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BUCKINGHAMSHIRE UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL COLLEGE

STRATEGIC PLAN

2013 – 2017

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Contents

BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................... 3

DEMOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................... 3

1 LEADERSHIP .................................................................................................................. 4

2 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................... 4

3 PARTNERSHIPS ............................................................................................................. 5

4 PEOPLE IN THE ORGANISATION.............................................................................. 6

5 LEARNING AND TEACHING........................................................................................ 6

6 RESOURCES ................................................................................................................... 8

7 COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES ............................................................................... 9

8 LEARNER RESULTS ................................................................................................... 10

9 PEOPLE RESULTS ...................................................................................................... 12

10 PERCEPTION OF THE BUCKS UTC ....................................................................... 12

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BACKGROUND

Buckinghamshire University Technical College ( Bucks UTC) offers a new kind of education

to complement and enhance the range of 14-19 learning opportunities in Buckinghamshire.

Bucks UTC provides a vital opportunity to provide parity of esteem for young people to feel

that the choice of pursuing a more practical and technical route in their education is just as

valued by society as those choosing a more academic route.

Bucks UTC is sited next to Aylesbury College and is part of the Integrated Learning

Campus. Aylesbury College and Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) are main

sponsors from the education sector and Taylor Wimpey, Cisco, Esri UK and McAfee provide

the main employer partner support. The UTC is well equipped to offer 14 – 19 year olds the

unique opportunity to take a highly regarded, technically oriented course of study at a

specialist college equipped to the highest standards. Bucks UTC is an active member of the

Federation between Aylesbury College and BNU and participates in the joint company

Buckinghamshire Education, Skills and Training (BEST)

DEMOGRAPHY

Whilst most of Buckinghamshire is affluent, small areas of deprivation do exist with three

areas in Aylesbury falling within the most deprived areas of England. The county’s selective

educational system promotes strong academic achievement through schools into university.

Beyond this, however, are some under performing schools and while all have sixth forms

many are small, narrowing the experience and offering limited access to excellent practical

and technical education. Students lack choice and access to alternative technically focused

routes which stretch, motivate and stimulate ambition while maintaining flexibility and

creating work readiness.

Buckinghamshire continues to have one of the lowest average percentages of young people

that are not in education, employment or training (NEET). There are a higher percentage of

young people who are in jobs without training.

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1 LEADERSHIP

a THE VISION

Our young people will become highly skilled employees of the future through

the integration of business with education in an innovative, dynamic,

employment-led environment.

b THE MISSION

Our mission is to:

Develop professional and motivated students and staff who will proactively represent the values and ethos of the Bucks UTC

Enable our students to achieve their full potential and be successful in life, learning and their future careers.

Build productive relationships in the IT and Construction industries to create a relevant and integrated learning experience

c VALUES

Exceeding expectations

Can do attitude

Mutual respect in all that we do

Integrity, honesty and openness

Valuing difference

Goal driven one team approach

2 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

To create work-ready, employable young people who can progress into employment, apprenticeships or university whilst still providing a strong core curriculum

Give students an outstanding experience and help them achieve their full potential and goals.

The seamless integration of business and education, students and businesses working together nationally and globally

The creation of the desire to be a part of the UTC community and to play an active role in the success of technical education

Being part of a sustainable, first class working environment which services the needs of young people and employers

To recruit, retain and develop motivated, industry focused and dynamic teachers with professional registration who inspire students to achieve their full potential

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3 PARTNERSHIPS

Bucks UTC is built around successful partnerships with a wide variety of organisations including schools, colleges, universities, providers, employers, local authority and suppliers. They all share a common goal, helping to give young people opportunities and making them employable and work ready.

There are six main partners for the Bucks UTC, they are Aylesbury College, Bucks New University, Taylor Wimpey, Cisco, Esri UK and McAfee. These partners sit on the main Board and contribute resources and support on an on-going basis.

The education sponsors Aylesbury College and Bucks New University have already worked closely together for a number of years and are now joined together as a federation as is the Bucks UTC. This is a beneficial way of looking for new income generating opportunities.

Partnerships will continue to evolve into many more businesses as the resources for the Bucks UTC become attractive to those employers who want to grow their businesses. Indeed there are already 25 employers engaged with the UTC in providing support. It is also recognised that this provision will become more attractive internationally as its specialisms develop over the next five years. It is envisaged that our specialisms, particularly in Heritage, will be attractive to the international market as well as our suite of A Levels. These students will be self-financing, and there will be implications for residential accommodation which will need to be taken into account.

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4 PEOPLE IN THE ORGANISATION

The students of Bucks UTC will:

Exceed expectations and goals

Show mutual respect for each other

Be committed to their studies and to their employer live projects

Be professional at all times

Present a positive image of Bucks UTC

Demonstrate a can do attitude

The teachers of Bucks UTC will:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils

Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils

Demonstrate deep subject and curriculum knowledge

Demonstrate sound business and industrial understanding

Plan and teach well-structured lessons

Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all students Make accurate and productive use of assessment

Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a motivating and safe learning environment

Fulfil wider professional responsibilities

The support staff of Bucks UTC will:

Demonstrate excellent working practices

Support learning and teaching where appropriate

Work cohesively across the Bucks UTC and demonstrate excellent team spirit

Challenge inappropriate behaviour outside the classroom

Work efficiently and effectively

Demonstrate a can do attitude at all times

5 LEARNING AND TEACHING

Bucks UTC will be a distinctive technically focused learning environment, integrating education and business, and one where students feel valued, enjoy an inclusive, highly professional environment and are challenged and inspired to achieve.

From the learner’s viewpoint Bucks UTC promises an exciting and fresh way of learning which is different from school for the following reasons:

The extended day

Integration of education and business

Work oriented learning

Business ethos

Avoidance of homework

Focus on employability

Students will study for industry recognised qualifications which are valued by employers alongside their essential core curriculum subjects. Their first-hand experience of professional life will expand their learning, and they will see for

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themselves the importance of their core and technical studies as they apply them to employer live projects. They will be guided by professionals, business mentors and inspiring role models who will help to enable better teamwork, communication, time management, problem solving, decision making, business awareness, self-management and initiative. Bucks UTC will specialise in Construction and IT and offer young people a new kind of learning with clear progression into employment, HE or apprenticeships. The balance between the integrated strands of learning varies by age group. In Construction students will start by developing a broad foundation in a wide range of craft skills. They will then focus on two craft skills linked to sustainability. In Key Stage 5 they will have some choice - specialising further in either the area of sustainable/renewable resources or in Heritage and Conservation.

In IT, students will build a broad foundation ranging from software development, hardware and networking skills, geographic information systems, information security and e-commerce to creative skills for games development, app and website design. Students will have access to the latest technologies and mobile device platforms preparing them for the emerging technologies of the future. At KS5 students will develop higher level skills with the option of greater specialisation and/or taking additional A levels.

In addition students will develop business and entrepreneurial skills which will be embedded within their programme and helped by a series of entrepreneurial employers. Employer involvement in creating projects that link to both the technical qualifications and the core curriculum will ensure that students gain in self-confidence and their ability to make objective judgements, to become well qualified, pro-active and self-reliant employees and members of society.

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The curriculum provides breadth through its mix of core studies, technical studies, work related activity, enrichment, transferable skills and apprenticeships. A personalised learning approach will ensure the needs and aspirations of all learners can be met. They will achieve core education outcomes such as GCSE, BTEC, Technical Baccalaureate (once available), AS and A Level. They will gain confidence in, and recognition, of their technical expertise through accredited industry recognised qualifications e.g. Cisco Certified Network Associate, CITB qualifications, Blackberry Academic Programme, Geographic Information Systems and Microsoft Professional accreditation. Sustained engagement with employers coupled with annual review will ensure responsiveness to emerging qualifications and industry standards. Experience of work is built into each term. Employer partners have identified ways they will support this through live employer projects, site visits, guest speakers, mentors and shadowing. Bucks UTC will become known not only in the business world but also in the community for producing well rounded mature and professional young people.

6 RESOURCES

Bucks UTC will be an environment that reflects the business ethos as well as a place which inspires learning. The purpose built sustainable landmark building will offer appropriate and adaptable teaching spaces, high quality specialist equipment and excellent learning facilities. There will be action filled spaces and purposeful workshops, and learning bases created around an industrial backdrop. It is envisaged that Bucks UTC will become a Centre of Excellence for IT as well as Construction, where not only will it cater for 14 – 19 year olds, but will also provide commercial training for employees in local and regional companies.

The advanced IT facilities in all areas will include Wi-Fi, mobile technologies and a comprehensive range of the latest software packages, as well as industry standard specialist workshop facilities. In addition there will be opportunities to use video conferencing and other collaboration tools to engage more frequently with industry mentors and project supervisors, and for remote teaching in some subject areas. This will prepare students for the workplace where interactions are increasingly virtual and help them to understand the different etiquettes required in social networking in formal and informal settings.

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There will be full access to support enrichment facilities including a learning resource centre, excellent indoor sport and gym facilities - available on a shared use basis. It is anticipated that outdoor sports facilities will be shared with a new free school opening in Winslow for those who wish to participate in competitive sport. In 2014/15 Bucks UTC will benefit from use of Aylesbury College’s new Astroturf facility. Our partners, Sportivate, will operate indoor activities on a weekly basis in the Student Hall. Bucks UTC is located within 10 minutes’ walk from the town centre with easy access to mainline train and bus stations and good road links, benefitting from a large potential catchment area and also close to industry partners with a significant number of heritage properties and IT industry employers close by. Bucks UTC will offer first class catering facilities with hot meals provided for students via the County Hub and a deli bar franchised from Aylesbury College operating throughout the day and evening. Back of house services will be provided on a shared service arrangement benefitting from experienced business support staff at Aylesbury College.

7 COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES

By developing links with employers we can demonstrate that there is a capacity to develop employee professional development in professional IT vendor qualifications and in the construction regulatory area. The opportunity to become a first choice provider for employee training and also for recruitment of young people and apprentices is a realistic objective for the Bucks UTC. Ensuring high quality training in a professional environment will enable employers to use us regularly to train their workforce.

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There will be opportunities in the early years to rent space out to appropriate agencies which could benefit student recruitment. The Bucks UTC will have a cohort of 19+ sponsored students studying alongside the Year 12 and 13 intakes. This will give young people who fall out of the 14 – 19 age bracket an opportunity to be reskilled and qualified for work, and provide an attractive option to attract NEETs. Internationally, Heritage will be a popular specialism and it is anticipated that our marketing will extend to some selected countries. Working alongside the International Director of BEST we hope to attract students to our courses. This would be undertaken on a commercial basis.

8 LEARNER RESULTS

Bucks UTC aims to enhance and enrich the lives of our young people by enabling them to make the most of the excellent learning opportunities within and beyond the curriculum. The enrichment learning opportunities have been divided into four strands as follows:

Enterprise

Culture and Community

Health and Wellbeing

Personal Growth and Progress Student Companies As part of becoming work ready, students will be allocated to one of four companies when they join the UTC (like house teams) and throughout the year there will be a wide range of team competitions and activities to take part in, including sports and enrichment activities. Students will undertake different roles within the companies during the year to enable them to grow and flourish; to become confident individuals; and to appreciate their own and the worth of others, with a focus on leadership skills and self-reliance. Student Appraisal Student Appraisals will measure participation, outcomes and impact of the activities, events, groups and competitions that students take part in. The appraisal document is in development as an integrated part of the UTC Management Information System (MIS). This online document will enable students, staff and employers, community partners and parents/carers (as appropriate) to comment on individuals’ development of skills and personal attributes. Employer Live Projects All students will undertake a minimum of five Employer Live projects per year, and in order to be accepted onto a project each student will make an application and be interviewed to be part of the process. This enables students to have at least five interviews per year and write five applications, which enhances their work readiness skills. The Key Performance Indicators have been developed to measure employability skills, soft skills as well as academic qualifications

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Year 10 and Year 11 (14 – 16)

Key Performance Indicator 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

Overall Effectiveness (Ofsted) Good Good Outstanding Outstanding

Leadership and Management (Ofsted) Good Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding

Quality of Teaching and Learning (Good or Outstanding Grades)

80% 85% 90% 95%

Min. 5 core GCSE’s including English and Maths Grade A*-C KS4

N/A 75.00% 80.00% 85.00%

Pass rates on technical qualification (High Grades)

90% 95% 98% 99%

Attendance Rates (excluding authorised absences)

Min. 95% Min. 96% Min. 97% Min. 98%

No of employer live projects 5 (min) 5 (min) 5 (min) 6 (min)

Student Satisfaction Min. 87% Min.90% Min. 93% Min. 97%

Employer Satisfaction Min. 87% Min. 90% Min. 93% Min 97%

Parent Satisfaction Min. 87% Min. 90% Min. 93% Min. 97%

Full Capacity Reached 75% 90% 100% 100%

Number of employers engaged with Bucks UTC Min. 10 Min.15 Min.20 Min. 25

Progression onto education and training post 16 UTC

N/A 75.00% 80.00% 85%

Progression onto education and training post 16 (other provider)

N/A 25.00% 20.00% 15.00%

Year 12 and Year 13 (16 – 18)

Key Performance Indicator 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

Overall Effectiveness (Ofsted) Good Good Good Outstanding

Leadership and Management Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding

Quality of Teaching and Learning (Good or Outstanding)

75.00% 80.00% 90% 95%

Full capacity reached N/A N/A 90% 100%

Attendance Rates (excluding authorised absences)

90.00% 90.00% 90% 94%

No of employer live projects 5 (min) 6 (min) 7 (min) 8 (min)

Retention 90.00% 90.00% 90% 95%

Achievement N/A 90.00% 96% 98%

Success Rates N/A 80.00% 86% 93%

Student Satisfaction Min 90% Min 90% Min 93% Min 97%

Employer Satisfaction Min 90% Min 90% Min. 93% Min 97%

Parent Satisfaction Min 90% Min 90% Min. 93% Min. 97%

Number of employers engaged with Bucks UTC Min 10 Min 15 Min. 20 Min. 25

Progression to work with training N/A 40% 40% 40%

Progression to University N/A 55% 55% 55%

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9 PEOPLE RESULTS

The staff of Bucks UTC will be sustained according to the following principles:

Each post will be filled by a person competent to fulfil their duties and committed to meeting the educational needs of the students in accordance with Bucks UTC values.

Staff will have a wide array of different skill sets and talents to deliver its curriculum. This will include teachers with up to date, leading edge knowledge in the area of the technical specialism with relevant and recent industrial experience.

All staff, led by the Principal, will endorse and promote the values of Bucks UTC and adopt a range of strategies to embed them.

All staff will acknowledge their responsibility as role models, acting as ambassadors of the Bucks UTC through their behaviour and personality.

Professional standards will be high and all staff will be expected to set an example in their dealings with colleagues, students and others of how individuals should behave towards each other.

Staff should be innovative, pro-active, enthusiastic and forward thinking in their management and delivery of learning within Bucks UTC.

The Professional Development Cycle will play a key role in driving the success of the Bucks UTC; and its main aim is to achieve best practice in all areas, particularly in teaching and learning. All teaching staff, including Senior Leadership Team (SLT), will be expected to accept responsibility for developing their own pedagogical and leadership skills and understanding. The objective will be to ensure that they match the needs of their students and the requirements of the Bucks UTC and contribute positively to their own professional satisfaction with a job well done.

There will be a commitment to training appropriate non-qualified staff within two years to achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and an expectation that appropriate staff will share in this training as an aspiration.

10 PERCEPTION OF THE BUCKS UTC

Bucks UTC will build its reputation over the five years by the following:

Ensuring a high quality delivery of learning which is demonstrated by excellent success rates for students and job or university outcomes where appropriate.

The Bucks UTC will continue to build existing relationships with employers by ensuring that staff and students value their contribution and that they gain real benefits from shaping curriculum and mentoring young people into business.

Bucks UTC students will be role models for other young people and a credit to the Bucks UTC and their parents. They will have positive attitudes, be highly skilled and employable. They will be able to present themselves and their expertise in their specialism to the wider community.

Bucks UTC will attain an international presence by accepting students who wish to study the IT or Construction specialism in the UK

Employers will use Bucks UTC as their provider of choice for training and developing their own staff within the specialism skills that they offer.

It is anticipated that by 2018, Bucks UTC will have grown in students, staff and status to be a high quality, global educational environment and a commercially viable provider for existing employee training

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Strategic Objective Strategic Target Outcomes

To create work-ready, employable young people who can progress into employment, apprenticeships or university

Develop and implement a truly employer led curriculum offering students the right skills and motivational, work-related learning experience to improve their employability within the Construction and IT sectors Employability embedded in the curriculum, where a working business day will be the normal routine, integrated with live business projects designed to ensure young people have a well-rounded, practical and technical vocational education combined with high quality academic education, to enable them to ‘hit the ground running’ when joining the workforce

A new educational offer and specialist Construction and ICT facilities for Bucks for 45 year 10 students and 80 year 12 students for academic year 2013/14, increasing to 600 by 2016. This will result in new job opportunities in the Heritage sector where currently there are no training or educational facilities offering this. It will also supply site ready apprentices for construction companies and sector specific IT skills for blue chip companies.

Creation of confident, employable young people who can conduct themselves professionally in the workplace whether by interview or experience of work which will be measured through the student appraisal system. Target setting for appraisals will happen in October, reviewed in January, April with final review in July. It is expected that all students will progress into apprenticeships, employment or university

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The seamless integration of business and education, students and businesses working together nationally and globally

Develop sustainable educational partnerships to facilitate curriculum delivery, enabling students to embrace the real world, employer projects to develop and master employability and work ready skills and attributes Utilise technology to prepare students to adapt and respond to an increasingly changing world Effective implementation of the Cisco Networking Academy in the UTC - enabling students from the age of 14 to gain professional Cisco qualifications.

This will enable students to be way ahead of their peers who would have stayed at school accessing professional qualifications that are not usually undertaken until university level programmes. All UTC students (ICT specialism) successfully achieve a Cisco professional qualification as well as training on Esri UK data mapping software.

The creation of the desire to be a part of the UTC community and to play an active role in the success of technical education

Secure at least 30 employers to actively work with the UTC on ‘live employer projects Develop four community charities for student companies to fund raise for Providing the wider community in Buckinghamshire with access to specialist IT and Construction facilities

This will ensure access to a real working environment by way of projects

UTC students will grow the reputation of the organisation through community charity work.

This will enable other pupils in the wider community to be part of a gifted and talented programme that they would not have had access to at school

Being part of a sustainable, first class working environment which services the needs of young people and employers

Enabling students to access high quality facilities and learning opportunities in Construction and IT. Working with world-class employer partners we have created a distinctly different type of school for 14-19 year olds. The UTC curriculum brings together practical and academic learning with hands on experience of work to ensure that when students finish their studies they are highly desirable to employers, not just in Buckinghamshire, but globally

First class facilities in Construction and IT for 600 full time students by 2016 and for use by the wider community. To enable young people of the UTC to develop skills and attributes in work readiness and ethics, including entrepreneurship, attitudes, behaviours, values and dress to enhance their ability to gain and sustain meaningful employment. Excellent CVs highlighting where young people have worked with major national and global companies, measured through the student appraisal system. Target setting for appraisals will

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happen in October, reviewed in January, April with final review in July.

To recruit, retain and develop motivated, industry focused and dynamic teachers who inspire students to achieve their full potential

Highly skilled, engaged and motivated workforce working towards, contributing to and achieving strategic aims and objectives of the UTC Devise a coherent Performance Management System with clear accountability structure. Design a Continuous Performance Development (CPD) plan and policy to meet requirements of the UTC - enabling staff continually to improve competence, skills, knowledge and effectiveness to effectively contribute to student success, responding to the demands of changing curricula and methodologies, new client groups, technologies and government initiatives.

The UTCs professional development policy is to enable staff continually to improve competence, skills, knowledge and value to effectively contribute to our student success. Professional development also enables staff to respond to the demands of changing curricula and methodologies, new client groups, technologies, college processes and government initiatives.