CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE Annual Report 2019
INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. WELCOME
Thank you for taking the time to read our Annual Report. Thank you to all our students, staff, governors and partners The report outlines our performance against our strategic for their hard work, inspiration, innovation and success and plan, 2020 Vision – Leading for Excellence in Education we look forward to developing a new vision for Cambria & Skills, as we continued to focus on building on the from 2020. resounding success of Cambria since its formation.
Notable successes in 2019 include the £21m re-development of Cambria’s Yale Site and the community Hub at Llysfasi, taking the investment on modern buildings for learners and apprentices since the merger to almost £60m. We maintained our place amongst the top A Level providers in the UK with an overall 99% pass rate and our HE provision continued to grow rapidly, heavily steered by employers and in partnership with sector leading Universities.
WorldSkills was again a source of pride, where at the annual WorldSkills UK Show in Birmingham in November we won seven medals, were highly commended in two categories finishing fourth in the overall league table and number one in Wales. In addition to this success, the 10-strong Wales shortlist for the WorldSkills finals in Shanghai in 2021, features 5 Cambria learners. Chief Executive Chair of the Governors Yana Williams John Clutton Looking forward, we want the college to be seen as one of the best in the UK for its quality, its innovation, its kindness and its understanding of employers and communities. This will drive outstanding quality and support the college to be financially sustainable which in turn we can use to reinvest so that we are strong enough to weather future challenges.
02 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. PEOPLE
People
At the beginning of the year, Great Places to Work conducted a staff engagement survey on our behalf. Corporate Strategy Career Great Places to Work benchmark the results against Social and Direction Development other UK public sector organisations as well as against Responsiblity what they define as the UK’s ‘Best Super Large Workplaces’ - companies such as Adobe, Hilton and 77% 82% 85% Britvic.
We are very pleased that the overall results show that there are very high levels of staff engagement at Coleg The main areas of strength were identified as follows: Cambria which far exceed the levels in other colleges and public sector organisations across the UK. Strategy and Direction - 77% (+33% above UK national average and +2% above BSLW)
In July the college was awarded the eight place in Career Development - 82% the Super-Large category of the Best Workplaces (+26% above UK national average and +6% above BSLW) for Women list, alongside leading companies Gap, Admiral Group and Deloitte. Chosen because Corporate Social Responsiblity - 85% of its support of employees on maternity leave, (+22% above UK national average and +4% above BSLW) commitment to closing the gender pay gap, training schemes, and the number of women in senior leadership positions, Cambria was the only further education institution among the 55 ranked organisations.
INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 03 EMPLOYER OF CHOICE
People
ACTIVE CAMBRIA ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS (ROSPA) PRESIDENT’S AWARD Active Cambria continued to support the college’s vision to engage all staff and students and encourage them to become active, healthy and mindful.
During 2019 Active Cambria offered free fitness, wellness and health activities and advice days to everyone at the college, engaging and supporting our staff and students to change any bad habits into good ones. Both students and staff prospered from the opportunities given to them, such as reduced blood pressure, increased confidence, improved emotional development and weight loss.
Once again in 2019 we were awarded the ROSPA President’s Award at gold standard for outstanding Health and Safety Management.
The President’s Award recognizes organisations who have achieved the gold standard for 10 consecutive years and not only maintained the standard, but clearly demonstrated year on year improvements.
Active Cambria also offered students hands on experience to develop themselves and their CVs through coaching opportunities, Duke of Edinburgh, various coaching awards, volunteering in the community and Erasmus plus projects.
04 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. CELEBRATING STAFF COMMITMENT People
We celebrated and recognised the commitment of staff who have worked at the college for a large number of years as well as staff who have given over and above their job roles to ensure that our students are equipped with the skills and knowledge to succeed.
Eleven individual staff awards and two team awards were presented in the categories of Achievement, Customer Service, Diversity, Leadership and Innovation. Seventeen colleagues also received long service awards for 25 years service.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
The staff at the Toybox Nursery were given a team award for their excellent customer focus both during and following a fire that happened a the nursery in June.
They evacuated the children safely and effectively on the day of the fire and worked as a team to establish a temporary nursery at the Deeside 6th during the summer period ensuring that the children were settled and happy. They also worked together after hours and at weekends The Toybox Nursery Team towards the end of the refurbishment project to ensure that the nursery was ready for use in September.
LEADERSHIP Angharad Jarvis - Hospitatility and Catering
ACHIEVEMENT Sadie Thackaberry - Animal Care
INNOVATION Mark Davies - Construction
INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 05 TEACHING & LEARNING
Throughout 2019 the college continued to invest in and develop excellent teaching and learning.
In July we held a Teaching and Learning Conference for our staff with Geoff Petty, one of the UK’s leading experts on teaching methods as our keynote speaker.
We also appointed seventeen Teaching and Learning Mentors to support and develop the quality of teaching and learning within their directorate to share examples, new ideas and strategies relating to best practice.
A Higher Education Conference was held aimed at building on the work of last year in developing the HE Ethos for Coleg Cambria.
INSPIRE TUTOR AWARD
Essential skills tutor Pam Mclean won an Inspire Tutor Award for supporting victims of childhood abuse and domestic violence.
Pam Mclean runs an essential skills course with a charity, helping women from all across North Wales to overcome barriers through learning, and says she’s constantly inspired by their stories of survival.
06 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. Customer STUDENT VOICE PARENT SURVEY
In 2019 students were given excellent opportunities to The parent survey in Autumn 2019 shows that develop their citizenship and leadership skills through parents are very satisfied with Coleg Cambria Cambria’s learner voice process, by representing their as an education provider for their children. The classmates, taking part in the student parliament, vast majority, 98%, of parents/carers are satisfied regular campus councils and becoming student overall and 97% would recommend the college. leaders as presidents and student governors.
Students worked with tutors and managers to discuss topical issues concerning them and to further develop say their son/daughter the experience for all learners across all sites and all is expected to work hard types of learning, including learners in the community 99% Parents or and do their best and work based learners and learners studying higher Carers education courses.
say their son/daughter 97% is learning new skills Parents or STUDENT Carers SURVEYS positive response rate about the high quality of Student surveys in 2019 indicate very strong learner 96% the learning opportunities satisfaction with their course and the college as their provider:
95% 87% 90% satisfaction satisfaction satisfaction
Work based FE students School Links learners learners
INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 07 WORLDSKILLS
Twenty one students from Cambria were invited to the The college’s strong team of contenders, thanks to its national finals of the annual WorldSkills UK Show in prominent industry links and business partnerships, won Birmingham in November 2019 to represent Wales. seven medals, were highly commended in two categories and finished fourth in the overall league table and number one in Wales. We also had judges and training managers Sam Darby-Moorhouse installed within WorldSkills, plus a growing team of scrutineers in Construction Metalwork, Manufacturing, Electrical Installation, CNC Milling and Beauty.
Oliver Artell-Bolland
Carwyn Roberts
Charles Samson
Jessica Bruce Ben Simcox
08 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. Customer
Coleg Cambria Medalists SHANGHAI 2021 Coleg Cambria will compete for places GOLD Jessica Bruce Hairdressing at the ‘Skills Olympics’ in Shanghai next year. Carwyn Roberts SILVER CNC Milling Airbus Six of our learners have made the Long Squad for Worldskills. SILVER Sam Darby-Moorhouse Graphic Design The list is made up of 137 apprentices BRONZE David Duncan Welding who will now join the event’s talent programme to try to secure a place on Charles Samson Manufacturing Team the team that will represent the UK at BRONZE Magellan Aerospace Challenge the prestigious skills contest.
James Blackwell Manufacturing Team David Davies (Raytheon) BRONZE Magellan Aerospace Challenge Aeronautical Engineering: Mechanical
Ben Simcox (Raytheon) Nathan Griffiths Manufacturing Team BRONZE Aeronautical Engineering: Mechanical Magellan Aerospace Challenge Carwyn Roberts (Airbus) HIGHLY Oliver Artell-Bolland Sheet Metalwork CNC Milling COMMENDED Charles Samson (Magellan Aerospace) HIGHLY Gareth Butler CNC Milling Manufacturing Team Challenge COMMENDED Airbus Tom Williamson (Lloyd Morris Engineering) Electrical Installation
Emily Jones Restaurant Service
Coleg Cambria 2019 WorldSkills Team
INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 09 HIGHER EDUCATION
Customer
During 2019 we continued to work in close collaboration with local and regional employers to identify new HE programmes that meet the needs of the North Wales economy including Offender Management, Social and Criminal Justice, Animal Management, Health and Social Care, Creative Media and Sound Engineering.
We have invested tens of millions of pounds into state-of- the-art facilities and sites for higher level learning and our partners now include some of the best universities in the UK with sector leading specialisations.
In May we had a very successful Gateway Quality Review of our Higher Education provision which was carried out by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). The published report stated that “there can be confidence that academic standards are reliable, meet UK requirements, and are reasonably comparable”.
The 2019 HE Learner Survey results showed an overall improvement on 2018 in every question area and compared very well to the national survey outcomes with an ‘Overall Satisfaction’ rate of 87%.
10 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. WORKING WITH EMPLOYERS
Society
EXCELLENT RESULTS IN MARKETING COURSES
All of the 14 learners who followed The Chartered Institute of Marketing courses at the Business School received passes with distinction.
The CIM also lauded the college for the excellent results our Professional Marketing learners achieved in the course’s rigorous Digital Marketing module.
GOLD STATUS FOR OUR NEBOSH COURSES
We became the first and only FE provider in the UK to receive gold status accreditation from Nebosh (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) by demonstrating that we have ‘greatly exceeded’ their learning excellence principles and are fully committed to ensuring that our courses offer the best learner experience.
Our health and safety qualifications, delivered at our Business School in Northop, are tailored to match the needs of industry partners giving employers the confidence that they will receive a first-class service.
INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 11 SUPPORTING THE ECONOMY
Society
In 2019 we continued to work at the heart of the community and economy, building aspirations and skills and aiming to make a significant contribution to the economic growth of the region. We worked extensively with local and national employers to enrich our students’ experience and provide the higher-level skills workforce employers need to enable further growth of the area.
TATA STEEL BRYN WILLIAMS ACADEMY We worked with Tata Steel to deliver an NVQ Foundation Apprenticeship programme in Manufacturing enabling the staff at their Shotton production facility to gain the appropriate training and competencies to work efficiently, effectively and safely in their roles. 31 members of staff successfully completed the qualification and received their certificates at a special ceremony at the steelmaking company’s Flintshire-based operation.
WESTBRIDGE FURNITURE
Our groundbreaking food academy, created in partnership with esteemed chef Bryn Williams, welcomed its first student. Callum Jones, a former pupil at Connah’s Quay High School is now studying a Level 2 qualification in Catering and Hospitality at the college while gaining valuable experience with Bryn and the team at his Porth Eirias restaurant in Colwyn Bay – crowned AA Restaurant of the Year for Wales – and Odette’s in Primrose Hill, London.
We launched an innovative partnership with one of the UK’s top furniture makers to develop a special Traineeship Scheme. Participants share their time between the college, where they are taught basic employability skills such as time-keeping, teamwork and health and safety, and on placement at Westbridge to gain first hand experience of the sector and company values.
12 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. CHARITY
Society
During 2019 we launched a new brand name and approach for our charity, volunteering and fundraising activities as Calon which translates to ‘heart’, and adopted the British Heart Foundation as our charity of the year.
ONE UNFORGETTABLE DAY On GCSE results day in August we paid for the cost of running all the charity’s UK call centres for 24 hours on GCSE results day. We donated £30,000 to A number of creative and physically challenging tasks Childline’s One Unforgettable Day appeal – having took place across all Cambria sites and beyond including raised £115,000 for NSPCC Cymru/Wales last year – marathons, hiking challenges, gruelling bike rides, bake- and chose the landmark date given its importance to offs, bag packing, and many more. teenagers and their families all over the country.
INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 13 FUTURE GENERATIONS
Society
In February we launched our Future Generations Plan which supports the Well-being of Future Generation Act (Wales) 2015 and aligns our values, purpose and strategy with the needs of our learners, employees, local employers, other customers, suppliers and the wider community. The plan includes a number of well- being goals to enhance and develop the number of community partnership activities involving staff and learners and increase the number of charitable events.
A prosperous Wales - An innovative, productive and low carbon society which recognises the limits of the global environment and therefore uses resources eciently and proportionately (including acting on In the summer term the Future Generations Commissioner climate change); and which develops a skilled and well-educated population in for Wales, Sophie Howe visited the college and met with FUTURE an economy which generates wealth and provides employment opportuni- ties, allowing people to take advantage sixth form learners. She paid tribute to Coleg Cambria of the wealth generated through GENERATIONS securing decent work for its commitment to improving the lives of staff and PLAN A resilient Wales - students. A nation which maintains and Coleg Cambria’s approach to social responsibility is driven by enhances a biodiverse natural an appreciation of the need to balance our organisational environment with healthy priorities within the 2020 Vision against social, environmental, functioning ecosystems that Speaking at the Senedd in Cardiff, Alyn and Deeside cultural and economic responsibilities. Our Future Generation support social, economic and Plan is underpinned by the seven well-being goals as detailed ecological resilience and the Assembly member Jack Sargeant praised our plan below, which originate from ‘The Well-being of Future capacity to adapt to change (for Generations Act (Wales) 2015’. In essence, we all have an example climate change) active role and a responsibility to ensure that ‘Wales is the and progress made following the Welsh Government’s country we want it to be now and in the future’. A healthier Wales - A society in which people’s physical Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (Wales) 2015. This is a new plan that aligns our values, purpose and strategy and mental well-being is maximised with the needs of our learners, employees, local employers, and in which choices and other customers, suppliers and the wider community. It brings behaviours that benefit future together excellent current and previous practice across the health are understood college, to provide a strong foundation on which to grow and diversify our work to support future generations. A more equal Wales - A society that enables people to fulfil their potential no matter what “There are lots of organisations across Wales their background or circumstances (including their socio economic doing some fantastic work, including Coleg background and circumstances). A globally Cambria in my own constituency. They have responsible A prosperous A Wales of cohesive community - Wales Wales Attractive, viable, safe and created their own future generations plan even well-connected communities. A Wales of though they don’t have to. I think they clearly vibrant culture A Wales of vibrant culture and and thriving thriving Welsh language - recognise the importance of the Act and the Welsh A resilient A society that promotes and Language Wales protects culture, heritage and the opportunities it presents.” Welsh language, and which encourages people to participate in the arts, and sports and recreation. A Wales of cohesive communities A healthier Wales A globally responsible Wales - Jack Sargeant A nation which, when doing anything to improve the economic, A more equal Alyn and Deeside AM social, environmental and cultural Wales well-being of Wales, takes account of whether doing such a thing may make a positive contribution to global well-being.
14 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. WELSH LANGUAGE
Society
LEARN WELSH AWARDS
In 2019 we continued to successfully deliver a range of Welsh for Adults courses in the counties of Flintshire, Wrexham and Denbighshire in partnership with Popeth Cymraeg on behalf of the National Centre for Learning Welsh.
SUCCESS AT THE URDD NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD
Welsh for Adults learner, Francesca Elena Sciarrillo from Mold won the coveted Learners Medal at the National One of the highlights was our first Awards Ceremony where Urdd Eisteddfod in Cardiff. learners were recognized for their achievements in learning Welsh. They were hosted by S4C TV presenter Nia Parry, In third place was another of our young Welsh for Adults who highlighted the importance of learning the Welsh learners, Molly Evans who is in her last year studying language and emphasised the hard work, commitment and Modern Foreign Languages at Chester University. achievement of both students and tutors.
AMBASSADORS We appointed three ambassadors in partnership with the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to help promote bilingual skills within our Further Education and Work Based Learning programmes. The scheme was officially launched by the Minister for Welsh and International Relations, Eluned Morgan AM, at the National Eisteddfod in August.
INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 15 CELEBRATING STUDENT SUCCESS
Performance
Our Annual Student Awards saw more than 60 learners Overall Award Winners presented with trophies for outstanding achievement. Headlined by BBC broadcaster and commentator Adult Learner of the Year Paul Lennon Jason Mohammad, the event was also attended by staff and representatives from the many organisations and industry leaders that work in partnership with Cambria FE Student of the Year Jasmin Burns throughout the year.
HE Student of the Year Melissa Molyneux
“My course has been really good as I have been Special Award for Academic Edan Jackson able to attend work placements, I have met Excellence lots of different people and I have had amazing support from all the staff. The evening was Joshua Barnett Apprentice of the Year special, it was amazing to be recognised for my Kelloggs hard work.” Duke of Edinburgh Award Caitlin Hardman Jasmin Burns Student of the Year Childcare Student of the Year
16 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. LEARNER SUCCESS RATES
Performance
Further Education Apprenticeship Achieving excellent learner success rates for all provision. Success Success Rate Rate Coleg Cambria is committed to excellence in teaching and learning and the Welsh Government validated data shows how well our 84% 84% learners are achieving.
A LEVEL RESULTS
We maintained our place among the top colleges in the UK with an outstanding overall A level pass rate of 99%.
Six students went to study at Oxford or Cambridge universities, eleven progressed on to degrees in Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science, and 34 learners received straight A*s and A grades.
Meanwhile, AS students managed an overall pass rate of 92% and there was another outstanding performance in the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge, a near perfect 99.9%.
99% 99.9% 100% Overall in Welsh Pass Rate in Pass Rate Baccalaureate 26 subjects
INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 17 FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Performance
The college is funded mainly through grants from public sources and is audited to maintain 6% Other Operating Income accountability and value for money. £4,047,000
Coleg Cambria will build on its strong financial position in order to retain the top financial health categorisation 4% Other Grant Income of ‘OUTSTANDING’. This enables us to invest £2,247,000 significantly in our people, physical resources and to provide outstanding learning opportunities, support 7% Income and facilities for our students. Tuition Fees £4,585,000 Analysis 2018 - 2019 15% Work Based Learning Earnings before £9,373,000 Interest, Tax, Depreciation and EBITDA as % 68% Amortisation (EBITDA) of Total Income Welsh Gov. Grant £42,775,000 £5,352k 8.44% (2017/18 £6,969k) (2017/18 11.23%) 2% Interest & Pension Finance Costs £1,166,000
Annual 6% Depreciation turnover was £3,929,000 Expenditure We employ over £63 Analysis 28% 2018 - 2019 1,300 million Other Operating staff across teaching Expenses £17,869,000 areas and business support functions 64% Sta Costs £41,191,000
18 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. ESTATES STRATEGY
Performance
Since 2013 we have developed a clear and effective Estate Strategy which provides a dynamic programme Yale Turf Cutting of change aimed at improving the quality of our accommodation and resources. We have launched an ambitious programme to support the development and improvement of the college using leading edge technology to facilitate new learning styles and meet business needs.
In March 2019 work began on the £21m re-development of Cambria’s Yale Site. The new facilities include a three-storey complex equipped with the latest digital technology, a 200-seat conference hall, new training kitchens and restaurant, a cutting-edge study space, a revolutionary sports space and IT suites. Yale Development We also secured £1m towards a £1.2m community hub development at Llysfasi with construction beginning in September.
“Coleg Cambria plays such a pivotal role in Wrexham and north east Wales.
“Having already invested heavily in their Bersham Road campus, the ambitious plans outlined for the college’s Yale site will create modern, state- of-the-art facilities that will be amongst the best in the country.”
Lesley Griffiths AM for Wrexham
Llysfasi Development
INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED. ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 19 GOVERNANCE
The Coleg Cambria Board of Governors continues to follow the Nolan principles and implement the Code of Good Governance for Colleges in Wales.
FIVE NEW GOVERNORS JOINED THE BOARD IN 2019
Tim Williams, Sports and Public Services Tim Williams Alice Thelwell lecturer and Alice Thelwell, Marketing Officer were both appointed as Staff Governors in February.
In Septemebr two of our HE students were appointed as Student Governors. Ryan Cawsey works as a Quality Engineer for Magellan Aerospace and is studying for a part time Degree course in Engineering at Deeside and Melissa Molyneux is a Commercial Aerospace Apprentice at Airbus and is studying towards her sponsored Business Management degree, Ryan Cawsey Melissa Molyneux in partnership with Swansea University at Cambria Business School in Northop.
Louise Gatenby, CEO of The Good Board, an ethical leadership consultancy, joined as a Business Member in December. Louise has over 25 years of leadership, advisory and executive search experience and will be an asset to the Board.
Louise Gatenby
20 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 INSPIRE. INNOVATE. SUCCEED.