Q&A with Catherine Scott Baker on her first year as principle
Catherine Scott Baker is the Principal of InFocus College and a member of the Executive Team of InFocus Charity. In this sit-down interview she reflects on her first year as principal and what makes InFocus unique.
What is your role and what does it mean for students at InFocus College?
As principal, I’m responsible for the quality of our college provision. To do this well, I feel it’s really important to spend time in college with students. Having been a teacher for most of my career, I miss being in class but have to balance this with time in meetings and desk-based work in my office. I always prioritise facilitating our student forum on Fridays, where we discuss a topic, students can reflect on their week and celebrate each other’s achievements. Each Monday, I also run a student briefing, where students can plan for the week ahead.
As part of my role, I represent the charity at events, such as Vision Zone Southwest where I will be next week, which is an exhibition showcasing services and resources for visually impaired children, young adults, families and education across Devon. I enjoy telling the public about InFocus and meeting prospective students and their families.
What have the highlights of your first year as principal been?
In my first week as principal, Chris Martin, from Coldplay visited, which was an incredible experience for the students. Seeing us through his eyes, was the highlight for me; he was blown away by the students and what we do here.
The individual successes of students are always amazing, the journey of new students throughout the college year is wonderful to see. We celebrated everyone’s achievements at the end-of-year Achiever’s event, it’s important to recognise each person’s personal progress and growth. This year one student completed the college’s first supported internship, where she spent time each week working at a youth centre, in the café and reception, developing invaluable transferable skills for the future. A group of students spent three weeks in Gran Canaria, funded by Eat That Frog (an educational charity). The trip gave each student the opportunity to try new foods, to swim in the sea unaided, to drive dual-control go-karts and to support each other. This is what we’re all about; giving students the opportunity to challenge themselves.
What makes how we support people special?
I would say it’s community. We provide safe challenge for students; we welcome somebody and make them feel part of our community. In the physically safe environment of the campus and the psychological safety of supportive, specialist staff, that person can challenge themselves and grow in confidence to become more independent. It is also our person-centred approach, which means that all the support someone receives is tailored to them and their needs. For example, each student has a vision-impairment passport which explains their vision to the member of staff who is supporting them.
What is a key misconception about vision impairment?
What I’ve learned from working at InFocus, is that there is much to be gained from all the senses. Society is very visual and based on what things look like, but there is so much more to be experienced. Students have taught me you can use sound, touch, taste and smell in creative and innovative ways. You can find joy in listening more to the sounds around you and realising there are sensory worlds out there that you can tap into.
Vision impairment is so individual, as with other aspects of life, no two people experience the world in the same way. If you see someone get on the bus using a cane, their experience will be very different to another person walking down the street with a guide dog.
Is there a piece of technology or equipment that impresses you the most?
Assistive technology is changing so quickly – it’s exciting. Since I first saw it being used by a student at InFocus I’ve been impressed by the Braille Note Touch. It allows users to type and read Braille directly on the touchpad that adapts to finger positions.
What I find most impressive is how use of common devices can be made more accessible, such as how mobile phones have features that can help people with vision impairment access the world and to reduce reliance on other people. For example, one student uses an app which can identify items in her bedroom for her, which helps her with finding clothes and makes tidying the space a task she can complete with much less support.
What would you say to someone who is thinking of fundraising for InFocus?
Go for it! I’ve fundraised for InFocus myself – it’s a great way to help and your time and effort will be greatly appreciated by everyone here. You’ll meet new people and challenge yourself in ways you didn’t think possible.