The DRIVER Programme is a partnership project has been committed to improving achievement and retention for level 4 students admitted in 2017/18 who have a BTEC background and previously studied at Stoke-on-Trent College. Funded by the Office for Students, Staffordshire University have developed a number of interventions that have benefitted staff and students alike.
One of the initiatives was the coaching skills development series of workshops run in conjunction with the Staffordshire Coaching and Mentoring Hub.
The programme, run in three cycles, included workshops developing coaching skills and techniques such as effective questioning, effective listening, holding people to account for actions agreed in tutorials and challenging unhelpful behaviours.
The final session will be held today at Shrewsbury Centre of Excellence in Health campus at Shrewsbury hospital.
Keith Smy, who has been delivering the workshops over the last 12 months said; ” I have been really pleased with the positive response I’ve had to the workshops. People attending seem to have taken something practical and useful away on each occasion. They seem to have been a good opportunity for staff who are committed to helping students exchange tips and ideas with each other as well as develop a more consistent approach to delivering helping interventions with students. “