Author: Emma Wilde

An ‘X marks the spot’ ceremony has taken place at Stoke on Trent College’s Burslem campus, to highlight the location for a brand-new teaching and learning facility which will enhance student learning experiences.

The new build development at Burslem will feature a new two and three storey building which will connect to the existing A Block building. This new hub will feature additional classrooms, science labs and prep room that will extend the already established A block and will be accessed from the existing main entrance.  The second floor of the new building will also house a large board room and training space.

Key college stakeholders Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID, Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Port Vale FC were all present, along with project partners Arcadis and Krol-Corlett Construction.

Lisa Capper MBE, CEO & Principal at Stoke on Trent College said:

“Stoke on Trent College is investing in future-proofing our campuses, giving our learners enhanced spaces to study in.

“We have seen significant growth in our student numbers year-on-year, and the new building at Burslem plus the Connect building at our Cauldon Campus, which is well underway will provide learners with industry standard facilities and inspiring teaching and learning spaces.

“The new build at Burslem is set to be completed in Summer 2025, ready for students who will be enrolling for the 2025/26 academic year.”

The Burslem capital programme is one of two projects that are being funded through £13 million from the Government’s funding for Further Education’s Capital Transformation Projects.

The other transformation project is the Connect building at the Cauldon campus, which had a ground-breaking ceremony in July, and is set to be completed in June 2025.

Both projects will help create an environment to reinforce the College’s mission to provide an inclusive professional and technical education to energise and support the growth of the city region in key sector areas such as Construction, Health and Social Care, Engineering and STEM and Creative and Digital.

Keep up to date with all the capital projects at Stoke on Trent College here – https://stokecoll.ac.uk/

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Notes to Editor

• Stoke on Trent College serves up to 9000 students a year including young people, adults and apprentices. Working with a wide range of employers in key growth areas of the economy such as Digital, Construction, Engineering, STEM and Health and Social Care and more.
• The College also work with young adults who may have a special educational or additional need.
• A wide range of flexible and distance learning is provided by the College to individuals and businesses.

 

For all media enquiries, please contact marketing@stokecoll.ac.uk  

Stoke on Trent College has held a special event with key partners, students and city leaders to mark the one-year review of their corporate strategy, Skills Ready, Future Ready.

 

‘Skills Ready, Future Ready – One Year On’ brought together a range of stakeholders, students and city leaders from across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire who work in collaboration with the College. The event celebrated an array of achievements, growth and success at the College since the strategy ‘Skills Ready Future Ready’ launched last October.

 

Taking place in the College’s prestigious AA Rosette Hammersley partnership restaurant, attendees were welcomed by CEO & Principal Lisa Capper MBE, who highlighted a number of achievements, including the year-on-year growth and achievement of students aged 16-18, growth in adult and apprenticeships delivery, and the impact of key family and adult learning campaigns such as the Stoke By Numbers numeracy campaign. It also celebrated the growing number of employers and businesses who are Skills Pledge Partners and who work closely with the College across the four priority Skills Hubs of Construction and Green Technologies, STEM & Engineering, Digital & Creative and Health and Social Care.

 

As part of the event, Tom Peacock, a former Level 3 Construction learner at the college spoke about his journey at the College and his successful achievement to secure a Degree Apprenticeship with Thorp Precast, a national specialist construction firm. 

 

Stoke-on-Trent 3 new MP’s Allison Gardner, David Williams and Gareth Snell shared video messages in support of the College and the impact it is making in the local area on young people, jobs and skills needed for the future.

 

Guests were also given a glimpse into the future of Stoke on Trent College, including the new ‘Connect Building’ at the Cauldon Campus which is currently under construction and the new Health Ward and Laboratory that will outturn around 600 young and adult learners with skills in health and social care ready to join the NHE and community workforce.  These projects including a new media and broadcast unit were funded through the government’s Department for Education’s Further Education Capital Transformation, T Level Capital and the Strategic Development funding schemes.

 

The College also celebrated £2.3m for a new advanced Green Skills Hub that will adjoin the Advanced Construction Centre launched earlier this year with the Construction Industry Training Body Chair Peter Lauener. This funding is from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in partnership with Stoke on Trent City Council. Tomorrow it will launch ‘spades in the ground’ for its new state of the art teaching building at its Burslem campus worth £8.1m.

 

Key achievements include:

• 96% of learners go on to employment, further or higher education or an apprenticeship
• Almost 9000 learners enrolled at college in the 2023/24 academic year boosting the income by over £5m since 2020
• Winner national student services award (NAMSS)
• Apprenticeships have grown 10% within key priority sectors
• £19.7m secured for two brand new buildings and a capital programme of new industry standard facilities in construction, green skills, health, science and digital media
• The launch of the college’s new alumni network Made at Stoke on Trent College

Jeremy Cartwright chair of the Board said:

“It has been an incredible year and we are delighted to invite City Leaders, stakeholders, governors and students to our Hammersley restaurant to recognise the significant achievement of the team in turning around this college over the last three years, and celebrating further gains over the first year of our strategy.”

 

Jon Rouse CEO of Stoke-on-Trent City Council said:

“We are incredibly proud of what has been achieved at the college and the difference is making to the lives of local people.”

 

Lisa Capper MBE, CEO & Principal at Stoke on Trent College said:

“We set out our vision to the technical and professional college of choice for Stoke-on-Trent and the surrounding area by placing ourselves at the heart of the community and of business. Learners are at the heart of all we do and our mission is to help them to progress to the next stage. This year we have seen our learners excel and achieve national and regional awards in their chosen technical area.  Through our Skills Ready, Future Ready strategy and with our dedicated staff team you can see first-hand that we are not only working towards our priorities but also excelling across many areas of our work. Our student numbers continue to grow, as does our provision with the delivery of 8 new T Levels this year, each with access to industry standard facilities. New students enrolling this year are experiencing inspiring teaching and learning facilities, exposure to industry, and an inclusive, nurturing environment where they can learn and achieve their career goals.”

 

Read more about Skills Ready, Future Ready here – https://stokecoll.ac.uk/skills-ready-future-ready/

 

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Notes to Editor

 

Picture caption (from left to right) – Jon Rouse, CEO at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Lisa Capper MBE, CEO & Principal at Stoke on Trent College, Professor Martin Jones, Vice Chancellor and CEO at University of Staffordshire

 

• Stoke on Trent College serves up to 9000 students a year including young people, adults and apprentices. Working with a wide range of employers in key growth areas of the economy such as Digital, Construction, Engineering, STEM and Health and Social Care and more.
• The College also work with young adults who may have a special educational or additional need.
• A wide range of flexible and distance learning is provided by the College to individuals and businesses.

 

For all media enquiries, please contact marketing@stokecoll.ac.uk  

Stoke on Trent College has launched its brand-new Health & Social Care ward and laboratory, giving students from Level 1 provision through to Level 3 and T-Levels, industry standard facilities to learn for those pursuing a variety of careers in health and social care. It forms part of the Health and Social Care Hub at the college training students to fill the gap in the NHS workforce.

Based at the Cauldon campus, the Health & Social Care ward replicates a clinical setting, giving students and visitors the feel that they are in a real-life environment.

The Health & Social Care ward is part of a £1.5 million investment into its health & social care and broadcast media provisions to support new T-Level courses which have started this academic year and forms part of a much wider capital programme which sees investment of over £19 million across both campuses to future proof teaching and learning spaces.

Part of this investment includes brand new equipment, including VR headsets plus the option to observe real-world care scenarios virtually. The ward also features three life-like dummies who will be used for real procedures including taking bloods, monitoring heart rate, fitting catheters and even in one case, partially showcasing the stages of giving birth. The dolls can also speak via an interactive tablet which allows them to tell students the issue, so they are able to deal with them as they would a live patient.

Lisa Capper MBE, CEO & Principal at Stoke on Trent College said:

“The NHS workforce plan shows that vacancies will rise exponentially if nothing is done to train new and existing staff for clinical settings and settings outside of the NHS. This new ward and our new T Level programmes will produce around 600 professionals a year who are Skills Ready Future Ready, embracing digital and AI technologies, for a range of settings including critical services such as midwifery and adult nursing.

“Working closely with our partners at the University Hospital of North Midlands, University of Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, we are looking to create the health and social care workforces of tomorrow, whatever area learners want to go into.

Ben Richards, Chief Operating Officer, at North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust added,

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Stoke on Trent College as they open the new health and social care ward on their Cauldon Campus.

 

 

“As part of this, Combined Healthcare will be providing placements for students studying T-levels with the College and we hope that this will give the College the support it needs in terms of working across the community of Stoke-on-Trent as well as helping to develop the future healthcare workforce in the years to come.”

Peter Tomlin, Director of Adult Social Care, Health Integration and Wellbeing at Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: “I am delighted to see this new Health & Social Care ward launching at Stoke-on-Trent College.

“The brand-new facilities reflect the latest advances in technology and replicate the realities of being in a clinical setting. These will be amazing educational tools for students looking to pursue a career in health and social care.

“By catering for a range of levels and careers, this will only help Stoke-on-Trent’s future workforce in this sector to succeed and I cannot wait to see the qualifications and future careers achieved by students who have studied in this new ward.”

To find out more about health & social care courses at Stoke on Trent College, please visit – https://stokecoll.ac.uk/course-areas/childcare-health-social-care/

 

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Notes to Editor

• Stoke on Trent College serves up to 9000 students a year including young people, adults and apprentices. Working with a wide range of employers in key growth areas of the economy such as Digital, Construction, Engineering, STEM and Health and Social Care and more.
• The College also work with young adults who may have a special educational or additional need.
• A wide range of flexible and distance learning is provided by the College to individuals and businesses.

 

For all media enquiries, please contact marketing@stokecoll.ac.uk  

Gower College Swansea is delighted to announce the appointment of James Donaldson as the new Vice Principal for Learner Experience and Inclusion.

James, who joined the College earlier this month, brings over 12 years of senior leadership experience in student support, learner experience, safeguarding and supporting learners with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) to make a successful transition from school to College. He also has a strong track record in driving change and improving student outcomes.

In his new role, James will oversee the learner experience, inclusion, and strategic initiatives to enhance student engagement and support services across the College.

Prior to joining Gower College Swansea, James occupied the role of Dean and Assistant Principal at Cardiff and Vale College, where he led several initiatives, including the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Pathfinder, a fully bilingual digital access portal for parents and professionals to support learners with additional learning needs.

He also led the creation of a new Student Union and the introduction of various projects such as a Student Experience Bot to enhance student engagement and wellbeing.

James’ contributions to the education sector have earned him numerous accolades, including the TES FE Award for Outstanding Support for Learners, the NASEN Award for Best Post-16 ALN Provsion in the UK, and the NAMSS Leader of the Year award. His leadership in safeguarding and student experience has consistently been rated outstanding in inspections.

Delighted to be part of the College community, James said: “I am excited to join Gower College Swansea and look forward to working with the incredible team here to continue supporting learners on their journey and ensuring inclusion is at the heart of everything we do.”

Kelly Fountain, Principal of Gower College Swansea, added: “We are delighted to welcome James to our executive leadership team as new Vice Principal, Learner Experience and Inclusion. With his extensive expertise and proven track record in enhancing the learner experience, James is poised to make a significant and positive contribution to the ongoing success of the College.

“This new role underscores the strategic importance we place on our learners to the ultimate success of the College and will play a pivotal role in driving forward the ambitions outlined in our new College strategy. James’ passion for ensuring inclusion and promoting student wellbeing aligns perfectly with our strategic direction. I am confident that James will make a positive and significant contribution.”

Oldham College is hosting a series of online national events in partnership with the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), as one of their Centres for Excellence in SEND.

These webinar and community of practice events offer free support to leaders, managers and practitioners across a range of Careers related themes, all focusing on ways to ensure that more learners with SEND secure meaningful employment.

Alan Benvie, Vice Principal, says: “These events are designed for anyone in post-16 education and training working to improve the experiences of learners with SEND.

“We will be joined by a range of guest speakers from across our sector, who will share their insights & resources, provide opportunities for discussion and enable idea sharing from across the country.

“We encourage all leaders of SEND to join us for these events and to share these details with anyone they know who may be interested in attending.”

Use the following links to register for our 2024 events:

Empowering Learners with SEND for Higher Education: Navigating Support, Resources, and Transition Strategies / Thursday 10 October, 4-5.30pm

Supporting the Mental Wellbeing of Learners with SEND: Strategies for Transitioning to the Workplace / Tuesday 12 November, 4-5.30pm

Using the Gatsby Benchmarks: Building a Comprehensive Employability Curriculum for Learners with an EHCP / Tuesday 10 December, 4-5.30pm

Events for 2025 will be announced and added to ETF Booking at a future date.

Find out more

• Contact CentreforExcellence.SEND@oldham.ac.uk with any questions about these sessions.
• Visit the Oldham College website
• Visit Education and Training Foundation – Centres for Excellence in SEND

For all media enquiries, please contact communications@oldham.ac.uk

Gower College Swansea’s Hannah Pearce has been named as one of the CITB’s Top 100 Most Influential Women in Construction for 2024.

In her role as Learning Area Manager for Built Environment, Hannah has actively advocated for greater female participation in the construction industries.

Since she joined the College in 2022, the department has made significant advances in educational outreach and industry partnerships. This has led to a 366% increase in female participation in their courses which include plumbing, electrical installation, plastering, and bricklaying.

Hannah has also worked to expand apprenticeship opportunities, collaborating with over 159 organisations to provide real-world experience for students.

An accomplished leader in the construction and education sectors, with a strong focus on sustainability, technology, and female empowerment, Hannah began her career as a civil engineer at Lang O’Rourke, working on projects such as the Vauxhall Tower and the Oxford Brookes University Abercrombie building. Here, Hannah’s work not only highlighted her engineering expertise but also her commitment to integrating educational experiences into construction projects.

During her career Hannah contracted meningitis which led her to found Big Bang UK, developing STEM enrichment programs for primary schools where she continued her advocacy for female participation in construction.

Her efforts have earned her major recognition, from a Wales Children’s Activity and Service Award in 2020 to being named a finalist for a Chwarae Teg Woman in STEM Award the same year.

Hannah’s influence extends beyond the classroom too, as she currently serves on several industry boards, including being executive board member of the Swansea Bay Construction Support Group where she continues to shape the future of the construction industry.

“I feel absolutely delighted and honoured to be named in the Top 100 list,” says Hannah. “Throughout my career I’ve always been hugely committed to advancing the role of women in engineering and construction, so it feels amazing to see my name alongside all these other fantastic female role models.

“I hope this recognition shows others, especially those considering joining the industry, that there is a diverse range of roles available in the sector and that there is a place for everyone. I would recommend anyone interested in pursuing a career in construction to take a look at the Go Construct website which is a great resource for employment opportunities.”

“This is a fantastic accolade for Hannah and one she thoroughly deserves,” says Gower College Swansea Principal, Kelly Fountain. “During her time at the College, Hannah has transformed our Built Environment department with her vision, enthusiasm and commitment to widening participation for young female learners.

“The fact that there has been such a positive increase in the number of female students enrolling onto our courses is testament to this dedication. Hannah is a fantastic role model for the sector and for the College. Congratulations Hannah, for this very well-deserved recognition!”