Northern College Curriculum Strategy

Northern College Curriculum Strategy

1.  Introduction

The College’s curriculum is shaped by its mission and values and its origins as a provider of democratic, progressive adult education.

The College’s mission is:

“To provide outstanding adult residential and community education for the empowerment and transformation of individuals and communities”

Its three core values are:

·  To inspire excellence

·  To value and celebrate diversity

·  To promote social inclusion

2.  Context and Overarching Principles

Since its inception, the concepts of ‘society’ and ‘community’ have been central to Northern College’s curriculum offer. The notion of ‘really useful knowledge’ linked to a tradition which recognises the relevance of popular education, democratic adult education and the legitimacy of group and social movement education as well as individual advancement are a necessary and important background to curriculum development. The College’s curriculum offer has never been static and is always evolving and developing in response to changes in adult education policy, in the economy and in society.

The following seven overarching principles govern the management and development of the curriculum

·  Access and Flexibility: the offer should be provided in a variety of ways and levels with multiple entry and exit points

·  Coherence: both at Programme and at the level of individual courses and programmes of learning

·  Achievement and Progression: the College should aim to interlink all provision to provide pathways and progression routes which support, challenge and inspire all learners to realise their potential and ambitions

·  Relevance: the curriculum must be relevant to the needs of learners and their communities and to the stakeholders of the College

·  Innovation: continuously generated in both content and delivery, maximising the use of individual contributions and talents, and the use of new technologies.

·  Excellence: learning opportunities of the highest quality and at the leading edge of best practice, both nationally and locally

·  Income: the balance of subjects within the curriculum cannot be divorced from income targets and financial viability

3.  Aims

Following a recent review of the College’s mission and the launch of College’s CHANGE agenda, the College aims to provide a curriculum that:

·  Develops every student’s self-confidence, self-esteem and pride in achievement

·  Contributes to every student’s personal wellbeing, health and happiness

·  Inspires excellence and raises the aspirations of students

·  Challenges students to think in new ways and to understand competing frameworks for analysing the way the world is

·  Encourages students to get involved through active citizenship, participation in civil society and in the community

·  Contributes to the empowerment and transformation of individuals and communities

·  Values and celebrates diversity and promotes social inclusion

·  Builds upon the wide range of experiences and skills adults bring to learning, to enrich the learning experience of all

·  Involves students in planning and taking responsibility for their own learning and encourages them to contribute to the college community

·  Provides the building blocks for progression to higher levels of learning and employment

·  Involves students in planning and taking responsibility for their own learning and encourages them to contribute to the college community

·  Provides the building blocks for progression to higher levels of learning and employment

·  Responds to the needs of the regional and national labour market within its area of expertise

·  Responds to the Government’s priorities for community learning

4.  Strategy

The College's general curriculum strategy is to:

·  Review its curriculum offer in spring each year as part the annual planning cycle

·  Focus its activity in curriculum areas where it has an established reputation, good resources and significant staff expertise

·  Work with community partners to identify local community learning needs and offer a curriculum to improve the socio-economic well-being of students and their communities

·  Design bespoke courses to engage new students and work with groups to build their capacity to meet the challenges they face.

·  Work with strategic partners like Jobcentre Plus and Local Authorities to identify local labour market needs and devise a curriculum to respond to these

·  Work with employers, within the College’s areas of expertise, to develop provision that responds to labour market needs

·  Provide different routes and pathways to learning in a flexible way including short or part-time learning experiences.

·  Make best use of the Colleges residential facilities to offer intensive bursts of learning that also build social and employability skills and foster collaborative learning outside the classroom

·  Evaluate the financial viability of new provision and review existing provision to ensure that it is delivered in the most cost-effective way

·  Offer a curriculum that celebrates and develops a wider understanding of diversity issues and ensure the effective integration of equality and diversity across the curriculum

·  Provide opportunities for individuals to improve their skills in English and mathematics and ensure the effective integration of these subjects across the curriculum

·  Ensure that there are entry-level courses in each area of provision wherever possible, and a clear and coherent progression pathway into more advanced programmes either within the College or via other partner adult education providers

·  Utilise new learning technologies, including the VLE, to enhance and extend learning

·  Offer a mix of non-accredited and accredited learning and the most appropriate form of certification to meet the needs of learners and employers

·  Ensure that teaching approaches and materials do not create unnecessary barriers to learning and that delivery methods are sensitive to the needs of learners with additional learning support needs

·  Use a variety of methods to measure and evaluate the impact of the curriculum for individuals and for communities

5.  Curriculum Content

The College has developed staffing and learning resources with a focus on education for a social purpose. The College currently makes provision in the following broad curriculum areas:

Children’s Workforce

English and Maths

Health and Social Care

Humanities/Combined Studies

Information Technology

Leadership and Management

Personal Development/Work Preparation

Social Studies

Teacher Education

Trade Union Studies

6.  Curriculum Change

The College recognises that its curriculum must evolve and change in response to changes in; society and the economy, adult education policies and priorities, and in learner and partner demand. In making the decision to allocate resources to new curriculum areas, College managers will always consider strategic fit and alignment with the College Mission, as well as financial viability, capability and any associated risks.

Proposals for the introduction of new qualifications or courses within an existing curriculum area and within existing resources should be referred to the relevant Academic Manager, who will make a decision in consultation with the Vice Principal Academic. Proposals to introduce a course in a new curriculum area or to make a substantial revision of the course offer in an existing curriculum area should be developed with the relevant Academic Manager and referred to the Senior Management Team (SMT) for decision.

College managers will review the curriculum offer in spring each year as part the annual planning cycle. Although changes will not be restricted to this one review point this means there is a regular cycle of review and potential adjustment.

7.  Responsibilities

Academic Managers are responsible for managing curriculum development, planning and implementing new courses and qualifications and for ensuring that course validation/approval processes are completed appropriately.

The Vice Principal (Academic) is responsible for monitoring the implementation and delivery of all qualifications and programmes and overseeing development planning and review processes.

The Academic Standards Committee is responsible for the supervision of processes relating to the development of new qualifications and courses and for monitoring overall quality standards and curriculum effectiveness. Substantial changes to the curriculum will be reported to the Academic Standards committee.

The Board of Governors is responsible for agreeing the College’s mission and strategic themes that inform and drive the curriculum.

8.  Related Policies and Strategies

Teaching and Learning Policy – 2012

Community Strategy - 2013

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