Many sites across R.E.A.L. took part in events to celebrate World Mental Health Day this month, from getting creative at Sandhills by making a tree of positivity board to RIS Hinckley raising £50 for the charity, Mind, by selling homemade cupcakes.
The team at Square One, R.E.A.L.’s Referral and Intervention team, hosted a ‘Chips and Chat’ event to give learners a chance to talk about their mental health and see how we can support them.
Sarah D’sa, Hub Manager at Square One said: “This was a lovely, low pressure occasion for our learners to chat to us and see we are all supportive and aware of mental health. We spoke about the different ways we all deal with our anxieties. Plus, it was a brilliant reason for chip butties!”
There are five members of the Referral and Intervention team at Square One, not forgetting their on-site dog Weechi.
Sarah said: “Square One prides itself on being a welcoming and supportive environment for those new learners who are just beginning their academic journey with R.E.A.L.
“The team complete a range of assessments to collate the learners’ baseline data when they join R.E.A.L., so that the Learning Manager can ensure learners are on the correct pathway. It also gives learners a bespoke timetable that includes vocational subjects they may have expressed an interest in.”
As well as 1-2-1 provision, Square One also offers a wide range of group teaching including BTEC Business Studies, AIM Awards including Horticulture, Independent Living and Food Skills. To find out more, please email enquiries@real-education.org or call 01158 220400.
It’s been just over a year now since we made the change from R.E.A.L. Music to R.E.A.L. Creative Arts after expanding the qualifications on the course.
James Mills, Creative Arts Provision Manager at R.E.A.L. said: “It’s also been two years since we started using the historic Old Library studios in Mansfield as our base, and since then we’ve seen huge developments to the quality of the courses and facilities we now offer.”
What was once just a music provision, is now a much wider offer of Art, Drama and Music and learners can gain GCSEs or RSL qualifications.
James said: “We provide learners with a peaceful and nurturing environment that allows them to feel comfortable so they can grow in their personal creative expressions and identity.”
There are numerous qualifications learners can work towards, to find out more and watch a video about the course, click here.
We’re always looking at ways to build on the services we offer at R.E.A.L., so we’re pleased to reveal we’ll shortly be moving our construction venue to a new site in early 2024.
Martin Thorne, Tutor at R.E.A.L. said: “It’s been a long time coming and after much searching for a suitable place, we are now going to be moving from the current site in Bolsover to a unit adjacent to R.E.A.L.’s Head Office in Mansfield.
“We’ve had to make some changes inside to make the site more fit for purpose but we’re coming towards the end of the work now. We can’t wait for our learners to see it and we’re excited to see it in use.”
The aim is to gradually start moving everything over from the current site in Bolsover to its new home in the coming months with a hopeful ‘move in’ date during January.
If you’d like more information on our Construction provision, please click here.
Working at R.E.A.L. has always been worthwhile and rewarding. You’ll quickly make a new circle of friends with colleagues, the leadership team provides great support and learners are fantastic.
Tom Mills (Music Teacher) at R.E.A.L. said: “Since working for real education I have had the privilege to work alongside staff that radiate warmth, high standards and trust at all levels/roles within the company.
As a whole, I believe in the direction and approach the company has. I feel proud that we deliver innovative ways to break barriers and to help the learners achieve their potential to thrive in the real world.”
Working at R.E.A.L. is always varied, never dull – and now it’s even more rewarding. The following fantastic benefits come as standard for all R.E.A.L. Education staff.
- Westfield private healthcare services including a 24/7 phone support line
- Generous life assurance for your family
- High street shopping discounts
- 10 free gym sessions and discounted gym membership
- Talent Management Programme
- And many more benefits…
Our newsletter features a list of current opportunities. Join us and find out that R.E.A.L. is rewarding!
Please note that benefit offers change from time to time. Benefits featured in this article are correct at the time of publishing
We’re excited to announce we now offer a new remote learning course for Creative Digital at R.E.A.L.
The sessions are available for young people throughout the UK who are unable to attend in person.
Creative Digital provides learners with access to high quality industry standard software, techniques and processes whilst working towards a variety of NCFE qualifications.
Daniel Jones, Group Tutor at R.E.A.L. said: “Learners get to work with live clients, led by staff who are from an industrial background. They not only work towards gaining a qualification, but build up a portfolio of work to show potential employers.”
Learners will develop skills in all aspects of the creative industry, including graphic design, photography, film, SFX, VFX, CGI, 3D modelling and illustration. These are all based on the ‘Film and Television’ or ‘Games industry’ pathways. Meaning learners aren’t just limited to one specialism and can get their teeth stuck into many different topics.
Daniel said: “We have many learners on the course already, both pre and post 16. Some learners are just starting out on their journey by learning the fundamentals of design. Some are developing their skills as directors, whilst others are studying the use of concept art in the games’ industry.”
If any of the one-to-one tutors in R.E.A.L. have any learners that may be interested in these qualifications, this could be achieved through a tailored program.
Over the summer holidays, the R.E.A.L. ICT support team have upgraded all computers, devices and sites to benefit from an enhanced filtering and monitoring service for the internet.
R.E.A.L. Education has always provided filtered internet (so we can control what sites are accessed) for staff and learners, but this new provision allows for more detailed monitoring, reporting and dynamic real time information. Twinned with this, is the relaunch of our Online Safety Agreement for learners, integrated into our induction booklet.
Utilising cutting edge technology and combining this with structured activities and purposeful conversations with learners and staff, means that R.E.A.L. Education sites are safer places both online and offline.
This significant investment in time and resources, underlines our ambitions to keep learners safe and fostering responsibility and accountability across R.E.A.L. Education.
The school holidays are usually a very busy period for ongoing site maintenance and this summer was no different, with lots of exciting projects getting underway along with the usual maintenance works.
At our Nanpantan site, we’ve been busy working on creating a forest school for learners. Whilst this has been a long term project, we’re pleased to be at the final stages, as all the major landscaping works were completed over the summer.
Work also started on a new construction venue at the end of August in Mansfield. So far our contractors have stripped out its current fixtures and fittings, put up interior walls and we’ve even installed a new sign, ready for the hopeful opening of the venue later this academic year.
Following recent news headlines about Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) we wanted to update our school community with the following information:
When we were first made aware of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) issues last year, we undertook some initial checks on our buildings which gave us no cause for alarm whilst we awaited further Government guidance in the week commencing 28/08/23.
We have subsequently used the latest Department for Education guidance to carry out more detailed checks on all of our leased or owned buildings and we are pleased to report that we do not have RAAC present in any of our buildings.
Following recent news headlines about Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) we wanted to update our school community with the following information:
When we were first made aware of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) issues last year, we undertook some initial checks on our buildings which gave us no cause for alarm whilst we awaited further Government guidance in the week commencing 28/08/23.
We have subsequently used the latest Department for Education guidance to carry out more detailed checks on all of our leased or owned buildings and we are pleased to report that we do not have RAAC present in any of our buildings.
Update by Mark Spencer, Head of Health, Safety and Environments at R.E.A.L. , 04/09/2023
Hope you had a lovely summer!
We’re excited to welcome back new and returning learners to all R.E.A.L. sites after the end of the summer holidays.
It might not have been a summer of sun, but there are still many bright times ahead as we start a new school year.
A year that we’re positive will be full of learning, developing, creating, sharing and achieving as our passionate staff are there to support learners through their journey at R.E.A.L.
We wish all our learners and staff a super start to the new school year and we can’t wait to see all that the next 12 months brings.
If you’d like to speak to us about anything, please call 01158 220400 or email enquiries@real-education.org. To find out the term dates for this academic year, click here.