West College Scotland’s Awards and Commendations at the CDN College Awards

That the Parliament congratulates West College Scotland (WCS) on winning two awards, being highly-commended three times and commended once at the annual College Development Network (CDN) College Awards; understands that the College’s Working 4U collaboration with West Dunbartonshire Council won both the College Community Learning Award and the prestigious Judge’s Award, which recognised the best overall submission, with praise for the college’s accessible, flexible and engaging approach to delivering learning to adults who otherwise would not be able to access education; recognises that the Head of Organisational Development and Human Resources, Joe Rafferty, was runner-up in the Colleague of the Year category with his work and leadership highly commended; understands that the College’s communications team was highly commended in the Marketing and Communications category for its role in promoting WCS as a safe and supportive place to study and work during the pandemic; recognises that Isobel Donald, a Makeup Artistry Lecturer, was highly commended in the Learning and Teaching Colleague of the Year category for her innovative approach to teaching, including for using her links across the Scottish film and television industry to create work experience opportunities for students, when traditional options were not available due to COVID-19 restrictions, and notes that the college was also commended in the Health and Wellbeing Award category for its strategic approach to ensure that staff and students were emotionally and physically empowered to deal with professional and personal challenges presented by the pandemic, in addition to overall health and wellbeing.