Annual Report 2021/2022

Welcome to our Annual Report for 2021/2022

MC Digital official opening by Dave Coplin, The Envisioners CEO and ex Microsoft UK

Foreword

Whilst last year saw the welcome return to on-site teaching following the COVID pandemic; the legacy of lost learning, alongside the Ukraine war and associated cost of living crisis, placed increasing pressures on our staff, learners and their families.

Despite the challenges, our College community worked hard to ensure a return to normality. To provide much needed structure for our students and to ensure appropriate levels of support were available to help our students succeed in their course and progress to their chosen next steps. In that context, we are pleased to report another successful academic year including:

• Delivered high student outcomes, including increasing the proportion of our students who move successfully on to positive destinations such as University, an apprenticeship, employment or self employment

• Embedded our Taking Teaching Higher strategy across College through increased investment in coaching, mentoring and external professional development

• Expanded our sector skills academies, working with local employers and our local job centres and utilised new devolved flexibilities to meet local employer needs

• Worked with external agencies, to effectively support increasing numbers of students with mental health and other safeguarding and welfare support needs

• Maintained our high levels of student, staff and employer satisfaction rates

• Developed a new Thrive strategy which aims to expand and improve the personal development of both our staff and students in the coming year

• Commenced delivery of T Levels in digital, construction and health

• Significantly increased the diversity of our staff body and the number of apprentices we both employ and train

• Consulted with employers and prepared a £12m funded project which aims to relocate TTE to the College campus, investing further in green technologies, by 2024

• Secured Good financial health in a tough economic climate

• Actively contributed to the development of the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) trailblazer, associated Strategic Development Fund (SDF) and the related Teesworks Skills Academy and a range of other collaborative ventures

• Developed our campus to open our new University Centre, our two new T Level Centres - serving the digital and construction sectors, and opened our new campus heart social space

• Launched an ambitious digital strategy with the aim of eradicating digital poverty, improving crucial digital life skills, improving business processes and communication and deepening our students’ learning

Despite the challenging and uncertain economic climate, the College is confident that, working with our local partners, we can serve employers with highly skilled talent that they need and play an increasingly important and exciting part in regenerating our local and regional economy.

Zoe Lewis Principal and Chief Executive Officer

Rob Davies Chair of Governors

About us

Middlesbrough College is the largest provider of post-16 education and training in the Tees Valley serving over 12,000 learners from across the Tees Valley and beyond. The College strategic plan and curriculum has been developed in direct response to government policy and feedback from local employers and stakeholders including:

• A significant expansion of STEM facilities (2015) and subjects such that now two thirds of our school leavers are studying in ‘priority’ sectors rising from one quarter in 2008

• The acquisition of a respected apprenticeship training company (NECC training) covering complementary sectors and a wider geographic reach across the North East of England – creating Northern Skills the apprenticeship and training arm of the College (2016)

• Forming part of the North East Institute of Technology collaboration (2019)

• Utilising devolved flexibilities to develop new and improved bespoke employer led provision (BELPs) through our new Adult and Community Learning Centre (2019)

• Transferring a strategically important specialist engineering training provider from administration into the group (being adjacent to a new Freeport) TTE (2020)

• Delivering T Levels from 2021

• Collaborating with local providers as part of the Teesworks Skills Academy consortium (2021)

• Working in partnership with our employer representative body (ERB) to develop a Trailblazer LSIP and delivering associated Strategic Development Fund projects (SDF) (2021-22)

• Developing Skills Bootcamps and Higher Technical Qualifications to meet local needs (2022)

STEM Centre

TTE Site

MC Digital

Middlesbrough College is situated in the heart of the Tees Valley, an exindustrial area characterised by some consistent and common economic themes:

• The second most deprived LEP area in England

• Lower than average job density and high proportion of low skilled / low paid jobs

• A lower proportion of the population is qualified at Level 2 and above than in other regions of England, and 16% of the population have no qualifications

• The proportion of pupils in the local authority who achieve GCSEs grade 5 or above in English and mathematics is significantly lower than the national average

• A net graduate exporter with a proportion of those that remain here, being under-employed

At Middlesbrough College we firmly believe that every one of us has the potential to achieve great things and through building confidence, developing new skills, and providing work simulation and relevant industrial experience we can unlock ambitions and support everyone, no matter what their starting point, to achieve a brighter future.

The College curriculum has been developed over years, through strong bi-lateral partnerships with employers and through close and regular analysis of the changing labour market requirements.

Our students

Over 12,000 students

Student study levels

consider themselves to have a learning difficulty or disability

are from a black and minority ethnic group

live in a deprived area

live within the Tees Valley combined authority 33% live within Middlesbrough’s local authority

Student Satisfaction

92% of students would recommend Middlesbrough College as a place to study (2% above national average)

93% of students said their teaching was good (1% above national average)

Student Outcomes

16-18-year-old Achievement Rate (national rate 83.4%)

Higher Education (HE) full-time students pass rate

96% of students feel safe in College (2% above national rate)

95% of students said the College supports people from different backgrounds

94% of students are able and confident to use Technology to support learning

High Needs students Achievement Rate

Northern Skills and TTE apprentices combined Achievement Rate (national rate is 58%)

of Adults doing Access to HE courses progress into Higher Education

Adult Achievement Rate (national rate is 89.9%)

of HE students doing a degree gain an upper second class or first of employers would recommend Middlesbrough College, Northern Skills or TTE

Our staff

1,019 members of staff

What staff say

91% of staff say it is a friendly place to work

92% say the College promotes equal opportunities

94% feel safe at work

97% say they get help from their colleagues

96%

believe learners are well supported would recommend Middlesbrough College as a good place to work

Our strategic plan

Our Vision

To be an outstanding provider of education and training, which improves educational outcomes, employment prospects and lifetime opportunities for our students.

Our Values

Take Responsibility

Aim High

Respect Others

Work Hard Do What’s Right Challenge Yourself Take Pride

Our Strategic Plan

OUTSTANDING TEACHINGAND LEARNING

Mission

To provide education and skills that enhance the region’s economic & social prosperity.

One Ambition

Ensure students achieve their full potential through outstanding teaching & learning

One Commitment

One Community

Provide a safe, welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment for our community.

One Team

Attract, develop and retain a highly skilled, value driven and passionate team of staff.

Organisational Resilience

Maintain financial and regulatory stability.

ONEVOICE

OUTSTANDING TEACHINGAND LEARNING

- Work clos ely with our external partners shaping policy and adaptingouroffer.

Our strategic plan

One Ambition

• Teachers went above and beyond to support our students and apprentices to achieve their qualifications at above national rates

• Continued to embed our Taking Teaching Higher Strategy –expanding our offer of teacher professional development, our mentoring capacity and capability and driving more consistent evidence informed practice across the College

• Launched the first phase of our digital strategy to ensure no students were left behind through inability to access their work if affected by the pandemic

• Supported our students to reach ‘record’ positive destinations, including University, apprenticeship, employment and selfemployment

• Ensured no material achievement gaps exist between different groups of learners – highlighting the great support for learners with learning disabilities and difficulties and special educational needs

• Became a World Skills Centre of Excellence to expand the opportunities our students get to participate in skills competitions and showcase and develop their skills

• Developed a new Thrive student programme for launch in 2022/23 which will enhance further our students’ personal development and employability skills and prepare them for life in modern Britain

One Commitment

• Continued to develop our partnership working through the flagship Teesworks Skills Academy - supporting the regeneration of the largest development zone in Europe

• Maintained exceptionally high employer satisfaction rates and continued to improve engagement with employers through our active advisory boards

• Innovated our student work experience – including working with employers to provide virtual work placements where on-site placements were not possible due to COVID, vaccination or home working rules still being in place

• Worked closely with our employer partners to develop, design and specify equipment requirements for our new T Level Digital Centre, T Level Construction Centre which opened in Spring 2022

• Consulted with employers, funders and stakeholders to develop a £12m fundable project which aims to relocate TTE onto the College campus in 2024, to remove duplication of provision and to expand into green technologies in direct response to local area priorities and the economy

• Expanded our offer of Adult and Community learning (based at 2 Queens Square) including developing more bespoke employer led programmes with guaranteed interviews in skills shortage areas

• Supported inward investors such as Anglo American and Amazon with their recruitment of new staff and apprentices

Our strategic plan

One Community

• Working with partners, supported students in increasing numbers with their welfare and safeguarding needs

• Provided a welcoming and harmonious environment where students displayed respect for staff and each other and were grateful for the structure that onsite learning had reinstated in their lives

• Expanded our offer of English for speakers of other languages and expanded our bespoke centre to meet the education and pastoral needs of individuals

• Developed a careers strategy to ensure support for all progression pathways is of the highest standard in the future

• Maintained a proactive, well attended student council where students feel able to make suggestions and positively contribute to the development of the College

• Worked with community organisations to offer support for example with the COVID vaccination bus, holiday hunger activities, charity and fund raising support

• Continued the proactive approach to supporting those who have experienced sexual abuse and harassment

• Our accreditations include Disability Confident Leader, Bullying Intervention Group and the Matrix Quality Standard

One Team

• Implemented a new Thrive workforce development portal through which essential and bespoke training can be housed, tailored and tracked with the view of creating a continuous development culture where personal reflection and developmental curiosity is the norm

• Maintained excellent relationships with our unions and very high levels of staff satisfaction in our annual survey

• Significantly increased the proportion of new staff who are from BAME communities

• Continued to increase the number of apprentices employed across the College

• Developed further our people management systems including on line appraisals, holidays, sickness, probation and improved reporting

• Continued to raise awareness of our Employee Assistance Programme which supports staff and their families 24/7 with a good take up of counselling and other services

• Harmonised and simplified a wide range of contractual variations and HR policies and procedures

Our strategic plan

Organisational Resilience

• Successfully managed the financial impact of the pandemic on our operations

• Secured Good financial health in spite of significant energy cost increases

• Completed a £20m capital programme on budget including:

» Institute of Technology – opened 2021/22

» T Level Digital Centre and Construction Centre – opened 2022

» Campus Heart, LRC refurbishment, Reception modifications – completed 2021/22

» T Level equipment investments & building support fund – including replacement lifts, flooring 2021/22

• Launched an ambitious digital strategy –including MC Click device scheme which will eradicate digital poverty from our students over a three year period

• Secured a positive enrolment across all provision types in spite of the challenging environment

• Enhanced our risk management processes

• Achieved cyber plus accreditation

• Brought in new governors with the required expertise and experience to succession plan more experienced governors

One Voice

• Worked with the Association of Colleges to actively influence education policy with a particular focus on the White Paper – Skills for Jobs and the funding and accountability reforms

• Worked as part of the Local Skills Advisory Panel developing and delivering a local skills strategy as part of our Mayoral Combined Authority

• Supported our employer representative organisation (the North East England Chamber of Commerce NEECC) to develop a ‘green skills’ Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) trailblazer alongside other local colleges and training providers

• Developed and delivered the associated Strategic Development Fund projects – investing in green technologies to support inward investors

• Secured increasing levels of adult education through meeting devolved authority priorities and achieving high quality employment outcomes through our growing bespoke employer led programmes and improving our offer of adult basic skills

• Enacted national policy through becoming an early adopter of T Level qualifications, through strengthening our partnership within the North East Institute of Technology and through the development of skills bootcamps, higher technical qualifications and through prioritising skills shortage sectors

• Opened our new University Centre, our T level Digital Centre and our T Level Construction Centre with a view to encouraging more learners to study in these vital areas in the future

• Consulted extensively to develop a £12m funded scheme which aims to relocate TTE to the College campus in 2024 – with further investment in green technology and skills development

• Secured and delivered a range of collaborative projects including:

» HTE Provider Growth Fund - IoT Consortium Project

» In Work Skills Pilot Management Training - IoT Consortium Project

» FEPDG Sector Specific CPD Project

» CCF Round 2 Project to build on the success of CCF Round 1

» SDF for TSA Ambassadors in Key Subjects – TeesWorks Consortium Project

Summary of awards

Middlesbrough College celebrates success at every opportunity with over 300 student awards being given. Here are just some of our amazing students from 2021/22.

Kaitlyn Potton receiving the Rising Star Apprentice of the Year Award

Shaunna Hebb receiving the Overall Progression Studies Student of the Year Award

Bem Jackson receiving the Overall Health & Care Student of the Year Award

Georgia Bateman receiving the T Level Health & Care Student of the Year Award

Ethan Warren receiving the Craig Conway Award in Performing Arts

Aimee Davies receiving the Most Developed Hair and Media Make-Up Student Award

Abigail Ferguson receiving the HE Construction Student of the Year Award

Flavius Borzos receiving the Student of the Year Award in Level 1 Sport

Summary of finances

The Middlesbrough College Group has continued to deliver strong financial performance through challenging ecomonic times which have drive significant cost increases in the the year to July 2022, particularly in relation to energy.

The College delivered an underlying surplus (which adjusts total comprehensive income for non-cash pension entries) and maintained EBITDA above £3m.

The Middlesbrough College Group manages financial performance against the strategic plan by reference to a suite of financial performance metrics, all of which were met or exceeded in 2021/22 save for the target to maintain EBITDA at greater than 7% of sector adjusted income.

The target EBITDA percentage was missed by 0.2 percentage points in year. This is attributed to unprecedented cost inflation in the year, in

Key developments for 2022/23:

1 2 4

3 5 6

Continue the implementation of our Taking Teaching Higher Strategy to further improve the consistency of teaching, learning and assessment across the College

Fully embed a new and enhanced Thrive student tutorial programme to further improve the personal development opportunities within College and the workplace for our students

Fully embed our new Thrive for staff system to improve the internal tracking and engagement levels of all staff in their own development

Fully implement a new Careers Strategy, utilising interactive LMI and departmental curriculum intent reviews to improve further student progression to first choice employment destinations

Continue to improve consistency of the quality of apprenticeship reviews - in the minority of areas where they remain under-developed

Harness the power of our digital strategy to support staff and student wellbeing and workload

Strategic developments for 22/23:

Commence construction of a new TTE facility – including green energy innovation with a view to opening in 2024 1

2 4

Refresh our Strategic Plan 2023-25

3

Develop an ambitious Sustainability Strategy

Carry out an external review of our Board of Governors

5 Participate in the LSIP development and subsequently, prepare our new accountability statement

Public Value Statement

Middlesbrough College is committed to adding value to the social, economic and physical well-being of the local community it serves.

We are committed to raising aspiration, increasing opportunity and providing a foundation for sustainable economic growth and prosperity.

Central to our responsibility is our work with partner organisations and our obligation to enrich the social, cultural, economic and physical wellbeing of our whole community.

In practice, this means we are ready, willing and able to respond to the needs of our community whatever and wherever they may be.

In making this commitment we may be challenged to work in new ways and, at times, our own capability or capacity may be tested.

We are nevertheless determined to devote ourselves to, and measure ourselves against, this endeavour.