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Course and Module Delivery aims to provide you with a range of guidance, information and resources relating to teaching, learning and assessment. In the first instance, please use our dedicated search list ‘looking for something in particular’. This provides you with links to the source of content. Wherever there are multiple sources, these will appear on this page. As part of the development of Academic Essentials, we are working with our stakeholders to bring together all multiple sources of content into one place. The content here has been curated by a range of stakeholders from across both academic and professional services teams and is managed by the Academic Development & Diversity (AD&D) Team.

Join one of our drop-in sessions!  Helps you navigate Academic Essentials and provides support with your your teaching and learning as well as being an academic member of staff.

Email the AD&D Team. We very much welcome contributions to this resource, suggestions on how we can improve and any other feedback regarding Academic Essentials.

 

Click on one of the following headings to see more: Teaching, Learning and Assessment Academic Year: 2023/24 Academic Year: 2022/23 Portfolio Re-development and Delivery Models Online learning Colleges Planning and delivery your course principles 2022/23 Quality Assurance A-Z of resources to support inclusive delivery of courses and modules

Teaching, Learning and Assessment 

Academic Year: 2023/24

Please familiarise yourself with the following updates: 

• New: June 2023. Teaching delivery guidance and policy document. Please read this in conjunction with Timetabling.

Academic Year: 2022/23

• Teaching and Learning Expectations 2022/23
• Hallam Language for Learning
• Managing changes to teaching delivery – January 2022
• Autumn 2021/22 delivery framework

Portfolio Re-development

Portfolio Plan project: please read the latest update.

March 2023: Portfolio Redevelopment and Revalidation – 2 to 5 year (2021/2022 to 2025/2026) implementation plan

Following detailed work over the last 6 months the implementation plan is now complete and ready for  Feb 23 2-5 year plan.xlsx. The plan includes the sequence of changes we are making to the University’s taught portfolio, including Schemes A,B,C,D, online with a partner and London Campus developments, with the month of key activities being outlined for every department.  A presentation 2-5 year plan communication SLG.pptx which explains how the different parts of our portfolio have been prioritised along with the Governance that is in place for monitoring delivery of the plan. 

The plan has developed following extensive engagement with stakeholders over a 6-8 month period and has taken account of feasibility in terms of our ability to deliver the plan, and evolving College and University priorities. There is some capacity within the plan to embed new business and for discretional change should a business critical reason arise. However, in order for us to deliver on the University’s priorities the plan has to be largely fixed.  The plan provides clarity on key deadlines and as such supports planning within colleges.

Colleges are leading the portfolio redevelopment and pre-revalidation planning along with support from AQS and other Professional Services.  If you have any questions regarding the plan, please contact Philip Wain, College Strategic Business Partner SSA as Implementation Business Partner or Helen Best, Dean Academic Strategy.

Here are some additional portfolio redevelopment course design resources and guidance:

• Scheme B – postgraduate taught work experience and employability guidance: visit AE: employability and placement page. 

Delivery Models 

Delivery Models project: please read the latest update including a new FAQs page.

The aim of the project is to establish a clear approach to the planning, scheduling, and communication of the learning experience. By taking a consistent and streamlined approach to the operationalisation of module delivery we will ensure that courses can be delivered with clarity of expectations to students and with less administrative burden for staff. Timetabling will be more effective and costing and resourcing will be known and transparent. Clarity of delivery also connects to module viability, student number planning, and decision-making about portfolio and provision. Defining our approach to module delivery and the way in which student learning is structured and delivered will allow greater consistency of an excellent experience for students and staff.  We cannot seek an increase to costs, so this work will need to flex as we move through the consultation and develop our modelling. 

It’s interlinked with all the work that is going on around the quality and sustainability of our taught portfolio to support the growth in targeted areas and prioritise efficiency, sustainability and strategic alignment – ultimately this is about making our provision both attractive to applicants and students, and financially and educationally viable.  ​​​​

Please watch Alison Purvis‘ presentation video, which helpfully summarises the delivery models project. 

 

Online learning

Hallam teams up with Higher Ed Partners to expand online provision. We are excited to announce a new partnership with Higher Ed Partners (HEP) to expand access to high-quality online education. With HEP’s expertise, we will be able to reach a broader population of students by increasing the range of courses that are delivered fully online. HEP will support us to optimise content for online learning, attracting qualified students for those courses, and supporting enrolled students through to graduation. 

Diversification of the taught portfolio – Online Programme

As a part of our diversification strategy, we are extending our portfolio into the UK and Global online market to capitalise on our growing reputation as a leading applied and entrepreneurial university, creating resilience in our non-undergraduate income streams. Our vision for an online portfolio is founded on the premise that our online students will feel a part of Sheffield Hallam University and will benefit from our teaching, learning and distinctive Hallam Model, free from the geographical constraint of synchronous on-campus learning.

“The expectation is that students will attend on-campus and live on-line sessions as timetabled and will engage with all course materials and assessments provided unless they are unable to do so because of illness, disability or other extenuating circumstances.” 

The University will make reasonable adjustments to support disabled students with on-campus activities or to support occasional missed activities through the provision of a learning contract. A learning contract would not typically include an exemption from attendance at on-campus activities, since these are central to the University’s core learning, teaching and assessment offer.  

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Colleges

Each year, the Start of Year: Course Checklist is published and is expected that all course and module leaders use this checklist to prepare for the new semester. This provides key actions and resources.

Updates

The Department of Culture and Media is the agreed name for the new department which brings together most subjects previously in the Departments of Media Arts and Communications and Humanities. Charles Mundye is the new Head of Department. Read more about the reasons behind the functional and structural changes and the department’s new subject groupings.  

 

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Quality Assurance

Sheffield Hallam University is responsible to its students for the quality and standards of its academic provision. External expectations are that the University’s academic standards must meet or exceed UK threshold academic standards and offer high quality learning opportunities to students. These include, curriculum catalogue, validation, modifications, annual review (course improvement plans), periodic review, external examiners, apprenticeships and work-based learning, collaborative and professional statutory and regulatory bodies (PSRBs).

• The Academic Quality and Standards Team oversee the University’s Quality Assurance Regulations and Procedures.
• They also manage the Academic Quality and Standards (AQS) Quality Framework, an externally facing guidance and home to our Quality Manual, sections 1 – 9. 

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education

The QAA safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education wherever it is delivered around the world. The QAA check that students working towards a UK qualification get the higher education they are entitled to expect. Take a look about their remit and work with HE partners. 

 

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A-Z of resources to support delivery of your courses and modules 

Academic Advising  | Accessibility  |  Attendance and Engagement

Campus Teaching  |  Collaborative Courses |  Course Principles |  Curriculum View (SITS) |

Evaluation  |  External Examiners (EEs) |  Group Work |  Hallam Welcome | Learning Contracts

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Academic Advising

Hallam students have an Academic Adviser allocated to them at the beginning of Semester 1/2 and will have contact with them at least 3 times per academic year to discuss their Academic Progression Development – Personal Development and Professional Development. 

Academic Advisers are members of the teaching team within the Colleges and Departments.  If you are an Academic Adviser or support a colleague undertaking this role, you can find a host of guidance, information and resources on

• The Student Support triangle SharePoint site “I am an Academic Adviser”. 
• Teaching Delivery website: academic advising.
• Student Experience, Teaching and Learning (SETL) SharePoint site: academic advising.
• My Hallam: academic advisers – student guidance. 

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Accessibility

You need to ensure your course and module materials are accessible to all: 

• Academic Essentials: digital capability, skills and support overview page – section: digital accessibility  |  Blackboard (accessibility).
• Academic Essentials: Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) overview page – range of resources to support.  
• Academic Development & Diversity (AD&D): inclusive pedagogy & practice – guidance and resources. 
• Assessment Essentials for all your accessible assessment and feedback resources.

 

Attendance and Engagement

 

The University’s Student Engagement Policy (used to be called Attendance and Engagement) clearly sets out expectations in terms of attendance and engagement and identifies processes whereby students who are not engaging can be offered support in an efficient way across a range of roles and services. 

Attendance monitoring will be using Jisc Data Explorer and is mandated at postgraduate taught, undergraduate, and apprenticeship provisions for the 2023/24 academic year.

• Colleagues that have never used Jisc Data Explorer before are highly encouraged to join one of our training sessions taking place throughout September and into October 2023.
• Colleagues that have used Jisc Data Explorer before should familiarise themselves with how to take attendance using Jisc Data Explorer either via our user guide or our screencast.

Please also look at:

• Checkin+ Enhancement: You’ll be able to record attendance for individual sessions linked to student timetables. Across Hallam, we will be using Checkin+, an improvement to the existing Checkin system in Jisc Data Explorer. If you currently use Data Explorer for attendance, there will be minimal changes to how you do this now.
• Academic Services: student attendance and engagement – staff guidance – which also includes the monitoring of international student engagement. 
• Academic Services: deferral with attendance – a deferral in an assessment task means that students will take the task again and the mark is not capped.  Students are not entitled to any further attendance on a module.
• BESE: Attendance monitoring for apprentices – staff guidance.
• Digital Learning Team: TEL Help Blackboard attendance tool support for managing your blackboard site. 
• Student guidance: managing the impact of difficult circumstances on your studies. 

Resources

WonkHE

Belong from the beginning: building connections, confidence and inclusion at university. Watch the recording and access resources (password: BELONG22)

To uni I belong: a sense of belonging – measured by quantitative engagement or qualitative feedback – has been strongly associated with academic achievement at university. But what exactly is “belonging”? How do we define it? How do we foster it? And when we do manage to, how can we replicate it elsewhere?

• There are ways to ensure that students feel they belong at university – and there are big benefits if they do. Anna Jackson and Sunday Blake have the latest findings from a year-long project with Pearson.
• If students need friends, whose job is to make it happen – and what do we mean by friends, anyway? Jim Dickinson’s mother warned him there would be days like these.
• You can catch up with Taking action on belonging and inclusion – an event we held with Pearson in June to digest the findings of the staff survey.

Course Leader Fest

The following were delivered at the ‘Engaging and Thriving’ Course Leader Fest event December 2020: 

• Measuring student engagement: Stuart Hepplestone Digital Learning Team, SETL. 
• (Using) Learning Analytics and Student Engagement Data to Support Students: Neil McKay, Dean of Students and Paul Dewsnap, Project Manager. 
• Fostering a sense of belonging through pre-arrival on-line transition activities: Charmaine Myers, Principal Lecturer – Employability & Curriculum Design – BESE, James Coope, Senior Administrator (Curriculum Design) – BESE, Jude Langdon, Senior Lecturer, Academy of Sport and Physical Activity – HWLS and Vicki Norman, Senior Lecturer, Academy Sport and Physical Activity.
• Strategies for Engagement: how developing resources within Blackboard and Google Forms to create a ‘Workbook’ approach can help with engagement: David Smith, Associate Professor, Biosciences and Chemistry HWLS.
• Reports for supporting student engagement: using the reporting tools available in Blackboard to check student engagement: Martin Roberts, Senior Lecturer, Finance, Accounting and Business Systems BTE.
• Developing strong student networks for all: Lessons from care experienced and estranged students journeys in higher education: Nathaniel Pickering, Senior Lecturer, Liz Austen, Head of Evaluation and Research and Alan Donnelly, Researcher – Student Engagement, Evaluation & Research (STEER) Student Experience, Teaching & Learning – SETL.
• Developing Student Experience Through ‘Course Leader Surgeries: James Fenwick, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader BA (Hons) Media SSA. 
• A collection of journal articles, book chapters and conference presentations from colleagues at Hallam (word). 

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Campus teaching

The Digital Learning Team provide Teaching Delivery: Campus Teaching guidance.  To support you with on-campus teaching and learning also visit:

• Academic Essentials: Digital Capability, Skills and Support overview page – equipment section for access to AV equipment on campus.
• Academic Essentials: Supporting our Students overview page – guidance on TORS: specialist teaching spaces such as labs.
• You and your team should establish your own principles for meetings, using the meeting and events protocols. These may include how often to meet physically and for what purpose; which technology to use and how to ensure that communication is inclusive. 
• Resource booker website is now open to allow bookings for desk space, teaching preparation space, group space, car parking and rooms for synchronous teaching.   
• Security Team – if you have any problems accessing your allocated teaching space/room. 
• Ways of working at Hallam – advice & support – staff wide guidance. 
• The Library & Campus Services SharePoint site brings together the trading areas of the Facilities Directorate including catering, accommodation services, print shop etc. 

Collaborative Courses

• AQS Collaborative – the University collaborates with education providers and other organisations to provide a diversity of pathways and progression to higher education.
• Academic Services: Collaborative Provision (SP site) outlines further provision and information.

Further information about collaborative courses can also be found on:

• Academic Essentials: Digital Capability, Skills and Support overview page –  for a range of collaborative tools and resources. 
• Academic Development & Diversity (AD&D) Team: academic leadership and management – course leadership – for guidance on work planning allocation and support for the collaborative course leadership role.

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Course Principles

The Teaching Delivery resources set out the principles  |  pedagogic models  |  blended and flipped learning considerations. 

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Curriculum View

Is a view of course and module data that is set up and held in our student management system SITS. It allows you to view courses and the validated module diet for a course, modules and the courses a module is delivered on.

News and important announcements

Resources and guidance

News and important announcements

The Curriculum View application will only be available on the Staff VPN, on campus on the University network or on the staff remote desktop. Please ensure you are logged in via one of these methods before accessing the application. If you have any difficulties or concerns with the process please contact the IT Service desk.

July 2023

New! Important for action and awareness – start of year schedule for 2023/4 includes a list of the headline key processing dates and process events taking place between July and October 2023.

Resources and guidance

You can search for all modules allocated to a module leader, or all courses allocated to a particular course leader. The allocation of course and module leaders to curriculum view if a self-service model – please follow the who are our course leaders guidance and instructions.

• Academic Services: what is SITS/SITS Online and My Student Record (MSR)?
• Academic Services: student systems support and training

Training

Online Blackboard training module: aimed at academic administration it also contains useful guidance about SITS module records for academic colleagues. Highlights:

• types of modules and module records  *  viewing student module information in SITS  *  changes to student module records and how to view them  *  creating class lists and reports  *  where nodule data is used in other areas
• to book your place email  ! SITS Help  with your user code and ask to be enrolled on the Blackboard site for SITS module training (00-Z-S0062-20178). 
• Academic Services: Curriculum data guidance – for queries about curriculum data. 
• Student Life Cycle – introduction to student records system (SITS). Book your place via The Core Portal.

SITS Support

The Academic Services SITS Help team provide support for student systems and processes:

• Visit the SITS Status page and IT Help @ITHelpSHU twitter feed to keep staff users informed of progress during upgrades. 
• You can also find guidance on changes to the system on SITS annual upgrade changes log.   
• If you have any queries about the use of the Curriculum Catalogue please contact SITS Help in the first instance – SITS-Help@shu.ac.uk or telephone 0114 225 4475. 

Case studies and presentations

• Presented at the Course Leader Fest event, December 2020, this highlights the importance of introducing your module (video) and the tools you are going to use to your students before the module starts so they are familiar with how the teaching will be delivered.
• Presented at the Course Leader Fest event, December 2020, this highlights how to develop a module for remote delivery and how it was implemented in Blackboard (video). 

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Evaluation: adapting your delivery

 

Student Engagement, Teaching and Learning (SETL)

• Student Evaluation, Engagement and Research (STEER): take a look at their wide range of guidance and resources to help you evaluate your course(s) and support evaluation. 
• Digital Learning Team: also support evaluation through their Teaching Delivery 2021/22 guidance:  Evaluating and Adapting Delivery  |  Suggested evaluation methods  | Student Engagement

Evaluation resources

Read Liz Austen, Head of Evaluation and Research’s WonkHE blog post ‘Working together on access and participation evaluation: a new collaborative effort to shape, promote and drive effective evaluation of access and participation work‘.

Access and Participation: an overview of Hallam’s 5-year plan to address student inequalities; and where to find data and insight about your course: Presented by Claire Walsh, Head of Academic Development & Inclusivity, Lizzie Morgan, Strategy and Policy Manager, Strategy, Policy and Insight and Simon Reade, Insight & Intelligence Manager, Strategy, Policy and Insight at the December 2020 Course Leader Fest  ‘Engaging and Thriving’.

Staff Guide to Using Evidence: Presented by Liz Austen, Head of Evaluation & Research, Student Engagement, Evaluation & Research, SETL at the December 2020 Course Leader Fest ‘Engaging and Thriving’.

Surveys

• Module Evaluation Questionnaire (MEQ): Here you’ll find a range of support, resources and contacts on the comprehensive and systematic process to provide module leaders with anonymous feedback from the students studying their modules.  
• National Student Survey (NSS): Is the national survey of undergraduate students (to access click on image). Conducted annually it is commissioned by the Office for Students (OfS) and independently run by Ipsos MORI. Universities, Colleges and alternative providers take part in the survey.  
  • In July 2021, the National Student Survey (NSS) results were published. In response, the University has developed an NSS Action Plan. 
  • The NSS 2022 Marketing Tool is a useful ‘one stop shop’ resource containing all you need to brief your students on completing the NSS. 
  • For departmental / course data on NSS results, visit The Source.
• Student Voice Repository: The Student Voice Repository is a new place for members of the University community to submit and view Student Voice insights from a wide range of sources. Request access to the Student Voice Repository here (MS Teams channel) for access to our monthly bulletins. 
• Postgraduate Research Experience Survey: Is a national online survey designed specifically for postgraduate research students.
• Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey: Is a UK-wide survey open to all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with postgraduate taught students and is made available by Advance HE.
• UK Engagement Survey: Is a national survey, designed and supported by Advance HE and based on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).
• Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union: Each year, the Students’ Union conducts research into the student experience. Most of this research is included in the Student Voice Report. The Student Voice Report is the main lobbying and advocacy tool produced by the Students’ Union. This report establishes clear actions, priorities and goals which can be reached through a joint partnership with students and the University.       

Advance HE: Student Academic Experience Survey (SAES) 2023. Students’ improving academic experience overshadowed by cost of living crisis. SAES 2023 shows students are working harder, have more assignments and are spending more time being taught and in independent learning than last year.

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External Examiners (EE)

AQS External Examiners (EE) – the University appoint EEs who have an essential role to play in the assurance of quality and standards within UK Higher Education.  Here you can find:

• forms and templates
• annual reports
• EE reports and how to respond to them
• EE course and module allocations
• SHU staff EE roles 
• guidance documents and public information

The TEL Help website hosts a range of guidance around External Examiners:

• how to enrol your EE on your Blackboard sites.  
• How do external examiners access student work, feedback and marks provided in the Blackboard Grade Centre 
• How do external examiners access student work, feedback and marks stored in a private content areas in Blackboard 
• External moderation: how do I download student work annotated inline using Box View and upload to a different area/folder in Blackboard
• External moderation: how do I download and upload completed Feedback Rubrics for external moderation

For more guidance on using Blackboard visit Academic Essentials: digital capability, skills and support overview page.

Academic Services: How to find my module external examiner – screencast

Are you looking to become an EE yourself? For details of career enhancement and development visit Academic Development & Diversity (AD&D) academic management and leadership for more details.  

Case Studies

• Making external examining for for the future: November 2020: Dr Lia Blaj-Ward, senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, points to ‘the emphasis on the importance of calibration across the sector’ as the highlight of Advance HE’s external examiner course. Visit Advance HE for more information. 
• Reflections of an External Examiner: December 2018: John Freeman, Principal Lecturer, HWB spoke to a group of academic colleagues during an External Examiners workshop about life as an external examiner.  John has undertaken the role of External Examiner for about 12 years, in fact pretty much since John started at Hallam! You can read more about John’s role on the HWB Learning Enhancement pages. 

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Group Work

Policies and Regulations

University’s Rules and Regulations: Examinations and Coursework (website) covers group work policy and procedures. 

Staff teaching resources

• TEL Help: groups overview and setting up group work (website)
• Assessment Essentials: Group Work Principles 2015 (PDF) guidance. 
• Digital Learning Team: Group Project and Group Presentations (website) – guidance to provide a view of implementing group work into your course and module from a digital learning perspective. 
• Academic Development & Diversity (AD&D): Inclusive Pedagogy and Practice – guidance on designing and hosting inclusive and accessible group work.
• Peer and peer-led learning resources to provide the student’s perspective of group work.

Case studies

• Social Media for Learning (website) – suggestions to help prepare for using online breakout rooms as learning activities for group sessions
• The use of Breakout Rooms for conducting group activities during a live session – December 2020 (video). 

Student Resources

Online e-Module

Hosted on Blackboard “SKILLS HUB (2021/22) 00-Z-E0113-20212” – to support students with group work and covers a wide range of topics. Applicable to all students whereby students can self-enrol. If you’d like to batch enrol students, please contact Nick Russell, Peer Learning Coordinator, Skills, Library Services.

Group assignments / presentations

• Are your students working on a group assignment or presentation? Are they looking for resources on how to set up a productive study group? Visit Lib Guides: Group Work and Study Groups (website) guidance from the Skills Centre.
• Does your student have a Learning Contract? If so, visit the student guidance on My Hallam: adjustments to group work in your learning contract (website).

 

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Hallam Welcome

The Hallam Welcome Staff Hub (SP site) is a one stop shop for all things Hallam Welcome.  This site provides information, resources and tool kits for staff across the university to deliver their Hallam Welcome Experience to both new and returning students. Also visit:

• Updated for Hallam Welcome – May 22 (SP site) 
• Updates for Hallam Welcome – Jan 2022 (SP site)  –  this update contains all the information and resources for you as Course Leaders and academic leads to help you create your Course Welcome Experience and Course Induction Schedule. We recommend that you read each section in order to ensure you are up-to-date with any changes and improvements made to the welcome journey. Also includes a printable Course Leader ‘to do’ list (word) which supports you in these tasks. 
• Teaching Delivery: Student engagement (website) – guidance around Hallam Welcome brought to you by the Digital Learning Team (SETL). 
• For Panopto guidance on creating your course welcome videos, visit the Academic Essentials: Digital Capability, Skills and Support overview page.

Case studies

• Hint/tips in developing interactive course welcome sessions via PowerPoint – July 2020 – video
• Academic Advising – an introduction to the AA offer: July 2021 – created by Melissa Jacobi, Academic Director, Academic Advising, this guide is to provide information and ideas to support you during induction week or the first week or two of teaching. 
• (Overview of) Hallam Welcome – January Intake – Dec 2020 – presented by Ricky Parkinson, Hallam Welcome Project Officer and Sarah Smart, Hallam Welcome Project Lead – Hallam Welcome Project Team at the December 2020 Course Leader Fest ‘Engaging and Thriving’.

Students

• Hallam Welcome – guidance on Welcome Week and beyond.
• Hallam Welcome: student online module – video that explains what it’s all about.
• New student guidance on what the Academic Advising offer looks like.

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Learning Contracts

All students who have a declared disability will have a Learning Contract.  Visit: 

• Disabled Student Support Team: Learning Contracts SP page – staff guidance. 
• Academic Services: Students with Learning Contracts SP page – staff guidance.
• My Hallam: Learning Contracts website – student guidance.

Resources

Learning Contracts (recording) – Presented by Catherine McAuley, Senior Disability Adviser and Marissa Hill, Head of SRAC, SAS at the December 2020 Course Leader Fest ‘Engaging and Thriving’.

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Last updated: 6th September 2023 NB