Contents

Page Number
Foreword / 2
3
Introduction
Context - summary information on the Hull College Group / 4 - 9
Student and staff data / 10-13
Moving forward / 14

Equality and Diversity Achievement Data 15

1

Foreword

A message from the Chief Executive Officer of Hull College Group

Alongside our unrelenting commitment to ensuring that our offer meets the needs of the labour market, we also ensure that meeting students’ needs is at the heart of what we do. Our mission and values are underpinned by a detailed personal development programme that ensures all of our students explore the themes of respect, equality and diversity, and fundamental British values throughout their learning journey.

The Group plays a key role in the local and regional community aligning our curriculum offer to the needs of the Local Enterprise Partnerships we serve. This focus on economic prosperity and employability enables our students to achieve high levels of progression to employment and further study.

The Group fully embraced an exciting and wonderful opportunity to be part of the Hull City of Culture year in 2017 with daily events taking place across the City for 365 days. The programme of events brought together arts, music, culture and heritage, reaching out to new and established audiences. The Group was involved by showcasing the work of our students producedthrough the shows, exhibitions, themed activities and other organised events through the four themed seasoned events.

In 2017 I was appointed as the new Group Chief Executive Officer and a new Senior Leadership Team was also appointed to lead the Group. We are strongly ambitious and determined to ensure that the Group provides the best learning environment and culture for all students, tutors, and other staff at all levels in the organisation. Our new leadership team that took effect mid-year has identified weaknesses, refocused its priorities, and is beginning to communicate these well throughout the organisation, and I have identified key priorities for improvement that have been communicated clearly to Governors and staff through formal meetings, internal communications and informal discussions.

With the support of Corporation we started a transformation and recovery process in 2016/17 that is beginning to show progress.. We have established a new strategic plan to support the leadership team to meet stakeholder future requirements through a period of Group transformation and recovery. The Group’s Recovery Plan outlines the success already realised by the introduction of an individual unit viability model to address issues of financial and quality underperformance.

This annual report provides an important opportunity to reflect on how we are achieving our objectives and what further steps are necessary as we consider and continue to engage in the next stages of our equality journey.

Michelle Swithenbank

Chief Executive Officer

Introduction

Hull College Group is committed to equality and diversity in all our activities and for everyone who learns and works here. Across our large organisation we are proud of our multi-cultural communities in Goole, Harrogate and Hull and we recognise the need to prepare our learners for living and working in a multi-cultural society. We respect, value and celebrate differences in race and ethnic origin, gender, gender reassignment, disability, mental health, sexual orientation, age, religion and belief, additional learning needs, economic and social background. We place a high value on showing fairness, courtesy and mutual respect. We understand and we are committed to best practice in equality and diversity and ensuring we operate within the legal framework of the Equality Act 2010.

The large majority of learners at Hull College Group understand issues relating to Equality and Diversity due to the embedding of British Values within all types of provision. Learners have this aspect reinforced through induction, lessons and themed weeks. Apprentices’ knowledge and understanding relating to equality and diversity is reinforced through progress reviews. Delivery staff are confident with the delivery of this concept due to the continuing use of the Hull College Group Plan model of delivery. The Personal Development Programme conducted through the Group’s Student Coaches have successfully promoted key themes across the Group’s diverse student body throughout the academic year that focus on important issues such as equality, diversity & respect, democracy & citizenship, and health & well-being that provide further opportunities for students to learn and understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy.

This report is published to demonstrate the Group’s commitment andresponse to the Equality Act 2010’s Public Sector Equality Duty. The focus is to provide annual equality information to explain how we are fulfilling the three aims of the general equality duty i.e:

  • having due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination
  • advance equality of opportunity, and
  • foster good relations between different protected characteristics.

These aims underpin the nine protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act: age, disability, race, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion/belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership.

Please note that further and more detailed statistical information is available on request.

Context

Hull College Group is one of the largest general further education colleges (GFE) in the country. It operates from three main sites: Hull, Harrogate and Goole. Throughout 2016/17 the Group operated from three key locations in Hull: Queen’s Gardens campus; Cannon Street Centre – the centre of excellence for Motor Vehicle and Engineering; and the Learning Zone situated in the KCom Stadium offering primarily sports programmes. Harrogate College is centred at Hornbeam Park in the town and Goole College is based in the centre of Goole. The Group has its own training arm for workplace learning (HCUK Training) based in the main Queen’s Gardens site.

HCUK Training is the Work Based Learning and Skills division of the Hull College Group responsible for the delivery of Apprenticeships, Traineeships, employability and alternative funding contracts including European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). HCUK Training offers bespoke training programmes through forty three industry sub-contractors (including delivery of ESF Skills Support for the Workforce) and operates from the site in Queen’s Gardens. Harrogate College and Goole College also operate a number of programmes that support employers within their regions.

The Group meets the needs of employers and other partners successfully. The Group has aligned most of its core provision successfully to local and regional strategic priorities. In 2016/17 89.8% of vocational provision at Hull and Goole Colleges matched the priorities of the Humber LEP. At Harrogate College 99% of the provision matched the priorities of the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding LEP. This focus on aligning to LEP priorities led, for instance, to the Group taking the strategic decision to provide learning pathways through effective curriculum planning allowing students to study academic or technical qualifications from Entry Level to level 6 in qualifications linked to career opportunities. The Group continues to work with many employers to provide high level education and skills to support their growth and development needs.

The Group’s most recent Ofsted Inspection was conducted 2015. The Group received an overall effectiveness judgement of good: grade 2. The QAA inspection conducted in May 2016 outlined that the Group had no recommendations for improvement in relation to Higher Education provision and was commended on its approach to student enhancement. The Group successfully completed its Matrix standards continuous improvement accreditation review in June 2017 and was commended for its continuous development of CEIAG.

The Group primarily serves the areas of Hull and East Riding from its Hull and Goole centres, and Harrogate and North Yorkshire from the Harrogate centre. The Group also recruits nationally and internationally through its commercial and Higher Education (HE) provision. In the immediate catchment area of Kingston upon Hull, there are many areas of significant deprivation (3rd most deprived. Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2015). In 2017, the average attainment 8 score in Hull was 41.8; this is significantly lower than the national average of 46.1. Qualifications on entry data show only 18% of all 16 year olds joining full-time courses having English and mathematics GCSEs at grade C or above (or Grade 4 or above) from September 2017 compared to around 63% achieving this by age 16 nationally (source: DfE data). The proportion of students in Hull who are from areas identified as disadvantaged is 65%.

The unemployment rate for Yorkshire and the Humber is 4.7% (July 2017) and well above the national rate of 4.3% (Source: Office for National Statistics). The rate for Hull is around 7.1%. The percentage of those Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) aged 16-24 in the Yorkshire and Humber region is 14.7%, compared to the average for the UK of 11.1% (June 2017. Source: ONS).

Following legislative change the Group started its own provision for Direct Entry at age 14. The 14-16 College opened in September 2013 offering a broad and balanced curriculum, based in a secure zone at both Hull and Goole sites. The official on-roll number for 2016/17 was 84 in year 10 and 68in year 11. During the Ofsted inspection of November 2015 the Group received a rating of ‘Good’ for 14-16 Direct Entry provision.

In the Harrogate area the proportion of young people who remain in education after the age of 16 is high and unemployment low. The North Yorkshire region is currently experiencing a significant demographic decline in the number of 16 year-olds (around a 9.5% decline anticipated between 2016 and 2020). However, whilst the socio-economic background of the area is very different to Hull and Goole many of its students are from similar backgrounds to those found at the other two colleges.

Around Harrogate College there are sixteen secondary schools, of which six are of Academy Status and four of independent status. Fifteen of these schools have sixth form provision and as a consequence competition for students aged 16 to 18 is strong. In 2017, the average attainment 8 score in North Yorkshire was 49.3 compared to the national average of 46.1.

The Hull College Group offers courses in all 15 sector subject areas leading to qualifications from pre-entry level to Higher Education. In 2016/17, the Group enrolled over 19,000 students through a range of programme types including Classroom Based Learning, Apprenticeships, Workplace Learning, full-cost, contracted work and Higher Education. Of these, over 3,000 were aged 16-18 on Classroom Based Learning, 5,000 adult students on classroom based learning and 1,000 on Higher Education programmes. Workplace Learning (including Apprenticeship programmes) were provided for around 7,700 students. Some 19% of students enrolled at the Group are from minority ethnic groups (including Irish), compared with 10.2% in the local community of Hull, 3.9% in the East Riding and 8.3% in Harrogate (Source: 2015 Hull Data Observatory, 2011 Census).

The percentage of students receiving financial support is often used as a measure of social deprivation in the same way that the free school meals measure is used in schools. During 2016/17, 44% of the Group’s 16-18 year-old full-time students received the Student Maintenance Allowance (the Hull College Group branded student support bursary). The bursary has been designed to support those students in greatest financial hardship. In addition 1,273 of the Group’s 19+ students received financial support for books, equipment and essential course trips from the Discretionary Learner Support Fund. The Group receives a disadvantage uplift for 43.4% of its funded students. Hull provision uplift is 69% for its funded students. These uplifts are based on post code rankings from the Indices of Multiple Deprivation.

Management of Equality and Diversity within the Group

The Group has a Single Equality Scheme and Action Plan covering all protected characteristics. Operational direction and policy development is managed through the Group’s Equality and Diversity Manager who reports to the Group Welfare Board. Where appropriate, the Group uses a process of Equality Analysis to assess the impact on equality of selected strategies, policies, plans, and procedures.

Further Education (FE) Classroom Based Learning – Outcomes for Learners

The renewed emphasis on the impact of the Quality Improvement Plan has kept the focus on at-risk students and improvement with achievement rates. This rigour has supported an overall classroom based achievement rate increase of 3% compared to the 15/16 out turn but this is not yet good.

Leaders and managers have continued to address the importance of English and maths provision throughout the Group and have made this a key strategic improvement priority. English and maths are central to study programme delivery and are delivered in a vocational context. Intervention activities to support student achievement were actioned early in 2016/17 to support improvements with learner outcomes. Functional skills achievement rates for 16-18 year olds have improved by 12.1% and is now above the national rate. The Group recognises the continued work needed to raise GCSE achievement on maths and English for 19+ learners and high grades on GCSE provision which require improvement. This is addressed through the newly introduced English and maths strategy.

The majority of students in classroom based learning make good progress in relation to their starting points. The overall classroom based learning achievement rate has increased by 3% in 2016/17 to 80.5% but is not yet good. Functional Skills English and maths achievement for 16-18 year olds has improved by 12.1% and for 19+ learners by 5.7%. The Group recognises the improvements needed particularly with achievement in English and maths GCSE provision. Apprentices are making very good progress on their frameworks with the achievement rate remaining 6.3% above the national rate at 75.2%. All levels of apprenticeship provision remain well above national rates. The advanced apprenticeship achievement rate is 72.9%, 3.7% above national rate and higher apprenticeship achievement rate is 80.1%, 18.4% above national rate. The Group recognises that although progress has been made with improving value added in maths and English provision, the Applied General value added rate remains below average at -0.45.

Students work was monitored through quality assurance activity throughout 2016/17. Targets were also monitored by tutors and student coaches. Realistic and aspirational targets were set and monitored through the Personal Development Programme. The vocational achievement rate for students across the Group is good. The achievement rate for vocational qualifications in 2016/17 was 85.8% which is a comparable outcome to the previous year.

The Group’s Operational Enhancement model supports improvement for vocational achievement rates. Students undertaking additional learning goals achieved significant success. 96% of students completed at least 30 hours of work experience in 2016/17 a 2% increase on the previous year. Apprentices select specific units to compliment mandatory units as part of their frameworks to meet employer needs. Level 2 Childcare apprentices complete the level 3 safeguarding unit to increase their skills,knowledge and level of employability. Although, the majority of vocational achievement rates are good a minority of course performance is not yet good and below national achievement rates. Identified areas of poor performance are targeted through operational enhancement and curriculum performance improvement activity in 2017/18.

The Employability Skills Passport has 22 sub-skills which allows students to achieve a portfolio of work-related skills to support progression into their chosen career or to further study. The passport is mapped across all elements of the Study Programme with 40% of 16-18 year olds achieving a Passport level in 2016/17, an industry standard recognised by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

The Group provides very good support for students with SEND or wider support needs. SEND students’ perception of support (SPOS) for 16/17 was excellent, 91% of students found their support to be good or excellent. 93% of students who received support felt that the support had helped them while studying at college and 94% of students who received guidance and support from counselling services were retained on course. An observation process has been developed this year to ensure in year tracking of student support remains effective throughout the academic year. This new process promotes and supports independence within their study and Preparation for Adulthood (PfA).

There is very little difference in achievement rates between different types of learners, and gaps in performance are quickly identified and redressed. All student progress is monitored and subsequent actions required implemented well at all levels throughout the Group. Students categorised as having a disability are monitored and supported through additional learning support processes which has improved their achievement rate by 3.2% in 2016/17. Equality and Diversity are actively promoted and any remaining gaps between different groups are measured, monitored, challenged and actions for improvements set. The Group has significant numbers of SEND students and students with EHCPs. These are regularly monitored by senior leaders and Governors and subsequent actions demonstrate the high performance of these groups. There are no significant gaps between students with a learning difficulty or disability and those who have not got a learning difficulty or disability. The Group’s achievement rate for students with a learning difficulty or disability improved by 3.2% but is not yet good as it is 0.5% below the national rate.