support practitioner

teacher

learning support assistant

administrator

systems administrator

Derwen-College

Derwen used to be a terrific place to work but that was a long long time ago, I am sad to say I am embarrassed to admit I work for such a cold, calculating employer, an employer which treats staff with complete and utter contempt. 
They have purposefully created a very hostile workplace where staff are in constant fear of losing their jobs, this makes the staff accepting of the vile way management treat them as when people are in constant fear of losing their jobs they are more likely to accept being treated as less than human. Derwen knows this and uses it to their advantage, disgusting. 
Bullying is a massive problem here also, and is actively encouraged, sounds unreal doesn't it but I have been told this by 2 former managers. 
Derwen hates that it's staff have lives outside of work and will do their best to make sure staff (particularly care staff) have a very very poor work/life balance by making them work incredibly long shifts, requiring staff to attend training on their days off if they are lucky enough to get days off, working every weekend etc. Anybody who is going through family problems such as illness etc possibly faces disciplinary action against them if they take any time off. 
The only good thing I can say about the place is that the majority of the staff are great people and hard working people who really do care about the students they support, something management lost sight of long, long ago. 
Please, if you consider taking a job here, think twice. 
You will be walked all over and taken advantage of. 
The pay is absolutely shocking for the responsibilities that come with the job, management are constantly looking at ways to slash people's wages, if they could get away with it they would literally pay staff in peanuts.

Main roles were to care and support the students.
Assistant them with daily duties and take them on trips to shops or cinema for fun or practical life lessons.
The job requires you to just act as their friend, parent and teacher in life and support them with anything they need help with and guide and teach them in the right direction in life.

I loved the job and should have stayed there for my whole life.

The hours were perfect, fit in with my family. Although I worked every Saturday and Sunday I was paid more money and the hours were flexible to suit the staff.

Attended loads of training to learn more all the time, the rewards for helping people is amazing you feel so proud. 

Co-workers were mainly all middle-aged and older generation so I was a bit of an odd one out being so young which often was a problem.

Management were very strict and disciplined due to government rules and regulations so you had to always be careful that you were not making any mistakes.

I learned how to become more grown up and mature due to having to look after another human being, this help me become a better farther in my home life.

All school holiday off !!!! 12 weeks holiday each year :-)

I been here a year, still I give my all,Every little moment got me standin’ tall,
Came in quiet, didn’t know what I’d find, Now I’m walkin’ through the houses with a clearer mind,
Different roles, different days, but the mission’s same  see them shine, yeah I feel that flame.
Met people with hearts that are real and warm,  the highs and the lows, yeah we keep it calm,
Every student got a story, I respect that view. And I learn just as much as I’m helpin’ them through.
Activities run, keep the days so bright, From the small little wins to the big-time nights,
Students’ Union House when the vibes all peak, Hear laughter in the air every single week.
Disco lights flash, got the whole room free, In those moments i think, yeah it’s where I wanna be,
See confidence grow, yeah it’s clear in their eyes, That’s a feeling no money could ever buy.
And if I ever feel lost in the way, Managers guide through day, Never alone in the role I play,
From the staff to the students, yeah the love feels right, Turn a hard day round, make it shine so bright.
When the music plays and the disco lights glow see the smiles on faces, that’s how I know,
This ain’t just a job, yeah it’s deeper than pay, I’m proud of every step that I take each day.
Yeah… Derwen  nights  Derwen day
Made a difference, changed my way 



I was a volunteer, and my contribution to the college seemed to be going very well until I started to have my own Ideas on how to look at things differently. It's true that perhaps I did not handle my approach to this as well as I might, but my desire was to change how we were approaching the time I had available with the students, which was not using me to the full benefit of all them. It did not achieve the stated goal of inclusivity.

But the outcome of this was to receive a dismissal notification by e-mail, starting retrospectively from the last week I had been with them, so not wanting me back to even discuss my point of view or ideas formally. I was therefore less than pleased and saddened that my time with the students had come to such an abrupt end when I believe my ideas had merit.

So my criticism is that HR in particular need to look at how they treat a volunteer who supplied everything needed to run the class and was trying to look at ways to include all the students, not just one or two. I think that they dismissed me in an appalling fashion without any arbitration. I might have been offering my skills, time and equipment for free, but my right to proper consultation and consideration of my feelings still applied. You decide.

Sadly the moral at Derwen is at rock bottom due to poorly managed departments. Management seem to be employing staff on the basis of whether they’ll say yes to everything rather than on their merits. Making staff who genuinely care about the students redundant and then employing agency staff on temporary contracts which is costing them money they don’t have. And then they wonder why standards are slipping and they’re in the financial state they’re in. 
Students safety is being put at risk as they don’t have the man power to cover areas due to making so many staff redundant. Staff are having more and more work pushed onto them but for no extra pay. If you try to speak to management or Human Resources about it they just nod in agreement and say all the right words but then nothing gets done about it. Management project that everything is fine when in fact it is far from it. The place is collapsing around them and the term rats leaving a sinking ship springs to mind when you look at the amount of staff that are leaving. The derwen used to be seen as a job for life but now people are lucky if they manage to stick it for a year. Such a shame for the students. Management need to be looked at.

I am so pleased to have been directed towards this site by other staff unhappy like myself with the deep rooted culture of disrespect for staff that is now ingrained within the college management and particularly HR.

While sad to find so many negative reviews the content of those reviews comes as absolutely no revelation to me and is certainly not as a result of any failure to embrace change as mentioned by another reviewer.      

Something somehow started to go badly wrong long before the recent changes.  I cannot begin to understand how the college has got to this point nor how it can help with staff well-being, advancement or retention.  It follows that student welfare has to suffer as a natural result.

The college should be a caring environment for staff and students alike.  There should be no place for any manager to bully staff or deny staff their rights.  When such a manager is allowed free rein to alienate staff, and obtain some sort of gratuitous gratification from their actions, then it must be asked why there are no checks and balances in place to protect those staff and ultimately the college reputation?

Poor quality Directors are running the college into the ground.  The debt is mounting and all the crown jewels are being sold off to keep the college afloat.  Councils are not sending so many students to the college now because they've been paying for a standard of care, and other provisions, that is being promised but then not provided.   Parents taking the students away for the same reason. Sad to see the college going downhill like this. The relationship between the Directors and staff is bad.  No empathy.  Them and us. The staff really care for the students but the Directors care only for themselves and their inflated salaries.  They take bad decisions that cost the college good money then try and claw it back by not paying staff for the overtime they work and things like that. A lot of staff are unhappy that things in their contracts don't get honoured.  Work contracts mean nothing.  Just because you agree to work extra hours and your'e promised payment doesn't mean you'll get it.  If you complain then your'e a troublemaker.

I would like to thank 'Indeed' for providing this platform for Derwen staff to inform those interested in the Derwen college employment culture.  We have no such opportunity within the workplace.

The Derwen used to be a great place to work with mutual respect shown between management, staff and students.  For reasons unknown a branch of management has decided that the staff are no longer entitled to be treated like the human beings we are.

What is now so difficult about honouring contracts for instance?

What is now so difficult about treating all staff the same whatever our age, sex, disability or level of intelligence?

What is now so difficult about telling the truth to staff about the reasons for the financial difficulties faced by the college?  Many of us know the truth already so why can't managers stop trying to protect their own jobs, admit their failings and earn some respect for themselves?

As a current employee at Derwen College I would love to recommend the place but unfortunately I can no longer do this due to the direction the college has gone in.
The students are amazing and most of the staff do a great job at helping them achieve their goals. But the atmosphere is so bad at the moment due to management not communicating changes with staff. This leads to rumours which leave staff feeling vulnerable and scared about both the future of derwen and their own job security. 
Management walk around as if they are royalty and show little respect or humanity towards staff. Which in turn leads to staff having little respect for the management team which results in a very hostile environment. 
I wish someone had warned me  about how bad the place has become before I accepted my role. So to anyone who might be interested in working at Derwen I would tread carefully before taking the decision to work there.

Not very often teachers can say they take no work home. At Derwen College they can.. teaching staff work 8.45-5pm not 12 hours +. Prep hours are provided throughout the day. Yes, occasionally cover is required however managers take this into consideration when staff verbalize they require additional support in order to provide a good work life balance where staff dont work into their own time of an evening.

Learning support assistants are supported and encouraged to develop. I've seen a number LSAs progress through being supported to attend PGCE courses which have been funded or part funded by the college with no deductions in wages to attend each week.

Yes there are have been a number of changes..but I'm pretty certain we arent the only specialist college having to move with the times.

Surely the amount of staff who have left thinking the grass is greener and then returned speaks volumes?

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Support practitioner 7 salaries reported	£13.81 per hour
Teacher 4 salaries reported	£28,530 per year
Learning support assistant 1 salary reported	£100 per day
Administrator 1 salary reported	£18,103 per year
Systems administrator 1 salary reported	£27,750 per year

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