Student Ambassador Training UK Student Recruitment & Outreach

Programme• Introduction to the UK Office

• Ambassador roles

• Time management

• A professional approach

• Working with young people

• Health & Safety

• Any questions?

Introduction to the UK Office

UK Office Staff – O&P Team

Richard Kennett Janette Thompson Head of UK Office Aimhigher

Manager

Anne Brooks Butcher Kate Bartlett

Aimhigher Project Leader Aimhigher Liaison Officer

Abby Bull Kirsten Pantry Aimhigher Officer Outreach & Partnership Officer

UK Office Staff – O&P Team

Charlotte Everett Aimee Ellis Outreach & Partnership Officer Student Finance Outreach

Officer

Laura Ahern Jayne Pennington Student Associate Coordinator

UK Office Administrator

Christine Dear Andrea Bell Outreach & Partnership Assistant

Outreach & Partnership Assistant

UK Office Staff – UK Student Recruitment

Gail Alani Paula Parkes UK Student Recruitment Manager Schools & Colleges Liaison Officer (on maternity leave)

Lydia Powell Anne Francis Student Recruitment Events Officer

Student Recruitment Events Assistant

Chris Fuller Schools & Colleges Liaison Officer

UK Office aims• Student Recruitment Team

– To raise the profile of the University of Southampton amongst prospective students, their parents, teachers and careers advisors in order to increase applications from high achieving students

• Outreach & Partnership Team

– To attract students from non-traditional backgrounds, who may not be considering HE, to the University of Southampton

• Aimhigher Team

– To raise the aspirations of students from non-traditional backgrounds and encourage them to consider Further and Higher Education in general

Ambassador roles

Ambassador roles

The Student Ambassador roles we are recruiting for are as follows:

1. General Student Ambassador (roles covers supporting a variety of events on and off campus e.g. taster days, assemblies, workshops HE/Careers Fairs, Open Days, campus tours, community/language mentoring)

2. E-mentor (Health & Social Care, Languages)

3. Student Associate

4. Engineering Scheme Mentor

5. Aimhigher Associate

Ambassador roles

How does the programme work?

• Training for the various roles

• UK Office will process CRB checks (overseas students will also need letters of good conduct)

• Members of the UK Office will contact you via email regarding work

• You decide if you can attend and get back to us

• Go along with a member of staff

• Get paid an hourly rate

• We will arrange transport or reimburse your costs (keep any tickets or receipts)

Ambassador rolesGood time management is crucial!

Remember to set aside time for

• Your attendance at lectures, seminars, workshops and placements

• Supporting work that needs to be done in your own time, bearing in mind hand-in dates

• Paid employment and any volunteer commitments you have made

• Relaxation

• Sleep!

A professional approach

A professional approach• Be punctual

• Be personable

• Be prepared

• Be positive

• Be honest

Working with young people

Working with young people• Quick reference guide

• Code of Conduct

• Issues around progression to HE

• Equality & Diversity

• Safeguarding & Child Protection

• Managing challenging behaviour

Issues around progression to HE

How would you persuade the following young people that HE was worth investigating?

• Someone who is bored with school

• Someone who lacks self-confidence and thinks they’re not the “type” to go on to HE

• Someone who can’t afford HE - wants to get a job and earn £

• Someone who wants to do something ‘practical’ not academic

Equal Opportunities means:

• Obeying the law!

• Valuing difference

• Opposing prejudice

• Ensuring that people are not deprived of their rights

• Respecting the way that other people live and lead their lives

• Respecting the different beliefs and values that people have

• Ensuring that individuals have equal access to services and conditions which will enhance their welfare

• Recognising the individuality of human beings, and not stereotyping people

• Promoting self-esteem and a sense of individual worth

Equality & Diversity

Equal Opportunities does NOT mean:

• Lip service - just talk and no action

• Treating everyone the same

• Feeling sorry for people

• Something that doesn’t affect you

• Someone else’s responsibility

• Thinking that everyone should think and act the same

• Something you apply to some people and not others

Equality & Diversity

Developing your skills and awareness

• Empathy – how is this person feeling?

How would I feel?

• Understanding – ability to understand how and why things happen

• Raised Awareness – a willingness and ability to learn about yourself and others

• Sensitivity – an ability to think and appreciate how others feel

• Consequences – an ability to recognise and take responsibility for the consequences of your actions, words and attitude. Also, to think through the implications of what we do before we act.

• Fairness – an ability to fair and reasonable.

Equality & Diversity

Why might a person be discriminated against?

accent age ability

skin colour literacy income

mental health family gender

skills health race

religion nationality tattoos

employment status dyslexia

Equality & Diversity

Case studies – what would you do?

• In one of the sessions one student makes a racist comment about another. Not loud enough for the tutor to hear, but loud enough for you and some others in the group to hear…

• You are helping to run an event in a building with no lift. You find you have 2 students who are wheelchair users who have chosen workshops on the 3rd floor. There is no wheelchair access to the 3rd floor…

• You are helping with a small group of primary school children on a Family Fun Day. The organiser has encouraged a

group ofparents and children from the local Kosovan refugee

familycentre to come. You hear one boy day to another – “My

Dad saysthese refugees are a right lot of scroungers. They come

to thiscountry, make the streets filthy, get a new house and

then go androb everyone”…

Equality & Diversity

Our aims are to highlight the opportunities available in Higher Education without disrespecting the backgrounds, circumstances and opinions of the young people and their parents. • Be polite, sensitive and professional

• Be positive – emphasise the benefits of HE/Southampton

• Respect people’s background and concerns, even if they seem strange to you

• Recognise that their attitudes to education may be very different to yours

Equality & Diversity

Safeguarding & Child Protection

• All children and young people have the right to grow up in a safe and caring environment

• We all have a duty of care and to help us, the children we work with and society, certain protections are in place.

Remember these are to protect YOU as well as those we are working with.

Safeguarding & Child ProtectionAll student ambassadors should

• Treat everyone with equal respect, whether staff or young person

• Be aware that you are a role model for young people and a representative of Aimhigher and/or UoS

• Discourage negative attitudes or behaviour (e.g. ridicule, racism etc)

• Inform young people if their behaviour is inappropriate

• Ensure that the young people are safe

• Try to involve all of the young people

• Always refer back to the project leader if there are problems

• For younger children, check toilets before they go in.

Safeguarding & Child ProtectionTo avoid misunderstanding of your intention or actions…

• Avoid any physical contact with the young people

• Ensure you are never left alone with a young person

• Never give out personal contact details or accept friendship requests on social networking sites

• Never agree to meet or make contact with a young person outside the designated hours and location of the event

• Dress appropriately for work; also don’t make suggestive remarks or gestures within the hearing or sight of young people

• Keep your mobile phone on during an event in case we need to contact you, but keep it on a discreet setting; ensure that Bluetooth is switched off.

• Never use camera phones. Photos should be taken ONLY using the camera supplied by project staff for the event.

Safeguarding & Child ProtectionFour main definitions of abuse:

• Neglect - the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development.

• Physical - may involve hitting, shaking, burning or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.

• Sexual - forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.

• Emotional - the persistent emotional ill-treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development.

If because of someone’s behaviour, speech, attitude or appearance you suspect abuse or have concerns, you should refer it on.

Safeguarding & Child ProtectionConfidentiality

When you are working with young people you have a responsibility to act on any information that indicates that the young person may be at risk. This includes anything that is illegal for young people e.g. drinking, sex and drug taking. Legality does not depend upon your personal feelings or what you might feel is acceptable behaviour.

In order to develop a trusting relationship with young people that you work with, you must make explicit the kind of information that you cannot keep secret. You should do this at the beginning and reiterate the situation if you feel you are having a conversation in which something may be revealed

Safeguarding & Child ProtectionIf a child or young person discloses something to you…

• Tell the child you will listen to what they want to say

• Reassure the child that they are doing the right thing by telling you and that what has happened is not their fault

• Do not interrogate or ask probing questions

• Explain that you cannot keep secrets

• Tell the child what you are going to do next

• Make notes about disclosure and store in a secure place

Safeguarding & Child Protection

A disclosure of this nature should be referred to the member of the UK Office who is responsible for the event. They will ensure that your concerns are passed on to the Child Protection Officer at the school or college.

Similarly, if you have suspicions that a child needs some help, you should discuss this with the person responsible for the event.

Safeguarding & Child ProtectionCase studies:

• Two 15-year old girls say that they are meeting two boys that they have met in an internet chat-room in the local park during their lunch break…

• A 15-year old girl that you are working with keeps rubbing the back of her hand, you notice that she has a very small burn on it. She tells you that she did it getting her dinner out of the oven the previous evening. She has no other marks on her hands or arms…

• A participant with whom you have a good working relationship approaches you and asks if they can have a quiet word – they look very distressed and ask you if you can keep a secret. The participant reveals to you that they do not want to go home after the project as they are a victim of abuse…

• You really like and are attracted to a young person that you meet in a school, he or she also seems to like you and hints that they would like to go to the pub with you one evening…

Managing challenging behaviour• Stay calm

• Respect personal space

• Be aware of body position

• Work on the positives

• Use verbal reasoning

• Keep your non verbal cues non-threatening

• Diversion first

• Avoid touch

• Set and enforce reasonable limits

Managing challenging behaviourPositive strategies for behaviour management

• “Catch them being good”

• Allow pupils some control

• Allow pupils to make mistakes

• Don’t over-react

• Show pupils respect and you are more likely to receive it

• If someone misbehaves, concentrate on the actions rather than the person

• Keep trusting them and give them chances to improve their behaviour

Health & Safety

• understand arrangements and precautions

• set a good example

• try to prevent anyone harming themselves

• be an extra pair of eyes and ears

• If you are unhappy about something – report it

Health & Safety

The University, as the occupier of its premises, owes a common law “Duty of Care” to its lawful visitors. This means such care as is reasonable in the circumstances in order to ensure that visitors will be safe in using the premises to which they are invited or to which access is permitted.

A higher duty of care is owed to young persons/children, as the University must be prepared for them to be less careful than adults!

Also a duty to manage the evacuation of the disabled or mobility impaired in the event of an emergency.

To take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his ACTS or OMISSIONS at work

To co-operate with the employer to enable the employer to meet any duties or requirements placed upon him.

It shall be the duty of every employee while at work:

We provide:

• Briefing sheet

• List of participants

•Any incidents of abuse or violence

• Contact numbers

You must formally report:

• All accidents & near misses

• Risk assessment

• Mostly common sense – don’t block fire exits, keep fire doors closed, take care with naked flames

• Be vigilant – look for danger spots; piles of rubbish, trailing leads, unsafe floors

• Be prepared - know your escape routes, ensure you know how to raise the alarm, ensure you know where the assembly point is

• In the event of a fire…

• Ask everyone to leave the building, keep the group together, take a register

• DO NOT put yourself or others in danger

• DO NOT try to fight the fire; do not use lifts

Preventing accidents & fires

CORRIDORS FREE OF COMBUSTIBLES AND CORRIDORS FREE OF COMBUSTIBLES AND OBSTRUCTIONSOBSTRUCTIONS

FIRE FIRE DOORS DOORS CLOSEDCLOSED

FIRE EXITS FIRE EXITS CLEAR AND CLEAR AND AVAILABLEAVAILABLE

ALARM ALARM CALL CALL POINTS POINTS CLEARLY CLEARLY VISIBLEVISIBLE

• Always know where you can find a first aider

• Seek help if you have any doubts

• If you are worried about asthma or an anaphylactic reaction phone 999

• If you are involved in an accident or near miss make sure you fill in a form

Becoming an Ambassador

First Aid & Accident Reporting

Health & Safety

Lone working and out of hours working

Travelling by car:

• Check directions, route and travel time in advance

• Ensure you have enough fuel

• Check that your insurance covers business use

• University policy – no mobile phone calls whilst driving on University business

• Adequate breakdown cover is advised

Health & SafetyLone working and out of hours working

Travelling by public transport:

• Check travel times, distance, bus/taxi availability before you travel

• Wherever possible travel with others

General

• In case of emergency, call your UK Office contact

• Call/text your UK Office contact to confirm you arrived home safely

Health & SafetyCase studies:

• Despite having a strict no-alcohol policy and taken all reasonable measures to prevent alcohol being consumed on the visit, you find one 14 year old member of your group vomiting in the toilet having consumed a half bottle of vodka…

• You are on a campus tour with a small group of Year 7s; some of the group insist on running off and hiding during the tour…

• You are overseeing a group of Year 9 pupils on a visit to a dentistry department. They are working on a practical which involves drilling teeth and a couple of the boys start larking around with the high-speed drills…

Any questions?

opteam@soton.ac.uk

www.southampton.ac.uk/studentambassadors