East Durham College Strategic Plan 2012-13 to 2015-16

Creating Outstanding Futures
Executive Summary
East
Durham
College
Strategic
Plan
2012-13 to
2015-16
Foreword
Principal’s Statement
Chair’s Statement
The College continues to be
passionate about serving our
community. Our plan sets us
challenging targets to improve still
further the outcomes achieved
by our students within a culture
that strives for the highest quality,
is fair, respectful and honest and
has students at its heart.
At the end of another successful
year, the Board of Corporation of
East Durham College is pleased to
publish a strategy that will realise
the College’s ambition to become
outstanding in all its activities. The
College continues to provide high
quality education for our local
community and the North East
region, despite operating within the
constraints of public funding.
Following on from the successful
launch of our new sixth form, ED6,
and our Peter Jones Enterprise
Academy, we will continue to explore
opportunities to develop our curriculum
offer further, so that we continue to
meet the needs of both individuals
and businesses in an ever changing
policy environment.
There is no doubt that the economic
environment in which we operate
remains uncertain. The College has
demonstrated well its ability to weather
the storm and, through careful financial
management and efficiency seeking,
is well placed to continue to deliver
high quality teaching and learning.
Our new Peterlee Campus continues
to provide our students with a stunning
learning environment and our estates
priorities now turn to our Houghall
Campus. While our land-based
industries students already benefit
from high quality learning resources,
we will strive to improve the learning
environment to better support the
high quality teaching and learning
they already experience.
We very much look forward to the
challenges of the next few years!
Suzanne Duncan, BA (Hons), Cert. Ed.
Principal & Chief Executive Officer
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Our Public Value Statement
articulates our contribution to
meeting the needs of the local
community not only in terms of
offering high quality education
opportunities, but also our social
impact. The College supports
community sporting opportunities
for all ages, provides facilities for
community theatre and drama
activities, provides supported
employment opportunities for
adults with learning difficulties and
disabilities, and engages in project
work that focuses on meeting the
needs of those most disengaged.
In addition to promoting the social
and physical well-being of the
community, the economic wellbeing of the district is supported by
providing the provision of courses
for adults to help them back into
the jobs market and improve their
employment chances.
Our top five priorities for the next
three years are:
To develop a strong, vibrant
teaching and learning culture
that inspires our students and staff,
enables excellence and enhances
our reputation
To develop and grow a viable,
innovative and responsive college
to ensure we achieve student and
funding number targets
To develop the economic
prosperity of the Easington District
and County Durham
To develop a highly skilled,
innovative, flexible workforce
To promote, celebrate and respect
equality and diversity
These priorities underpin our mission
to offer an outstanding and inclusive
education, providing individuals, the
community and the local economy
with every opportunity to succeed.
Our vision is to be highly successful
through exceptional teaching and
learning, to innovatively grow our
provision and to build our reputation,
so that we are recognised as a
quality college, developing staff
and students.
Our vision is to be highly successful through exceptional
teaching and learning, to innovatively grow our provision and
to build our reputation, so that we are recognised as a quality
college, developing staff and students.
East Durham
College
Strategic Plan
2012-13 to
2015-16
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Executive Summary
Introduction
East Durham College is a mediumsized further education college
comprising two main centres
and two smaller satellite facilities.
The Peterlee Campus in Willerby
Grove principally serves the
communities of East Durham.
The Houghall Campus (formerly
Durham College of Agriculture and
Horticulture), sited on the outskirts
of the city of Durham, serves the full
extent of County Durham, including:
its Western Dales with their upland,
subsistence sheep farming, grouse
moors and forestry industries; the
fringes of eastern Cumbria; pastoral
areas of southern Northumberland;
the rural areas of Gateshead;
and the northern edges of Yorkshire.
A third centre, a satellite centre of
the Peterlee Campus, opened in
August 2010 in the form of a new
Technical Academy facility on
Peterlee’s South West Industrial
Estate on the edge of the town.
During the period of the last strategic
plan, East Durham College provided
good quality education to people
in its local area. This was confirmed
by the College’s self-assessment
report, and Ofsted inspection in
February 2014, which identified clear
strengths and areas for improvement
to drive the quality of provision further
forward. The College has worked
closely with a number of partners to
develop an innovative curriculum
that meets the needs of a wide
range of learners across all age
ranges. This document outlines
our strategic ambitions.
4
We are ready to move to the next
phase of our development, with
our ambitions of excellence and
inclusion as key drivers for the
future. We want all our learners to
achieve above and beyond their
expectations, and experience
motivational learning that will
truly shape and change lives. We
believe our ambitions will contribute
significantly to personal development
and community regeneration
through raised aspirations, ambition
and achievement.
We are committed to working closely
and productively with our partners:
schools; Peterlee Town Council;
East Durham Area Action Partnership;
Durham County Council; employers;
businesses; charitable, voluntary and
community groups; and universities,
so that together we can achieve
the government’s ambitions for a
workforce in the North East that is
skilled for success in the North East.
Our Vision
Our Core Values
Building on our mission, our vision
is to be highly successful through
exceptional teaching and learning,
to innovate, to grow our provision
and to build our reputation, so that
we are recognised as a quality
college, developing both our staff
and students.
The College’s values inform the way
we work, and the culture we wish to
develop and project externally.
We will:
Achieve excellence in all
our activities
Our values are:
To have students at the heart
of our organisation
To operate a fair, respectful and
honest culture
To strive for the highest quality
To operate with integrity
Explore and develop growth
through local, regional, national
and international partnerships
Develop our position to become
a recognised premier specialist
land-based college
Widen participation and continue
our commitment to equality and
diversity in all our activities
Be innovative in customising
solutions in response to employer
and employment needs
Foster a constructive, reflective
culture that promotes personal
and professional development
for the whole college community
Provide world-class facilities
and resources for our students,
customers, employers and staff
Generate and support innovation
and enterprise
Our Mission is that East
Durham College is committed to
offering an outstanding and inclusive
education, providing individuals,
the community and the local economy
with every opportunity to succeed.
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Our Context
The North East is a vibrant, exciting,
ambitious region which has made
significant changes in its economy,
moving away from a reliance on
its industrial past. There are many
innovative developments, including
the development of leading edge
technology in manufacturing and
pioneering skills in nanotechnology,
functional materials and printable
electronics. The skills drive builds
on the North East’s manufacturing
heritage, which has attracted some
of the world’s major companies and
their suppliers to an area proud of
its engineering excellence. These
include: Nissan; Caterpillar; and
Hitachi, who recently announced
their multi-million-pound train building
project at Newton Aycliffe. A growing
number of companies developing
sustainable energies are also drawn
to the area because of the region’s
expertise in engineering.
Education providers, public sector
partners and the area’s business
community have a powerful focus
on increasing the supply of skills.
This is essential to continue the
transformation of the North East
into a knowledge-driven, highskilled economy.
Almost £2 billion a year of public
funding is spent on education and
skills development in North East
England, which has five universities,
24 further education colleges and a
large number of world-class research
institutions. There has never been a
greater need for skilled professionals
in our region and East Durham
College plans to be a key provider
of skills development across the
North East region at all levels.
The regional Local Economic
Partnership’s aim is to promote
and develop economic growth by
winning investment in the region to
create bigger businesses and more
jobs by focusing on these key areas:
Improving businesses
access to finance
Identifying infrastructure
improvement priorities
Improving skills and employment
Improving innovation
and connectivity
Developing image and tourism
6
The Skills for Sustainable Growth
strategy document, published by the
Department for Business Innovation
and Skills, makes it clear that a key
purpose of further education is
to improve the skills of the nation
to bring about economic growth
in order to bring us out of recession
and into economic prosperity again.
The College’s focus on teaching skills
for work and upskilling those already
in the workplace puts us in an ideal
position to meet the demands of
the labour market. We will equip
people in the Easington District and
County Durham to ensure there are
sustainable economic improvements
locally, regionally, and nationally.
The County Durham Economic
Strategy, launched in November
2008, has as priorities three interrelated strategic aims, which are
around developing competitive
people, places and business.
The plan also targets the need to
reduce the gap in the economic
performance of the county in relation
to that of the region and the nation.
Since the publication of the strategy,
the impact of the current economic
environment has affected the
progress made in relation to
these aspirations.
In 2014 the Gross Value Added
(Income Approach) per head of
population at current basic prices
for England was £25,367 but only
£15,164 for County Durham. The
latest Labour Force Survey (to March
2015) shows that in Country Durham
223,400 people were in employment
in the year to March 2015; a small
fall to a rate of 68.5% from 68.7%
in the year to December 2014.
Nationally, 28.7m people (72.7%)
were in employment in the year to
March 2015. The number of people
claiming Main out of Work Benefits
in County Durham fell to 42,430
(12.9%) people in November 2014;
in the same period in Great Britain
the figure fell to 3,853,300 (9.7%).
Clearly, the district, County Durham
and the North East continue to have
major issues to address. Easington
District, along with other parts of
the county, continues to suffer
from multiple deprivations and
ranks among the most deprived
neighbourhoods in England on
a range of income, health and
employment measures.
A growing number of companies
developing sustainable energies are drawn to the
area because of the region’s expertise in engineering.
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In East Durham the dependency
ratio is 5.3% higher than the County
Durham average, 12.5% of the
working population claim income
support and/or Severe Disablement
Allowance and the proportion of the
working-age population claiming
incapacity benefit is 48.9% higher
than the county rate. There is strong
evidence to suggest that accessing
employment and remaining in work
can have a major impact on health
and well-being. The College will play
a key role in providing young people,
adults and employers with the
opportunity to gain the skills needed
to get them into work or to allow
them to progress to their next goal
be it further education or training,
higher education or employment,
including self-employment.
Meeting the skills needs of employers
and increasing people’s skills so
that they can start new businesses
is a critical task for the College
over the coming years to help
job creation in the region and the
district. The delivery of our enterprise
curriculum and the Peter Jones
Enterprise Academy will support this.
Developing partnership arrangements
with a range of other providers to
grow our business and widen our
expertise and ability to be flexible
and responsive is an essential
development to meet changing
funding and adult skill demands
of the future.
All of the development to support
the needs of the district and county
will need to be carried out with
significant reductions in government
funding for both young people and
adults (including higher education
provision). The College will, however,
continue to offer high quality
education and training to support
our local economy, even within
these difficult financial constraints.
We will ensure that every aspect
of our college provides value for
money, including exploring new
ways of working to realise efficiencies,
while also ensuring we achieve
our sustainability targets.
There is strong evidence
to suggest that accessing employment and remaining in
work can have a major impact on health and well-being.
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Demographic Changes
A major challenge that faces the
College is the change in the regional
demographic profile. The number
of school leavers in Easington District
is set to fall in the next five years.
However, the number of people
in the county as a whole is set to
see a 0.9% increase by 2026 to a
population of 501,600. The schoolaged cohort (5 to 15 year olds) is
expected to be 8.5% lower in 2026
than the 2008 figure. The workingage population (16 to 64 year olds)
is also expected to decline by 12.9%
in the same period. In comparison,
the retirement age group (65+
year olds) will be 47.9% bigger by
2026.1 These demographic changes
will affect our curriculum offer and
marketing strategy.
The College’s Student
Population
The most recent academic year
for which all student data is available
is 2014/15. The following data shows
the four-year trend of enrolment data
of students on substantial courses
broken down by 16 to 18 year olds
and those aged 19+.
2011/12
Age
group
No. of
learners
% Split
by age
16-18
2,385
54%
19+
2,015
46%
Total
4,400
Age
group
No. of
learners
% Split
by age
16-18
2,068
32%
19+
4,388
68%
Total
6,456
Age
group
No. of
learners
% Split
by age
16-18
1,723
34%
19+
3,280
66%
Total
5,003
Age
group
No. of
learners
% Split
by age
16-18
1,711
40%
19+
2,577
60%
4,288
2012/13
Education Attainment
Education attainment of 16-year
olds in County Durham has declined
in the last few years to around the
national average. At Key Stage
4, around 55% of young people
achieve five or more GCSEs
(including maths and English).
The proportion of young people who
make the progress expected of them
at this key stage is also in line with
the national average in English and
below the national average in maths.
Achievement at GCSE impacts on
the number of young people who
can then study at level 3. For those
that do achieve at GCSE and go
on to study at level 3, the County
attainment levels just exceed the
national averages for vocational
qualifications and are at the average
for academic qualifications.2
2013/14
2014/15
In the east of the County there are
six comprehensive schools teaching
circa 5,000 pupils. In East Durham
the proportion of children achieving
five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C
(including English and maths) is, at
58%, just above the county and the
national rate.2
Total
1
Source: Durham County Council, November 2010.
2
Source: DfE, Schools Key Stage 4 & 5 results.
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The College’s Strategic Aims
Key Strategic Aims
The following key strategic aims have
been developed to assist with the
realisation of the Vision and Strategy
for 2015–2016:
Strategic Aim 1
To develop a strong, vibrant
teaching and learning culture
that inspires our students and staff,
enables excellence and enhances
our reputation.
Strategic Aim 2
To develop and grow a viable,
innovative and responsive college
to ensure we achieve student and
funding number targets.
Strategic Aim 3
To develop the economic prosperity
of the Easington District and County
Durham.
Strategic Aim 4
To develop a highly skilled, innovative
and flexible workforce.
Strategic Aim 5
To promote, celebrate and respect
equality and diversity.
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Resourcing the
Strategic Plan
The College has produced regular
three-year financial forecasts with
detailed budgets for each year
of the plan. The forecast makes
assumptions with regard to income
and these assumptions will be
tested in light of policy changes.
Any reductions to income will
require a corresponding reduction
in expenditure.
Monitoring and
Implementation of the
Strategic Plan
The strategic targets which underpin
the plan will be monitored carefully
and will be the basis for team
development plans and individual
staff targets. Overall progress will
be reported annually to the Board
of Corporation.
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Creating Outstanding Futures
Peterlee Campus
Willerby Grove, Peterlee,
Co. Durham, SR8 2RN
Student Services
0191 518 8222
Houghall Campus
Houghall, Durham,
Co. Durham, DH1 3SG
Student Services
0191 375 4710
The Technical Academy
1 Palmer Road,
South West Industrial Estate,
Peterlee, Co. Durham SR8 2HU
Reception
0191 518 5577
eastdurham.ac.uk