Key Partnerships
The College is committed to working in partnership with key stakeholders, employers and the community to enable us to further
develop curriculum and services to reflect the continually evolving employment and economic needs of the wide College catchment area.
The College has established a good and supportive working relationship with Thurrock Council, Essex County Council, Basildon District
Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, the Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA), the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and National
Apprenticeship Service (NAS). The College, in its own right and through FEDEC (Federation of Essex Colleges), is working to establish good
links with the Kent, Essex and West Sussex Local Enterprise Partnership. The College also has good links with the Department for
Communities and Local Government, the Homes and Communities Agency. The College plays an active part in the Thames Gateway Education
and Skills FE and HE Group.
Partnerships in Southend
The College has key strategic links with Southend Borough Council, through its contribution to the social and
economic regeneration development of the area. The College is the education sector representative on the newly created
Enterprise Priority Leadership Group. The College also links closely with the Children’s Services of the Council.
Southend Borough Council has given strong support to the development of the College and University new campus, recognising
its key contribution to the regeneration of Southend within the wider Thames Gateway area.
The College’s link with the University of Essex, its HE developments and new campus plans are critical to the regeneration of not only
Southend but of the wider Thames Gateway South Essex area and have been identified as central to achieving the vision of TGSE for
Southend to be recognised as a cultural and educational hub.
Partnership in Basildon
The College is a key member of the Basildon, Billericay and Wickford 14-19 Planning Group which drives the provision of
education and training for young people in the Borough. The College also works closely with other stakeholders in the
Borough on the Basildon Action on Learning Group and the Basildon Business Education Consortium. In addition to the
above the College provides a wide range of vocational courses for pre-16 school pupils in the Borough.
Partnerships in Thurrock
The College is a core member of the Local Strategic Partnership
(Shaping Thurrock) and representatives from the College’s senior leadership team are members of the 11 – 19
Learners Group and the Future Skills Group. Further senior leadership representation is on the Thurrock Economic Workforce
Development Group. In Thurrock the College has good links with Thurrock Adult Community College and works closely with the
College to provide a complementary curriculum that encourages learners to enrol on a wide variety of courses. The College also has close links with many
of the secondary schools in Thurrock, providing a wide range of vocational courses for pre-16 school pupils.
Higher Education Partnerships
In an area with limited HE provision and low participation rates, the College’s Partnership with the University of Essex continues
to develop local HE opportunities for over 1,000 students and is taking forward the College’s Higher Education Strategy to develop
provision which meets the needs of potential young and mature students and the requirements of employers in the sub region.
Together the College and University are developing further and higher education with a new integrated campus in Southend town centre.
The University of Essex, Southend is developing a range of complementary and additional programmes including access to higher degrees.
The College also has provision with the University of East London.
Our degrees validated by the University of East London contribute to the regeneration activities in the Thurrock area,
including the development of the Royal Opera House training facilities at Purfleet.
Apprenticeships
The NOVA Partnership is seen as a model of good practice and is the largest provider of Apprenticeships in the Eastern Region with
14 partners covering work based learning across the Essex and into Suffolk. The partnership offers Foundation Learning Programmes and a
wide range of Apprenticeship programmes. It has also been successful in bidding for some additional project funding. The College itself
became a provider of over thirty Apprenticeship frameworks as part of the NOVA Partnership in 2009 and continues to expand this offer into 2011/12.
Collaborative Partners
The College’s Collaborative Partnerships have been in existence for many years and have been extremely successful
offering additional learning opportunities with a focus on widening participation and in offering provision that the College does not deliver.
The Academic year 2010/11 saw a growth in the number of providers that the College worked with as collaborative partners.
For 2011/12 the College has negotiated partnership contracts with:
The Federation of Essex Colleges is an association of Colleges located in Essex (including Southend and Thurrock) working
together to develop and promote access to education, training and development opportunities. It provides a forum for
members to meet and discuss matters of mutual interest; it promotes the interests of members and those who are or may
wish to be enrolled as learners at member Colleges; it provides a means for the representation of the views of the Colleges
to other organisations and it encourages the establishment of Partnerships both between members and with other organisations
in furtherance of the objectives of the Federation or members. It has helped establish a particularly good partnership and
approach to working with the funding bodies, and more recently with the Kent, Essex and Sussex West LEP.
Community Links
The College continues to have links with organisations in the local communities surrounding all campuses. There is
work undertaken with specific community partnerships in local wards by both the academic staff and Service Support
staff; an example of this being the partnership development between Jungle Cats Nursery and Local Authority Child-minders
based around childcare referrals, support and joint training opportunities of staff.
The College is an active member of forums set up and run by the voluntary sector, to replicate the reporting model
adopted by Local Authorities. Learner Services representation is in place for all relevant forums, which reflect the
key drivers regarding Equality and Diversity, Community Cohesion and the Every Child Matters Agenda.
Schools
For a number of years the College has worked to support partners to offer vocational education and increased flexibility for 14-16 year olds.
We have recently reviewed our offer and have published a brochure aimed at Year 9 pupils in schools and their parents.
This brochure outlines the programmes on offer to 14-16 year olds and the steps they need to take to access them.
We have also recently appointed a 14-19 Development Manager whose main function is to liaise with schools across South
Essex and ensure that our curriculum is developing in a way that offers improved choices for their pupils at both pre- and post-16.
Over a number of years Aim Higher funding supported the College in providing vocationally focussed Conferences,
aimed at local schools. The end of the Aim Higher Funding in July 2011 has required the College to focus on the legacy
aspect of the funding and to identify key activities that will be continued in 2011/12.
It has been agreed that the College will continue to host School Conferences/taster Sessions across all Campuses;
the initial aim is to plan and run eight- ten targeted sessions each year concentrating on key areas of vocational employment.
A full evaluation will take place after every Conference and feedback from School pupils and teaching staff will
contribute to changes in the programme or activities.
The College is also a member of the14-19 Strategic Partnerships in Southend and Thurrock plus the 14-19 Planning Groups in
Castle Point and Rochford and Basildon, Billericay and Wickford. Through these groups the College works with Southend Borough Council,
Thurrock Borough Council, Essex County Council and the recently formed South Essex Regional sub-Group as well as training providers
and schools with the aim of continuing to provide a coherent 14-19 phase for young people. These partnerships provide better
opportunities to increase progression post-16 and will consequently reduce the NEET category of young people.
S.o.S.H.A/A.S.H.E
This is the local Secondary School Heads Association. This is enabling better
communication, dialogue and discussion of matters of mutual interest with regard to 14-19 issues between the College
and all local secondary and special schools.
Southend Teacher Training Partnership
The College is a member of the Board of the Southend Teacher Training Partnership. Work is being undertaken to
set up interdisciplinary workshops and communities of practice between the STTP trainees and our students.
Business Partnerships
The College is seeking to increase the extent of its employer engagement across the Thames Gateway South Essex by
playing an active role in a number of key partnerships. The College is an active member of the Southend Business
and Tourism Partnership, , the Essex Chambers of Commerce and the Thurrock Business Forum. The Acting Principal
is a Partner Governor of the Basildon NHS Trust University Hospital. The Vice Principal Business Development is
also a Board member of the Southend Town Centre Partnership Group and chairs the Future Skills Group.
The Head of Business Development chairs the Thurrock Business Association Workforce Development Group and is a
member of the local Chartered Management Institute Group.
The College is also now actively working with Job Centre Plus (JCP) to provide re-skilling opportunities for the unemployed.
Strong working relationships have been built up with JCP staff in Southend, Basildon and Thurrock.
The College continues to work towards membership of certain key National Skills Academies. During 2008 -09 the College
became a founder College member of the National Skills Academy (NSA) in Creative and Cultural Skills and is now a member
of the NSA in Financial Services, the National Enterprise Academy and the NSA Retail. Membership of these NSAs provides the
College with valuable links to Sector Skills Councils and key national employers. The College will be applying for membership
of the newly formed NSA in Logistics during the 2011/12 academic year.
John Hayles
Acting Principal and Chief Executive
Sue Coole
Vice Principal Learner Support and Community Links
Carol Anson-Higgs
Vice Principal Business Development
Wendy Barnes
Vice Principal Further Education
August 2011