AROUND 90 members of staff from Exeter College’s Foundation Studies faculty spent their Staff Development Day as volunteers at Castle Drogo in preparation for the Autumn term.

In addition to proving to be a fun day out for the department, and a good way of team bonding, the one-day trip to the tourist attraction was also seen as a great way to boost the skills of those who will be leading a new programme from October onwards called Positive Pathways.

Designed especially to meet the needs of NEET learners, in other words those who are not in education, employment or training, Head of Foundation Studies Chris Petherham explains: “We have realised that a lot of individuals who fall into this category do not like to be in classrooms, as those are the kinds of environments that may not have suited them in the past. Instead, it is better to engage them through plenty of outdoor activities.

“When the opportunity came for us to volunteer at Castle Drogo for the day, it seemed to be one which would bring double benefits to the faculty as part of their staff development, at the same time as being a very enjoyable outing for everyone.”

The College staff worked alongside National Trust staff and fellow volunteers from the Teign Valley and Lydford Gorge on a number of projects – among them, clearing up an area around Bunty House in preparation for conservation work, building a fire pit, and helping to build a temporary shelter for visiting school groups. Rustic crafts they picked up along the way included wood-whittling and wall-weaving.

Chris continues: “In addition to improving teamwork across the Faculty, it gave those involved in the Positive Pathways programme a chance to pick up additional skills which they will be able to pass on to young people for their own use and benefit in the future.”

As the College’s newly-formed Sustainability Group has just received £25,000 of funding from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) to proceed with its proposed Exeter Urban Garden Project (see Editor’s Notes below), Chris says skills picked up at Castle Drogo will be employed there too.

“The funding we’ve received for the garden means that we will be able to engage students on other courses and programmes in horticulture too, whether they have specific educational or special needs or learning difficulties associated with emotional or behavioural problems,” continues Chris.

“It is very exciting to think that we are going to be able to involve them in a number of new outdoors projects on campus and involving the local community.”

To find out more about Exeter College’s Positive Pathways programme, call 01392 205640.