Frequently asked questions

Following our recent announcement on 30 August 2019 that Easton and Otley College (EOC), City College (CCN) and New College (SNC) are conducting a public consultation on a proposal to merge on 1 January 2020, we want to provide you with answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.

If you have any further queries which arise over the coming weeks, please do not hesitate to contact us ([email protected]). Our consultation process aims to be as transparent, meticulous and detailed as possible so as to ensure everyone is informed and given their chance to have their say about key developments.

What is a merger?

A merger is the combining of two or more organisations. In this case, what is proposed is the transfer of the Otley Campus business to and the Easton Campus business to , enabling us to create two resilient organisations that are financially sustainable and serve their local communities by offering high quality education including land-based specialist education and training both in and Suffolk.

Subject to this public consultation process and to legal and financial due diligence studies, it is proposed that Easton and Otley College will merge with City College Norwich (Easton Campus) and Suffolk New College (Otley Campus) through what is known as a Type B merger, with the Corporation of Easton and Otley College being disbanded as a legal body (a process known as “dissolution”) and with its assets, rights and liabilities transferring to City College Norwich and Suffolk New College respectively.

Why are these Colleges merging?

Together the Colleges can combine their complementary strengths and offer a wider, richer range of academic, technical and professional opportunities to 16-18 school leavers, adults, higher education students and the business community in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Furthermore, in recent years, pressure on the public purse has meant that colleges have had to think more creatively about how they provide the best value for money. Easton and Otley College has successfully managed the impact of budget cuts to date but it is clear that pressure on funding is likely to increase. This proactive, forward-thinking merger gives the new organisation the opportunity to shape in a positive way the future of specialist land-based education and skills.

What is a consultation?

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A consultation is the action of formally discussing a proposal with key audiences. Consultation provides a two-way flow of information and opinion and will be used as an opportunity for all three Colleges to understand the views from different groups about our ideas.

We would like to receive feedback on our proposal by those it will affect directly and indirectly. Opinions from staff, students, parents, prospective students, employers, business community and ‘friends’ of the Colleges will help to shape the merger process.

What form will the consultation take?

Consultations take many forms. We want to gather as much information and opinion as possible and to this end we are holding briefings with staff and students as well as writing directly to students, parents, new applicants, employers, the local community and key stakeholders. You can also complete a questionnaire to provide a response to the consultation. Please see details below.

The Principals will also be available to meet stakeholders and members of the public as set out below.

Easton Campus Otley Campus Date Time Date Time Tuesday 3rd September 13:00-18:00 Friday 6th September 08:00-13:00 Wednesday 11th September 13:00-18:00 Tuesday 10th September 13:00-18:00 Thursday 19th September 08:00-13:00 Tuesday 17th September 14:30-18:00 Wednesday 25th September 08:00-13:00 Tuesday 24th September 13:00-18:00 City College Norwich Suffolk New College Date Time Date Time Thursday 5th September 08:00-13:00 Wednesday 11th September 13:00-18:00 Friday 27th September 13:00-18:00 Thursday 19th September 08:00-13:00

In addition there will be other opportunities to meet the Principals to discuss the proposed merger and a link to these additional dates can be found here on the merger consultation website.

Please note, the public consultation period is to run from 12 noon on Friday 30 August 2019 and will end at midnight on Tuesday 1 October 2019.

How will the merger affect students?

It will be ‘business as usual’ for students and the course offer will remain as currently planned at the three Colleges for our current students and for prospective students enrolling in September 2019. 2

The merger proposals will allow students to choose from an impressive range of courses which provide the highest standards of teaching and learning.

We will, of course, give students every opportunity to share their views on our proposal during the consultation period because we want this venture to benefit them.

How will the merger affect staff?

As part of the consultation process and the process of merging EOC into CCN and SNC there are a range of decisions yet to be made on how the combined Colleges will operate, including staffing levels. Some staff efficiencies will be made as part of the merger process. These decisions will be made in consultation with staff, managers, board members and the unions and communicated to all the parties concerned in due course.

The emphasis is to improve the range of quality education and training available to students and employers, all of which could provide further opportunities for existing staff.

How will this affect the Colleges’ partners?

All three Colleges enjoy extensive partnership links with schools, other colleges, universities and local industry and employers.

Working through these important partnerships helps us to ensure we can meet the needs of industry, our local authorities and current and future students. We aim to continue to develop and improve relationships with our many partners and believe the two merged Colleges will help us achieve more with effective use of our resources.

How will this affect the community?

By continuing to operate in the existing locations ie at the Easton Campus in Norfolk and the Otley Campus in Suffolk, we think there will a great many advantages for our communities and we have set these out on page 21 of our consultation document as follows:

Benefits – employers • Makes optimum use of staff, expertise, resources and links to employers • Delivers on the Economic Strategy, the relevant sector skills plans and the • emerging Local Industrial Strategy

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• Increasing the scale of Apprenticeship delivery by widening the offer and increasing provision across Norfolk and Suffolk.

Benefits – our communities • Broadening the curriculum offer to the Norfolk and Suffolk community • Building on the ability to respond to employer skills needs across Norfolk and Suffolk with the full range of skills provision • Reducing the net outflow of students from our communities

In brief this proposal is designed to provide a financially resilient future for post-16 land- based learning in Norfolk and Suffolk for the benefit of young people and employers in the area

We do, of course, welcome feedback on the proposal from local residents and community groups and look forward to working closely with our local communities to gather their views.

What are the proposed names of the merged Colleges?

The formal name of the two merged organisations as a whole will remain as ‘Norwich City College of Further and Higher Education’ and ‘Suffolk New College’. However, for the two EOC sites we intend to use the names ‘’ for the Norfolk campus at Easton and ‘Otley Campus’ for the Suffolk Campus at Otley.

What is the timeline?

This public consultation began on Friday 30 August 2019 and closes at midnight on Tuesday 1 October 2019 for the proposed merger on 1 January 2020.

Any responses, together with other information, will be given full consideration and feedback on the consultation will be summarised in a report at the end of the process and published on our website (www.eocmerger.co.uk) by no later than 31 October 2019.

Who takes the final decision?

The final decision on merger rests with the Corporations (ie the governing bodies) of each of the three existing Colleges.

How can I have my say?

We want to hear your views. The consultation period will give you - as a staff member, student, parent, new applicant, employer or local resident - the opportunity to share your thoughts with us.

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Please submit your responses by completing the questionnaire which can be accessed via the following link:

www.eocmerger.co.uk

Or write to us c/o FOUR Agency, Hill House, 20 Hill House Road, Norwich NR1 4BE

Or email us at: [email protected]

All responses must be received by midnight on Tuesday 1 October 2019.

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