Our continuing development and success is dependent on recruiting, engaging, developing and retaining staff who have the skills, knowledge, experience and dedication to deliver our vision, mission and values through our Strategic Framework. The Strategic Framework is developed through our Annual Planning Cycle.
Our Staff Recruitment and Development Policy provides a framework which supports equality of opportunity for job applicants and all our staff, and values the principles and requirements of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and the Equality Act 2010.
All our staff participate in an Annual Staff Appraisal and Development Scheme (ASADS). Staff reflect on their performance over the current year, set targets for the next year, and identify any development needs to enable them to achieve their targets. Individual targets align with the relevant Annual Divisional/Departmental Outcomes. Periodic reviews are undertaken to discuss progress and to identify any further staff development needs.
Our commitment to staff development is evidenced by the following:
- All our staff participate in an Annual Staff Appraisal and Development Scheme.
- As a member of Advance HE, we support our academic staff to achieve individual membership of the HEA either through the individual recognition route (for experienced academics) or by completion of a HEA-accredited teaching and learning qualification.
- We have developed a Bloomsbury Institute Fellowship Programme, In-Bloom, which is accredited by Advance HE.
- Our Peer Observation of Teaching Scheme provides our academic staff with a confidential development activity which has a clear link to the improvement and enhancement of the student experience.
- Our academic staff may be required to participate in our Managed Teaching Observation Scheme primarily for development purposes.
- All our academic staff are required to engage in scholarship to ensure they have an up-to-date and current knowledge of their discipline, with appropriate breadth and depth to enable them to create high-quality experiences for our students.
- We provide comprehensive internal staff development and training opportunities for all our staff.
- We provide all permanent staff with an annual £500 allowance to enable them to attend external staff development and training events. Sessional lecturers are also provided with an annual allowance, dependent upon their number of teaching hours.
- We convene an Annual Teaching and Learning Conference which all our staff are encouraged to attend.
Our Research Strategy articulates how we will develop, support and empower all our staff to achieve excellence in research that will be of direct relevance to the needs of academia, higher education, commerce, industry, and the public and voluntary sectors, in addition to ourselves.