College Mission: Craven College – Enriching lives through learning
In 2009, Craven College was officially declared as the 8th Best General FE College in England (out of 238) based upon the % student success.
As we look to the future we want to build on this success and the college seeks to be Outstanding in all that it does. The objective is to strive for an excellent student experience every day; from the welcome in Reception to the service in canteens, Resource Centres and Student Services, right through to the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
Quality at Craven College is also reflected in the value added to a learner's life skills, aspirations and ability to contribute to the community and the workplace.
During the past decade the College has created specialist vocational facilities to enable learners to acquire the real skills that employers need. Examples include the Aviation Academy at Leeds Bradford International Airport, the School of Art and Media, Skipton Auction Mart and the Centre for Construction and Heritage Skills. All of these Centres have enabled College learners progress into jobs with real prospects or into Higher Education.
The plans to improve facilities are continuing right now. In September 2011, the newest education building in the area will be completed. It will be a 3 floor, 24 room, 21,000 sq. ft purpose built building to deliver outstanding teaching and learning and will include specialist IT equipment, 2 modern laboratories and facilities for Child Care, Travel & Tourism, and Business & IT, as well as specialised areas for people with disabilities and learning difficulties.
Plans are also underway to update facilities at the High Street site for Catering & Hospitality and Hairdressing, Beauty & Holistic Therapies.
Craven College will remain committed to putting its learners first, regularly updating and improving its already excellent facilities for students.
Providing support for the local economy has been an integral feature of the growth and development of Craven College. This is currently demonstrated in three principle ways: firstly as the premier provider of a wide range of vocational education and training to local organisations; secondly through rapid and effective response in providing business solutions to emerging problems through Tyro Training and the work of the college's Funding (Project) Team; and thirdly as a significant employer, purchaser and generator of income.
Craven College effectively and regularly tops up the reservoir of vocational skills and talent that is needed for local successful organisations to thrive and develop. The region's economy needs both newly trained young recruits and mature workers retrained and upskilled to respond to the challenge of changing markets and new technology. Craven College has grown and developed its courses to reflect and directly support these needs.
Tyro Training's reputation is second to none in the local area and across the region. A reputation built upon demand led, flexible, top quality business training which provides bespoke business solutions. Accessibility and affordability are also key factors in a period of economic difficulty and Tyro will continue to provide a vast range of both standard, nationally recognised, and specially tailored individual courses to suit particular organisations. Also the college's Funding Team will continue to attract additional external funding into the area to stimulate further investment.
Finally, as an Investor in People and one of the district's largest employers with around 700 staff, the college will continue to act as a role model, giving new opportunities to all sections of its community and purchasing locally where possible.
For many years there has been a determination to broaden the choice of subjects, guaranteeing choice every bit as varied as that offered by urban colleges. This allows an increasing choice of career pathways for all of our community – 700.
Our prospectus now includes 380 different subject areas from pre GCSE Level 1 to degree and Post Graduate courses, 21 Apprentice routes and hundreds of specialist short and part time courses. The response by the community to this greater selection of quality courses has been immense: since 2002-03 full time Further Education students have grown by over 60%, Higher Education students by 316% and apprentices by 731%.
At this College we believe that everyone has the potential to succeed, and everyone is encouraged to realise their potential. To this end, we take pride in ensuring that every individual learner counts and have put in place a network of personal support to suit all learning needs.
The College is also very active in fostering and promoting community cohesion. Equality is guaranteed for all and enables people from diverse backgrounds to develop and flourish.
Also never have relations been stronger or more positive between the college and a whole number of local organisations: over 600 businesses are regularly served; an increasingly large number of voluntary groups engage with the college (Craven College has gained national recognition for its work with the Voluntary Sector – see http://www.volunteering.org.uk/members) and public sector bodies such as the County, District and Town Councils.
Despite the economic recession and funding constraints imposed upon all schools, colleges and universities, Craven College will continue to strive to maximise and utilise its income streams to maximum effect on behalf of its community.
Investment in improving facilities (see list) and equipment on all sites will continue unabated and the college remains on track to continue its expansion and to pursue new courses and initiatives.
The college's aspiration is to be Outstanding in everything we do. We will build further on our existing reputation as the premier provider of vocational education and training in the area and being the central source for both lifelong learning and business support.
The constant aim will be to increase yet further the plaudits of Inspectors, external Moderators and Verifiers, student success rates, employer endorsements of the quality of our students and the personal references and recommendations from our learners to other people in the community.
