Merger proposal consultation document

Merger proposal
consultation document
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College,
Shrewsbury College and New College Telford
February 2016
Contents
Introduction
1
Context for Merger
4
2
The proposal
5
3
Vision for the future
For students
For the community and local employers
4
Future development of the College Group
8
5
Value for money
9
6
Benefits for students
For 16-19 students
For those not in employment, education or training (NEET)
For adult learners
For students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LDD)
For higher education students
For all students
7
Equality & Diversity
12
8
Quality of provision
13
9
Impact on employers
14
10 Impact on the community
15
11 Impact on staff
16
12 Impact on competition
17
We encourage responses from any of our stakeholders, including students, staff members,
parents/guardians and other interested parties.
13 Strategic Leadership and Management
18
Details of how to respond are set out in Appendix 4.
14Appendices
Appendix 1 - Map of college sites
Appendix 2 - Curriculum provision
Appendix 3 - Indicative Merger timeline
Appendix 4 - How to respond to the consultation
Appendix 5 - College characteristics
Appendix 6 - Statutory notices
Appendix 7 - List of stakeholders for consultation
Appendix 8 - Response to consultation questionnaire
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19-26
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This document outlines the proposal for the Merger of Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology
(SC) and New College Telford (NCT) into Shrewsbury Sixth Form College (SSFC) and the renaming of
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College as ‘Central Shropshire College Group’. This document explains the
rationale for college collaboration and the vision, purpose and future proposals for the management of
the new College Group.
The colleges believe that through a Merger that protects their current identities they can retain their
distinctive appeal and in doing so can continue to provide Shropshire with specialist centres for academic
and vocational education whilst increasing opportunities for students to study combined programmes.
(When referring to ‘Shropshire’ throughout this document we are referring to the ceremonial county,
which includes the administrative areas of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.)
Merger best enables the colleges to reduce their overheads and thus contribute to strengthening their
ongoing financial health. Shropshire is experiencing a fall in student numbers which will continue for the
next few years. The Government is reducing the amount of public funding available to further education
at the same time. We believe our proposal will safeguard our colleges’ financial future and protect the
distinctive nature of our curriculum and each individual college’s culture.
The merged College Group will strive to be outstanding in all areas, whilst adopting an approach to
education and skills development which is inclusive; seeking to innovate, and be responsive whilst
putting the student at the heart of everything it does.
Together, we are committed to continue working in partnership with schools, other colleges, universities,
employers, local authorities and all stakeholders; locally, regionally, and nationally. This initiative will
create a college ‘Group’ that can make a more significant contribution to the local economy and have
more impact for students, employers and communities than can be achieved apart.
The College Group will wish to contribute to the continuing development of both Shrewsbury and
Telford. It is seeking to ensure that curriculum developments supports this and lead to an overall increase
in the number of students studying within our towns.
The two Statutory Notices are found in Appendix 6.
Gail Bleasby
Chair, Corporation of New College Telford
Iain Gilmour
Chair, Corporation of Shrewsbury
College of Arts and Technology
Chris Fountain
Chair, Corporation of Shrewsbury
Sixth Form College
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CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
One
Context for Merger
Two
The proposal
Merger is now being widely encouraged within the Further Education
sector. The Government’s ongoing nationwide Area Review process
is designed to create fewer, larger colleges. This proposal is therefore
entirely consistent with the Government’s agenda. The Education
Funding Agency, the Government sponsor body for Sixth Form Colleges
and The Skills Funding Agency, undertakes a broadly similar function
for General Further Education Colleges. Both agencies have been kept
properly appraised throughout the development of this proposal.
The Corporations of SC and NCT dissolve and transfer their property,
rights and liabilities to The Corporation of SSFC. At the time the Merger
takes place the name of SSFC will change to ‘Central Shropshire College
Group’ (the proposed name change is subject to a separate process that
is linked to this proposal).
Downward pressure on college funding will continue
to provide little opportunity to reverse a declining
financial trend. Merger presents the three colleges
with the best opportunity to reduce costs without
damaging the range and quality of courses available.
The recent financial health of the three colleges
has ranged from ‘Satisfactory’ to ‘Outstanding’.
Financial Due Diligence has been carried out on
all three and the sensitivity analysis undertaken
indicates savings will be required in the future.
An assessment of quality of provision across the
three colleges has also been conducted, based
on Ofsted inspection reports. As with financial
performance, the picture is positive yet mixed. Two
colleges are currently assessed as ‘Good’ while
New College Telford is assessed as ‘Requiring
Improvement’. Continuous quality improvement
will become a key feature of the College Group’s
future development.
The merged College Group will have a new
Governing Body and Governors from each of the
three existing colleges will join it.
experiencing a downward trend in Shropshire
which is set to continue for the next six years
or so. Colleges derive almost all of their income
directly from student recruitment and so the
anticipated decline in student numbers is expected
to have a negative impact on the financial
performance of all Shropshire post-16 institutions.
A crucial part of this proposal is the desire to
maintain and enhance the brands and ethos of the
three pre-existing colleges. To that end, the new
College Group will have separate site Principals
who will each manage the curriculum operations
and oversee quality improvements at each of the
three college locations.
The Corporations of all three colleges have
accepted that, if they remain independent they
would be unable to guarantee that the distinctive
and high quality provision currently available
would remain. The Corporations wish to ensure
that significant choice remains available to all
students within Shropshire and that the distinctive
and specialist nature of college provision in the
area is also protected.
Students will continue to apply to each college
location separately, the premerger college brands
and college names being maintained.
The Corporations of Shrewsbury College, New
College Telford and Shrewsbury Sixth Form
College believe that the joining of three local
colleges, will create a better learning experience
and more progression opportunities for
Shropshire’s students, than they can do apart.
Initially, the Corporations examined whether
a Federation model would best achieve these
aims. Federation was attractive in that it offered
opportunities for cost savings through shared
services, while allowing each college to remain
independent. But a Federation would be
administratively complicated and would lead to
a sizable increase in bureaucracy with limited
opportunities to improve financial performance.
This proposal has been produced following a
significant amount of prior work. Each college has
undertaken its own individual assessment of its
future prospects. This has by necessity included
an analysis of expected further reductions in
Government funding and anticipation of the
continuing decline in the financial health of the
UK College Sector.
For these reasons, in September 2015, NCT
approached SC requesting we consider merging.
During October discussions have continued
with all three colleges to ascertain if there was
a possible Merger proposal that would allow
us to continue to work together to achieve our
collective aims. It is this proposal on which we
seek consultation.
The provisional date for the Merger is 31
July, 2016.
In the event that this Merger does not proceed it
would still be anticipated that NCT would merge
into SC. This is predicated on the initial desire for
NCT to merge into SC, a request which predates
this three college Merger proposal.
The merged College Group will seek to bring
together all support operations into new
combined teams and will retain a Sixth Form
College designation.
While the number of students leaving school
fluctuates from year to year we are currently
4
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CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
Three
Vision for the future
The vision is to create a new sixth form
college that will consolidate the best
practices of both Sixth Form Colleges and
the General Further Education College to
deliver high quality education, training
and skills development for all students
and stakeholders.
For its students, the College Group will:
–– Allow the Sixth Form Colleges in Shrewsbury and Telford
to specialise and thus focus on being exceptionally high
performing Advanced level centres for academically
motivated students in Shropshire and beyond.
–– Develop a Vocational Centre of Excellence for young people
at the existing Shrewsbury College campus on London Road,
with complementary provision in Telford.
–– Further enhance the colleges as major providers of
Apprenticeship provision and enable new curriculum to be
created, particularly in niche areas that link to the region’s
aspirations for economic growth, and in relation to Higher
Apprenticeships for academic students wanting to combine
HE study with meaningful local employment.
6
–– Build on over 25 years of experience in delivering higher
education in Shropshire to develop new higher education
opportunities both independently and in collaboration with
local universities, including University Centre Shrewsbury.
–– Extend the adult higher and further education curriculum
currently available in Shrewsbury into Telford and the
West Midlands.
–– Prepare and support students for working in national and
international labour markets either directly or via university
and Higher Apprenticeships.
–– Provide students with a fully impartial Information Advice
and Guidance service, where the needs of the student rather
than institutional benefit is the priority.
For its community and local employers, the
College Group will:
–– Support and work with The Marches Local Enterprise
Partnership (LEP) and the local authorities within the region
to deliver skills improvement to the local workforce to
enable growth of business in priority sector areas.
–– Work with local employers to increase the provision
of Apprenticeships.
–– Extend the reach of the College Group in the
surrounding area.
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CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
Four
Future development of the
College Group
Five
Value for money
Overall, the College Group will deliver a broader, more co-ordinated
range of provision for the benefit of our students, local communities,
and employers. The College Group will stimulate increased
participation and provide highly valued and significant academic
centres of excellence in both Shrewsbury and Telford.
The Merger will generate savings for each college centre by
streamlining services through bringing together all support functions.
Resulting economies of scale and efficiency improvements will produce
savings that will be either reinvested back into front line teaching and
learning, invested in college infrastructure and maintenance, or, can
be used to help deal with the impact of future funding cuts. Value for
money will be enhanced by consolidating the three colleges’ accounts,
systems and processes.
Partnership arrangements with local universities
and schools will be enhanced to provide the
best possible curriculum for all students. As a
Sixth Form College, we anticipate having the
option to consider increasing our involvement in
the academy movement based on even closer
collaboration with schools.
Likewise, work with employers will be developed
to ensure this curriculum offer is fit for purpose
and meets regional, national and international
skills needs for the future.
Apprenticeship programmes will be expanded
and extended across a greater range of vocational
sectors building on college specialisms and the
good practice already achieved.
The Merger will protect the pre-existing
identities of the three colleges, enable local control
and will promote a consensual approach to
curriculum change.
In order to make the best use of assets to provide
the best learning experience for students, there
are expected to be some changes to the current
curriculum offered. These changes, if approved,
will commence no sooner than academic year
2017/18. The initial curriculum plan is included in
Appendix 2.
The most significant initial proposal, would be
to move all the Art & Design provision, currently
located at London Road, to the SSFC English
Bridge campus at the old Wakeman School site in
8
Shrewsbury. All Art & Design would come under
the control of the Principal of SSFC and the English
Bridge Campus (Wakeman Hall Building), would
contain a large and vibrant specialist Art School
located in the centre of Shrewsbury once again.
Any efficiency savings resulting from curriculum
change will improve value for money. Such changes
are expected to be limited and sympathetic to the
need for providing a broad curriculum offer across
Shropshire that is accessible.
Bearing in mind the rural nature of the county and
travel to learn patterns, the colleges are currently
investing significant sums into subsidising student
transport and this should continue in the future.
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CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
Six
Benefits for students
The vision, mission and aims of the College
Group will focus on the needs of the
students, the continuous enhancement
of quality and providing appropriate
progression opportunities into employment
and higher study.
The harmonisation of key curriculum areas
will enable the College Group to meet the
emerging Government agenda to support
increased curriculum specialisation in a
clear and consistent way and to ensure that
policy directives and targets for apprentices,
Adult, 14-19 and Higher Education are met.
For 16-19 students
For Adult Learners
The College Group will increase the number of progression
pathways available to students and help them to meet their
individual aspirations.
The focus will be twofold:
There will be increased emphasis on providing a well-designed,
pastoral curriculum with guidance and enrichment to
broaden student’s experiences and assist all students to achieve
and progress.
Our most able and talented learners will be stretched,
challenged and better supported to progress to their first
choice destination.
Student enrichment will be organised across the whole College
Group, however, we will still enter sports teams from each of
the pre-existing colleges where demand allows.
For those Not in Employment, Education or
Training (NEET)
NEET young learners will be offered a route back into learning
through the development of foundation tier programmes
across the county. This will improve access and inclusion for all
students particularly in the Telford & Wrekin area and will also
increase post 16 participation rates.
There will be increased opportunities for progression via
Traineeships and Apprenticeship provision.
1. The College Group will build upon local priorities for those
who do not possess the required employability skills or who
have poor literacy and numeracy skills.
2. Through the expansion of Apprenticeships and classroom
based learning, the College Group will increase its employer
based provision to help meet the needs of the local and
regional economy.
For Students with Learning Difficulties and/or
Disabilities (LDD)
The provision of academic and wider vocational opportunities
for LDD students will be expanded to aid entry to employment
and further study.
For Higher Education Students
The extensive formal partnership agreements with local
universities, which currently support curriculum innovation, will
continue. These will aid progression for students onto higher
education at the College Group and elsewhere.
We look forward to working with the University Centre
Shrewsbury, and our other higher education partners in
responding to the needs of local students seeking access to and
participating in higher education.
Provision will be further developed to prepare students for Russell
Group universities and to access support from the Sutton Trust
(to enhance social mobility), and other specialist providers.
Increasing the breadth of Higher Education provision from Access
levels to Foundation Degrees will increase the number of local people
participating and will increase progression into university and work.
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The College Group will provide more progression opportunities
for students as the combined higher education curriculum, will be
marketed and available to students across all college locations.
For All Students
High quality Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) events will
be further developed to ensure prospective students are aware
of course options and progression routes both locally
and nationally.
Financial efficiencies generated will be appropriately prioritised
towards supporting students facing hardship, particularly in
relation to the increasing cost of transport and the decline in
subsidies offered elsewhere.
Because the premerger identities will be maintained
students can choose the college site that best suits their needs
and wants. The College Group will support the different cultures
of the three college locations and will not seek to create a
new monoculture.
The introduction of joint timetabling will significantly increase
student course options. All students will have a wider choice
of A Levels and will also benefit from the opportunity to
combine academic and vocational courses together across all
college locations.
Where appropriate and effective, the development of more
digital forms of delivery and learning will be supported within
a blend of high quality traditional methods, thus ensuring
students can study effectively at times to suit them and away
from the college campuses.
The views of students are essential and are warmly
welcomed as part of the consultation process (see
Appendix 4 and Appendix 8).
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CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
Seven
Equality & Diversity
Eight
Quality of provision
The College Group will continue to analyse all aspects of its provision
to ensure that equality & diversity are embedded within its structures
and build upon current achievements. It will continue and develop the
current strategy of enabling young people from all backgrounds to
progress to higher education.
The Merger will bring a number of quality benefits by combining the
best practices of the existing colleges with the overall aim to further
enhance all the quality standards achieved by each; two of which are
currently rated good by Ofsted. All colleges have achieved confidence
in all themes by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.
Equality & Diversity are key to the College
Group’s vision and it will endeavour to:
Principals at each college location will provide local
accountability for the quality of provision for all
areas of provision under their direct control. The
Merger allows for two key quality initiatives:
–– Ensure that equality and social inclusion is
embedded into the curriculum and all aspects
of the student experience.
–– Promote equality & diversity among and within
the staff body.
–– Consult with all communities and stakeholders
to ensure representation, and respond to those
consultations in the spirit of equality & diversity.
The College Group will be in a stronger position
to contribute to the achievement of government
targets for participation and success as the greater
critical mass of provision would allow a stronger
focus on the needs of individual students.
A multicultural student body will promote
community cohesion through the opportunities to
meet and study with students from other places
and backgrounds.
1. Each college centre will deliver a curriculum
that is more specialist and focused around
current curriculum strengths.
2. The College Group plans all support functions
centrally, thus allowing consistent and high
quality support to be delivered locally.
–– Designing programmes and services to meet
the needs of students.
–– Establishing separate Quality and Standards
committees for each college centre involving
governors, staff, students and parents,
where applicable.
–– Developing the professional skills of all staff,
seeking and introducing best practice from
external sources and sharing good practice and
innovation within the College Group.
–– Ensure that equality & diversity is embedded
through its strategy and operations and
includes a range of impact analyses on College
Group operations.
The College Group will remain committed to using
self-assessment as a tool for quality improvement
and will strive for continuous improvement in all
that it does by:
–– Continuing to listen to the views of students,
parents, guardians, carers, the community and
other stakeholders by seeking feedback
about our services and using this as the
basis for improvement.
–– Continue to deliver high quality support for all
students and particularly for those as identified
with High Needs.
–– Continuously and rigorously monitoring
performance and addressing any areas
of weakness.
–– Enhancing the responsiveness to employers,
seeking feedback about our products and
services and using this to improve provision.
–– Sharing the best practices of quality
improvement, teaching, learning and
assessment skills.
–– Striving to become an outstanding provider as
judged by Ofsted, QAA and other regulatory
bodies, in a way that is consistent with our
values and ethos.
–– Benchmarking successful practice with colleges
and other providers who are also noted for
excellence in vocational and academic teaching
and learning.
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CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
Nine
Impact on employers
Ten
Impact on the community
SC has successfully provided training and other professional services to
a significant number of employers in Shropshire and nationally. This has
also been a growing and increasingly important part of the curriculum
at NCT. The College Group will seek to broaden the range of services
on offer and work with the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to ensure
that training in skills development is targeted to enable employers to
compete nationally and internationally.
All three colleges have a broad role in supporting the local communities
of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Wolverhampton, Wales and beyond.
The College Group will seek to enhance and develop this role.
The College Group acknowledges the critical
importance of the academic curriculum to the
future success of the local economy and the
enhanced ability that Sixth Form College Centres
will have in providing an increasing number of
undergraduates and academic students seeking
training with employment at age 19 on higher
level pathways.
The benefits of the Merger to employers
will include:
–– Improved employer engagement through the
success of activities in business development,
work experience and student placements.
–– The ability to provide training on a more
competitive basis, ensuring value for money
for employers.
–– The harmonisation and sharing of best practice
across all delivery teams so employers can
expect to receive the best quality of service.
–– The improved care of existing relationships so
employers continue to receive an individualised
training offer that meets their needs.
–– Increasing the scale of Apprenticeship delivery
by widening the offer and increasing provision
in Telford.
The College Group will be a major employer
within the region offering employment and
development opportunities. It will recruit and
retain the best people to offer a quality service.
The College Group will also have a major
procurement role and while value for money will
always be a priority, the ability to source goods
and services locally will also be sought. Where
possible, the College Group will seek to establish
beneficial relationships that provide opportunities
either for Apprenticeships or work experience
within its own supply chain.
There are a range of other community
organisations the College Group will continue to
engage with so that, where possible, training and
skills development is provided through community
venues and is accessed by students who may not
otherwise return to education.
The College Group will include a strong
focus on local and regional priorities by:
–– Meeting any skills deficit within the region.
–– Contributing to local and regional economic
regeneration.
–– Meeting the priorities of the local and regional
stakeholders and LEPs.
–– Increasing the scale of Apprenticeship
delivery and employment opportunities for
college leavers.
–– Delivering a greater focus on people and skills
as identified in the LEP strategies for growth,
including supporting emerging organisations
such as Institutes of Technology.
–– Consolidation and enhancement of existing
training and services offered by the College
Group, so a greater number of employers can
gain access.
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CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
Eleven
Impact on staff
Twelve
Impact on competition
The three colleges are major employers within Shropshire and this
will continue postmerger. The key delivery sites in Wellington,
Shrewsbury - London Road, Shrewsbury English Bridge and Shrewsbury Welsh Bridge, will continue to offer academic and vocational
programmes for students of all ages.
The colleges are entering into this Merger under the guiding principle
that by working together they will raise the quality of provision and
increase choice for local students, while becoming more efficient.
The creation of the merged College Group will
necessitate the transfer of employment for all
staff employed at NCT and SC to their new
employer SSFC.
All staff, including those currently employed at
SSFC, will be involved in a TUPE consultation
process that will explain how the proposed change
in employer will affect them personally. It is
important that our staff have the opportunity to
shape these proposals.
As two of the three colleges merging are currently
sixth form colleges it seems sensible for the
merged college to be designated as a Sixth Form
College. The terms and conditions of employment
for staff currently employed at SSFC would be
protected as SSFC will remain, while the other two
colleges will be dissolved.
For staff transferring into SSFC from SC and NCT
terms and conditions of employment would be
protected through TUPE.
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Anticipated benefits for employees
within the College Group include:
–– Greater opportunities for staff to improve their
skill base by working with new colleagues and
accessing new partners and stakeholders.
–– Sharing of best practice, particularly through
our expert teaching practitioners, thereby
raising the quality of provision for students
and employers.
–– Improved opportunities for staff to access
a wider variety of continuing professional
development opportunities.
–– An improved programme of talent
management opportunities for staff to enhance
their management skills and personal profiles.
–– Opportunities to work across all college locations.
The Corporations seek to ensure that each college
location becomes more specialist than before
and thus reduces the need for unnecessary
competition across the region.
The Government, through the new Area Review
process, is seeking to reduce cost by removing
unnecessary duplication. The Government believes
that by the end of the Area Review process there
will be fewer, larger colleges.
The merged College Group will encourage future
new members to join if their addition would be
consistent with our mission and would help to secure
provision within the local area. The impact on the
competition will potentially be very positive as any
local college or school facing concerns regarding
their own future viability would have the option of
approaching the new College Group for guidance
and support, within a framework specifically
focused on meeting Shropshire’s collective needs.
The Corporations are seeking to ensure that
Shropshire does not lose provision that will be
hard to replace in the future. They are also mindful
that large parts of our region are rural and thus
any attempts to rationalise curriculum must take
into account realistic travel times and distances
across the area. This is particularly pertinent for
Telford where post 16 participation rates are
currently very low. It is important that the College
Group works in partnership with other local
colleges to ensure that a comprehensive and
accessible Shropshire wide curriculum is provided.
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CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
Thirteen
Strategic Leadership
and Management
Appendix one
Map of college sites
In submitting this proposal, Governors from each of the colleges have
considered the options and concluded that this proposal provides the
best opportunity for students, communities and other stakeholders.
In doing so they recognise that strong and committed leadership and
management is required.
Each Corporation has entered into these
developments jointly and with a shared aim of
producing the best possible results in terms of
success rates, student destinations and experience,
financial stability and the infrastructure to
maintain facilities and provision to the highest
possible levels.
Students currently on programmes of study,
regardless of duration, will continue to study their
courses at the site they are at.
In order to facilitate the creation of the College
Group, the three college corporations have
created a Working Group with representatives
from each college, to plan the Merger, manage
risks and ensure a smooth transition takes place.
Any changes to full-time courses will
commence from 17/18 earliest.
The Working Group and management project
group(s) will implement a detailed action plan
to ensure effective transition takes place with
minimal disruption.
Full-time students applying to courses for 16/17
start are guaranteed to start and end their course
at the college they start at.
The College Group will implement a risk
management strategy to monitor postmerger
progress. This will ensure that all potential risks are
analysed and resolved effectively.
1 Shrewsbury College
2 Shrewsbury Sixth Form College (Welsh Bridge)
1 New College Telford
2 National Hotel School
3 Shrewsbury Sixth Form College (English Bridge)
There will be full communication with students
and staff to ensure a smooth transition and so
students can continue with their studies unaffected.
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CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
Appendix two
Curriculum provision
Following a curriculum review the new College Group would propose
the following provision is located at the following college sites:
Subject area
Agriculture, Horticulture and
Animal Care
Shrewsbury
College
Shrewsbury Sixth
Form College
New College
Telford
•
•
Business, Administration
and Law
•
•
•
Computing and ICT
•
•
•
Construction, Planning and the
Built Environment
•
Education and Training
Health, Public Services and Care
•
•
•
•
Engineering and Manufacturing
Technologies
•
•
History, Classics, Philosophy
and Theology
•
•
Languages, Literature and
Culture
•
•
•
•
enrichment
enrichment
•
•
•
Geography, Geology, Travel
and Tourism
Sport and Leisure
•
Retail and Commercial
Enterprises
Hospitality and Catering
Hair and Beauty Therapies
Science and Maths
Social Sciences
4 March
31 July
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Appendix four
How to respond to the
consultation
The formal consultation will be held between 1 February, 2016 and
4 March, 2016. We will publish a report on the results within two
months of the closing date. Please respond ideally using the online
survey at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/mergerconsultation2016
Alternatively send responses to this consultation
headed ‘Consultation Response’ by email or
letter to:
publicconsultation@ssfc.ac.uk
Or
Consultation Response
Clerk to The Corporation
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College
Priory Road
Shrewsbury
SY1 1RX
20
29 April
•
Arts, (Creative and Performing)
Music, Media and Publishing
Preparation for work and life
1 February
Public Consultation meetings are being held in
Shrewsbury and Telford. Anyone is welcome
to attend, however admission is by ticket
only which can be obtained by contacting
publicconsultation@ssfc.ac.uk
ßß Shrewsbury
22 February - 6 to 7.30pm
Clayton Hall, Shrewsbury College, London
Road, Shrewsbury, SY2 6PR
ßß Telford
24 February - 6 to 7.30pm
The Whitehouse Hotel, Watling Street,
Telford, TF1 2NJ
In the event that these meetings are
oversubscribed, additional meetings will
be added.
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CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
Appendix six
Statutory notices
New College Telford
New College Telford is a sixth form college located
in Wellington, Telford. It provides predominantly
Level 3 academic provision (74%). Level 2 GCSE
resit, GCSE restart and BTEC provision (20%) and
a small amount of Level 1 provision which includes
professional cookery, functional skills and new
start study programmes designed to lead onto
Apprenticeships. There is a small but growing
Apprenticeship delivery, predominantly in Early
Years and Childcare, Hospitality and Customer
Service. The College provides Higher Education
courses in Events Management and Music
Production. There are currently 1148 students
attending New College Telford (951 full-time and
197 part-time).
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College is a sixth form
college located on two campuses in central
Shrewsbury. The College specialises in general
education for 16-19 year old students with
particular focus on the delivery of GCE A Level
education, BTEC Level 3 Certificates and Diplomas,
and GCSE English and Mathematics. The College
offers a small but important programme of Level
2 BTEC qualifications. The full programme of
study features extension and enrichment activities
including Music, Sport, and Drama disciplines.
All students receive tutorial and careers advice
and guidance.
Shrewsbury College of Arts
and Technology
Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology is
a General Further Education College located
in Shrewsbury. It offers a broad curriculum for
students of all ages at all academic levels. The
majority of full-time students are aged 16-19,
and the part-time students are overwhelmingly
adult. The College is one of Shropshire’s
main providers of both Higher Education and
Apprenticeship provision. There are currently 3907
students attending Shrewsbury College of Arts &
Technology (1721 full-time and 2186 part-time).
Statutory Consultation Notice (1)
Statutory Notice - Further and Higher Education Act 1992
Shrewsbury College of Arts & Technology Corporation
hereby gives notice in accordance with the provisions
of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (the
Act) as amended by the Apprenticeships, Skills,
Children and Learning Act 2009 and the Education
Act 2011 of the proposal that Shrewsbury College
of Arts & Technology Corporation, London
Road, Shrewsbury SY2 6PR, be dissolved and the
transfer of the property, rights and liabilities of
that corporation to Shrewsbury Sixth Form College
Corporation, Priory Road, Shrewsbury SY1 1RX.
Dissolution of the corporation is proposed, at the
request of the corporation of Shrewsbury College
of Arts & Technology, in order that the College may
Merge with Shrewsbury Sixth Form College. New
College Telford Corporation is also giving notice
that it be dissolved in order that the College may
Merge with the Shrewsbury Sixth Form College.
The date proposed for the dissolution is
31 July, 2016.
Provision will be made for all 3907 students
currently attending Shrewsbury College of Arts &
Technology (1721 full-time and 2186 part-time)
who have not yet completed their courses of study
by the date of the dissolution to complete their
studies with Central Shropshire College Group. A
copy of the proposal is available free of charge via
email publicconsultation@ssfc.ac.uk and will be
sent to any person who requests it.
In accordance with the provisions of the Act,
representations may be made by 4 March, 2016.
Representations can be made in writing to The
Clerk of The Corporation, Shrewsbury College
of Arts & Technology, London Road, Shrewsbury,
Shropshire, SY2 6PR.
Statutory Consultation Notice (2)
Statutory Notice - Further and Higher Education Act 1992
New College Telford Corporation hereby gives notice
in accordance with the provisions of the Further and
Higher Education Act 1992 (the Act) as amended by
the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act
2009 and the Education Act 2011 of the proposal
that New College Telford Corporation, King Street,
Wellington TF1 1NY, be dissolved and the transfer of
the property, rights and liabilities of that corporation
to Shrewsbury Sixth Form College Corporation,
Priory Road, Shrewsbury SY1 1RX.
Dissolution of the corporation is proposed, at
the request of the corporation of New College
Telford in order that the College may Merge with
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College. Shrewsbury College
of Arts & Technology Corporation is also giving
notice that it be dissolved in order that the College
may Merge with Shrewsbury Sixth Form College.
The date proposed for the dissolution is 31
July, 2016.
22
The corporation of Shrewsbury Sixth Form College is
separately proposing to the Secretary of State that the
name of the College be formally changed to Central
Shropshire College Group.
The corporation of Shrewsbury Sixth Form College
is separately proposing to the Secretary of State that
the name of the College be formally changed to
Central Shropshire College Group.
Provision will be made for all 1148 students currently
attending New College Telford (951 full-time and
197 part-time) who have not yet completed their
courses of study by the date of the dissolution to
complete their studies with Central Shropshire
College Group. A copy of this proposal is available
free of charge via email at publicconsultation@ssfc.
ac.uk and will be sent to any person who requests it.
In accordance with the provisions of the Act,
representations may be made by 4 March, 2016.
Representations can be made in writing to The
Clerk of The Corporation, New College Telford,
King Street, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire,
TF1 1NY.
23
CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
Appendix seven
List of stakeholders for
consultation
Appendix eight
Response to consultation
questionnaire
For the purposes of the creation of the
merged college, we welcome views from
the following stakeholders who will be
formally invited to respond:
As part of the consultation process, we
would also welcome views from any of
the following stakeholders:
Response to consultation: return to publicconsultation@ssfc.ac.uk
–– Sixth Form College Association
Name
–– Association of Colleges
Organisation
–– Shropshire Chamber of Commerce
Position
–– Shrewsbury Business Chamber
Email
–– FE and Sixth Form Colleges
–– Schools and Academies
–– Local Authorities
–– Members of Parliament
–– Skills Funding Agency
–– Education Funding Agency
–– FE Commissioner
–– Marches LEP
–– Shropshire Business Board
–– Telford & Wrekin Business Board
–– The Radbrook Foundation
–– The Charities Commissioner
–– Relevant Banks and Financers
Your details
–– Employer Representative Groups
–– Higher Education Funding Council for England
–– Quality Assurance Agency
Q1 Are you in favour of the proposal to merge Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology and
New College Telford into Shrewsbury Sixth Form College?
–– Ofsted
–– Schools Networks
Yes
–– Staff
Undecided
–– Students
No
–– Parents
–– Third Sector Organisations
–– UNISON
–– Universities
–– Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
Q2 Do you support the proposal that the property, rights and liabilities of New College Telford
should be transferred to Shrewsbury Sixth Form College?
Yes
–– University and College Union
Undecided
–– National Union of Teachers
No
–– National Association of School Teachers and
Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
–– Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL)
We also welcome the views of any interested
parties who wish to provide a response.
Details of how to respond are set out in
Appendix 4.
Q3 Do you support the proposal that the property, rights and liabilities of Shrewsbury College
of Arts and Technology should be transferred to Shrewsbury Sixth Form College?
Yes
Undecided
No
Q4 Do you support the proposal that the new name for Shrewsbury Sixth Form College should
be ‘Central Shropshire College Group’?
Yes
Undecided
No
24
Continued overleaf…
25
CENTRAL SHROPSHIRE COLLEGE GROUP MERGER PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
If you have further comments, alternative proposals, or questions relating to the
proposal, please add them here:
26
How to respond to the
consultation
The formal consultation will be held between
1 February, 2016 and 4 March, 2016.
Please respond ideally using the online survey at:
www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/mergerconsultation2016
You can also email
publicconsultation@ssfc.ac.uk
Or write to the respective College at either:
The Clerk of The Corporation,
Shrewsbury College of Arts & Technology,
London Road, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 6PR.
Or
The Clerk of The Corporation,
New College Telford,
King Street, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire, TF1 1NY.