Northern College: a whole organisation approach to capturing impact

Kay Sidebottom

Northern College is an adult residential and community education college –a Special Designated Institution(SDI), offering: ‘Access to Higher Education’ Diploma; Short course programme; Teacher Education; Union Studies and Community Learning. OFSTED assessed the organisation as outstanding in all aspects.

In 2013/14 there were approximately 6000 student registrations:

-56 % had no qualifications above level 1

-36% declared a learning difficulty or disability

-63% were unemployed or unwaged

-16% were from Black and Minority Ethnic groups.

Learners are often referred to the college through healthcare services. Students benefit from peer support and mentoring in e.g. drug and alcohol recovery. Many people, who come to the end of the Work Programme without having found employment, come to the college to do a short course and end up studying Access to HE.

Kay said Northern College is already gathering and analysing information on short-term outcomes, and hopes to develop more information on longer-term outcomes as well. There are lots of measures of progress, (e.g. numbers of students going on to Higher Education), but more is being done.

The college introduced an approach to measuring impact based on what the organisation sees as its purpose ie change. The approach captures responses to questions and reflections relating to the following:

CHANGE

Confidence

Health and Happiness

Aspiration

New Thinking

Getting Involved

Empowerment

A survey of over 1000 students indicated that 85% had gained in confidence; 80% had developed aspiration, new thinking and empowerment and 75% reported an increase in health and well-being. Early analysis revealed that 82% of respondents valued their learning, ‘greatly’.

The data not only captures learner impact but provides a platform to assist the review of curricula, teaching and learning approaches and all aspects of the college services.

Student Quotes

“It opened a different pathway for my future life and has influenced others around me to get back into education. My experience demonstrated that education can be different, interesting and rewarding”

“In the eyes of the powers that be I was a criminal when I came here. This place has made such a positive change to my life. It has helped me stop the feeling that I had nothing to offer. I am not really that different but it has educated me and brought me into society, without breaking me. For this I am most grateful”

Capturing Wider Impact: Critique

Name of project/initiative: Northern College, CHANGE: a whole organisation approach to capturing and influencing impact

1. What’s the impact? How can it be summarized?
  • Broad range of impact indicators to which every learner and member of staff can relate and remember
  • CHANGE means: Confidence; Health and Happiness; Aspiration; New thinking; Getting involved and Empowerment – wide-ranging impact
  • Impact data gathered beyond the individual participant/learner – embraces personal and social change
  • Long-term process (full impact yet to be determined)
  • (Earlier study by the New Economics Foundation said £12-13 return on each £1 invested (SROI))

2. What appear to be the key success factors?
  • Simple; everyone can remember the acronym for capturing CHANGE
  • Total organizational approach – everyone is involved
  • A pedagogy of hope, self-agency, critical curriculum
  • Emphasis on learning rather than acquisition of knowledge
  • Communities of praxis of learners and staff
  • Values which suggest everyone can learn
  • CHANGE is intentional and changes the view of education
  • Integrity – self-generated - process; this is what we’re about; an approach not adopted from someone/somewhere else
  • A qualification is a marker along the way; change is the outcome

3. What could be generalizable and replicable?
  • Understanding adult learning as a social model and process, including literacy
  • The CHANGE framework
  • Values of the organisation
  • Ideas become reality in relation to eg planning schemes of work and session plans; end of course evaluations; links to destination surveys and supporting communities of praxis
  • Keep on telling the story and tracking what difference it has made

4. What would be relevant to UK-wide and European audiences?
  • Literacy is everywhere, embedded and integrated – digital and academic
  • Learning is designed to build resilience
  • Be true to your values and purposes
  • Develop new thinking with integrity
  • Embed and subvert
  • Communities of praxis