2018/19 ANNUAL REPORT Loxton Campus Construction Training Centre Weston South West Bay Skills Campus Knightstone University Winter Campus Centre Gardens Weston Lauriston Hotel Contents Welcome 16-18 curriculum Prison education page 2 page 10 page 28 Overview of the Weston College Group Adult and part-time provision Strategic partnership page 4 page 12 page 29 A catalyst for regeneration Apprenticeships Impact on students page 6 page 14 page 34 The resources to deliver for the region Special educational needs and Impact on employers page 8 disabilities page 36 page 16 The year in headlines Law and Professional Services Academy page 38 page 18 The year in numbers University Centre Weston page 40 page 20 Corporation Blended learning page 42 page 22 Contact us Forward Futures Limited page 44 page 23 Inspirational Events and Investments page 24 Winter Gardens Community Board page 26 2 1 Welcome Weston College Our recent campus capital investments Ambition must remain paramount and There is no doubt that there will be further As the new Chair no longer have this luxury. With the new has had an have included the South West Skills we have continued to refine staffing challenges, but they in turn will bring of Governors capital facilities now completed, even exceptional Centre, opened by HRH the Princess structures, appointing and retaining the opportunities to ensure we can deliver for the Weston more opportunities are available for our year delivering Royal, alongside new centres for very best staff in the field. Our work the very best academic, technical and College Group, I learner population and, simultaneously, teaching, learning construction, and health and sport to with key employers, including NHS, vocational education to all who study and have pleasure in this College continues to win national and training to complement state-of-the-art resources MoD, GKN, Airbus, Rolls Royce, Wessex train with us. commending the and regional awards, including Centres thousands of spread across five campuses. Water, MoJ and many others, must be 2018/19 Annual of Excellence, emphatically proving that learners and sustained and built upon. Partnerships Our multifaceted imperatives – academic, Report to you. growth does not compromise quality at local, regional ‘Creating Brighter Futures’ remains our with our HE partners - UWE Bristol, Bath social, cultural, transformational and Weston College! and national strapline and indeed we do create a value- Spa University and Hartpury University economic - will provide impact to ensure It reflects a businesses. added environment for all who study or - alongside work with North Somerset we continue to create ‘Brighter Futures’ phenomenal set Looking forward, this College will engage with us. Council, the West of England Local for all who engage with us. of results endorsed by the Corporation, continue to advance with the learner at Our reputation has been built on Enterprise Partnership and the Combined who together act as the critical friend the heart of all it achieves. The Institute delivering unique and powerful solutions Our academic results place us at the Authority in the West of England, and scrutineer of strategy, finances, of Technology and the new Animal to skills needs, with quality teaching that top of the league tables and include reinforces our ambitions and excellence in curriculum and ethos of the organisation. Management facility at Puxton Park will has impact, alongside unique and trusted 31% first class honours, 99% A Level and training. This year we have been involved in a widen horizons yet again for our students partnerships that have influenced change vocational course success, alongside range of new initiatives and as a previous and businesses, enhancing the local and locally, regionally and nationally. major apprenticeship growth. This is in As I look back on a year which has Dr Paul Phillips, CBE; PhD; DLit; EdD governor of the College, I am thrilled by wider economy. As our reach grows, the addition to being awarded Centres for brought academic success and state- Principal and Chief Executive the partnership that has been developed importance of partnerships becomes Recognition of our success has come via Excellence in both Mathematics and SEND of-the-art resources to fruition, I must TES FE Leader of the Year across the Governing Body. increasingly relevant - the skills and the the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further by the Government and our bid as the thank everyone who has been part of this entrepreneurship of our partners are and Higher Education, two Beacon lead partner in an Institute of Technology, unique journey, where we have certainly The FE sector at present has unique highly valued as we share and merge our Awards and two TES Awards for Lifetime focussing on the digital agenda, being bucked the trend! The 2019/20 year must challenges and through the leadership of vision, and ethos on this journey. Achievement and Wellbeing. Add to that successful. now prioritise our work in innovation and our Principal and Chief Executive, Dr Paul a Teaching Excellence Framework of Gold curriculum development. It will prioritise Phillips, we have navigated a course that The higher we climb, the better the view - and Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ rating and we These results reflect the dedication of my our skills delivery at all levels, including has enabled us to be a leading light in our a view that will be enhanced by sharing it have an extremely sound basis to further staff and governing body. Their support our new Prison Education contracts delivery and associated quality. with our colleagues and partners alike. advance profile and reputation. is unwavering. We face a significant lack in the South East of England and the of investment from Government, but have advancement of the West of England The approach of adaptability, agility, I look forward to working with you. still navigated choppy waters to achieve Institute of Technology. and financial prudence, has ensured that results that surpass local provision. this College is still the master of its own Andrew Leighton-Price destiny, recognising that many colleges Chair of Governing Body 2 3 Weston College Group Weston College is a general college of further and higher University Centre Weston (UCW) offers more than 40 courses Forward Futures Limited is the College Group’s in-house education in Weston-super-Mare, delivering education and across a number of vocational and academic subject areas. recruitment agency. It provides high calibre associates to the vocational training to students aged 14 and above. It is UCW delivers the courses in partnership with Bath Spa Weston College Group and its key services, such as offender regarded as one of the top further education colleges in the University, UWE Bristol and Hartpury University. UCW is rated learning. Forward Futures is often the first step for applicants UK, and is the only college in the West of England to be rated ‘Gold’ in the Teaching Excellence Framework, meaning the interested in beginning a career with the College, either on a ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. The College provides education to learning, teaching and outcomes it provides for students are cover/supply or longer assignment basis. approximately 30,000 learners across the UK. of the highest quality in Britain. Inspirational Events and Investments Limited is a subsidiary Weston College’s Offender Learning Services is a top- company of the Weston College Group. It runs the Winter performing provider of offender and detainee learning. The Gardens Pavilion, Lasseter’s restaurant, the Florentine bistro, service is recognised for its excellent teaching, learning and and the Lauriston Hotel. The company was incorporated in assessment; the positive outcomes it achieves for learners; March 2017 and has already made a significant contribution to and its partnership approach to business planning, which the regeneration of Weston-super-Mare. ensures that the curriculum meets learners’ and employers’ needs. 4 5 A catalyst for regeneration As a further and higher education and developed in close consultation with environment’ to support maths learning keynote speaker at the SEND Association education institutions will ensure the West T Levels training provider, Weston College Group local employers: the Health and Active is being implemented across the of Colleges (AoC) Conference on of England continues to lead the way in The College is at the forefront of the recognises the contribution it makes to Living Skills Centre offers a range of network. The centre is also engaging December 10th 2019, with the SEND team terms of technical education, responding technical education reforms being driven the regeneration of North Somerset and health, life sciences and active living- with national trials linked to motivation carrying out a workshop on mental health to key sectors of economic growth and by central Government. Weston College the wider area. related programmes and the Construction and engagement as well as new thinking and wellbeing. potential skills shortage. Development will pilot the first T Level pathways from Training Centre specialises in construction around how technology and how data of the new Institute will take place September 2020. A key element of the T North Somerset is a diverse area, with plant, scaffolding and groundworks. A can be used by practitioners to promote New routes in curriculum throughout the next two years ready for Level framework is an extended industry coastal, urban and market towns and rural further project, the Animal Management maths improvement. It is expected As part of our continued drive to make September 2021. placement. The College successfully villages. Generally, it is prosperous, with an Education Centre, is due to open in that the work of the centre will not education more accessible to all, we trialled industry placements in 2018/19 increasing population, but has five LSOAs January 2020. only improve post-16 maths outcomes widened our community outreach Data and success with a range of employers across a (Lower-layer Super Output Areas) within at the College but will also support programmes and successfully launched It has been another successful year number of industry sectors.