A truly great college – passionate about success

Candidate Brief

For the position of:

Chief Operating Officer

Barking & Dagenham College

November 2014

Overview from the Principal

Introduction

I have been Principal at Barking & Dagenham College since September 2008 and the key driver for my acceptance of this privileged yet challenging role, was the college’s people and its product – the potentially outstanding technical and vocational curriculum that the college has to offer local people. I passionately believe, and I have extensive experience of how, colleges can powerfully transform the lives of people. I have worked in five other large London colleges where, without exception, good leadership has enabled staff to give personal best performances for their students, enabling and empowering them to gain the skills to secure economic independence.

Since my arrival we have been on a journey from Good to Great , focused as One Team, with One Plan and One Goal, to become – A truly Great College : passionate about success. People leadership, shared values that drive our behaviours, and clarity and consistency in our messages about where we are going and how we will get there, have been the key ingredients in transforming the culture and the way we do things at the College . Our Behaviours Foster Excellence, and enable us to Work Together, to Role Model Our Values and to Deliver Results for Our Learners, Our Employers and Our People.

Barking & Dagenham College serves 12,500 students across the sub region, and in partnership with others, we offer local people and employers outstanding technical and vocational training opportunities, with direct routes into apprenticeships, employment and higher education. Our entrepreneurial ethos and Real Work for students, with consistently good quality and a great reputation, are our hallmarks. Students at the Centre and Customers First is our ethos. Real Work training opportunities for our learners, is our USP. We have a student Talent Bank managed by our POD Team (Pitch on Demand) with extensive personal development and employment experiences , all designed to develop our students T-shaped skills, develop their confidence, competence and employment readiness. These are the key messages that I have debated and shared and role modelled with Team BDC, on our journey, from Good to Great.

We have 3,500 young people studying with us, 420 of whom are 14-16 from three London Boroughs. We deliver 700+ apprenticeships annually, and in 2013-14 we now have an additional 100 Higher Level apprenticeships. We have our own Apprenticeship Training Company, as well as our own apprentices.

Our curriculum map has breadth with diverse routes into learning, including training of engineering apprentices for Fords, Mechatronics Engineers for Siemens, Bakers for Morrisons and various construction craft technicians, plumbers, and site managers & surveyors for several constructions companies including Vinci, MacAlpine & Laing O’Rourke to name a few. We have strategic vocational specialisms from level 3 and above within the Construction and Engineering industries, the Creative Digital & Services industries and the Care, Health & Applied Science industries. In addition we have a strategic specialism in professional services that is offered across a number of sectors, with 100 Higher Level Apprenticeships in professional services. The college is part of a National Skills Academy in Food & Drink Manufacturing with 2 training restaurants open to the public. These are known as Chefs Hat 1 and Chefs Hat 2. The college’s refectory, in which we employ our own student apprentices, caters for our large student body on a daily basis. We work with external partners who deliver with us from our Green Technology Centre in sustainable construction and engineering as well as partners who deliver in fibre optic data cabling operating from our main campus. Technical Theatre and Performing Arts students are training within the commercial environment of the Barking Broadway Theatre and Automotive & Motor Vehicle are trained within the Garage at London Road.

Other exemplar academies exist across the college, particularly within our Public Services and Creative industries curriculum, in which we have a self-financing Enterprise Academy managed by the POD (Pitch On Demand) team of staff who work with students to create a talent bank and our students are commissioned and paid to engage in real work opportunities that run in tandem with their curriculum programme. These external and internal commercial opportunities offer real work opportunities within construction, photography, videography, design work, web design, floristry, catering, events management and stewarding. A legacy that continues within the college from each of our student groups is the involvement of our students through paid real work commissions, is to design part of the campus whenever the college modernises and refurbishes our campus. The college’s logo, reception, POD, iCreate@BDC facility, front of house, the building façade in the main campus at Rush Green, the refectory and many other aspects have been designed by our students.

Ofsted rated the college as Good in its overall effectiveness judgement in May 2013 with outstanding leadership, management & governance, outstanding support for students, excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship, good outcomes and good teaching, learning & assessment. A copy of this report is available on request and on the college’s website. The college’s facilities are among the best in the Country and since 2008 our campus has been transformed from a 20th Century institute into a modern community college with employers, students, the public and other external stakeholders using our facilities. Video is available on the website to take you on a tour through the college. There are 2 more areas that are due to be refurbished and the college recently won 2 Expressions of Interest bids to develop these areas, through the London Enterprise Panel (LEP).

In 2013/14 the college self-assessed overall as Good with Outstanding Leadership, Management and Governance. This was disappointing as we ought now to be Outstanding across the Board. However despite our upward trajectory in student success rates, and our apprenticeship success rates significantly above national averages, unfortunately in 2013/14 there was a “blip” in our 16-18 results especially at level 2. I am confident improvement plans are underway this year to redress that and continue the upward trajectory in this area. In the summer of 2015 we are scheduled to have a visit from the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) in order to complete a review of our Higher Education (HE) and we expect a very good assessment. Investors in People re-approved our people standards in 2013securing the Gold Mark standard for the college. Our Information, Advice & Guidance standards are also Matrix approved and Student Engagement Teams were highly commended. We were also awarded Investors in Diversity Stage 2 in January 2014.

All our leaders have been participating in a leadership development and cultural transformation programme. This is ongoing obviously, and has significantly enhanced their people skills to improve levels of motivation and improve team and individual performance. As a consequence we are a much more responsive organisation to all our stakeholder including our students and improvements within the organisation continue to yield.

In September 2012, the college opened a flagship Technical Skills Academy in Barking town centre, in partnership with the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham (LBBD). 550 young people under 19 study within the industry standard facilities at the Technical Skills Academy which opens up routes in technical learning to young people within the area and surrounding environment where an A level diet within the schools is dominant. LBBD funded this development in recognition of their sound partnership with the college and the college’s significant support for the growing younger population locally. Barking & Dagenham will have more 15 year olds by 2017 than any other Borough in the Country.

Partnership working is well established, integral and business critical to the college. We work very closely with many private, voluntary and public service organisations, according to our mutual business interests and business benefits. These include colleges, HEIs, voluntary and private training organisations, Job Centre Plus (a Job Centre is based in the college), other London Councils including LBBD, private training organisations that operate from the college, and of course partnership work to tap into other sources of revenue and/or capital funding. Currently the college is leading an 18 strong London FE College and other Provider contract to deliver English & Maths in the Workplace. We have worked hard and been successful in increasing our partnership and employer based work, which has been recognised in recent years by the Skills Funding Agency through increased employability contracts.

The Curriculum

The college offers a comprehensive curriculum from entry through to level 2 that has breadth of choice within most sector subject areas and a range that enables progression through to strategic vocational specialisms, higher level including professional qualifications. We have outstanding provision in our Care, Health & Early Learning, Food Studies and Applied Sciences provision. We have very good provision within our Creative Industries, Sports & Public Services, ICT, and Construction. Areas that continue to need improvement are Automotive Engineering, Painting & Decorating within Construction, and Business.

We see opportunities in partnership with others to develop specialisms in response to demand, technological advancement, and Government & London LEP skills priorities. Currently we have a Private Company delivering data communications from our campus this includes fibre optic cabling which many of our students and staff will gain this industry accreditation in. Our Siemens Mechatronics provision involves our staff having been trained and Siemens certified to deliver this offer which is growing. Our Electrical work is growing significantly as is our Digital Creative Industries.

The college offers over 600 technical and vocational education courses, from foundation to higher level skills.

Teaching, Training, Learning and Assessment

Teaching, Training, Learning and Assessment and the curriculum is the college’s core business. Our facilities are among the best in the country and whilst Ofsted and indeed employers recognise the college is “excellent in meeting local needs and ensuring that provision is readily accessible to learners”, there is still much still to do done.

Our Quality & Transforming Learning area is designed to ensure that all our staff are focussed in putting students and customers’ experiences at the heart of their work, by actively engaging in their own professional learning and development, through bespoke training, informal peer reviews, support from our advanced practitioners and participation in peer professional networks.

Student Motivation & Development

The college offers outstanding support for students as evidenced by Ofsted and other external awards. Our standing is to aim a “good enough for our own families” ethos and practice. Our approach with students is to signpost them to the appropriate service that will empower them to achieve their learning plans. The college is one of the few in the country to have invested in Motivational Dialogue Techniques, delivered through our tutorial strategy, by our Personal Coaches, and this is an entitlement to all students.

We have several success stories of students from areas of high deprivation and from groups traditionally not represented who have flourished as a result of their work with our Personal Coaches and/or our Opportunities Coaches. We have an enrichment programme, in consultation with the student union and other students that is responsive to the health & wellbeing as well as the interests of our students.

The following Student support services are available within the College:

• Careers Education and Guidance

• Information, Advice and Guidance

• Financial Advice and Support

• Counselling and Welfare Advice

• Learning Resources and Study Support

• Individual Mentoring

• Motivational Coaching

• Student Union Support.

The Student Union is run by students and its role is to support and organise activities and events, clubs and societies and it enhances the college’s enrichment curriculum activities.

There is a termly Governor-Student Forum.

Entrepreneurial Capabilities

The College also aspires to be an entrepreneurial college. We are one of 23 Gazelle colleges nationally. We try to prepare students for the 30-35 different types of work they will be involved in in their lifetime. We do this through our POD and Real Work opportunities for students as well as through national and regional competitions. Recently we have had students win the National Edge Competition, the National Pants to Poverty competition, we had one student group of entrepreneurs in the IDEA National final led by the Duke of York’s charity and all other finalists were commercial companies. We also have several students and student groups involved in regional and national competitions with success. We see the development of entrepreneurial capabilities and T-shaped skills, together with competitions internally and externally as enabling students to develop their holistic set of personal skills, sometimes referred to as “soft” skills. We view these so called “soft” skills as the hard skills that will take our students through various routes in life with success.

Quality and External Recognition

At our College, staff at all levels now show a strong commitment to embrace change and are focused on placing their students at the heart of all we do, to improve the quality of their experience and the curriculum provision. As a result, since September 2008, through attention to detail (notwithstanding the blip we had last year) as well as a transforming learning strategy, our success rates overall have risen from 67% in summer 2007, to 88% in 2014.

We have invested in improving the leadership and management skills of all staff through an inspirational change programme to increase our capacity for self- improvement by raising the skills of our teachers. We have facilitated greater responsibility and accountability at all levels and a more effective quality and equality assurance service to provide greater support to learners to achieve their learning goals. We have also invested in our business innovation and enterprise services, to expand our apprenticeship programme and to develop our full cost provision.

Financial Position

The college has a turnover of £34 million. The college has grown £6 million within last 5 years.

College has invested circa £20 million on the upgrade of the estate. The College is making healthy surpluses year on year.

Copies of our Financial Statements can be accessed as a separate document on our website:

Our Values

  • Passion
  • Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurialism
  • Respect, Social Justice and Fairness
  • High Standards and Quality
  • Professionalism
  • Friendliness and Commitment
  • Flexibility, Responsiveness and Ability to Change
  • Accountability
  • Risk-Taking

Our Behaviours

We will

  • Foster excellence and innovation in all that we do
  • Work together to achieve our goals
  • Role model the Values
  • Deliver results for
  • Learners
  • Employers
  • People

Our Strategic Objectives:

  • Transformational, inclusive and entrepreneurial teaching, learning & assessment for students
  • Excellent learning outcomes for students that lead to work and economic independence
  • Empowered, motivated and entrepreneurial staff
  • Customers First in our strategies for local economic growth and in our work with businesses and communities
  • The latest education and training solutions delivered in the workplace, or in industry standard facilities
  • To become an entrepreneurial business and less dependent on public funding
  • To contribute to a sustainable future through targeted changes in our behaviours and business relationships

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