Government-commissioned review of Tees Valley recommends several college mergers and joint venture trust
Several college mergers and a joint venture trust between Tees Valley Combined Authority and Tees Valley Unlimited were amongst the key recommendations made to improve the quality of Further Education in the area.
The final report of an area review of Tees Valley FE, commissioned by the Government and conducted by a steering group, was published this week, outlining the needs of the area, the quantity and quality of current provision, key areas for change and further recommendations.
The reviews are designed to ensure that colleges are financially stable in the longer-term, that they are run efficiently, and are well-positioned to meet the present
and future needs of individual students and the demands of employers.
Seven recommendations were put forward by the steering group:
• Middlesbrough College and Redcar and Cleveland College to merge to form a single college
• Stockton Riverside College and Darlington College to merge to form a single college
• Hartlepool College of Further Education and Hartlepool Sixth Form College to merge to form a single tertiary college
• Cleveland College of Art and Design to remain stand-alone, seeking to build further on its art and design specialism
• Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College remain stand-alone and pursue conversion to academy status and establish a multi-academy trust with local schools
• the recently merged Prior Pursglove and Stockton Sixth Form College pursue conversion to academy status and establish a multi-academy trust with local schools
• a joint venture trust or similar structure be established between the Tees Valley Combined Authority, TVU and the colleges within the scope of the review, with a focus on removing unnecessary duplication in provision between the colleges. The trust will foster collaboration between the colleges on the delivery of the curriculum at level 3 and above; technical education and apprenticeships; and appropriate specialisation.
Membership of the steering group comprised each college’s chair of governors and principal, representatives from TVU, the 5 local authorities, (with the Combined Authority represented by Hartlepool Borough Council), the Regional Schools Commissioner, and representatives from the former Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), the Education Funding Agency (EFA), and the DfE. The local steering group was jointly chaired by Sir David Collins, Further Education (FE) Commissioner, and Gill Alexander, Chief Executive Officer of Hartlepool Borough Council.
The Government announced a rolling programme of around 40 local area reviews in July 2015, to be completed by March 2017, covering all general FE colleges and sixth-form colleges in England.