Recourse  has appointed Alex Smith as its first ever Development Manager.

“I am excited to be joining Recourse,” said Alex. “Recourse is such a great charity, providing first rate support services to people working in adult, further and higher education. Yet, there are still so many people who don’t know about us. You never know when someone will need help with either home or work related stress problems or immediate money worries. A large part of my work will be to ensure that as many people as possible know who we are and how to reach us.”

Alex joins Recourse after working as Campaign Coordinator for the Federation of Irish Societies, where he led a national campaign to combat the under-representation of the Irish in official government statistics. He is passionate about post-16 education and has previously worked as Academic Affairs Officer at the University of Leicester and sits as a Board member of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) as well as on the University of Leicester Alumni committee.

Alex believes that knowing about the services that Recourse has to offer is more important now than ever before.

“All the evidence indicates that there are more and more people suffering with problems such as depression, work-related stress and anxiety across the adult, further and higher education sectors,” he explains. “Recourse exists simply to serve these people. Every one of them should know about our services.”

Group Chief Executive Julian Stanley said “It is so important to us that we have someone in the charity solely dedicated to developing Recourse and its services. Alex brings with him a huge range of skills, experience and expertise and we all looking forward to working with him to expand the depth and breadth of our work and reach many more of our target group – be that to provide telephone and online support, counselling, information or grants for those in need.”

Alex will be attending the UCU congress in Harrogate this weekend.  You can meet him at the UCU and Recourse Quiz Night on Saturday 28 May from 9pm or at our joint fringe event: Tackling stress and bullying in post-16 education on Sunday 29 May at 1pm Queen’s Suite 2-3 .  Or simply come and meet him on our Recourse stand in Hall C.

Recourse is offering an exclusive discount rate to attend conferences for FE and HE staff this April and May. You can save 10 per cent on the booking fee for the conferences and see presentations from Recourse’s Chief Executive, Julian Stanley, about caring for staff health and wellbeing during the current financially tough times.

The 2^nd Annual Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Conference on Thursday 21 April in Westminster will also feature speeches from the likes of Aaron Porter, President of the National Union of Students (NUS), and Julie Hall, Head of LTEU at Roehampton University and Co-chair of the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA). Further information is available here. To save 10 per cent on your booking, use the discount code REC10 here.

The Future of Further Education Forum on Tuesday 10 May in Central London will also feature speeches from the likes of Lorna Fitzjohn, Interim Director for Development, Learning and Skills at Ofsted, Asha Khemba OBE, Principal and Chief Executive of West-Nottinghamshire College, and Michael Davis, Interim Chief Executive Officer at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. The forum will facilitate best-practice sharing on issues of the moment, including retention rates and staff wellbeing, and will host discussions on key topics such as the evolving funding and governance models for colleges. Further information is available here. You can save 10 per cent on your booking by using the discount code JD243REC here.

Tell us a little bit about yourself

My name is Vijay and I recently joined Teacher Support Network and Recourse having fundraised for War Child, a small international child protection charity based in London. Before moving down south I studied in Edinburgh and am originally from Newcastle (proud Geordie!). During my time at University I was lucky enough to spend a couple of months teaching I.T. at a rural secondary school in Tanzania, based on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjiro and had the opportunity to travel to India to conduct research for my dissertation; interviewing teachers and children from schools based in slum areas on issues of quality and access to education.

Why do you want to work with Recourse?

The services and vision of Teacher Support Network and Recourse are what attracted me to the role; by focusing on practical and emotional support to teachers and lecturers, teachers and lecturers are better equipped to undertake their job and in turn support students in achieving their potential. The teaching profession is one I feel can sometimes be underappreciated, especially considering the importance of education and the wider contribution it makes to society.

My job is basically to support those who wish to support our cause. The charity wouldn’t be able to survive and provide services without donations and I’m here to work behind the scenes making sure our fundraising income is all recorded and accounted for and assist the fundraising team in any way I
can.

Direct enquiries can be made to Katy Smith at 020 7697 2752

Salary: £26-31,000
Start: Immediately

A motivated self-starter is required to raise awareness for a leading charity dedicated to providing advice, information, counselling and coaching to teachers and lecturers via telephone and online services.

You can download the application pack here (ZIP file)

This is an exciting time to join the organisation and play a lead role in promoting and raising awareness of their new brand and the services they provide. The role offers a fantastic opportunity to get involved in the strategic development of marketing, communications and fundraising and actively engage with education professionals. Working closely with the Chief Executive, trustees and University College Union members to maximise promotional and fundraising opportunities, you’ll work to reach a range of stakeholders including teachers and lecturers, regional and national Government and education organisations.

You will demonstrate a broad base of skills and experience in areas including press work and communications; developing new and existing income streams; public speaking and stakeholder engagement. Supported by the fundraising and communications teams in the charity’s sister organisation, Teacher Support Network, the role demands a high level of self-reliance and offers the chance to further develop your skills and experience within an education environment.

Benefits include 31 working days of holiday leave per annum including bank/statutory holidays plus Christmas closure and 9.5% employer pension contribution.

You can download the application pack here (ZIP file)

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Students, staff and trade unions are uniting for a day of action on Monday as part of their campaign to save the education maintenance allowance (EMA). Colleges and sixth-forms around the country will be holding lunchtime protests against government plans to axe financial support that can often be the decisive factor when it comes to students staying on in education.

Activities on the day will have a strong political feel with protestors being urged to contact their local MP to make the case for keeping the EMA. The campaign is being run by the National Union of Students (NUS), the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the University and College Union (UCU), the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), NASUWT, Unison, Unite, GMB and the Save EMA campaign.

Studies show that the EMA is a key factor in improving participation in further education and colleges in some of the most deprived areas of the UK will be the hardest hit if the government breaks its pre-election promise and scraps the EMA. In some areas of Birmingham, Leicester and the North West as many as four-fifths of students receive the EMA.

The recent Education at a Glance report, by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed that the UK has one of the worst participation rates for 15-19 year-olds in education.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “The EMA is a vital lifeline for many students in this country and can be the difference between people being able to study at college or being priced out. Withdrawing the EMA will hit some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society, as well as the colleges that are there to serve them.”

NUT general secretary, Christine Blower, said: “If these proposals go ahead it will be a disaster for social justice and for the economy. Education is the major factor in social mobility, ending the EMA will mean that many students from less well off backgrounds will simply not be able to countenance continuing with further education.”

NASUWT general secretary, Chris Keates, said: “The abolition of the EMA is a direct attack on the futures of thousands of young people across the country. They have a right to be angry and to use the democratic process to influence elected representatives to oppose these changes.”

ATL general secretary, Dr Mary Bousted, said: “Cutting the EMA will hit the most disadvantaged students hard and make it impossible for some to stay in education. That money is vital to pay for their basic costs – transport, food, books, internet access. It seems totally perverse to pull the rug out from those who want to get qualifications to help them get jobs and make a contribution in life.”

UNISON general secretary, Dave Prentis, said: “By taking an axe to the EMA, the government is chopping away at the future of the next generation. We know that this support has resulted in an increase in the number of young people going on to college in the last seven years and dramatically halted the number dropping out. UNISON supports the young people who expected EMA to help them stay in education. This attack on their life chances is an attack on us all.”