Learning and Organisational Development held an event to celebrate management and leadership development across the University on Wednesday 13 November.

The celebration, in the Darwin Conference suites, was opened by our Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Karen Cox, who congratulated everyone present.

Certificates were presented to members of staff who, during the past year, have taken part in various leadership and management programmes, including the Insights programme, Foundations of Management, Leadership for Areas of Significant Responsibility (LASR) and the Aurora programme.

Group photos took place after the celebration, followed by cakes and plenty of networking.

You can find out more about leadership and management development programmes available at the University on our HR webpages.

Picture shows: Graduates of our Insights and Aurora programmes (from left) – Silvia Maria Rasca, Rowena Paget, Yvonne Sherwood, Sarah Slowe, Justine Rush and Chloé Gallien.

Please note that the final date for receipt within the Payroll Office of timesheets, claims/extra payments and batch timesheets for upload is Friday 29 November 2019 in order to guarantee payment prior to Christmas.

Please be aware that claim forms will need to be submitted to schools/departments prior to this date, in order that they can be authorised in time to meet this deadline.

Hourly Paid Lecturers (HPLs) only: Although it remains the case that HPLs must be submitted to Payroll by 29 November 2019 in order to guarantee payment before Christmas, departments may, if they wish, allow HPLs to make an advance claim for the hours they are expected to work up until the normal cut-off date of 10 December.

Claims received after this date cannot be guaranteed payment before Christmas 2019.

New starters

For anyone starting work in December 2019 (this includes all salaried staff (inc direct hires and temp bank), hourly paid lecturers and timesheet paid staff), Human Resources will need to receive all their documentation by Friday 22 November 2019 in order to guarantee payment prior to Christmas.

Contract extensions/variations

Strategic Recruitment Review paperwork (for extensions/variations) needs to be received by Human Resources by Friday 15 November 2019

For all ll other out of scope DB501’s/RO/Flexible working and ERA requests etc, Human Resources OPS Team will need to receive all the documentation by Friday 22 November 2019 in order to guarantee correct payment prior to Christmas.

Any documentation received after these deadlines will be carried forward to the January 2020 payroll.

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

The work of our Estates Customer Services Centre has received national recognition.

The Centre, created in June 2018, has been awarded Customer Service Excellence accreditation on its first application.

The award comes just over a year since the Centre was created – in June 2018 – to raise awareness of the work of our Estates Department and act as a contact point for all enquiries.

The accreditation process included a day of pre-assessment in which Head of Customer Services & Engagement, Sarah Cooke and her four-strong team were measured across 57 different criteria.

The actual accreditation took place on 6 June 2019 and included an interview with Deputy Director of Estates Helen Ellis, customers across schools and departments and both internal and external partners.

Sarah Cooke said: ‘We’re really pleased we got the accreditation – and in some areas we were not just compliant but marked as “above and beyond”. We’re all really proud of the achievement – it’s recognition for how hard my team has worked and how good they are with the customers.’

The accreditation by M Assessment Services will last for three years and is monitored by a rolling programme of continuous improvement.

You can find out more about the work of Estates Customer Services Centre on the Estates webpages.

To contact the team, email estatescustomerservices@kent.ac.uk or telephone ext 16666/01227 816666.

Picture shows (from left): Angela Durling, Becky Medlock, Sarah Cooke, Helen Ellis, Emily Mashford and Beverley Braiden.

We are currently going through a selection process to appoint our seven new divisional Directors of Operations. The Directors of Operations will join the leadership team of the University’s academic divisions; working with the relevant Director of Division and other members of the divisional leadership team. These are key appointments for the University – we therefore need make sure we do all we can to recruit and appoint the right candidates for the role.

For a number of reasons, we have been unable to make all seven appointments and will therefore be re-advertising for two of them. This will again be open to internal candidates only, so that we can make sure we have fully explored the potential for internal staff to take on the positions before we potentially widen our search externally.

The job advert is now open and available here, with a closing date of 23.59 Tuesday 19 November.

We encourage anyone interested in these roles to apply, and do please contact our Chief Operating Officer Denise Everitt for a confidential discussion if you want to discuss further.

Great news! We now offer Reflexology at Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic on a Monday evening!

What is Reflexology?

Reflexology is non-invasive, complementary therapy and is a thousand-year-old practice that focuses on massaging the acupressure points in the feet or hands to relieve stress, illness, pain and stimulate mental, emotional, physical healing and well-being in all the body systems.  It builds stress resistance and rejuvenates by stimulating meridians, circulation and the nerve systems by flushing and detoxing.

How does Reflexology work?

Each area of the foot, hand, eye, face and ear connects via nerves and electromagnetic energy (chi) channels (“meridians”) to a particular body organ and system. By massaging that area, it stimulates and flushes that area.

The benefits of Reflexology?

• Stress relief
• Relaxation
• Hormone balance 
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Insomnia 
• Balance immune system
• Lower blood pressure
• Support digestive system
• Respiratory disorders (asthma)
• Sinusitis
• Menopause

For more information or to book in, please call us on 01227 824375 or contact physio@kent.ac.uk.

On Tuesday 5 November, the Kent branch of the University and College Union (UCU) announced its intention to take part in strike action over an eight-day period, from 25 November until 4 December, and action short of a strike (ASOS) to last beyond that date.

The planned action comes off the back of a national UCU ballot asking members to indicate whether they would be prepared to strike or take action short of strike (ASOS) on issues around pay and working conditions. Kent is one of 55 institutions where UCU secured a mandate for industrial action on the issue of pay and conditions.

The University’s Executive Group (EG) has recognised the strength of feeling expressed and the frustration that many staff feel on key issues around pay and conditions. EG is also aware that the potential for industrial action is unsettling for many of our staff and students.

This outcome is within a context of challenging circumstances at Kent and the sector as a whole. The higher education sector is facing unprecedented financial, regulatory and political challenges and the competitive recruitment environment has had a particular and unhelpful impact on Kent’s finances.

EG will continue to reflect on what all this means for Kent, and the options open to them. EG has also indicated to UCU that they are positive about an ongoing dialogue and hope that, through discussion with them and other stakeholders, a way forward may be found.

In the event that strike action goes ahead, EG will do all it can to minimise disruption and more information will be published to help staff navigate this difficult time and mitigate against the impact on students, whose experience remains the utmost priority.

The Templeman Library has been selected as a 2020 Civic Trust Awards Regional Finalist!

The Templeman Library has been coined the heart of the Canterbury Campus. Sitting in the middle of campus, with some of the best views across the city, it’s a hub for finding books and resources and studying alike.

The extension and refurbishment project was a challenge undertaken by Information Services and architects at Penoyre & Prasad which aimed to transform the library into a 21st century flagship learning environment by refurbishing the existing building, as well as extending to allow room for even more resources, study spaces and other learning facilities. To add a new lecture theatre, seminar rooms, exhibition space, archive area, conference facilities, more study space and new café, a huge 5,400m² extension was constructed. The building also got a new welcome hall, plus upgraded windows and façade.

The Civic Trust Awards aims to encourage the very best in architecture and environmental design, to improve the built environment for us all through design, sustainability, inclusiveness and accessibility, but also to reward projects that offer a positive cultural, social, economic or environmental benefit to their local communities.

Our project will now be considered for a National Award or Commendation by the National Judging Panel. Wish us luck!

Colleagues are invited to the Learning and Teaching Network session titled ‘The Mindfulness@Kent initiative: what is it, why is it needed and does it really work?’

The session takes place on Wednesday 20 November, 13.00-14.00, Cornwallis North West Seminar Room 6.

Dr Elisabeth Curling, Senior Lecture at the school of Bioscience, will lead the session.

Dr Curling will explain how and why the practice of mindfulness across the University is actively helping a diverse range of students (and staff) who are studying and working within the higher education sector at Kent.

The session will focus on our widespread development of staff and student Mindfulness courses and drop-in sessions (from very humble beginnings in 2015) within the University of Kent and elsewhere and how this can really improve both staff and student well-being and academic success.

This session will provide an opportunity to develop a shared understanding of what is Mindfulness, how it positively affects brain function if practised regularly, and how you can get involved in Mindfulness provision for your students.

During the presentation, examples of Mindfulness courses and drop in sessions taking place at Canterbury and Medway will be shared and discussed, as well as giving you a flavour of our future initiatives. Plenty of time will be allocated for questions and discussion after the presentation.

The University Support Prize was awarded to us in July 2019 for this work on Mindfulness provision across the University.

This session will be of particular interest to academic and professional support staff who are involved in supporting students in any way, but all staff are welcome to attend who are interested in finding out more about Mindfulness.

To confirm your attendance please complete the online booking.