1

Corporate Plan2011 - 2014

2

Contents• Introduction• The National Context• The Forth Valley View• The Local Context - Forth Valley• Scottish Learners• Our Local Community

Corporate ObjectivesForth Valley College will -

1 Contribute to Scotland’s economic growth and sustainability

2 Create an ethos in which people flourish

3 Promote opportunity and success for individuals and our communities

4 Lead the way in professional practice and service delivery

5 Create a superb environment for learning

6 Enhance organisational performance through innovation, enterprise and collaboration

7 Demonstrate an open, accountable and sustainable approach to governance

8 Enhance our role and reputation as a leading provider of education and skills for Scotland

• Financial Outlook and Risk Management 2011-2014• Mission, Vision and Values

3

Hugh HallChairman

Linda McKayPrincipal

IntroductionTaking Forth Valley College Forward 2011-14

In September 2011 we have had the pleasure of welcoming students to our splendid new campus development in Alloa. In April 2012 our major new campus development in Stirling will also be open for business – so, for Forth Valley College, the 2011-14 planning period begins with major public investment in our services and the opportunity to inspire learners and staff with even greater confidence in the significance of learning and skills to individual success and the future prosperity of our communities.

We recognise however, that this next phase of Forth Valley College’s development will be set in the context of a continued decline in public expenditure and the drive for public sector reform. With a Government Green Paper on the College sector and a review of governance already underway, the college sector in Scotland is likely to find itself in very sharp focus with the need to respond to an agenda for rapid, and perhaps uncomfortable, change.

Through merger, through our programme of business transformation, through our design and implementation of roles and structures, Forth Valley College has built a reputation for successful strategic development and effective change management. The resources we have available to us in talented and committed staff, fully engaged learners, effective relationships with our local businesses and strong partnerships with our communities will provide energy and resilience to face up to the challenges ahead.

The College mission statement of “Excellence in Learning” remains at the heart of all that we do. We will continue to provide quality, learner focussed educational training opportunities that benefit not only our learners but that also have a sustained, positive impact upon the Forth Valley area by providing the skilled workforce that our local employers require.

We will strengthen our links with partners across the public and private sectors, identifying areas of shared endeavour, best practice and the potential for integrated working to support our drive to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible.

2011-14 promises to be an exciting time in the life of the College and we would like to invite learners, employers, our local communities and other stakeholders to support us in ensuring that the college remains at the forefront of further and higher education provision in Scotland, and continues to deliver “Excellence in Learning” and the skills that Scotland needs going forward.

4

The NationalContext

4

Further Education in Scotland is entering a period of significant reform. The Scottish Government has launched a range of strategies, consultations and budgetary reforms aimed at revising College numbers, accountability and governance practices.

Some of these key documents include:

• Putting Learners at the Centre: Delivering our Ambitions for Post-16 Education

The Scottish Government produced their plan for post-16 education in September 2011. This ambitious strategy, closely allied with the new Government Economic Strategy, builds upon the Roe review and is aimed at delivering a fully coherent post-16 education system. The main points of the strategy include:

- The prioritisation of young people and formally supports the Government target of offering a training place for all under 19 year old Scots not already in education, training or employment.

- Greater integration between Post-16 learning providers at a local level, including the potential of regionalisation of training providers, including mergers for colleges.

- For Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to allocate its resources to meet the needs of regions; identify national provision and resource it to meet national needs; put new expectations on colleges to plan their courses to prepare students for careers in industries where there will be a good chance of them getting a job; focus funding on nationally recognised qualifications and units.

- Increasing local engagement to ensure that employers and communities can influence the provision offered by colleges.

- Increasing Modern Apprenticeship levels to 25,000 per year for the next five years.

• The Christie Commission This review considered the future delivery of public services, focussing

on maintaining front facing services in a period of fiscal austerity and increasing early intervention where it is needed most. In September 2011 the Scottish Government published their response to this review and noted that fundamental reform of public services is essential. The Government response signalled a shift of focus towards prevention, greater integration of local level services through partnership, enhanced workforce development and the increasing importance of transparency in measuring the performance of public bodies.

• The Grigg’s Review of College Governance This review will consider current Governance arrangements with a view

to increasing the democratic accountability of Colleges and their role in economic and social development.

• Scottish Spending Review 2011 and Draft Budget 2012-13

The budget presents further pressures for the sector. With a projected 13.5% cut in Further Education funding over the coming years (with more than 50% of these cuts in the first year) colleges wil l face challenges i n m e e t i n g G o v e r n m e n t expectations outlined above.

55

The Forth Valley College ViewForth Valley College is already a highly efficient college as a result of rationalisation and efficiency measures already introduced since merger in 2005. The College has a successful track record for innovation and will embrace the reform agenda very positively.

Like all colleges, however, we will find our capacity to respond to the pace of change hampered by the ongoing severity of budget cuts throughout the planning period. With so many fundamental aspects of future college operations under review it is difficult, at this stage, to deliver a clear strategic direction.

While there are clear challenges, there are also opportunities for the College. We have already undertaken a number of measures in recent years which match with the direction now proposed by the Scottish Government.

• We undertook a highly effective merger in 2005, providing a single body for the provision of Further Education across the entire Forth Valley area which is recognised in the Scottish Government proposals.• We have strong links with all three of our local authorities, community planning partnerships and local employers in a number of key industry sectors vital to the revival of the Scottish economy, and can demonstrate the impact.• A skills and apprenticeship programmes and numbers to achieve the most significant profile in the sector. We will

continue to grow this area of work particularly in relationship to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, in response to Scottish Government targets• We have a key role in relation to collaborative activity which supports the Renewables sector with plans and investment in place to extend our involvement. We will also develop our lead role for Scotland in relation to the Life Sciences and Oil and Gas sectors.• We have led the way in responding to PACE activity with companies and individuals at risk of redundancy. We will build on

our current working relationship with Job Centre Plus to shape new services appropriate to the new benefits systems currently being rolled out.• We have effective school/ college partnership arrangements in place as well as effective More Choices, More Chances (MCMC) partnerships. Going forward we will use the opportunity of senior phase Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) to prioritise and extend our provision for local young people and respond to Scottish Government commitments to 16-19 year olds as resources allow.

6

The Local Context -Forth Valley

ClackmannanshireEmployment within Clackmannanshire is mainly concentrated on

manufacturing, wholesale and retail, health and social work areas. However, Clackmannanshire as a whole has suffered from prolonged and disproportionate levels of unemployment, particularly amongst the 16-24 age group compared to Scottish levels.

The College is actively engaged in supporting these people and in session 2010-11 over 1,000 learners in this age group studied at

the College. Overall, 4.85% of individuals within Clackmannanshire accessed College services in 2010-11 and this accounted for 16% of our

total learner population.

Forth Valley comprises three local authority areas – Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling – each with their own distinctive character. With over 2700 sq km ranging from the tranquil Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park through to the bustling Grangemouth industrial strip, the diversity of the area contributes to the wide range of interests and disciplines studied by learners who attend the College each year.

Located in the heart of Scotland, the area benefits from high quality transport links, which enable easy commuting from throughout the central belt. The attraction of Forth Valley is proven with continued above Scottish levels of population growth, sitting at 105% over the last 10 years as compared to 103% for Scotland as a whole.

FalkirkAs the Grangemouth petrochemical multi-nationals and a number of key chemical companies are located within the Falkirk area, the employment breakdown shows higher than average Scottish levels of employment in professional and technical fields, process plant and machine operatives, managers and senior officials.

The range of specialisms in the College portfolio in engineering and science and technology relates directly to servicing the needs of those organisations and the associated sectors – energy, renewable, manufacturing and life sciences.

While employment within these fields is relatively strong, the area does face challenges in relation to younger people with unemployment levels for 16 – 24 year olds above the national average figure. As with the Clackmannanshire area, we are actively engaged in supporting these people and in 2010-11 almost 2,900 learners within this age group accessed the College.

Under 16, 11% 16-24, 45% 25-34, 12% 35-44, 12%

45-54, 11% 55-64, 6% 65+, 3%

Under 16, 11% 16-24, 45% 25-34, 12% 35-44, 12%

45-54, 11% 55-64, 6% 65+, 3%

7

StirlingStirling has a wealth of history, from famous Scots to famous battlefields,

Stirling Castle to the Wallace monument, which prove to be a continuing draw to tourists from Scotland and abroad. Of the three main local authority areas served by the College, Stirling has also enjoyed the highest levels of employment, with above national average performance in professional occupations. This can be attributed, in part, to the presence of Stirling University and a number of key local

employers including Prudential and Stirling Council. The 16-24 year group continues to be our strongest area of recruitment, with over

1200 learners in 2010-11 accessing the College to gain the skills needed to secure employment or progress into Higher Education.

Under 16, 11% 16-24, 45% 25-34, 12% 35-44, 12%

45-54, 11% 55-64, 6% 65+, 3%

8

Scottish Learners

The strength of our reputation for high quality provision and our range of specialisms and innovative courses ensure that a number of our learners each year come from beyond our three local authority areas. In 2010-11 there were over 2,500 learners from the wider Scotland area who accessed learning at the College.

The information compiled by SFC for the 2009-10 academic year, shows the College performed consistently better than the Scottish average in 15 out of 16 main subject areas. As the chart below demonstrates, our strength in the provision of science, engineering, computing and social science was particularly pronounced.

9

Our Local Community

A college is much more than a collection of individuals and courses. Every college has its own distinct community and we are especially proud of the community we have within Forth Valley College. This community renews itself each year with the influx of new learners with fresh ideas and ambitions, who build upon the successes of previous learners.

The College community has a strongly established social conscience, with significant learner activity through each year in support of key charities - both locally and nationally. We are proud to be the first college in Scotland to have been awarded Fairtrade status. This accreditation was achieved in only 9 months, and this excellent result has only been possible thanks to the considerable support and commitment from both our learners and staff.

The sense of community is further enhanced by the strong, positive links between staff and learners which is embedded throughout our “Engaging Learners” strategy. This strategy firmly places learners at the heart of all that we do, driving college developments in our portfolio and practices.

Our Student Union is highly engaged with learners, assisting them to take ownership of their own learning through extensive class representation and other support activities. The Student Union also ensures that there are a wide range of social activities throughout the year ranging from the ever popular Fresher’s Fayre through to the glamorous annual leaving ball.

Access to learner support within the College is fundamental to ensuring a positive experience for each learner and we will integrate and

further improve this activity over the corporate planning period to provide a ‘one stop shop’ support area on each campus to meet the needs of our learners. Within this area, learners will be able to find out about student finance, extended learning support and individual mentoring arrangements and how to access the range of additional support options available from local authorities and other partners.

Each year the College community comes together in the presence of families, friends and peers to celebrate success at our graduation ceremonies. These ceremonies represent the culmination of the hard work and determination demonstrated by our full time learners and the support they receive from their family and friends.

10

1. We Will Contribute to Scotland’s Economic Growth & Sustainability Where we are now

We regularly review the College’s portfolio of courses to ensure its relevance to the needs of our learners, employers and key local, national and sectoral stakeholders.

Underpinning these developments is the on-going focus on the provision of courses that improve employability skills, enabling our learners to progress either directly into employment in sectors where there is demand for skilled workers, or onto a higher stage in their qualifications on a path for future employment.

We benefit greatly from our close links with key local employers, and through our participation in specialist national groups, which helps us to ensure the continued relevance of the employability skills we offer and also to design new and innovative ways to enhance these skills further to meet future employer demand.

We have supported local employers facing difficult economic times through the PACE (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) fund, bringing college expertise, innovation and fresh approaches to enhance their operational practices. Where local workforces have faced redundancy, we work closely with national agencies such as Job Centre Plus and Skills Development Scotland to minimise the possibility of redundancy. Where redundancy is unfortunately inevitable, we engage with individuals to provide support and retraining aimed at ensuring quick entry into other employment in stable/growth areas of the economy.

A prime example of this approach is the work underway with Alexander Dennis Limited, a key employer in Falkirk. We have launched a multi-year project aimed at increasing productivity and other key skills and, now that the firm is entering a period of recovery with increased orders, they are ideally placed to meet renewed demands with a more efficient and effective workforce.

The emerging renewables sector offers opportunities for the College to develop sector leading provision in the science and engineering sectors. The skills we offer have a high degree of transferability to this new sector and our learners are ideally placed to engage with employment opportunities within this sector. Our extensive industrial links will also be of benefit in these developments and we will work with key partners entering this new sector to provide qualified and capable staff.

11

1. We Will Contribute to Scotland’s Economic Growth & Sustainability Where we are now

We are also a member of the new College Energy Partnership. This network, supported by the Scottish Funding Council, brings together colleges with expertise in science and technology to respond to the changing skills demands relating to the developing energy and renewables sector in a coherent manner. With a Scottish Government target of a 50% increase in renewables exports by 2017, providing 100% of electrical energy used in Scotland from renewable sources and a predicted workforce of 130,000 by 2020, this is an area that is taking a central role in the ambitions of the Scottish Government for the future prosperity of Scotland.

Our work with Modern Apprentices (MA) continues to deliver a wide range of positive opportunities for young people across the Forth Valley area. The innovative Engineers of the Future programme, developed in conjunction with Ineos and Heriot Watt University, continues to have high demand and provides trainees with an exceptional route from entry level qualifications through to a Masters Degree in Engineering. Throughout their training, the trainees work at the Ineos facility in Grangemouth and gain valuable work experience to complement their College studies.

Our experience in providing exciting and innovative modern apprenticeships, which support our local employers needs, ideally places us to contribute towards the Scottish Government’s commitment to 50,000 MA places per year for the next 5 years.

Building upon success

During the period of this corporate plan we will contribute to Scotland’s economic growth and sustainability by:

• Reflecting national, local and sectoral priorities in the design of our portfolio

• Responding to employers needs for a skilled workforce

• Placing employability at the heart of our curriculum

• Working with partners to provide support and opportunities for local young people

• Working with national agencies where there are areas of commonality

12

2. We Will Create an Ethos in Which People Flourish Where we are now

We are committed to ensuring all College users continue to realise the maximum benefit from their time with us. Our college community is strong and is based upon the principles of inclusion and mutual respect. We have embedded equalities throughout all aspects of the college portfolio and the support services we provide are tailored to meet individual needs.

We recognise that a successful learning experience extends far beyond the classroom, and that the nature and quality of support we offer can have a significant impact upon an individual learners’ time with the College. We also understand that any support needs should be met as early as possible and we are focussed on ensuring early intervention whenever a need is identified. We have comprehensive core and essential skills support and development in place, and this provision will be further strengthened during the life of this plan with the creation of a dedicated unit comprising of lecturers and Learning Development Workers (LDW’s) who are able to provide additional support to learners.

Extended learning support is also integrated within our teaching departments to ensure support is available to learners at the point of greatest need, providing support both in class and through individual one to one sessions to assist with course work and core skills development. Learners also access our excellent mentoring support facilities where staff and volunteer learner mentors provide one to one support with learning, reading/scribing services or simply as a friendly and accessible point of contact to discuss any issues a learner may have. The focus of the variety of support on offer is to allow learners to take control of their own learning, tailoring the provision they access and the resources available to each individuals needs, to ensure they maximise their time with us and progress onwards with the skills and experience they need to succeed.

The effectiveness of the support on offer can be demonstrated by the above sector average early retention statistics for the College across all modes of attendance.

13

2. We Will Create an Ethos in Which People Flourish Where we are now

As with all College activity, we utilise our “Engaging Learners” strategy to gather feedback on the effectiveness of the support on offer and to identify areas for improvement. We gather feedback from a number of internal college groups such as learner forums, learner satisfaction surveys and through our excellent links with our Student Union and class representatives.

Our Student Union and senior staff work closely to ensure we both capture and respond to feedback from our learners. Key to the continuing success of this activity is the high levels of student representation. The numbers of class reps has steadily increased with 328 representatives in 2010-11 and we continue to increase the effectiveness of the training offered, ensuring maximum benefit from the commitment demonstrated by each class representative.

The importance of the relationship between the Student Union and the College will be further recognised in 2011-12 when the Student Union President position will become a sabbatical role to allow the President to represent and engage with learners on a full time basis. This increased level of representation will ensure that the learner voice is further strengthened, that there is greater accountability to our learners, and that learners will contribute towards the ongoing developments of the College.

Ensuring a positive ethos within the College applies to all areas of activity and we have instituted a college-wide drive to improve the health and wellbeing of our learners and staff. Alongside being awarded Fairtrade status, in early 2011 we were delighted when the College refectory was once again awarded the Healthy Living Award for the fourth consecutive year and our new campuses will also widen the availability of fitness facilities.

Curriculum developments in health and wellbeing will allow all learners to access meaningful on line learning opportunities to raise awareness and engage in activities relating to health and fitness and healthy minds. The new campus fitness suites will be a valuable resource to extend the engagement of learners and staff in physical activities across all campuses. Plans to make these facilities available to communities at a later date are already underway.

The College has also signed up to the newly merged organisation Scottish Student Sport, previously Scottish Universities Sport and Scottish Colleges Sport.

Following the successful achievement of the Healthy Working Lives Bronze Award this year we are currently working towards progressing to the next level of award.

Building upon successDuring the period of this corporate plan we will create an ethos in which people flourish by:

• Providing a supportive, inclusive environment based on respect

• Fo c u s s i n g o n l e a r n i n g a n d learning engagement

• Promot ing oppor tuni t ies to enhance health and wellbeing for learners and staff

• Engaging comprehensively with learners delivering enhancement in our portfolio and services

14

3. We Will Promote Opportunity and Success for Individuals and our CommunitiesWhere we are now

Our learners are at the heart of all that we do, and we devote considerable resource to the design of our portfolio to ensure that learners can access the most relevant skills and training matched to opportunities within the local area and Scotland. Our portfolio design is structured to ensure maximum learner benefit whilst minimising duplication of provision, providing seamless internal and external progression routes to allow for individualised progression routes. We provide our learners with the opportunity to take control of their learning, entering and exiting provision at the level that suits their own needs as well as through the increased provision of individualised learning opportunities via ICT enabled and other routes.

Curriculum for Excellence is a key driver for success in the design and delivery of our programmes, with staff and learners embracing the changes brought through the continued implementation of the

CfE framework. Programme design, delivery and innovative use of resources are closely allied to the four capacities within CfEand we strive to enable all of our learners to become successful and confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

We continue to strengthen our relationships with local schools to enhance the contribution of school/college partnership activity, giving young people from across the Forth Valley area the opportunity to experience the benefits of high quality vocational learning. We are actively engaged in ongoing strategic planning discussions with secondary schools to maximise the resources and also the opportunities within the implementation of the Senior Phase of Curriculum for Excellence. In 2010-11, building upon our activity within communities, we piloted the provision of flexible learning within a local high school. The success of this pilot within Dunblane High will

be used as a basis to expand the provision of delivery within local schools.

As a multi campus college, delivering in three distinct local authority areas, we will continue to incorporate the needs of these communities into the training that is offered in each location. With key links to local employers and community planning partnerships, the provision we offer has evolved over recent years to focus on certificated courses with strong progression routes for learners and we will build upon this work over the life of this plan.

We are active in a number of flexible learning centres across the area, both to provide training within areas of disadvantage and to ensure there is local access for employers. We ensure that all learners are made aware of the benefits of Individual Learning Accounts (ILA) which can contribute significantly where there are costs associated with accessing additional learning.

Our “Engaging Learners” strategy will continue to play a prime role in driving our portfolio review process, ensuring that available resource is focussed upon the areas and courses that will provide our learners with the maximum benefit and positive outcomes. The composition and direction of the Forth Valley economy is also factored into these decisions, to ensure that the training we provide to learners matches the areas that will present them with opportunities to secure employment at the end of their time with the college.

15

3. We Will Promote Opportunity and Success for Individuals and our CommunitiesWhere we are now

Like all colleges, the relevance of our portfolio and the quality of the learning we offer can be clearly demonstrated in the annual retention and achievement information published by SFC. While the College continues to have approximately national average rates of early retention and overall retention, there is a clearly significant difference in the number of Forth Valley College learners successfully completing their course compared to the Scottish average. This continuing level of success from our learners is a source of considerable pride for the College and our local communities.

Our successes do not only come from established courses where the College has significant experience in delivering particular qualifications, thanks to the way in which our staff teach and support learners, new qualifications can get off to a flying start. A prime example of this is the new Science Baccalaureate, which was originally launched at Forth Valley College by the Scottish Government. In 2010, 88% of Science Baccalaureate students at the College achieved their qualification as compared to a national average of 58%. Even more impressively, 73% of those achieving were awarded Distinctions against a national average of 55%

We are always keen to recognise and celebrate the hard work and achievements of our staff and learners throughout the year. The most significant event each year is the highly anticipated graduation ceremonies where we come together as a college to recognise and celebrate the success of our learners. These ceremonies are a pivotal moment for all our learners and are particularly special for those learners who have either returned to learning after a long absence or whose previous experiences with learning had not been positive.

There are also many causes for celebration throughout the year, ranging from the culmination of individual class projects to the recognition of our peers within the sector for the high quality work undertaken by our staff. Examples include the Gold award at the College Marketing awards our Communications and Marketing Team received for the excellent college prospectus or the Enterprise award received by our Business and Innovation Team at the Business to College Awards 2011.

Building upon successDuring the period of this corporate plan we will promote opportunity and success for individuals and our communities by:

• Continuing to focus on learner attainment

• Encouraging and celebrating effort and success throughout the organisation

• Working with partners to simplify learner pathways and securing positive destinations

• Using new facilities and resources to enhance independent learning

• Embedding core skills provision throughout the portfolio

16

4. We Will Lead the Way in Professional Practice and Service Delivery Where we are now

This corporate planning period will include a full review of College activity by HMIe. We are confident that the activity undertaken by the College will again result in a very positive review report, showcasing the innovation, talent and commitment to learners that underpin all areas of College activity.

2010-11 saw the first in what is likely to be a continuing series of funding cuts across the entire FE sector. As with other colleges these cuts, on top of the rolling efficiency savings targets which have been in place for a number of years, have necessitated a comprehensive review of the portfolio we offer and the organisational structure of our organisation.

We consult extensively with our staff and College Trade Unions on the implementation of new, flexible structures which allow us to focus resource on the areas of greatest benefit to the College, our learners and other stakeholders. Our staff continue to respond positively to the challenges facing the College, with efficiencies being identified and innovative new approaches piloted across the organisation.

In order to be effective and responsive, the College has developed a number of key roles for learner attainment and success. Curriculum & Quality Leaders (CQLs) have been a particular success, providing specialist guidance on the development of learning, teaching and assessment across the range of college provision. CQLs work directly with staff and learners and utilise the feedback generated by ongoing activity to effectively identify and implement positive change to their respective programmes.

Another key development has been the work of College Learning Development Workers (LDWs). LDWs are a group of highly motivated and supportive individuals who work with learners, often one on one, to provide support and guidance that will enable learners to succeed in their course.

We continue to develop our structures and, in 2011, have:

• Created a dedicated core skills unit to embed the provision of contextualised core and essential skills throughout all college teaching departments

• Realigned elements of our teaching provision with the creation of a new Department of Food and Salon Services and the reshaping of the Care department to become Care, Health and Sport

• Implemented an ambitious business transformation project aimed at securing the most effective use of ICT resources across the College

Fundamental to the achievement of leading professional practice and service delivery is the achievement of a quality culture throughout the organisation. Staff, particularly CQL’s, ensure that quality is embedded throughout all college processes and all aspects of learner engagement. The success of our quality culture has been highlighted through external review of the College which noted our work on promoting learner engagement by enhancing the class representative role. Our successful quality culture is based upon the identification, development and sharing of best practice across all areas of the College. We have established a number of key cross college fora to enable the effective dissemination of best practice and collaborative development activity. These fora have assisted in the development of blended support and integrated learning services, underpinning the new college approach to offering learners more effective access to college functions and resources.

17

4. We Will Lead the Way in Professional Practice and Service Delivery Where we are now

While facing the challenge of funding constraint, the College has not lost focus on the benefits of investing in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for staff, enhancing the high skills levels each individual brings to the College and passes onto our learners. We have implemented a college wide training and development programme to increase the ICT skills of all staff members to ensure we secure the best benefit from the significant ICT investments in recent years, and to enable training delivery via the new methodologies our learners expect in their learning and teaching. We will introduce new practices utilising e-learning and e-assessment to further strengthen our ethos of ensuring learner led independent learning with increased on line resources to support this activity.

We will work with partners in the Higher Education (HE) sector to strengthen articulation links for our learners, ensuring positive progression routes, and also to identify areas of shared endeavour that will secure the most efficient and effective use of limited resource in supporting learners and businesses.

We have strengthened our local HE links with increased levels of interaction with the University of Stirling and have commissioned the University to be the accrediting body for our degree level Creative Industries programme. We have also embarked upon an ambitious partnership with Stirling University designed both to support the key Life Sciences sector and also generate savings for both organisations through a collaborative approach to the provision of skills.

We also continue to enjoy strong links with Heriot Watt University in the delivery of our MA programme which takes trainees from entry level qualifications through to a Masters in Engineering, whilst they undertake real life work experience with INEOS in Grangemouth.

We work with a number of key public and sectoral partners to strengthen and clarify access and progression pathways, aligning activity to provide a clear route for learners and allow for greater access to the range of support options on offer. We are actively involved with a number of Sector Skills Councils, Skills Development Scotland and Job Centre Plus to ensure the skills and training we provide offer the maximum opportunity for our learners to progress into employment.

Building upon successDuring the period of this corporate plan we will lead the way in professional practice and service delivery by:

• Striving to secure a successful outcome from HMIe review

• Engaging with our staff to successfully manage organisational change in support of learners

• Developing roles and structures which promote innovation and efficiency in service delivery

• Delivering sector leading levels of staff development to enhance the professionalism and contribution of our staff

18

5. We Will Create a Superb Environment for LearningWhere we are now

We are excited to be bringing the benefits of our estates ambitions to our learners, with the opening of the new Alloa campus in September 2011 and the Stirling Campus on schedule for an April 2012 opening. We are also pursuing opportunities to develop our campus in Falkirk to provide the type of learning facility our learners, staff and the local community deserve across all three local authority areas.

Our new Alloa campus went ‘live’ for learners at the start of the 2011-12 academic year. The new campus represents not only the largest public sector investment in the Clackmannanshire area for decades, but is also a step-change in our capabilities to meet the demand for places and the training needs of the area which has experienced prolonged poor economic performance, particularly amongst young people, compared to Scotland as a whole.

The outstanding new Alloa campus in the heart of the town, split over three levels, is a bright and welcoming building with stunning views over Alloa and the surrounding Ochil hills. With dedicated engineering workshops, break out areas to encourage independent learning and spaces that can be used by our local communities and businesses it is a space fit to meet the aspirations of all its users. We have also used the new campus as an opportunity to build upon the successful model of hospitality provision within our Raploch campus. This will allow our hospitality learners greater opportunities to gain real life experience in the provision of catering and will also benefit all campus users who will be able to enjoy an exceptional standard of food and beverages.

Construction on our Stirling campus has also commenced and upon completion, in April 2012, will provide our learners with the same high quality learning environment as is now available at our Alloa campus. The location of the new Stirling campus supports our on-going commitment to the Stirling area in general, and the Raploch area in particular; and builds upon the highly successful work started within our Raploch community campus. As with the Alloa campus, the College has used the opportunity presented by these new campuses to re-orient our provision to those areas with the greatest sustainable demand.

We are keen to manage the impact of the building and use of these new facilities and have ensured that they are environmentally sustainable. Both Alloa and Stirling have been designed to achieve the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) rating of excellence in sustainability and the College has developed a green travel plan to promote alternatives to car use for staff and learners.

19

5. We Will Create a Superb Environment for LearningWhere we are now

Our new campuses in Alloa and Stirling also provide us with a unique opportunity to customise the physical environment our learners interact with, to reshape how we provide services to our learners and move away from the traditional college model of services being separated into discrete areas of activity. Instead we have shaped the provision of our support services in such a way as to maximise their visibility and availability of college resources and expertise to learners.

We remain ambitious to develop the potential within our existing Falkirk campus. Over the course of the planning period we will seek to secure redevelopment of our Falkirk site, utilising the sale of our Middlefield site to support the implementation of the first phase of our Falkirk master plan. This development would create an additional 3300sqm of modern and flexible learning space designed to complement the high quality provision in Alloa and Stirling. This additional space would allow us to increase and develop our activity in our key specialisms relating to science and technology, ensuring we continue to provide the skills training that is vital to employers throughout the Forth Valley area and Scotland.

The College has invested significantly in our ICT capacity over recent years, improving the availability of ICT resources and information to staff and learners across all campuses. We have continued to develop our Moodle Virtual Learning Environment to give learners control over how they access materials to support independent learning and to increase interaction with other learners and staff in and outwith class time through the use of wiki’s and blogs to supplement their learning.

A key development in our ICT capacity during the early stages of this corporate plan will be the deployment of ‘thin client’ computers across the college. This new approach will enable learners to access assistive technology across the entire college network, with the technology “following” them wherever they access IT resources across all campuses.

Building upon successDuring the period of this corporate plan we will create a superb environment for learning by:

• Enhancing learner experience and satisfaction through new campus developments in Alloa, Stirling and possibly Falkirk

• Engaging with our communities to optimise ownership, utilisation and pride in new facilities

• E n h a n c i n g l e a r n i n g a n d operations through increased ICT capacity

20

6. We Will Enhance Organisational Performance Through Innovation, Enterprise and Collaboration

Where we are nowWith constraint across all aspects of public funding, the ability of organisations to secure alternative funding streams is now more important than ever. The College has a solid foundation to build upon in this area, with the contribution of our commercial activity continuing to grow, despite economic challenges. Our reputation as providers of innovative training continues to attract interest across a number of sectors and we have expanded our activity to further enhance our activity across existing markets.

We have strengthened the integration between our commercial activity and teaching departments by relocating some specialist operations onto our Falkirk campus to provide a widespread range of college expertise to our commercial clients.

We have invested in areas of continued growth, with significant upgrades made to our industrial process training rig and control room facilities, ensuring we remain at the forefront of training provision for the oil and gas and manufacturing sectors of the Scottish economy.

We recognise the added value strategic partnerships can bring to the College, our learners and our local communities. We are committed to our existing partnership links and devote significant amounts of staff resource to ensuring the maximum benefit is realised from these arrangements. The College is represented on all three Community Planning Partnerships across all of our local authority areas, coordinating provision and representing the College and our learners. We encourage our staff to participate in local and national bodies relating to their areas of expertise to access best practice, networking opportunities and new sector developments.

We have engaged in collaborative ventures with other Colleges, such as our partnership with Adam Smith College to deliver on site training activity for the STC Global organisation. Effective, efficient and cost effective partnership arrangements will be crucial over the lifetime of this corporate plan to ensure the College can continue to realise our ambitions in a manner that reduces risk and maximises the benefits available.

We are also embarking upon an ambitious partnership with Historic Scotland, working together to provide training opportunities to secure and revitalise key traditional skills that are at risk.

Building upon successDuring the period of this corporate plan we will enhance organisational performance through innovation, enterprise and collaboration by:

• Growing contribution derived from alternative funding streams

• Deepening collaboration and alignment with selected partners to the benefit of learners and stakeholders

• Developing sector leading practice in the design and delivery of services to employers

21

As a College which has successfully undertaken the merger of two boards and led major estates investment of £55 million, the Board of Forth Valley College will engage positively with the outcome of any review of governance. We have recently reviewed and simplified some aspects of Board structure and support in order to increase efficiency and release resources for front line activity.

We will continue to utilise a robust range of monitoring mechanisms across the organisation and, at Board level, to ensure that we have a consistent view of progress towards targets and of our overall financial position. As with all publically funded bodies, we are subject to a range of external audit and verification processes and, to date, the reviews undertaken demonstrate that the College is very effectively managed and well led. We aim to maintain this record for sound planning and excellent operations throughout the period of the plan.

Internally, we will strengthen our self evaluation activity, utilising our robust operational planning and individual personal target setting and review processes to ensure all college activity is focussed on achieving the ambitions contained within the corporate plan.

The College has strengthened its commitment to learner engagement making the Student President a sabbatical position. The Board views this as a step to develop even stronger links with the student body to promote the significance of learner contribution to future college growth and development.

Effective communication and engagement at all levels is a vital corporate strategy for the College and our award-winning communications and marketing team, working with managers and the senior team, promote a diverse range of engagement - from staff briefings, to text messaging and facebook, to ensure that the College reaches our varied audience successfully.

Key to the sense of engagement is the opportunity for face to face dissemination and discussion. The College has a formal committee structure but also brings together operational groups to share information, challenges and successes. These groups include progress review meetings for managers, departmental meetings, heads of department and service meetings, curriculum and quality meetings and lecturers fora.

The College recognises that we have a responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of our operations upon the wider environment. As a signatory to the Universities and Colleges Climate Commitment for Scotland, we have developed a number of strategies designed to ensure we make the most effective use of our resources, reduce our levels of emissions and waste, and educate staff and learners on the opportunities to make a positive impact upon the wider environment. Our two new campuses, beyond their own rating of environmental excellence from BREEAM, provide an excellent chance to take stock of existing practice and implement new and improved

7. We Will Demonstrate an Open, Accountable and Sustainable Approach to Governance

Where we are now

Building upon successDuring the period of this corporate plan we will demonstrate an open, accountable and sustainable approach to governance by:

• Responding effectively to proposals for public sector reform concerning Colleges

• Mitigating the impact of financial constraints through operational improvement and efficiency measures

• Maintaining financial security in the context of significant internal and external demand on resources

• Delivering our commitment to improve envi ronmenta l performance

processes. We have developed and communicated a college wide sustainable travel plan, highlighting the benefits of car sharing and providing information on the wide variety of excellent public transport links between our three campuses and across the Forth Valley area.

Scotland’s Colleges, in conjunction with the Scottish Trade Unions Congress (STUC), released a joint standard on staff governance, covering corporate accountability for the fair and effective management of all staff. The standard covers key areas such as keeping staff well informed, promoting appropriate training and involving staff in those decisions that directly affect them. We are already fully compliant with this standard and will continue to maintain this position over the lifetime of this plan, and beyond.

22

8. We Will Enhance Our Role and Reputation as a Leading Provider of Education and Skills for Scotland

Where we are nowWe are proud of our position at the forefront of the College sector in Scotland. There are a number of factors which have contributed to this - successful delivery of strategic change, innovative projects and approaches, networking and support for partners, dedicated and engaging staff, positive feedback from HMIe, key specialisms in Science and Technology, a widespread employer base.

We are committed to developing key, long term partnerships of substance and will take forward initiatives to support the aspirations of the College which benefit our local communities. We will continue our work with local authorities, higher education bodies and the third sector to maximise the impact of available local resources.

We will seek to attract additional resources to support innovation and to demonstrate where investment leads to savings for the public purse. Our central location also provides opportunities to provide unique tailored services to national organisations such as Historic Scotland.

The opening of beautifully designed campus buildings in prominent locations in both Alloa and Stirling will significantly enhance the profile of the College within these communities and will provide a platform for new approaches to joint working with partners as well as stimulate demand for new services from the business community. The College is working towards an equally positive outcome for the Falkirk campus.

The College’s reputation and profile also stems from the work of individual members of the staff team in roles beyond the organisation which contribute, in a visible way, to sector, local and national developments – examples include HMIe associate assessors, key roles within Scotland’s Colleges, membership of Skills Committees such as Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Enterprise East Regional Advisory Board membership.

The current and future financial constraints on Forth Valley College and the turbulence of our external environment, will challenge the organisation and may limit our scope. However the changes and pressures also present new opportunities for the College to adapt and innovate in a different environment. The key to success will be effective anticipation of the issues, clear communication within and beyond the organisation and the development of a shared positive agenda with staff, learners and stakeholders.

Building upon successDuring the period of this corporate plan we will aim to enhance our role and reputation as a leading provider of education and skills for Scotland by:

• Using new facilities to enhance our local and national reputation for innovation and quality

• Consolidating lead role and competitive position in Science and Technology development

• Promoting our role as a provider of choice with employers, key a g e n c i e s a n d t h e S c o t t i s h Government

• Fostering the satisfaction and pride of our learners

23

We believe that, during the period covered by this corporate plan, there is likely to be significantly less capital investment in the Further Education by the Scottish Government. This will present major challenges to us, but we believe that our recent success in opening our new campus building in Alloa and our development of the new Stirling campus, which is on target to open in April 2012, will provide the context for very efficient service delivery.

Owing to the current state of the economy, this planning period will present a number of challenges for the College. The Further and Higher Education sector as a whole has experienced a significant upsurge in demand for places from those who are experiencing trouble entering, or remaining in, the job market. This increase in demand, together with unprecedented cuts in both revenue and capital funding, rising inflation and increased VAT, has reinforced the need for efficiency across all aspects of college activity.

There is continuing uncertainty around future funding levels and the £74 million cut announced for the sector during the period of this corporate plan. These cuts, along with the current review of the funding methodologies, will have a significant impact on our planning process. Maintaining financial security while funding the aspirations of the corporate plan remains a key priority for the College.

We will look to achieve our corporate objectives through new and innovative ways of working and build on our successful work to date in realising efficient operational practices and high quality procurement systems, designed to secure value for money across all areas of college spend.

Staffing costs, including our on-going pension commitments, continue to be the most significant operational cost we incur and on-going structural reviews will be a key focus over this corporate planning period to ensure we remain effective, efficient and economical.

Despite the economic climate our commercial activity continues to make a substantial contribution to our financial performance. We will continue our focus on securing commercial contracts and other non grant-in-aid funding sources to increase the non grant-in-aid contribution to the College.We operate a system of regularly reviewing our performance against targets and will continue to do so over the lifetime of this plan and beyond. We are committed to maintaining our financial health and long term sustainability in order to support our strategic aspirations both now and in the future, whilst continuing to deliver first class learning and training.

Financial Outlook& Risk Management2011-2014

While always seeking to minimise or eliminate risk, we recognise the need to take informed and calculated risks to allow for the growth of the College and to secure alternative funding streams.

We have comprehensive risk management systems in place to ensure that risks are fully analysed and receive the appropriate level of approval before any activity is undertaken, with clear reporting links to senior management and the Board of Management. All risks identified within the College are monitored on an on-going basis and specialist registers are created for large projects such as the estates development where required.

24

w w w . f o r t h v a l l e y . a c . u kRegistered Charity Number: SC021191

MISSIONExcellence in Learning

VISION• Offering the best to learners, employers and partners.

• Leading the way in professional practice and service delivery.

• Shaping future success with our communities.

VALUESForth Valley College of Further & Higher Education will:

• Encourage innovation, creativity and balanced risk taking

• Promote equality, inclusion and mutual respect

• Provide clear leadership, empower staff and encourage continuous improvement

• Demonstrate honesty, openness and accountability

• Promote a calm, purposeful and safe environment

• Demonstrate tolerance, understanding and generosity of spirit

• Recognise, celebrate and take pleasure in success

• Play its part for the wider community of Scotland

FALKIRKGrangemouth RoadFalkirkFK2 9ADT: (01324) 40 30 00

STIRLINGKerse RoadStirlingFK7 7QAT: (01786) 40 60 00

RAPLOCHDrip RoadStirlingFK8 1RDT: (01786) 27 23 00

CLACKMANNANDevon RoadAlloaFK10 1PXT: (01259) 21 51 21