Corporate Health Standards reaccreditation

In 2019 the College achieved a Gold Award in the Corporate Health Standard, which is part of the ‘Healthy Working Wales’ programme and is the national mark of quality for health and well-being of staff in the workplace. This Award is reviewed every 3 years and the college were recently assessed to review our Gold Award status and our status has been extended until 2024, with independent assessors saying that we were one of the best organisations they had seen for engagement, impetus and overall enthusiasm for health and wellbeing.

They commented that our wellbeing provision had not only been maintained since 2019, but enhanced, and that this was largely due to the recruitment of a dedicated Wellbeing Advisor, Lorraine Evans, and Staff Fitness Coach, Christian Regis. They praised our working group and wellbeing agenda with particular emphasis on our work on raising awareness of menopause, the new Exercise Referral Scheme, Wellbeing Portal, Ironman team amongst many other initiatives, and were impressed with our plans to develop and introduce regular craft based wellbeing activities for staff which we hope to introduce across the college shortly.

To read the report please click Gower College ESC Gold Report – January 2023

If you are interested in joining the Corporate Health Standards Steering Group to help shape our wellbeing agenda, please get in touch with Sarah.King@gcs.ac.uk.

Time To Talk Day – 2 Feb

The College supported Time to Talk Day on Thursday, 2 February with pop up cafes with board games on all College sites throughout the day, and invited staff to drop in for a cuppa and a chat.

Time to Talk Day is the nation’s biggest mental health conversation.  It’s a day for friends, colleagues and workplaces to come together to talk, listen and change lives. We know that the more conversations we have, the better life is for everyone.  Talking about mental health isn’t always easy, but a conversation has the power to change lives.

If you are struggling with your mental health, please contact the EAP on 0800 2062534 or book a 121 Wellbeing session with Lorraine.evans@gcs.ac.uk.

7 Benefits of Strength Training

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7 Benefits of Strength Training

Strength training has numerous benefits, both physically and mentally. Some of the best benefits include:

  1. Improved muscle strength and endurance: Regular strength training can help increase muscle strength and endurance, which can improve overall physical function, performance and body shape.
  2. Better bone health: Strength training can help improve bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis plus other bone-related conditions., especially in our later years – there is no age limit to when to start strength training.
  3. Increased metabolism: Strength training can boost your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories even when you’re at rest – helping with that body shape.
  4. Improved balance and coordination: Strength training can help improve balance and coordination, reducing the risk of falls and injuries.
  5. Better posture: Strength training can help correct muscle imbalances and improve posture, reducing the risk of pain and injury.
  6. Reduced risk of chronic disease: Strength training has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Research is continuing to demonstrate that strength training is beneficial to warding against many poor health conditions.
  7. Mental health benefits: Strength training can also have a positive impact on mental health, helping to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. And there is no better feeling when you leave the weights room knowing you just smashed it (not literally of course – PLEASE tidy up and put your weights away).

Overall, strength training is an effective way to improve physical and mental health, enhance athletic performance, and reduce the risk of injury and disease.

If you are new to strength training, or you feel you could do with a revamp of an old program, then book into a Fitness 1-1 via the wellbeing portal where you can discuss where to start. Plus get some coaching so you can hit the gym clued up and ready to rock the metal – I’m actually talking about lifting of course, but I am also very supportive of listening to Heavy Metal whilst Lifting Heavy Metal – it just makes sense.

Chris (Staff Fitness Coach)

Time to Talk Day – Thursday, 2 February 2023

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As an employer who has signed up to “Time to Change Wales”, the College is once again proud to be supporting Time to Talk Day, which is taking place on Thursday, 2 February.

Time to Talk Day is the nation’s biggest mental health conversation.  It’s a day for friends, colleagues and workplaces to come together to talk, listen and change lives.

We know that the more conversations we have, the better life is for everyone.  Talking about mental health isn’t always easy, but a conversation has the power to change lives.

There will be pop up cafes with board games on all College sites throughout the day, so drop in for a cuppa and a chat.

 

  • Tycoch – Staff Area, Café Metro – 1.30 pm – 4.30 pm
  • Gorseinon – Costa Coffee Shop – 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
  • Llwyn-y-Bryn – Common Room – 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
  • Jubilee Court – Bruce Fellowes’ Office – 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
  • Kingsway – Second Floor, Staff Area – 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
  • Sketty Hall – Patti Room – 10.00 am – 4.00 pm

 

 

Menovest comes to GCS

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Staff and students at Gower College Swansea were encouraged to get a little hot under the collar when they had an opportunity to try out a MenovestTM, a menopause training tool worn by celebrities, MP’s and broadcasters to raise awareness of menopause and what it feels like when experiencing a “hot flush”. Please visit You Tube  to find out more.

The vest was developed by Over The Bloody Moon, and brought to us by Amanda Lee from Theramex, and among the volunteers were College Principal Mark Jones, Director of Skills and Business Development Paul Kift, Catering Manager Neil Baker, Learning Area Manager Chris Williams, Library Manager Mark Ludlam, plus lecturers and students from Sport and Engineering.

Many of the volunteers commented that they found the experience a little uncomfortable after only a few minutes, so will now have more empathy and a better understanding of what it can be like to experience these symptoms whilst going about everyday routines at home or at work.

Gower College Swansea has undertaken a range of menopause related activities for staff in recent years including regular Menopause Cafes, opportunities to meet with menopause specialists and seminars on how to manage menopause in the workplace.

Gower College Swansea staff and students wearing the Theramex Menopause vest to simulate the symptoms of the menopause.
Pictured… Principle Mark Jones.
 
Copyright © 2023 by Adrian White
Photography, all rights reserved.
For permission to publish – contact me
via www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk
Please respect copyright laws.

     

Gower College Swansea staff and students wearing the Theramex Menopause vest to simulate the symptoms of the menopause.
Pictured… Learning Resources Manager Mark Ludlam.
 
Copyright © 2023 by Adrian White
Photography, all rights reserved.
For permission to publish – contact me
via www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk
Please respect copyright laws.

Gower College Swansea staff and students wearing the Theramex Menopause vest to simulate the symptoms of the menopause.
Pictured… Protective Services staff Chris Williams and Rob Evans.
 
Copyright © 2023 by Adrian White
Photography, all rights reserved.
For permission to publish – contact me
via www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk
Please respect copyright laws.

Gower College Swansea staff and students wearing the Theramex Menopause vest to simulate the symptoms of the menopause.
Pictured… Paul Kift Director of Business Skills Development.
 
Copyright © 2023 by Adrian White
Photography, all rights reserved.
For permission to publish – contact me
via www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk
Please respect copyright laws.

Christmas Wellbeing Day 2022

Just before the Christmas break, Gower College Swansea held a dedicated Staff Wellbeing Day  with over 400 staff across all campuses enjoying free activities which included bingo, quizzes, board game café and one-to-one experiences and social activities, including:

Cold water therapy – Brave staff headed to Caswell Bay for a dip in the sea and were rewarded with a hot drink and bacon roll after they had dried off.

Pet therapy – Noah, the Romanian rescue dog from Cariad Pet Therapy, greeted our staff with a wagging tail.

Massages – Indian head massages and chair massages were on offer across our campuses, allowing staff to fully relax and unwind.

Dodgeball tournament – Teams of 5 staff each pitched against each other in a knockout dodgeball tournament.

GCS Owls Formula 1 racing simulation competition – Following the launch of the new GCS Owls F1 Staff Wellbeing League, staff were able to try out their racing skills with prizes up for grabs.

Alongside Wellbeing Days, the College runs weekly wellbeing activities and all wellbeing information can be found at our new Wellbeing Portal

Christmas Wellbeing Day 2022 – Thursday 22 December

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We are excited and very pleased to enclose full details of the December Wellbeing Day, which is taking place on Thursday, 22 December.

 

An overview of the day is detailed below, but please click here to go to the the full programme with all of the information of what is on offer and how you can get involved, or alternatively scan the QR code.

                               

Wellbeing Roadshow – LYB – 6th December

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Thank you to everyone who came along to see Lorraine Evans, Wellbeing Advisor, and Christian Regis, Staff Fitness Coach in Llwyn-y-Bryn canteen Tuesday 6th December from 9am – 12pm.  We had some feedback on initiatives for LYB and will be sharing more information on this on Teams shortly…

Ironman Wales – September 3rd 2023

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GCS are pleased to support a team of 10 for entry into Ironman Wales at Tenby on September 3rd 2021. The team must complete a 2.4 mile sunrise swim, 112 mile bicycle course with stunning scenery along the Pembrokeshire coastline, and a marathon 26.22 mile run though Tenby town-centre within strict timelines to be considered an Ironman. It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world. The team consists of:

  • Darren Hall, Lecturer Mechanical Engineering
  • Wayne Price, Lecturer Fitness & Nutrition
  • Tracy Drummond-Gover – Executive Assistant to the Principal & Executive Support Manager
  • Christian Regis – Staff Fitness Coach
  • Joshua Jordan – Learner Engagement & Personal Development Lead
  • Carl Phillips – Lecturer Welding
  • Laura Thomas – Lecturer Schools Programme
  • Mike Glover – Director of Finance
  • Tim Buckley – Lecturer Sport
  • Lee Hopkins – CL  Public Services

 

To get involved in training or supporting the GCS team, please contact Christian.Regis@gcs.ac.uk

 

 

Talk Money Week Financial Wellbeing webinar

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Even with an increase in cost of living-related news, we know it can be hard to talk about money. GCS are pleased to liaise with the Money & Pensions service to deliver a webinar aimed at encouraging people to open up about their finances and get support for money worries, pension advice and all other things money. Research shows that people who talk about money:

  • make better and less risky financial decisions
  • have stronger personal relationships
  • help their children form good lifetime money habits
  • feel less stressed or anxious and more in control.

To view the webinar, please click Money & Pensions Service webinar