The Bedford College Group Annual Review 2022

IMPACT & INFLUENCE

CONTENTS

OUR PURPOSE

To help individuals, communities and society flourish through education by raising aspirations and reducing inequality to create a sustainable future.

OUR VISION

To be the best and most authoritative post-16 educator in the South East Midlands.

OUR VALUES

Student Centred:

At our heart is always doing what is best for our students. We consider students in all of our decision making to create positive outcomes and memorable experiences for every student.

Educational Excellence:

We promote educational excellence by delivering programmes that challenge our students to achieve their ambitions.

Teamwork:

We are one team who by working together can achieve great things, respecting the opinion and valuing the contribution each of us makes.

Continuous Improvement:

We challenge ourselves to always do better by trying new things, sharing knowledge, reflecting on practice and learning from others.

Caring:

We care about the wellbeing of our staff, our students, our community and wider society, creating an environment built on trust where we listen, engage with and support each other.

Inclusive:

We celebrate differences and diversity, recognising that we can learn from each other.

CORPORATION MEMBERS 2021-2022

Corporation Chair:

Allan Schofield

Chief Executive Officer:

Ian Pryce CBE

Corporation Vice-Chair:

Sheila Selwood MBE

Staff Governors:

Melissa Peacock

Amanda Wagstaff

Student Governors:

Olly Mills

Abigail Stevens

External Governors:

Dennis Buckley

Alan Carvell

Sharon De-Leonardis

Richard Dimbleby

Luke Ferebee

Dominika Kalinowska

Mark Lawson

Raj Randhawa

Alasdair Simmons

Vinod Tailor MBE

Luisa Vecchio

Cliff Wragg

Director of Governance & Clerk to the Corporation:

Rachel Nicol

Message from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

What an incredible year it has been for The Bedford College Group!

We are absolutely delighted that the hard work and dedication of staff and students across the Group has been given the national recognition it deserves on so many different occasions this year.

National awards for our sustainability work; for our outstanding teachers; for our talented students who overachieve despite personal adversity; and for our trailblazing in equality, diversity and inclusion. We could not be prouder.

Research shows that education is good for individuals and good for the country. The better educated you become the healthier, happier and richer you tend to be. Personal growth translates into economic growth for the country as people earn more and help stimulate higher productivity, innovation and quality of public services.

Further education plays a crucial part in this upward spiral and our national success this year has shown The Bedford College Group is at the fore in helping achieve these goals for our students, the wider community and the country as a whole.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this success.

Message from the Chair of The Corporation

Against a backdrop of increasing economic pressures and a forever changing political landscape, I am reassured that one thing remains constant: the dedication and commitment of the students and staff at The Bedford College Group.

To meet their aspirations and ambitions - and building on our recent 2020 success as FE College of the Year – 2022 saw numerous new developments, a substantial programme of building work to enhance facilities (including upgrading the Tower Building in Bedford), a commitment to significantly enhancing our digital technologies, and the introduction of a challenging new strategic plan which will take us up to 2027.

The country faces several years of severe financial and inflationary pressures which will affect all FE colleges. Although these will inevitably affect us, we are particularly well placed to overcome them and firmly establish ourselves as one of the leading FE colleges in the country, whilst always - of course - taking decisions that have the best interests of students, staff and the wider community at heart.

Allan Schofield Chair of The Corporation

Ian Pryce CBE Chief Executive Officer

(CEO), The Bedford College Group

THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP

CAMPUSES ACROSS THE REGION

Bedford College, Cauldwell Street Campus Cauldwell Street, Bedford, Bedfordshire MK42 9AH

Bedford College, Kempston Campus Triumph Way, Woburn Road Industrial Estate, Kempston MK42 7QB

The Bedford Learning Centre 88 High Street, Bedford, Bedfordshire MK40 lNN

The Corby Learning Centre 40 George Street, Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 1QD

The Kettering Learning Centre 9-10 Newland Street, Kettering, Northamptonshire NN16 8JH

National College for Motorsport Unit 2285, Silverstone Park, Towcester, Northamptonshire NN12 8GX

Shuttleworth College Old Warden Park, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire SG18 9DX

The Bedford Sixth Form Bromham Road, Bedford MK40 2BS

Tresham College, Corby Campus Oakley Road, Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 1NE

Tresham College, Kettering Campus Windmill Avenue, Kettering, Northamptonshire NN15 6ER

Tresham College, Wellingborough Campus Church Street, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire NN8 4PD

The Lear ning Centres

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

across all campuses DISABILITY

LEVEL

1,290 Entry-level

1,164 Level 1

4,639 Level 2

2,610 With a disability

12,130 Without a disability

4,954 Level 3 971 Level 4 (and above)

7,030 Full-time education

6,882 Part-time education

EMPLOYERS

The Bedford College Group worked with 961 employers in 2021-22

Employers offered work experience to students 360+

Where employers are based

Organisations were new customers

354 Organisations we helped to employ apprentices

411 People started an apprenticeship with the Group

595 Apprenticeship programmes available

50

35 Students studying the new T-Levels

The team at Tresham College have been so helpful with getting my five apprentices set up following being let down by their previous training provider. From the first point of contact they have been very quick to answer any questions and to get all the learners signed up. The apprenticeships were explained in detail and the funding and training options discussed regarding my learners and their progress.

Kelly Panks Engineering Manager, Automated Materials Handling Life Services Ltd

I spoke to most of your students at the event yesterday and they were all fantastic and a credit to themselves and college. I hope that some of them will want to progress to a career with BCA as we would be lucky to have them.

Jason Bains Training Academy Manager, BCA

STAFF

893

Employees and 190 hourly paid associates worked for The Bedford College Group in 2021-22

All staff can access a FREE COURSE each year

£288,000 was spent on professional development in 2021-22

SUSTAINABILITY

The Bedford College Group has ambitious plans to be a net zero carbon organisation by 2042 and environmental issues have moved to the forefront of the Group’s planning.

Some of the ways we will achieve this include:

Establishing a committee to lead on sustainability and climate action, setting stretching targets that reflect our ambition to become net zero

Embedding vocationally relevant teaching of climate change and sustainability across our full-time, part-time, apprenticeship and higher education courses

Developing and delivering a suite of T-Levels, apprenticeships and adult courses to support the government’s green skills agenda and to meet national and regional needs

Identifying and accessing available funding to support the design and delivery of new provision for green skills and careers, and to make our estate as energy efficient as possible

Rationalising our estate to concentrate activities across eight major campuses, coming out of smaller accommodation in Corby and Kempston

Ensuring new buildings are net zero in operation and implementing an energy efficiency and carbon reduction programme for existing buildings which incorporates sustainable building practices and low carbon technologies

Reducing energy usage and water consumption through efficient use and management and the adoption of renewable energies

Changing our purchasing practices so that we focus more on energy efficient and sustainable goods and services, regional sources and seasonal produce

Adopting a waste management policy which focuses first on waste reduction (particularly food, paper and card) and then reuse and recycling approaches

Providing viable and accessible sustainable travel options for students and staff to reduce carbon emissions, including replacing existing Group vehicles to the electrical equivalent and providing EV charging points

Providing carbon literacy training to our students and staff to improve their personal understanding of climate change and sustainability to encourage sustainable practices in all aspects of their lives

Identifying and actively participating in local, regional and national networking group to develop and take forward partnership opportunities to meet green skills needs.

Our targets include:

At least 25% of estate net zero

Carbon emissions from energy use, water consumption, staff and student travel and purchasing decrease by at least 25%

At least 80% of students and staff agree that they have adopted new sustainable practices as a result of climate education

At least 25% reduction in waste produced

At least 80% of stakeholders agree that the Group is a leader in sustainability practices

The Bedford College Group is ranked first in SEMLEP for the number of students going into green jobs and developing green skills.

COMMUNITY IMPACT

Serving the community is at the heart of The Bedford College Group’s objectives. Not only the student and staff communities within the Group but also the wider local communities and beyond.

During 2022, the Group has delivered the following community objectives:

To participate in strategic partnerships and contribute to local agendas

In August 2022 The Bedford College Group was officially designated as a University Centre recognising its long-standing legacy of providing Higher Education (HE) and degree-level learning. For many years, HE has been on offer at Bedford College, Shuttleworth College and Tresham College, including full BA and BSc degrees as well as postgraduate awards in teacher education.

To be a good neighbour

The Group won an Association for Decentralised Energy Award in recognition of its efforts to significantly reduce carbon emissions, utilising a £2.8 million grant from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS). Over 350 tonnes of carbon were saved following major infrastructure upgrades and the opening of the Connolly Centre for Modern Construction.

Our new status will be the driving force for delivering new national policy developments on higher technical level skills locally.

Alex Mortby Vice Principal of Higher Education

Working with The Bedford College Group has been an immense pleasure of mine. I was truly impressed by their levels of enthusiasm and determination to orchestrate and deliver these innovative projects in such a tight timeline.

Justin Morris Programme Coordinator for Colleges and Universities at Salix

To open our physical environment and resources

To share and exchange knowledge and skills

Tresham College’s Sport Department received a huge response from local schools when it opened up its specialist sport facilities earlier this year. More than 350 children from 28 schools took part in playing football, basketball and rugby.

Our students want to be sports teachers and PE trainers and as part of their studies, they take a range of coaching qualifications which enables them to work with young people. This partnership with local schools has given students a head start in their coaching and teaching careers.

Tom Kay Head of Sport

As part of its commitment to make research, innovation and growth an integral part of activities for all teaching staff, The Bedford College Group appointed Dr Mahruf Shohel as its new Research and Development Manager.

To promote and support education and training

The Bedford College Group has joined Bedford Borough Council to work with charity DFN Project Search who support young people with learning disabilities and autism to move into work. Up to 12 young adults will have the opportunity to get involved and go on to complete three 10-week work experience placements within Bedford Borough Council.

The Research & Development Strategy will provide a blueprint for providing continuous effort in initiating research activities, and enhancement in the quality and quantity of research throughout The Bedford College Group.

Dr Mahruf Shohel Research & Development Manager

The commitment to change the life chances of young people with learning disabilities and autism in the area is shared by all the partners in this great programme and we are really looking forward to welcome the first group of young people.

Carmel McKeogh DFN Project Search Director and programme Specialist

RESEARCH ENGAGEMENT & IMPACT

Award winning research and development

Key priorities include:

Building and fostering a research culture across the Group

Enhancing research engagement through building the research capacity of colleagues

Building professional networks inside and outside of the Group

Developing a community of practice for practitioner researchers across the Group

Developing a researcher database for staff and students that improves the use and sharing of research

Promoting research through media and public engagement activities

Facilitating research-informed policy formulation and professional development.

Recent examples of internal and external research activities include:

Five colleagues have been supported by the Group’s Research, Innovation and Evaluation Fund (BRIEF) to carry out research. These include:

• Student Engagement and Sense of Belonging: Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies – Alex Mortby

• Re-imagining the academic library and its relationship with student engagement: HE students in the FE context – Sharon Jones, Diogo Martins Gomes and Gordon Bowie

• Impacting policy making through Innovative collaboration: An exploration of the technological advancements in industry and ways to bridge the skills gap within North Northamptonshire – Abby Smith

• Flipped Classroom Model in Higher Education: An Innovative Strategy to Encourage and Enhance Core Reading – Farzana Khan

• Functional Skills/GCSE maths initial assessment: Developing a test and exploring its effectiveness – Kevin Norley and Debbie Murphy

Dr Mahruf Shohel and Dr Sharon Jones have attended and presented at key global knowledge exchange events such as the Refugee and Migration Education Network International Conference 2022 (Rome, Italy), the International Conference on Critical Education 2022 (Thessaloniki, Greece).

Staff have contributed to researcher development conferences such as the Researcher Education and Development Scholarship (REDS) International Conference 2022. Dr Mahruf Shohel and Alex Mortby have presented their research on Building Research Culture to Foster Researcher Development in Further Education Institutions.

Dr Mahruf Shohel, Alex Mortby and Charles Whewell were successfully awarded a prestigious research grant from the British Educational Research Association (BERA) BCF Curriculum Investigation Grant for the Students as the Co-creators of the Sustainability Curriculum: Developing an Introductory Course on Climate Change, Social Justice and Sustainability.

We are developing new Research Partnerships with the University of Bedfordshire, University of Huddersfield, University of Northampton and CIBAP (Zwolle, Netherlands).

OUTSTANDING NATIONAL SUCCESS IN 2022

Association of Colleges (AOC) Beacon Awards: Diversity Award for Inclusive Learning Leadership

This award recognised The Bedford College Group for having the best and most innovative practice among UK further education (FE) colleges for its work championing diversity and inclusion, having put it firmly at the heart of the organisation and embedding it within corporate culture.

Association of Colleges (AOC) Student of the Year Awards

Chamber Business Awards: Diversity and Inclusion

Two incredible students were runners up for national awards. Art & Design student Ellen Stultiens for Higher Education Student of the Year in recognition for overcoming multiple complex mental health conditions and years of school absenteeism to become the highest achiever in their cohort and passionate about giving back to the community both locally and nationally.

Engineering student Daniel McAllister for Adult Student of the Year for his outstanding achievements and consistently exceeding expectations. Not only does he work full-time and is a busy father, but he is also deaf and communicates in class via a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter who translates spoken English into BSL.

After winning the Equality Trailblazer Award in the Bedfordshire Chamber Business Awards, the Group has gone on to be shortlisted for the National Chamber Awards. The awards recognise the Group’s outstanding Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work and follows last year’s Gold award from Stonewall for its LGBTQ+ work. It was also recognition for its forums for women, disability and race.

It has been an outstanding year of national award success for The Bedford College Group and its staff and students.

College Marketing Network: FE First Awards

Pearson National Teaching Awards

Association for Decentralised Energy Award

The Bedford College Group’s marketing team won four national awards at the College Marketing Network FE First Awards:

GOLD: Innovation and Creativity

GOLD: Internal Impact

SILVER: Social & Digital Media Impact

BEST OF THE BEST

These awards recognise exceptional marketing and communications campaigns delivered by colleges across the UK.

Projects that the Group’s Marketing team won awards for included delivering a new format for the annual achievement awards using inspirational and engaging videos.

The internal impact award was awarded for developing a new purpose, vision and values for the Group and the campaign to raise awareness of this with staff and stakeholders.

Northamptonshire’s outstanding Steph Lee-Vae won Gold FE Lecturer of the Year 2022. Steph’s passion, enthusiasm and dedication for teaching is unparalleled. Steph is truly inspirational and exceptional, with a driving force of compassion and commitment to inclusion, going above and beyond for every student, every day.

Bedford’s’ Motor Vehicle Team was honoured with Silver FE Team of the Year 2022 for their outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the learners they work with every day. Led by Head of Motor Vehicle, James Woolley, the team worked hard to redevelop a new Centre in Bedford to lead the way in offering cutting-edge training in electric vehicle maintenance.

The Group won a national award in recognition of its efforts to significantly reduce carbon emissions, utilising a £2.8 million grant from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), which was delivered by Salix and funded by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The Group has implemented major infrastructure changes across a number of campuses in support of its goal to reach net zero emissions by 2042 and is expecting to save over 350 tonnes of carbon and £88,000 annually through their ambitious heat decarbonisation plan.

2022 YEAR REVIEW

Two Care Apprentices were recognised in the Great British Care Awards: Kylie Rawlins won East of England Frontline Leader Award and Ella Czubakowska was Highly Commended for Housing & Care.

FEBRUARY

Northamptonshire’s Mike Poole won Apprentice Mentor at the National Dulux Select Decorators Awards for his commitment to developing young professionals and helping safeguard the future of the industry.

Two national ‘Research Further’ scholars were selected from the Group: Pat Jones, Deputy CEO (Finance) will research sustainable finances in FE and Catherine Lloyd, Vice Principal Land Based Studies, will research agricultural course delivery.

MARCH

Central Bedfordshire College announced its plans to merge with The Bedford College Group in March 2023.

MAY JUNE

The Group’s Motor Vehicle Team were named Silver Award Winners at the prestigious Pearson National Teaching Awards 2022.

The Group won a national Association for Decentralised Energy Award for its innovative, green utilisation of a £2.8 million sustainability grant.

The Bedford College Group was officially designated as a University Centre, recognising its long-standing legacy of providing Higher Education (HE) and degreelevel learning.

Dr Mahruf Shohel won the prestigious British Educational Research Association (BERA) Curriculum Investigation Grant 2022-23 to support research led by schools and colleges.

The Bedford College Group’s marketing team won four national awards at the College Marketing Network FE First Awards: two Golds; one Silver and Best of the Best.

The Group’s equality diversity and inclusion work won best Equality Trailblazer in the Bedfordshire Chamber Awards and went on to be a finalist in the national Chamber Awards and the AoC Beacon Awards.

Steph Lee Vae was crowned as the FE Lecturer of the Year 2022 in the prestigious Person National Teaching Awards.

Former Sport student Dan Bullen was selected for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Paralympic Table Tennis Squad.

NEW STRATEGIC PLAN 2022-2027

We have three themes that underpin our new five-year strategic plan: educational and community leadership; educational sustainability and financial sustainability.

From our three themes we have determined eight key strategic objectives for the next five years:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

To be recognised as a leader in further education and a major source of civic leadership within our communities

To achieve consistent standards of educational excellence by making quality of education our top priority

To expand higher education, T-Levels and our academic programmes

To maintain outstanding financial strength and high capital investment

To provide a better, more comprehensive service to employers and responding to changes in the way people work and learn

To invest in technologies that underpin the transformation required to achieve our priorities

To seek to extend our market leadership, size and scale in the areas we serve

To make strong progress towards becoming a net zero organisation and a leader in sustainability practices.

FUTURE PLANS

March 2023: Merger with Central Bedfordshire College

Central Bedfordshire College will merge with The Bedford College Group on 1st March 2023, creating a strategically important college group serving communities in Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Luton, and Northamptonshire, with an income of over £76 million.

At the heart of the merger is the ambition to deliver first class education and training to meet the needs of learners, local businesses and the wider community.

September 2023: Opening of The Corby Sixth Form

The state-of-the-art, specialist Corby Sixth Form will open in the heart of Corby Town Centre in September 2023. The Sixth Form will cater for the growing 16-18 year old population in Corby and, once established, will accommodate up to 600 students. It will be equipped with the latest learning technologies designed to help Sixth Form students achieve their potential and fulfil their ambitions to progress on to university or employment.

As well as focusing on improving the skills of the young people within Corby and North Northamptonshire, locating the Centre within Chisholm House – a long-term vacant building –will help regenerate the town. The Centre will also be a carbon neutral building, utilising the latest green technologies within the refurbishment.

Winter 2023: Opening of £6+ Million Health, Science & Digital Skills Centre in Bedford

The transformed Bedford College 1960’s tower block at Cauldwell Street, will open as a state-ofthe-art science and technology building at the end of 2023.

The £6+ million Health, Science & Digital Skills Centre will include high-specification computer labs and the very latest scientific equipment, helping the College to establish an advanced digital and scientific skills offer in Bedford. It is predicted that the new Centre will attract an additional 250 students each year and will offer degrees and advanced level qualifications, so that students can progress further and develop the cuttingedge skills required by employers.

FINANCES

Bedford College Services (BCS) is the commercial wing of The Bedford College Group that operates across the leisure, hospitality, catering, theatre and facilities hire sectors.

BEDFORD COLLEGE SERVICES

£2,057,960

INCOME

£80,835

Completed

246,817 transactions

1,190 Children learn to swim every week

SURPLUS of which the majority goes back into the Group to enhance the student experience

Hosted 11 events during 2021/22*

Was hired by 42 external organisations during 2021/22