New College Durham has become the only college in the North East to be awarded a ‘Strong’ skills rating from Ofsted.
This September, Ofsted introduced enhanced inspections for colleges which include an assessment of how well they are contributing to addressing skills gaps in the local, regional and national economy.
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Inspectors rate the skills contribution section as either limited, reasonable or strong. New College Durham is the only college in the North East, and only the third college across the whole UK, to be awarded the ‘Strong’ rating.
Andy Broadbent, Principal and CEO of New College Durham, said: “We are incredibly proud. Stakeholder engagement has been a key strategic focus for the College over the last two years and we are delighted that the report recognises not only the strong intent, but also how embedded this is in everything we do and the impact we are having in effectively meeting the skills needs of the region.
"Our vision is to be a leading provider of Further and Higher Education in the North East and this report provides a strong level of assurance to students, parents, employers and wider stakeholders that we are preparing learners with the appropriate skills, knowledge and behaviours required to succeed in employment.
“Ofsted recognised the importance of the college’s work with employers to understand the skills needs of the local, regional and national economy and appreciated the immense benefits to learners when employers are involved in the design and implementation of the curriculum.
An overall rating of ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ Personal Development and consistently ‘Good’ for all other areas completed an impressive report from the education watchdog.
eedback from the lead inspector contained many outstanding features including a statement confirming ‘a really consistent and solid strong profile’.
Speaking about the rating of ‘Outstanding’ for Personal Development, Deputy Principal Alison Maynard said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the college following two years of intense focus on this area. Being rated as outstanding in this area confirms the college supports the promotion of equality and diversity, and acknowledges our learners take part in a full and varied set of experiences and have access to high-quality support.
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"Above all, it highlights that our learners are well prepared for their next steps and successfully achieve their aspirations and goals whether they wish to progress to employment, move to the next level in education or upskill in their current career.”
The work of staff and students is supported further by investment in New College Durham’s campus. Andy said: “As a college we work hard to ensure our facilities are of the highest quality and reflective of the workplace, not only as it is today, but considering the workplace of the future through the inclusion of the most up-to-date and highest specification industry standard equipment.
"We make significant investments to expand our campus to enable us to grow our provision in line with our local industry skills need and to deliver a first class education, to ensure positive outcomes for learners.”
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