Bradford College

National ‘FE Recognition Award’ for Healthy College

Bradford College has received national acclaim as one of the first colleges in the country to officially be recognised as a Healthy Further Education College. The College has been granted the ‘Healthy FE Recognition Award’, following the College’s commitment to developing the health and wellbeing services for staff and learners.

Now 25 FE Colleges have followed suit, joining Bradford College as a recognised Healthy Further Education College. 

As a leading authority on the subject of Health - Jane Marshall, the Healthy College Manager at Bradford College, is the pioneer behind the success of Bradford College gaining  the ‘Healthy FE Recognition Award’ and has been singled out for praise by the government for her work in this area.

Miss Marshall has recently written ‘A Practical Guide to Becoming a Healthy College’ in collaboration with Bradford College Web Journalist Helena Stylianou, in a bid to assist colleges and universities across the country implement a Healthy College Programme.

With the backing of College Principal Michele Sutton, OBE and College Directorate, Jane Marshall has been instrumental in helping to reform the health and wellbeing culture at the College – with spectacular results. Confident, healthy, and personally fulfilled staff and learners are just some of the benefits Bradford College has enjoyed since Jane Marshall’s appointment in 2007.

Improved diets and eating patterns helped students keep alert, which in turn contributed to improved success rates. This impact has resulted in a £700k increase in Bradford College’s funding contract.
Stress levels used to be very high at Bradford College, particularly for staff; now they are the second lowest in the country. Staff absenteeism rates dropped considerably. In 2007, the national average for colleges with over 750 employees was 4.48%; in contrast the absenteeism rate for Bradford College was 3%; A saving for Bradford College against any public sector benchmark of at least £390k.

Bradford College’s Healthy FE work has also achieved the ‘Investors in People: Work Life Balance kite mark and has been awarded a Grade 1 Outstanding by Ofsted for Every Child Matters: Being Healthy.

Speaking about the award and what it means for Bradford College, Jane Marshall said: “This national initiative has been a great success. It’s an absolute privilege to be one of the first colleges to be recognised.”  Jane Marshall concluded: “The Healthy College Programme is really gaining momentum now.  We get so many colleges across the country getting in touch with us for consultancy and it’s really nice to help other colleges gain their recognition too.”