New College Swindon Hosts the First South West Skills Challenge for Health and Social Care Students

On Wednesday 5th March, five colleges including New College Swindon, Bridgewater & Taunton College Wiltshire College, Bath College, and Exeter College competed in the South West Skills Challenge. This involved undertaking four different health and social care tasks. The first was a quiz, the second was a 10-minute presentation on a current issue within the health and social care industry. After that, they moved on to an individual scenario-based task, with an actor pretending to be a blind, confused patient who needed reassurance and support. Finally, they worked in pairs on an emergency response simulation of a fallen patient and distressed family members.

Wiltshire College student, Poppy, said “This really prepares you for the real world where you don’t know what you’re going to get with a patient. I am really proud of myself and will definitely be an advocate to get more Health and Social Care students to do this in the future!”

Representatives from local organisations such as The Orders of St John Care Trust, Great Western Hospital, the South West Ambulance Services, and The Defence Medical Welfare Service, gave up their time to act as judges.

New College Swindon student, Codey said “The feedback from the South West Ambulance Service who judged our scenario was really lovely. I’ve never worked with someone from Bridgewater College before, but they said that we worked well together on the scenario.”

After five hours of competition and tough deliberation amongst the judges, prizes were awarded to the top three students. Claiming the top spot was Gracie Nixon from Bridgewater & Taunton College, with Codey Gorsuch and Neeve Craddock from New College Swindon picking up second and third place.

Each winner received an Amazon voucher and secured a prize for their college, thanks to event sponsors; Elevate Healthcare, Sim & Skills and Metaverse Learning. These included a 6-month VR licence, a SIM and Skills Kit and a maternity ball and bag.

T Level Health and Social Care lecturer, Rhi, from Exeter College said “This has been a great opportunity for students to apply their skills outside of the curriculum and the comfort of a familiar environment, and prove to themselves they’re ready to work in the industry.”

The South West Skills Challenge is a group of further education colleges in the South West working collaboratively to implement inter-college competitions. The primary objective is to enhance student skills, raise educational standards, develop personal skills, and prepare students for both employment and potential participation in World Skills UK competitions.

Jane Davison, Assistant Principal of Quality and Education at New College Swindon, and organiser of the South West Skills Challenge, said “This is the first South West Skills Challenge of eight, across different sectors, including Hair and Beauty, Construction, eSports and more. These events are a great opportunity for students to put their technical skills to the test whilst also developing their skills and confidence to set them up for future employment. They also provide a platform for lecturers and leaders across the education sector, to network, and share ideas and best practices. We’re proud to show off our fantastic facilities that support our students with getting the very best outcomes by allowing them to practice high-risk scenarios in a low-pressure environment.”