Student Experience and Pastoral Support Team
Welcome from Aaron Denton Director for Student Experience and Pastoral Support
As Director of Student Experience and Pastoral Support, Aaron Denton oversees Employability and Personal Development, Behaviour and Attitudes, and High Needs as well as the discrete Inclusion curriculum, while acting as the campus lead for the Roundhouse. Aaron is the designated teacher for Looked After Young People and is DCG’s lead for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.
Aaron is a qualified assessor as well as a qualified and specialist teacher for students with a learning difficulty and has a Postgraduate Diploma in Pastoral and Inclusive Educational Leadership. With over 17 years’ experience within the further education sector, Aaron proudly continues to be a lifelong learner, with the passion and drive to develop students’ wider skills and raise aspirations. He is committed to introducing DCG students to employers and employers to DCG students, creating a culture of ‘learning together’ and developing the future.
Aaron is a member of the CBI, co-chair for the DANCOP Steering Group, an active member of the Further Education Tutorial Network, part of Derby City Inclusion Strategy and a trustee for the Student Union.
Meet the Team

Sophie Mudie
Learning Support Manager

Seraya Cliff
Character Education, Employability and Tutorial Manager

Siobhan Benton
Student Experience and Pastoral Lead

Lisa Peacock
Team Manager: Deaf Access and Funding

Taj Hundal
Uni-Connect Lead

Marcus Gayle
Behaviour and Engagement Lead
To contact the pastoral coaches email: PastoralCoaches@derby-college.ac.uk
Welcome to Derby College
5 Ps of Professional Behaviour
At DCG we have a set of behaviours we expect our students to aspire to; the ‘5 Ps of Professional Behaviour’ which are:
Positive: Being open-minded, willing to listen and celebrating diversity. Polite: Speaking respectfully and appropriately. Punctual: Arriving in class ready to begin learning on time. Prepared: Being equipped and ready for lessons with a can-do attitude. Professional: In dress, language and behaviour.
You can find out more by watching the videos below.
professional behavior these are the five
things we expect our employees and
students to aspire to they are positive
polite punctual prepared and
professional the reason we have these
expectations is so that everybody
understands the types of behaviors that
we want to promote and see at college
the five PS will live with you
throughout your journey at Darby college
they are not to measure or a label they
are an aspirational part of your journey
and a part we hope that you can engage
with and recognize in your own unique
way we understand that everyone is
different some people are bubbly and
full of energy
whilst others are quiet and prefer to be
in the background and of course
everything in between but our
expectation is that everyone is positive
about these differences and that they
try to see the positive in their own and
others differences if we are positive in
our outlook about ourselves and others
we will have a positive college
community
as with positive we understand that
different people will have different
expectations and perspectives about what
is and isn’t polite our view is that we
are all at college for the same reason
to learn in and to develop into the best
citizens and professionals that we can
be by being polite in understanding the
expectations of others and how we
interact and communicate with them we
are supporting this learning and
development by avoiding unnecessary
misunderstandings disagreements and
interruptions to learning politeness
isn’t just about what we say and do it
is about listening to the people around
you and learning what their expectations
are this one is simple if your put your
and on time for all lessons you won’t
miss any learning and won’t be
distraction to the learning of others we
understand that sometimes you may be
late due to matters outside of your
control so please in these circumstances
use the online absence and lateness
notification system on our website under
Quick Links and that’s it for this one
being prepared isn’t just about having
the right stationary equipment and
personal protective equipment with you
although this is of course important it
is also about having a prepared attitude
being prepared to learn prepare to
challenge yourself and prepare to meet
these expectations by being prepared
with your kit and in your person you’re
being prepared to succeed by being
positive in your outlook polite in your
interactions punch wall to your lessons
and prepare to learn we believe you will
be behaving in a professional way
these expectations are also our
expectations of ourselves and our
employees and also believe that they are
the expectations of any successful
workplace thank you for listening and
watching this short presentation look
out for the five PS around college if
you have any questions and/or wish to
discuss these expectations with someone
please talk to your personal tutor or
progression coach thank you and goodbye
[Music]
Digital Code of Conduct
When you study at DCG it’s important that you follow our Digital Code of Conduct at all times, that applies to both College owned devices and personal devices. To find out more watch the video below.
guide to the new digital Code of Conduct
while this digital code of conduct has
been created mainly because of a change
to learning from home it is still
appropriate whenever you are using any
college systems whether on a college
campus or at your home this video will
give you an overview of four key points
you need to know for a full copy of the
digital code of conduct visit the Darby
College website it’s important that all
students approach online learning
exactly the same way as they would
approach classroom learning you will
need to be on time and ready to start
learning at the plan lesson start time
making sure that you still attend all of
your scheduled lessons you should be
polite and respectful of others and make
sure you addressed appropriately for any
video calls as you would be in college
turn off any devices that you do not
need for the class so you aren’t
distracted by them make sure you pay
attention to any instructions from your
teacher and act on them make sure you
follow all the IT rules in place into
college which you can remind yourself
off by checking the College website
never share your login details to
college systems with anyone else or try
to access the account to someone else
anything happens on your account if you
have let another person gain access to
MIT is your responsibility and could
lead to disciplinary action against you
if appropriate if you think someone has
found out your password
change it as soon as possible remember
that you aren’t allowed to share any
inappropriate content which includes
pornography violence illegal or
offensive material while you are taking
part in online lessons or communications
with others from the college you are not
allowed to record these unless you have
permission from all of us in the session
you are also not allowed to share
recordings of lessons unless a teacher
has given you permission you should only
drink appropriate soft drinks such as
water during a lesson drinking alcohol
is not allowed during a lesson you
should keep yourself muted unless you
need to say something and try to
minimize any background noise when you
are talking use the raise hand feature
in teams to get the teachers attention
if you need to
if you’re expecting a phone call or
other interaction during the lesson let
the teacher know in advance do not
engage in cyberbullying or anything that
could be mistaken for bullying as it’s
very easy to misinterpret something
someone has said when you aren’t with
them in person remember that any work
you submit must be your own with
references properly added for material
created by others you are allowed to
change your profile picture on Microsoft
Eames but if you do this it must be to a
likeness of your face only with nothing
inappropriate permitted you can view a
full version of the digital code of
conduct on the Darby College website if
you have any questions about this video
please speak to your personal tutor or
your progression coach
Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging Calendar
At DCG we celebrate and value the diversity of our students and employees and we are committed to equality of opportunity for all, regardless of age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, disability, social background and family responsibilities. Explore our DERBY COLLEGE GROUP INCLUSION, DIVERSITY AND BELONGING CALENDAR (PDF)
.Downloads
2020 Digital Code of Conduct (PDF)