Aspiration Awards 2024: Support Staff of the Year winner – Simon Sharratt, The Sheffield College

The Support Staff of the Year award aims to honour a member of the behind-the-scenes team who has gone above and beyond to help learners and their colleagues. This year’s winner, Simon Sharratt, is recognised for his exceptional contributions and innovation that has not only transformed the use of technology within The Sheffield College where he works as a Digital and E-Learning Coordinator but has also significantly enhanced the educational experience for both his colleagues and learners. 

Transforming the educational experience 

In the rapidly evolving landscape of education, the role of technology has become increasingly central to teaching and learning, and Simon understands this at the root of everything he does. His journey working for The Sheffield College began as an expert in educational technology, but he quickly established himself as much more than this.  

His ability to fully understand the needs of modern educators and learners, combined with his technical skills, has made him an invaluable asset to the college, and since beginning his role Simon has helped to revolutionise ed-tech at the college through: 

• mastery of Google Workspace, making complex technological tools accessible and beneficial to staff and learners 
• supporting the professional development of fellow educators through his innovative coding skills 
• designing and implementing innovative teaching and learning solutions 
• training and supporting staff in utilising these tools to their full potential, enabling more efficient communication, collaboration, and organisation across the college. 

These achievements have led to a ‘noticeable increase in productivity, allowing staff to focus more on their core mission of educating and inspiring students’. This is seen through his pioneering work with using virtual reality (VR) to enhance teaching, learning, and assessment.  

Supporting inclusion and a diverse curriculum 

Simon worked with the college’s Inclusion Academy to allow learners and their parents to view virtual tours prior to educational trips, to ease any fears and anxiety before attending, having a significant impact post-Covid.  

He has also helped to enrich and diversify the college’s curriculum, developing interactive and engaging learning modules. Through listening, understanding and reacting to staff and learner needs, he’s fostered a culture of continuous improvement and experimentation within the college, and introduced diverse innovations within the curriculum such as: 

• using VR with health and social care learners to interact with patients in virtual health suites 
• employing AI with motor vehicle teaching staff to plan and create educational resources 
• introducing gamification in science to enable retrieval practice, consolidate learning, and gather feedback 
• developing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Essentials Training programme for staff to ensure they have knowledge and understanding of AI.  

Supporting professional development and innovative solutions 

Beyond his technical expertise, Simon’s ability to inspire and lead by example doesn’t go unnoticed, and his unwavering support for others sets a high standard for what is possible when passion meets expertise.  

Working closely with staff, he’s helped to design innovative solutions tailored to improve specific aspects of teaching and learning and has used his coding skills to develop a programme designed to support teacher development. Simon's focus on professional excellence and continual improvement is also seen in his management of the college’s two ‘innovation centres’. He’s transformed these spaces into hubs of creativity, collaboration, and learning for both staff and learners, having a positive impact on their professional and academic pursuits.  

Simon’s story is a powerful reminder of the impact that a dedicated individual can have on the lives of many staff and learners, and his multitude of contributions to the college have earned him the deserving title of Support Staff of the Year. 

He said: “It’s an honour to have won this national award, given that the role of technology is becoming increasingly central to teaching and learning. To be working on the cutting edge of a rapidly-evolving landscape in education and helping students and staff to develop their skills is extremely rewarding.” 

Brian Queen, Head of Customer Service and one of the award judges, said: “It was great to read about Simon’s contribution to improving the educational experience for staff and learners, through innovation using technology and through stepping above and beyond the normal expectations of his role to focus on making things easier and more efficient for staff.   

“The creation of innovative ‘hubs’ where creativity, collaboration, and learning for staff and learners has been cultivated is a fantastic example of this. What really came through from the nomination was Simon’s work ethic, ability to look at things differently, and to come up with creative and collaborative solutions to allow his colleagues to focus more on educating and inspiring learners.” 

Congratulations Simon! To read more inspirational stories from this year's award winners, visit our Aspiration Awards 2024 page.