The way that most educational content is organised simply doesn’t agree with how we know your brain works.

Pretty much every textbook that you’ve ever seen is organised by topic, and within each topic, there is a section with information and then there will be a bunch of similar questions so you can put the knowledge you’ve just read into practice. When you practise a lot of the same questions, your brain will be very good at adapting to the method and replicating it.

The problem here is that this is all happening in your working memory. Your goal is basically to get the things you practise from your temporary ‘holding pen’ – working memory – over to your long term memory. The best way to do this is to spread out your practice over a period of time in much shorter bursts.

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So let’s put it all together. First, you need to actively engage with online resources by making notes PROPERLY – in different formats while stopping often to think about meaning to make sure you understand. Now you leave it alone for a little while and then you do some retrieval practise using your own flashcards or online quizzes. Just 25 minutes every so often AT LEAST 3 times is good. If you can do both of these; active learning and retrieval practise, you are taking advantage of two of the most powerful learning methods currently known to science!

Online learning is still new and will take some time to adjust to. Hang in there. There is the inclination to see this all as some force of necessity, rather than an opportunity. As we begin to come out of lockdown, we might see our progress with online learning as the (potential) beginning of a new era for general education.

Mastering these tools now carves out another fork in the road, building on the traditions of old and making use of new technology to expand the limits of academia. It may seem a little overwhelming at the moment, but how we decide to learn from this experience will pave the way for new generations to get the most out of school.

So work hard. Focus on active learning and balanced techniques. Find new ways to learn independently and, above all, try to have a little fun with it.

If one positive is to come out of the lock-down, it will be the extra attention given to mental health issues.

In April, the Department for Health and Social Care pledged a £5m grant for mental health services across the country; the impact of quarantine has been rife and hard-hitting, with a number of medical papers acknowledging the significant strains placed on young people and the disadvantaged.

This week coincides with Mental Health Awareness Week, an annual, nationwide project aimed at normalising conversation on difficult topics. We spoke to our excellent wellbeing and support teams and collated some of their resources for managing stress while studying through this difficult period.

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The 5-4-3-2-1 game

A method of dealing with anxiety, the 5-4-3-2-1 game is a simple resource for grounding yourself during moments of discomfort:

Describe 5 things you can see right now

Describe 4 things you can feel with your sense of touch right now

Describe 3 things you can hear, or your three favourite sounds

Describe 2 things you can smell around you, or that you like to smell

Describe 1 thing you can taste right now, or that you like to taste

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The APPLE method

Anxiety UK have devised a simple way of coping with uncertainty or discomfort with the APPLE mnemonic.

A – Acknowledge (the uncertainty, be aware of it, be mindful of it and recognise you can’t do anything about it)

P – Pause (try not to react like you normally do, remind yourself that it’s just the worrying talking)

P – Pull back (from the worries)

L – Let go (of the thought and/or feeling of the anxiety, imagine it floating away in a cloud)

E – Explore (the present moment, shift focus of attention to something else externally e.g. your breathing, on what’s happening around you at that moment using 5-4-3-2-1 etc.)

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Use technology the right way!

Our team advises practicing mindfulness with apps such as Headspace, Stop Breathe and Think and Calm.  All offer easy, free ways to take a step back for a few moments. But it’s important not to get too far lost in devices, we are reminded: “Limit how much of the news you are consuming – have a time limit to how much you allow yourself each day to see, hear, watch, etc.”

Blurt it Out also recommend an occasional “digital detox”, advising you take the time to unfollow noisy outlets on social media, fill your timeline with positivity and unsubscribe from unnecessary emails and apps that can leave lifefeeling clogged.

Be sure not to lose all contact with family and friends, though; calling a person you trust just to chat can be an important process for shaking off stress when things get too much.

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Find something to do – and do it!

Abraham Lincoln once said, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

Procrastination affects us all, but there are a number of ways to minimise its power. Often, the stress starts with how we work – rather than what we are doing. Our team recommends breaking down tasks into manageable chunks.

Start your day with a checklist and make the first couple of items really very simple – brush your teeth, or make breakfast. Rather than punishing yourself for not doing work, the goal is to stay motivated by the sense that you’re always moving forward. Then make the steps bigger.

‘Just 5 Minutes’ is a similar technique for making big, abstract tasks feel more manageable. Tell yourself you are going to sit and study for five minutes. At the end of the five minutes, see how you feel. You have already accomplished your objective and may feel happy to extend that by another ten minutes – an easier feat than sitting down and expecting yourself to work indefinitely.

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And remember to breathe!

When we are anxious or threatened, our body breathes faster and harder to prepare for danger. By slowing your breathing down, you can tell your body you are safe and able to relax.

Relaxed breathing is both slower and deeper than normal breathing, and starts lower down in the belly.

Sit or lie down comfortably and close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose to a count of four, and then breathe out at the same pace. Pay attention and ensure that your breaths are smooth and consistent – especially on the exhale. You may want to practice your breathing a few times a day for up to 10 minutes to get back on track.

If you are studying with us and have any mental health concerns, get in touch with our team at CounsellingServicesStaff@candi.ac.uk