NCLT Strategic Plan Executive Summary 2021 - 2024 (Updated March 2023)

NCLT Strategic Plan Executive Summary 2021-2024

Our Vision

Our colleges and schools will make a significant difference to the lives of young people. As a result, together we will make a positive contribution to social mobility.

Our Commitment

To provide an outstanding, consistent student experience through collaboration.

Introduction

As Trust leaders move towards 2022 and beyond, the landscape looks different again, with New College Doncaster in year 5, New College Bradford starting its third full year in operation and Wingfield Academy approaching its first anniversary being part of NCLT. Due to the pandemic, New College Doncaster has still only received one set of externally published data and New College Bradford is still yet to receive any. The last two academic years have involved both CAGs and TAGs, as the primary method for assessing our students across the Trust.

The Strategic Plan for 2021 – 2024 sets out a vision, strategic business objectives and over-arching educational priorities for the Trust which are based on those in previous years. Our re-formulated business objectives and priorities reaffirm our ethical decision making and our moral leadership. They identify our commitment to sustaining outstanding outcomes through implementing an ambitious curriculum to equip young people for progression and for their adult lives. The Trust’s strategic vision identifies schools as a part of our scope from 2020, and maintains our explicit commitment to “making a positive difference to social mobility”.

As the country appears to be slowly coming out of the pandemic, with high percentages of people now vaccinated, the rules for education providers have been relaxed. This said, the pandemic will no doubt continue to affect us in relation to future absences and attendance and the longer-term affect it has had on our students learning. With this in mind, one particular priority remains:

To identify all learning gaps which have evolved throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be achieved through diagnostic testing.

This strategic plan is underpinned by the Principles of FREDIE (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, Engagement), as these principles are fundamental to the high-level strategy and the day to day operations of the Trust.

Our Journey

• Our journey started in 2014, when the senior leadership at New College Pontefract used their “outstanding” Ofsted judgement as the platform for sharing that success with a larger number of young people and other educational providers.

• We were successful in achieving teaching school status, forming a powerful alliance of partners from early years through to FE.

• Re-designating New College Pontefract to an academy and establishing a Multi-Academy Trust enabled us to set up two sister colleges.

• Together with the founding college, these colleges are located in areas of educational disadvantage in Doncaster and Bradford, with lower than average rates of attainment, university progression and low aspiration.

• We want to provide a model for educational excellence which will enable young people to succeed and progress, transforming their own lives and enriching their communities.

• Our small “portfolio” academy Trust’s mission is to replicate the outstanding educational model of the founding college in its sibling colleges in order to have greater and wider impact on the lives of young people and their communities.

• In December 2020 the Trust welcomed its first secondary school Wingfield Academy from Rotherham, South Yorkshire which will help develop and will lead the secondary arm of the Trust. Wingfield Academy is located in a similar area of educational disadvantage as the three colleges, so fits the profile and the vision of the Trust and its Board of Directors.

Local Context and Background Information

We want our schools and colleges to be engines of social mobility, so that students succeed because of talent and hard work, and their ambitions are shaped by this, and not limited by the school or college they attend or the place where they live. As you can see from the data below our Trust serves some of the most deprived communities in the country.

New College Pontefract – Wakefield, West Yorkshire

• The multiple deprivation profile is unchanged from 2010.

• Is the 65th most deprived district with high levels of education and skills deprivation.

• 15% of the population live in the most deprived neighbourhoods and there is a widening gap between the most deprived and the least deprived parts of the district.

• 12% of parents have no qualifications against a national figure of 17%.

• 25% of children live in poverty, and levels in areas from which the college recruits are much higher than this - Airedale 37%, West Wakefield 39%, Hemsworth 31%, Knottingley 30%.

• The gap between the achievement of disadvantaged groups against non-disadvantaged groups is much higher than the gaps across England, and 53% of children from deprived backgrounds do not reach the academic attainment expected at age 11.

• Only 7 out of 20 schools are above average for progress 8.

• The free school meals gap is narrowing at a slower rate than national.

• HE progression is lower than the national rate.

New College Doncaster – Doncaster, South Yorkshire

• More people of working age claim benefits than in the rest of England, and the achievement of 5 good GCSEs remains below the national rate.

• One third of children live in poverty, defined as living in a household where the income is less than 60% of the median national income, and there is a higher than average number of child protection plans. 23% of families claim income support.

• The employment rate lags behind the rest of Yorkshire and the Humber and over 10% of working age population have no qualifications. Participation in post-16 education is lower than national.

• Only 4 out of 18 schools have an above average progress 8 score.

• The highest deprivation is in education and employment – 34 worst out of 326.

• Doncaster has a lower rate of HE progression than regional and national rates.

New College Bradford – Bradford, West Yorkshire

• The percentage of children attending a good or outstanding school is 42% against a national figure of 76%.

• Average employment lags behind both local and national rates.

• Is the 19th most deprived local authority, being the second most deprived across Yorkshire and the Humber, and the 5th in England.

• 27% live in the 10% most deprived areas, where 6% live in the 10% least deprived, so that’s a wide variation.

• 29% of children live below the poverty line (20% average).

• Only 27% of the population are qualified to level 4, and the number with no qualifications is higher than regional and national rates.

Wingfield Academy – Rotherham, South Yorkshire

• 47% of people living in Wingfield live in dwellings that are council owned or social housing.

• Wingfield is the 4th most deprived ward in Rotherham LA.

• Child poverty is at 30 – 40% compared to 17% national average.

• Wingfield is in the top 6% most deprived wards in England.

• Rotherham is the 52nd most deprived district in England.

• The percentage of people with a degree is well below the national average, as is the percentage of people with no qualifications.

• Employment rate is currently at 78.5% which matches national rate.

Our Vision, Commitment and Values

Our Vision and Commitment

Vision - Our colleges and schools will make a significant difference to the lives of young people. As a result, together we will make a positive contribution to social mobility.

Commitment- To provide an outstanding, consistent experience through collaboration.

Our Values

Candour

To be open, honest and fair to everyone

Challenge

To have high expectations of ourselves and each other

Collaboration

To learn from each other for the benefit of all

Commitment

To be dedicated, resilient and strive for continuous improvement

Care

To be considerate of others and their needs

Strategic Vision for the Next 3 years 2021-2024

This is a key moment for education. With the ramifications of Covid-19 becoming more visible, rarely has the vital part education plays in society been clearer. Our Trust’s role as an agent for social change means we will be at the forefront of helping the country take the concrete positive steps needed to recover from this crisis. We want the Trust’s family of colleges and schools, based in areas with high levels of deprivation, to provide an excellent education and enable our young people to access high quality employment and HE provision. We will achieve this by setting ambitious and challenging targets for our students and for ourselves, and seeking out and sharing the best teaching and learning in our sectors. This focus on narrowing gaps in educational attainment is part of the contribution we will make to helping the country recover from Covid-19, and will ensure we are “making a significant difference to the lives of young people”, providing “a positive contribution to social mobility”.

In practical terms, this means maintaining New College Pontefract’s outstanding Ofsted status, and ensuring that New College Bradford and New College Doncaster achieve at least a good in their first Ofsted inspections. The Trust will also be supporting Wingfield Academy, the newest member of our family, to help the Academy achieve a Grade 1 at their next Ofsted inspection. Our vision does not end here, though. We are actively exploring further opportunities to expand our post-16 provision via the government’s free school initiative, as well as investigating ways to establish a second 11-16 secondary school to partner Wingfield Academy. The number of 1118 year olds in the country is increasing, with demand for school and college places making expansion in this sector essential. Conversations are already underway with the Department for Education and Bradford Local Authority with regard to how the Trust can help with the increase in post-16 students. We are also actively engaged in discussion with several secondary schools and one Primary Trust.

Across the whole Trust, we want to become the employer of choice, with staff retention consistently high. This will involve consolidating the Trust’s strong financial health and carefully managing its growth, whilst establishing a first class shared services function to support the work of our colleges and schools. We will continue to market ourselves as leaders of post-16 education, with a secondary arm, very much in its infancy. We are actively forming strong links with other Trusts and strategic partners across our region, including the new Teaching School Hubs in Wakefield and Selby, and Doncaster and Barnsley.

All of this is underpinned by our consistent focus on the needs and success of each individual student. Making a positive impact on the lives of our young people is our ultimate aim, unifying everyone’s work across the Trust.

Our 4 Over-Arching Educational Priorities

Whether one of the Trust’s 6th form colleges or Wingfield Academy, these 4 overarching educational priorities apply. It will be the individual College/Academy Principals’ responsibility, in conjunction with the CEO, to ensure that College/Academy Improvement Plans work toward achieving our priorities.

1. Student Achievement

Sustaining the importance of achieving outstanding outcomes so students develop high quality skills and progress to higher level qualifications and into employment that meet local and national needs; We want every young person to achieve and exceed expectations whilst acquiring deep and powerful knowledge. The ability to self-regulate and develop the lifelong habit of learning.

2. Student Personal Development

Establishing a moral balance between pursuing outstanding outcomes and developing both personally and socially;

We will consistently and extensively promote the personal development of students, ensuring they have access to a wide, rich set of experiences that develop their cultural capital and teach them why it is important to contribute positively to society.

3. Contribution to Social Mobility

Providing a community in which students flourish regardless of their background or starting point. Students consistently achieve highly, particularly the most disadvantaged; We work in areas of disadvantage and are active in deploying the latest learning sciences and evidenced based pedagogy, along with a deep commitment to developing strong teachers to remove any gaps.

Creating a physical and psychological environment where every individual is welcomed and valued as part of our broader commitment to FREDIE

We want every member of our community to work in a climate of happiness, safety and respect; where ambition and aspiration sit alongside support, candour and care.

Strategic Business Objectives

2020 – 2023

The Trust Executive Team and the Board of Directors will include business objectives in addition to our educational priorities which will help us to continue to develop the Trust into a market leader over the coming years.

NCLT Strategic Business Objectives 2020-2023

Strategic objectives and Intent: Why we propose to do this work?

• Grow organically to ensure the 6th form free schools operate at full capacity.

Implementations: What and how we intend to do this

• Market both NCD and NCB accordingly to continue to increase student enrolment numbers.

• Continue to build positive relationships with schools in both areas to allow further access to Y10/Y11 students.

• All colleges are at full capacity by 2022. Further increase in student enrolments

VM BCF SN

3

• Fully integrate Wingfield Academy and then start to develop the secondary arm of the Trust.

• Successful transfer of Wingfield Academy into the Trust 1 December 2020.

• Work with Trust leaders and Phil Davis to ensure Wingfield staff, students, advisors and parents recognise the positive transfer into NCLT.

• Wingfield Academy transferred into NCLT.

• NCLT support Wingfield Academy to achieve its DEP targets.

• Consider further growth opportunities which either add capacity and skills to the Trust or provide support to schools in need.

• Work with the Regional Schools Commissioner to explore opportunities to further grow.

• Phil Davis (Headteacher Wingfield) will lead on establishing and liaising with potential schools to develop the secondary arm.

• Identification of potential schools to join NCLT.

• Exploratory meetings arranged with key leaders and governing bodies.

January – July 2021

• Explore new post 16 development opportunities through the free schools programme in order to enhance educational improvements and social mobility in areas of disadvantage.

• Continue to liaise with Bradford LA regarding the possibility of a post 16 provider in North Bradford (New College Keighley).

• Meet with the Free School Network to establish when the next wave of free schools will be announced.

• Additional school agrees to join NCLT.

September 2021 - 2023 4

• Follow up on initial meeting with Bradford LA and local MPs resulting in full support and backing to pursue a 3rd Free School application.

January 2021 to 2023 RPF JV

• Take advantage of any capital growth funding to further develop the estates and increase the capacity to meet the rising population demographic.

Establishing a first class shared services model

• Provide a highly effective and efficient shared services model to support the smooth running and management of Trust services, regularly benchmarked.

• Continue to follow the SFCA updates regarding capital growth funding opportunities.

• Appointment of Bid Writer for the Trust to keep a breadth of new developments and opportunities.

• Capital funding made available by the DfE.

• Successful application submitted.

• Review the current shared services functions.

• Provide a benchmarking exercise to the BOD each year – benchmarking the individual colleges against each other on key performance indicators.

• A fully functioning shared services model providing effective services for Wingfield Academy, including Finance, HR, Health & Safety, Estates, GDPR and IT.

• Ensure each of the Colleges is providing value for money and best practice.

RPF JV

9

• Continue to invest in new technology to support the development of Trust shared services.

• Ensure that the Trust is investing in new technology to support the development of the shared services looking at for example parent pay options, Work experience software, risk assessment software, IT/Site logging systems.

• Trust develops an implementation plan for new developments

• The experience for the end users –students, parents, staff is enhanced and the services provided are improved and monitored

• New developments are introduced in a timely way to avoid disruption to services

Ongoing during academic year 2020-21 8

• Continue to ensure that we are an employer of choice, to support talent management, with clear succession plans which are sustainable resulting in strong staff recruitment and retention.

• Continue implementing the ‘Employer of Choice’ action plan. HR will lead on, working closely with the CEO, COO, Marketing manager and college Principals.

• Staff retention rates and staff turnover remain in-line with previous years, continuing to be significantly stronger than national averages.

• Staff surveys continue to be very positive and in line with previous years.

September 2021 RPF LW

Strong sustained financial health

• COO and HR Director to lead developments on ensuring the current services fit the needs of an 11-16 school.

• Appoint a customer services/relations manager to be the first point of contact for Wingfield staff if they have concerns about the quality of the shared services provided.

• Wingfield staff are fully ofay with how the shared services work.

November 2020 to July 2021

JV

• Set challenging financial targets for each Trust school/college to reflect their individual context ensuring they achieve a positive cash surplus.

• The trust will set a positive surplus target for the school/Colleges of around 3% – if this cannot be achieved then there must be a three-year plan which returns the academy back to positive surplus and in line with the targets set for the other schools/colleges

• Those schools/colleges running deficit budgets must have sufficient reserves to meet any deficit.

• All the schools/colleges should have regard to ensuring that their budgets balance and that expenditure is closely monitored to avoid deficits.

• The curriculum offer should be regularly tested and costed to ensure it is fit for purpose.

Budget setting each year in June/July

• Ensure we achieve value for money in all our purchasing operations, to utilise our collective purchasing power.

• Continue to build up Trust reserves which allow for future investment in each Academies estate to provide first class facilities to support outstanding teaching and learning.

• By having centralised purchasing for the trust, we can take advantage of economies of scale/trust purchasing power.

• Tenders where possible will be at trust level to ensure best value.

• Each college/school to build up reserves to reinvest in large building projects where appropriate.

• The estates strategic plan will set out the longerterm development needs of each school/college.

• The trust will continue to work with other consultants/architects/project managers to bid for any future capital funds.

• This will achieve value for money and help to keep overhead costs down.

Ongoing during the year 2020-21

• By having a long-term estates development plan for each school/college this will help to ensure that we can meet future needs of students and staff considering demographic trends.

• To take advantage of any capital funds which might become available in the future to support the development of first-class facilities.

Ongoing during year 2020-24

Monitoring, Review and Evaluation

Monitoring the progress of the Trust action plans such as the over-arching Strategic Plan and Quality Improvement Plans (QuIP) is a key action for Trust leaders, the Board of Directors and the Advisory Groups. Please find below the arrangements for this: