Welcome to your Leadership of Policing course

Welcome to your Leadership of Policing degree at Staffordshire University. We are looking forward to you joining us on the course. We realise you may have lots of questions before starting your postgraduate studies, but your course leader is only an email away, should you need anything.

Your staff team

We want to make sure you know some of our team before you arrive. Hopefully this will help you recognise us and ensure you know who you can contact if you need any additional help and guidance.

James Holyoak

Senior Lecturer

After a full career in policing, Jim has used his leadership and experience to develop higher education within the Policing sector. He is actively involved in police related research and further developing learning in respect of policing leadership.

James's profile

Dr John Lamb

Senior Lecturer

John's research expertise focuses on areas including counter terrorism, radicalization, intelligence services and use of force by state officials. His PhD examined policing, national security and the implementation of PREVENT in the West Midlands.

John's profile

Samantha Rasiah

Lecturer

Samantha leads the PCDA Level 6 Coaching & Mentoring module and is completing her Doctorate in Legal Education. Her key research interests are Curriculum Design, Professional Education, and Employability Skills in Law, Policing & Criminal Justice.

Samantha's profile

First activity

In your induction week we will be preparing you for your learning and introducing you to your teaching team, the virtual learning environment we will be working within and most importantly, getting to know each other.

Getting this environment right is really important because we need to be comfortable when sharing our experience, practice and ideas; peer to peer learning is just as important as taught input.

Your first modules will introduce research, supported by academic writing inputs from our brilliant online library and ethics within policing. All planned sessions will be recorded, so don’t be concerned if you can’t make a session.

Additionally, for the first month of your course, your course leader will hold a weekly seminar to address any initial issues. Outside of this you can contact your course leader at any time.

The programme is very much about looking to the future leadership requirements so we will also be exploring your thoughts and reflections about the suggested pre-reading and your experiences of leadership in both context and concept. This method of reflective learning is the corner stone for our collective learning.

Course delivery

All of your learning for this programme will be delivered online using Teams as your virtual learning environment. This allows for a flexible approach to your learning, access to learning material, your tutors and lectures to support you throughout.

This platform also allows you to communicate your fellow students and create a mutually supportive community of practice.

If you haven’t used Teams before you will also be able to seek advice from a dedicated learning technologist to address any concerns, that you might have. Before your induction week, you will contacted by your learning technologist to support your digital onboarding.

Before You Start

Take a look at the College of Policing's report about the future of policing: Policing in England and Wales: Future Operating Environment 2040

Also consider the Police Foundation Leadership roundtable report

The Casey Report

And formulate some thoughts about the role of leadership in policing.

Equipment and software

You will need to have access to a reliable computer or laptop, but you will be provided with the latest Microsoft 365 software to support your learning. You can discuss this with your learning technologist during your digital onboarding.

Download software

Academic skills

Whether you're joining us from school or college, or you're returning to education after some time away, everyone can benefit from the Academic Study Skills resources provided by the University library.

The Academic Skills team is here to support you throughout your academic journey and to help you gain the skills you need to reach your full potential. They can assist with academic reading and writing skills, give advice on how best to plan assignments, and help improve your time management.

The library's Academic Skills Guides offer the key information to make studying easier and give a comprehensive guide to the learning resources and services we offer.

Staffs CampusConnect

Staffs CampusConnect is our student-led community app for new students. Connect with other people from your course, hometown or country, and even those with similar interests.

To register, please ensure you use your Applicant ID (Student Number) that you received in your offer letter, and the email address you used in your application to us.

Register for CampusConnect

Welcome website

Our welcome website will provide you the link to your new student life. It's all about how you find your place at university, including everything from how to meet friends, feel confident in doing your academic work, being a member of your Student Union and getting involved in Union Societies, Academic Societies, Sports, Volunteering or representing your peers in your School.

Part of this Welcome Week - we have an exciting program of University and course level activities planned for you for your first week in September. We are also building an extended program for you to join a series of events throughout the first half of the autumn term. Further details will be shared with you via the Welcome website and Students' Union pages over the coming weeks.

Welcome website

Check your email

Please make sure you check your personal email account regularly over the next few weeks. We will be sending you lots of information about Welcome Week.

We are really looking forward to you joining the School of Law, Policing and Forensics in September. If you have any questions, please contact your Course Leader, James Holyoak: James.Holyoak@staffs.ac.uk