Fresh Steps Development Programme

Fresh Steps is an innovative personal and work development course designed for all staff. It enables you to view your professional progress, reassess your priorities and direction and set and achieve new personal and work goals.

Fresh Steps is available to all colleagues and is designed for anyone at work who wants to reassess where they are in their lives and work, review their priorities, explore new possibilities and set new goals.

If you’ve been asking yourself the following questions, this course could make the world of difference to you and provide the support you need to take a step in a new direction.

• Are you wondering what might be next?
• Do you feel stuck in your career?
• Do you ever wonder what living your best life could look like?
• Are you looking to be more fulfilled at work and at home?
• Do you want to press the reset button?

Results from the programme vary from person to person as everyone sets their own aims and objectives. Some people concentrate on moving onward in their careers, whilst others prefer to focus on their quality of life outside work. Most have their own unique blend of both personal and work objectives. Participants walk away with a new spring in their step, open to new challenges and with a renewed sense of optimism and purpose. The programme will give you information, skills, and support but the rest is up to you – and we look forward to being on the journey with you!

This is what you need to undertake Fresh Steps:

• The interest and desire to look into yourself and to change what needs changing
• Be willing to spend time at home completing exercises and reading between sessions
• The commitment to attend all workshops. It is important that this time is agreed with your line manager

Please note: This course, previously available only to colleagues in grades 2-5 roles, is now open to all colleagues. The content covered in the course is relevant and beneficial for everyone.

Among many things, the programme aims to:

• Boost confidence so enabling experienced workers to think about themselves more positively
• Enable participants to appreciate the benefits they gain from work
• Improve mental flexibility and stamina
• Increase networking
• Discover untapped ideas and skills
• Tackle issues of inter-generational working, thus improving communication
• Address real issues for real people inside real organisations, so is relevant and up-to-date
• Massively increase the chance of participants putting ideas into action - ownership
• Encourage people to try new things

The below outlines the content covered in this course:

• A snapshot of where you are now
• Your life in context
• Your personal strategy for dealing with change
• You and your work
• Being fit for life
• Setting priorities
• Your relationships with other people
• Your relationship with time
• Clearing out your attic
• Marking your successes
• Presenting yourself and your experience positively
• Risk and failure
• Setting goals
• Putting your goals to the test

Registration is now open for Fresh Steps 2025

The programme consists of the following three full-day sessions held on campus: 

• 25 February 2025, 09:15 - 16:30
• 26 February 2025, 09:15 - 16:30
• 8 April 2025, 09:15 - 16:30

“I am enjoying the opportunity to take stock of things and to challenge some of my thinking”

“The course has made me actively think about things I had forgotten, achievements, coping strategies, the importance of stress management, relaxation to name but a few. I am currently feeling very positive and I know where I can go to refresh these feelings if they start to dip in the future.”

“I recently attended the Fresh Steps programme run by Leadership and Professional Practice. I felt static in my current role and thought this may be a good opportunity to consider where I wanted to be in my career and maybe why I felt ‘stuck’.  There were small groups within the programme that really encouraged us to take action and focus on what is really important to us.  It was great to network with people who I would not normally see on campus, and it helped to understand their struggles and realise I was not on my own.”

“It was harder than I thought it would be, you have to put in the hard work yourself”