The Manchester College The Manchester College s quality strategy is driven by the passion to create and embed a culture which is focused on providing high quality learning opportunities in a supportive environment and which responds to the educational and training needs of each learner. This quality culture is supported by each individual member of the college who is part of our network of curriculum, service and management teams. It will thrive as every member of staff accepts personal responsibility for the quality of their own area. Preamble Reference to The Manchester College or the college in this document refers to the entire provision of the current statutory corporation including: Further Education; Higher Education; Offender Learning and other Justice sector provision; Apprenticeships and other Employer Training: MOL flexible learning provision. Reference to senior managers, curriculum managers and teachers refers to equivalent roles however designated in different parts of the organisation. College Mission The mission of the college is: To improve lives and economic success through learning and skills. College Vision The agreed Vision for each part of the organisation is: Further Education: The leading college for progression and employability. Higher Education: A leading provider of flexible, affordable, career-relevant, education. Offender Learning: The UK leader and innovator in Offender learning, skills and employability. Apprenticeships and Employer Training: A leading provider of regional and national employer training. MOL: The UK leader in the flexible provision of professional qualifications. Quality Vision The Manchester College aspires to provide excellence in education and training, working with partners and other providers operating at school, college and university level. It will draw its learners from the widest range of groups, including learners locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. The Manchester College will ensure equality of opportunity to high quality TMC 2013-2015 1
provision to fulfill its central purpose to improve lives and economic success through learning and skills. Itwill be an influential voice for further education locally and nationally. The College will: place the needs of every learner at the centre of its mission focussing on progression, employability, and (for learners in the Justice sector) contributing to reducing reoffending set challenging targets to increase participation through a responsive and aspirational curriculum offer that is aligned to employer needs provide relevant and inclusive provision which is accessible to learners of all abilities, and which allows for individual pathways supported by high quality advice and guidance provide innovative and motivational learning environments make investment which will lead to the provision of centres of excellence and challenge disadvantage and exclusion be a lead partner in supporting other public and private organisations in developing innovative governance and management models to ensure both accountability and responsiveness at local, regional and national level be acknowledged as a training partner of choice for employers in priority economic sectors in the city region and, where appropriate, nationally. The College will seek to: provide leadership for the provision of high quality teaching, learning, and assessment in the sectorprovide best value in service delivery with partnersplay a key strategic role in meeting local, regional and national skills priorities. The Manchester College will create an organisational culture based on its values of: Integrity we are honest, trustworthy and open. One team we collaborate, respect each other and contribute to team goals. Always improving we are forward-thinking, we innovate and take ownership. Can do we are positive, inclusive, flexible and proactive. Sustainable we take a long-term view, environmentally, financially and socially. 1 Policy statement The Manchester College is committed to quality and improving the student s learning experience. The college s approach to quality is based on continuous improvement. It starts with the generation of strategic objectives that reflect the college s mission statement. These objectives take into account the external environment in which we function and define the processes we need for day-to-day operations. Standards are set to measure these processes and procedures are designed to help them operate consistently. These procedures are regularly monitored and evaluated to identify problems, for which corrective actions are implemented, monitored and reviewed. Continual improvement is achieved by raising standards as performance targets are reached and TMC 2013-2015 2
reviewing objectives accordingly. Quality policy The college s commitment to quality and customer service extends to all learners, customers and clients. Every member of staff is responsible for quality. The senior managers and the members of the corporation (governing body) recognise their roles in continuous improvement of the college and fully support the principles of quality management. Each employee is a customer for work done by other staff, with a right to expect responsibility to contribute work of a high calibre. good work from others and a Sustained quality excellence requires continuous improvement. This means, regardless of how good present performance may be, it can always be improved. Quality improvement will be applied to every facet of the college s work in order to constantly review and improve the services it provides. Quality will be achieved by preventing problems rather than by detecting and correcting them after they occur. Quality assurance Quality assurance is putting systems into place to ensure that high standards are achieved and embedded. This is achieved through the following: key college procedures such as benchmarking and target setting lesson observations and internal curriculum performance monitoring reviews individual performance review quality standards quality management performance indicators feedback from learners and clients. 2 Quality management The management of quality will be through the committee structure the Board of Governors curriculum teams performance monitoring processes quality control systems the Quality Team (QT) and/or Quality Improvement Groups (QIGs) in the case of widely dispersed provision responding to feedback from learners and clients. Over time the Quality team will ensure an appropriate degree of consistency in the application of quality assurance procedures and the provision of quality improvement strategies across the different strands of the College s business. Equally, these procedures and strategies will be adapted to best meet different internal or external requirements of particular strands of work, for example the requirements of QAA in relation to higher education or the different inspection framework which applies to early years provision. TMC 2013-2015 3
2.1 Quality improvement The college has a documented quality system. The college operates campuses across Manchester and through outreach: offender learning, work-based learning, and professional training contractsand partnerships in a variety of other locations across the UK. It is essential therefore to have documented policies and procedures, produced with the involvement of staff, to ensure common standards and practice. The Quality Team is responsible for working with staff to produce procedures in common format. It is essential that, in addition to strong and diverse quality assurance procedures, sufficient time and attention is devoted to the development and continual evaluation of a wide range of quality improvement strategies. As a college which ultimately aspires to be outstanding in every respect, whilst effective quality assurance procedures are critical to identifying areas for improvement and helping to target improvements, the bulk of quality-related work should take the form of quality improvement initiatives, including the provision of highly effective CPD for all staff. 2.2 Governors and quality assurance Governors, primarily via the Quality sub-committee of the Corporation, will receive regular reports on the college s performance and feedback from learners and clients. The Quality Committee will monitor these reports in depth. They will monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on a regular basis through the governor Dashboard. They will also review and monitor quality reports from the College s various activities, so that governors are fully apprised of the key outcomes of quality assurance arrangements and the forms of quality improvement being used to raise standards and secure further improvements for learners and clients. Each year governors will approve the College Self- Assessment Report (SAR) and monitor the Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) and other key quality action plans. Governors will complete an annual self-assessment report of their own performance and monitor their action plan at agreed meetings. 2.3 Self-assessment Self-assessment will continue to be used as a formal review and evaluation of our performance to check that we are meeting the needs of our learners and customers and achieving our targets. Every aspect of the college s work can always improve; therefore identifying areas for improvement is an opportunity to further this aim. It is just as important to build on strengths. Everyone is involved and the process is only beneficial if staff are self-critical, open and rigorous in their judgements about strengths that are significantly above appropriate benchmarks. Areas for improvement are those that are below what is expected from our own standards. Although it is no longer a requirement of the funding contract, the College will continue to make our self- assessment reports available on the Provider Gateway. 2.4 Learner and customer feedback Surveys with learners are carried out each year at appropriate stages of the learner journey and the results are compared to national benchmarks. Results of these surveys will inform course reviews, college management and governor reports. Further client surveys will be carried out at appropriate intervals. TMC 2013-2015 4
Learner focus groups and reporting from the Student Council will also inform actions to improve the overall provision. Learner representatives are actively engaged with quality through their involvement in focus groups and course review. Learner and customer feedback will be used to bring improvement and change to the services offered by the college. The college will explore the introduction of full-time sabbatical Student Union officers to enhance learner feedback. 2.5 Complaints The college has an effective system for logging and monitoring complaints. Complaints are seen as opportunities for improvement. The process of how complaints can be made is available to all learners and clients and is distributed during induction. Progress on complaints and complaint trends are constantly monitored and regular reports are produced for the Quality Team, senior managers, the Executive Team and the Board of Governors. 3 The Quality Cycle The quality process involves a cycle of activities of which self-assessment and action planning are major parts. The key elements are: continuously developing the range and effectiveness of college quality assurance systems and tools with the involvement of staff and learners identifying priorities at different levels of the college, informed by the Strategic Plan establishing performance indicators/targets against which provision is judged, bearing in mind those used externally, by Ofsted, SFA, EFA, QAA, and the HMIP Expectations Framework collecting and monitoring data in order to measure performance identifying areas of strength and areas for improvement at curriculum team level and service team level, linked to the Common Inspection Framework, the Expectations Framework for custodial provision, and the college s strategic objectives implementing and monitoring quality improvement plans and team development plans issuing reports on the results of monitoring and quality issues for the SMT, governors, SFA, EFA and also to others (subject to Data Protection Act requirements and the protection of staff and learners interests) encouraging and developing third party assessment of service activity and performance through appropriate audit and observation techniques, seeking external validation or accreditation where appropriate encouraging continuous updating and skills development of all staff, and in particular use quality improvement strategies to drive up standards and promote outstanding teaching and learning. 4 Implementation 4.1 All staff All staff must take part in college training and professional development in order to drive up standards TMC 2013-2015 5
follow college policies and procedures relating to their work. 4.2 Senior managers Senior managers must: reflect the ambition of the organisation to provide excellence in education and training identify the strategic priorities for the college in response to internal and external demands and initiatives manage the annual quality cycle in their areas help to validate the curriculum/service area SARs and contribute to the college s SAR and QIP ensure all improvement plans are properly monitored encourage and develop third party assessment of activities and performance monitor their managers compliance with quality issues oversee the standard of staff performance in their area, ensuring appropriate staff development and induction respond promptly to feedback regarding their provision, providing reinforcement regarding positive feedback and initiating and monitoring responses to negative feedback oversee the maintenance of up-to-date college policies, strategies and procedures ensure that all their managers and staff comply with policies and procedures. 4.3 Curriculum managers Curriculum managers must: lead the drive in their areas for curriculum relevance and best practice teaching, learning, and assessment develop high quality curriculum SARs and QIPs ensure courses are robustly reviewed and oversee the responses to underperforming courses being identified respond rapidly to any Notice to Improve (NTI) being imposed agree college targets in relation to teaching and learning in the light of strategic priorities communicate targets to college staff contribute to the development and review college policies and associated procedures, guidelines and strategies be fully engaged in the performance monitoring and review process. 4.4 Teachers/Course teams Teachers/course teams are responsible for: ensuring their own continuing professional development by reflecting on and improving their own performance completing course reviews and appropriate areas of the curriculum SAR, to ensure the continuous improvement of their own curriculum TMC 2013-2015 6
ensuring that all members of the delivery team, both teaching and support, comply with the current requirements of the course and are aware of the performance targets such as retention targets, success targets, targets for progression, equality and diversity, and growth reviewing learner retention, achievement, attendance and, where appropriate added value reviewing induction, teaching, learning, assessment and verification methods reviewing learner feedback and responding appropriately reviewing equality and diversity impact measures reviewing measures taken to ensure safeguarding producing a team development plan agreeing targets to maintain strengths, address areas of concern and quality improvements reviewing progress against targets at course meetings throughout the year providing effective and appropriate teaching and support for learning maintaining current course files and ensuring adherence to assessment requirements participating in the college s internal reviews, observation and performance systems undertaking appropriate development and training with the intention of driving up standards. 4.5 Curriculum teams Curriculum teams are responsible for:the continuous improvement of their curriculum area to meet the mission of the college ensuring that all members of the delivery team, both teaching and support, comply with the current requirements of the course and are aware of the performance targets such as retention targets, success targets, targets for progression, equality and diversity, and growth ensuring that monitoring of performance targets and quality improvement occurs through regular team meetings contributing to development of curriculum SARs and QIPs ensuring that results of performance measurement are reported to management and that action planning takes place to use these results to effect quality improvements ensuring that the equality and diversity policies and principles of the college are embedded across the curriculum ensuring that safeguarding policy measures are in place, followed and embedded across the curriculum. 4.6 Service Area teams Service area teams are responsible for: ensuring that the quality of service to external and internal customers complies with the college s standards (which will be increasingly defined through service level agreements) ensuring that staff are facilitated, supported and assisted in the achievement of their quality objectives ensuring that monitoring and evaluation of these services takes place at regular team meetings and that action planning is used to effect quality improvements ensuring that the equality and diversity policies and principles of the college are adhered to and TMC 2013-2015 7
embedded across the service ensuring that safeguarding policy measures are in place, followed and embedded across the service. 4.7 The Quality Team The Quality Team is responsible for the promotion, oversight and scrutiny of the efforts of college management and staff to develop and maintain a culture of continuous quality improvement and raise standards by improving retention, achievement, success and progression rates. More specifically, the Quality Team have responsibility for: promoting quality awareness with all staff to achieve a total quality culture proposing standards and procedures to drive forward the quality ambitions of the college overseeing and supporting the implementation of the operational aspects of a continuous improvement culture contributing to strategic planning, particularly in relation to total quality developing procedures through which to evaluate the effectiveness of learning and customer satisfaction developing a range of qualitative and quantitative indicators through which efficiency and effectiveness of the college can be monitored and evaluated offering support and training in areas of weakness to improve practice providing advice and guidance to management on all aspects of the quality initiative reporting to the management team an assessment of the college s quality performance ensuring that sub-contracted provision is covered by quality assurance procedures which are proportionate to risk preparing and supporting the college in responding to the review and audit processes of external inspectorates and agencies ensuring that the equality and diversity policies and principles of the college are adhered to and embedded across the provision. TMC 2013-2015 8
Quality Framework College-wide Performance Monitoring Monthly Departmental Performance Monitoring Course validation Coaching Quality Assurance Processes OTL + Learning walks IV/EV Internal Reviews Learner Voice Compliance audits SARs at all levels Constant data analysis Our Learners Their experience at each stage of their journey with the College The quality of teaching, learning and assessment Their outcomes Teaching/ Learning Sets TLA Bulletin Notices to Improve Peer/Dev Obs CPD QIPs at all levels Quality Improvement Processes Individual Performance Reviews Objectives/KPI setting Mid-year reviews End-of-year reviews TMC 2013-2015 10
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