AnnuAl Review2011/12

A quAlity stARt leAds to A quAlity finish...in the short time i have been at the College i have found this place to be rather special. there is a discerning commitment to quality that echoes in everything we do, from teaching and learning to support and service. there is an unfaltering focus on our students to ensure that they get the best results they need to progress.

that’s why we see again and again the highest number of students in sunderland progress from College programmes on to university and with some of the highest grades in the region. this is down to excellent teaching and a quality experience, which is confirmed through a first class rating for student satisfaction and one of the most successful years of recruitment for five years.

ouR Commitment to quAlity Continues...

in an ever changing education environment there is greater focus on delivering efficiencies. At sunderland College we have taken rather difficult but necessary decisions to secure the future of the College, putting in place robust systems and structures that will provide long term sustainable models for delivery, in addition our commitment to providing a quality education like no other will see us invest in state of the art facilities in 2013 and beyond.

the next 12 months will be challenging, but with our unfaltering commitment to quality, our programme of investment and building long term sustainable relationship with employers and stakeholders, we will positively impact on the lives of even more people in our region.

Anne isherwood, Principal

A note fRom iAnduring my time as Chairman of the board of governors at sunderland College, i have witnessed significant change in education. this change has been influenced by many external factors, factors which continue to affect the College and the sector now and into the future.

Changes to school models and curriculum delivery, have and continue to be prevalent in the current landscape, structures and approaches to funding are changing, along with traditional delivery routes for training. All of this is taking place against a backdrop of austerity, funding cuts and a focus on achieving more for less.

in order to protect their futures, institutions are being required to think differently about how they do things, providing innovative solutions to meet the growing demands of the economy. this requires greater collaboration, partnership and joint working to ensure that the needs of the regional and national economies are met. it is only by working in this way that current and future generations will have the skills that they need to meet the demands of employers and ensure students can secure employment, progress in education or further training.

sunderland College has made a number of developments in this area and continues to demonstrate a commitment to developing long term sustainable relationships with schools, universities, employers and other organisations. the successful work completed to date is having a positive impact on the number of students choosing to study at the College and the increasing number of employers committing to working with us.

As i reach the end of my term in post at the College, another exciting chapter in its future lies ahead. A programme of significant investment, a new principal and a reshaped management team will help to deliver a robust strategy that will enable it to take advantage of an ever increasingly complex educational environment. i am confident that sunderland College will continue to mould itself to meet the demands of it.

iAn foRsteRChair of Governors

JAnuARyCollege student, Callum Patton

gets his england call-up

febRuARyGeorge Clarke judges and offers advice

to our higher education students

APRilstudents perform “shiney Row Rocks” at the sage, Gateshead

mARChlocal entrepreneur, Grant Ridley at the launch

of Peter Jones enterprise Academy

mAyAidan turnbull prepares to compete at the Paralympics

JuneCollege students take part in “the Real Project” for tv show “the flowerpot Gang”

AuGustthe official opening of “the barber shop” at our hylton Campus

JulyCollege welcomes

new vietnamese students

oCtobeRsAfC’s Connor wickham encourages students to get involved in the fA “Just Play” initiative

novembeRstudents take part in a charity fundraising walk

deCembeRequality and diversity week events take place across the College

sePtembeRthe futureheads perform live and

answer questions from our students

92% of 16-18 students sAy thAt the quAlity of teAChinG is Good

95% of 19+ students sAy thAt the quAlity of teAChinG is Good

quAlity ResultsoutstAndinG teAChinG, AmAzinG Results

An imPRessive suCCess RAte of

no of emPloyeRs

we woRk with507

82%ACRoss ouR woRk with emPloyeRs

94%hiGheR eduCAtion PRoGRession RAte

84% of lesson obseRvAtions GRAded outstAndinG oR Good

No.1foR student sAtisfACtion*121lesson

obseRvAtions CARRied out

*nss survey 2011, out of all north east colleges.

99% PAss RAte

ouR PeoPleteamwork, commitment and passion, are the ingredients that make sunderland College a unique place to work. the success of our students and our quality outcomes are testament to the hard work and determination of our staff. students tell us time and time again that the support they receive from staff at the College enables them to succeed.

we encourage staff to share ideas, experiences and solutions so that we continually improve what we do and how we do it. we create this culture through training and development, dialogue and activities because we know the success of our people makes us what we are.

In 2012 our spotlight campaign was launched to highlight the excellent quality work of our staff:

“I want my students to know that I care about them, because I do! I want to help them be the best that they can be”

HeleN DoDD, TeACHING & leARNING CoACH - DelIveRING quality SeRvICe To STUDeNTS

“I like to get stuck in and get my hands dirty, that way I know the work meets the right standards my students deserve”

MARk SoweRby, bARbeRING leCTUReR - DelIveRING quality bARbeRING fACIlITIeS To oUR STUDeNTS

“When people walk away from the reception desk, or put down the phone, I’d like them to think... She was lovely that lady on reception, really helpful and had all of the right information”

DAwN CollINS, STUDeNT SeRvICeS ASSISTANT - DelIveRING quality SeRvICe To oUR STUDeNTS AND vISIToRS

quAlity in foCusquality is at the heart of everything we do. our primary motivation is to ensure that our students and customers receive a quality experience and that starts before any application or course enrolment. we work tirelessly within the communities we serve to develop long lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships to ensure we get it right for our customers, listening to their needs and responding to local demands. And once on programme with us, our customers receive the highest quality of education, training and support, we know this because they tell us so and they get the results to prove it, and what we’re doing is earning us recognition through our many awards:

• matrix Award for the quality of information, advice and guidance

• Confidence assessment from iqeR for higher education

• winner of lsis leaner voice Awards

• no 1 for student satisfaction

• top of the A-level league tables

A-level students celebrate at our st Peter’s Campus

Previously neet, sonya Ayre is now setting her sights

on university thanks to the support and advice from our

matrix accredited team

PRoteCtinG the quAlity of ouR enviRonment

We generated 328 tonnes of Waste

We invested £2.66m in our estates

We recycled 315 tonnes, 96% of our Waste in 2011-12

We’re investing a further £22m in our facilities

we’re embarking on a programme of investment that will make our facilities more efficient

quAlity in the heARt of ouR Communityworking with partners, community organisations and individuals, our work stretches outside of the College across the city and beyond. our aim is to make an impact. we’re at the heart of our community and we ensure that we have the community at our heart. our students working on a community

garden project in southwick

enterprising creating and managing new College businesses

ouR stAff And students in ACtion. RAisinG funds And AwAReness foR Good CAuses

quAlity in ACtionwe don’t just pay lip service to quality at sunderland College, we demonstrate it. we’re investing heavily in ensuring that students get the best learning experience with us so that they can progress into work, further study or training.

we’re also committed to developing relationships with employers across many sectors to further improve our links with industry and bring this intelligence back into the classroom, whilst also providing employers with the training and support they need to develop their workforces. our work has also extended outside of the uk so that we can invest in our estates, curriculum delivery and training.

quAlity in numbeRsINCoMe AND expeNDITURe 2011/12

£0002010/11 £000

Income 44,731 46,062

Expenditure 42,810 43,722

Profit/(loss) on sale of fixed assets 149 (19)

SURplUS 2,070 2,321

bAlANCe SHeeT 2011/12 £000

2010/11 £000

Fixed assets 45,361 40,811

Net current assets 8,027 11,002

Long term creditors/provisions 11,755 12,259

Net pension liability (19,011) (11,645)

ToTAl fUNDS 22,622 27,909

“eveRyoNe AT fUSIoN IS exTReMely pRoUD of oUR AppReNTICeSHIp pRoGRAMMe. woRkING IN SUCH CloSe pARTNeRSHIp wITH SUNDeRlAND ColleGe HAS beeN veRy poSITIve AND HAS GIveN THe AppReNTICeS GReAT INSIGHT INTo THe THeoRy beHIND exCelleNT CUSToMeR SeRvICe”sARAh buRns, site mAnAGeR At fusion

“SUNDeRlAND ColleGe UNDeRSTANDS yoUR bUSINeSS. THey look AT wHAT yoU NeeD To ACHIeve AND plAN THe TRAINING ARoUND THAT”GRAhAm fRend, oPeRAtions mAnAGeR At neRAf

“I kNow THAT we GeT GooD SUppoRT fRoM SUNDeRlAND ColleGe AND THAT we DoN’T NeeD To woRRy. I kNow THAT we’Re AlwAyS GoING To GeT GooD SeRvICe”Alex sCullion, diReCtoR At Alex sCullion eleCtRiCAl ContRACtoRs ltd

sunderlandcollege.ac.uk