Strategic Plan 2024 – 2028
Strategic Plan 2024-2028
Transforming Lives
Our Vision
To be a vibrant, sustainable college, exceeding the expectations of all those we serve.
Our Mission
To support our local communities and to transform lives through the development of technical, professional and personal knowledge and skills.
Our Values
- We are an INCLUSIVE College, welcoming employees and learners of all backgrounds, ages and abilities.
- We are COLLABORATIVE, working in partnership internally and externally to achieve shared goals.
- We are RESPECTFUL of each other in our words, actions and behaviours.
- We are AMBITIOUS for our learners, our staff and our College, always striving for excellence.
- We are HONEST and open, and act with integrity in all that we do.
- We provide a physically and emotionally SAFE environment, where people can be themselves, try out ideas and thrive.
Our Goals
We strive to provide:
- An Outstanding Learner Experience
- A Fantastic Workplace
- Financial Strength and Physical Resources
- A Responsive Curriculum
- Productive Partnerships
Our Goals: 1
An Outstanding Learner Experience
To ensure an outstanding experience for every learner and stakeholder.
This means providing exciting, challenging and engaging learning, in a safe, supported, respectful and inclusive environment, where learners gain the skills, knowledge and behaviours to succeed and to thrive in work and in life.
Success for us will mean:
• All teaching, learning and support is exciting, challenging and engaging
• Attendance, retention, achievement, progression and destinations are above national rates for all provision types
• All of our learners demonstrably develop strong skills, knowledge and behaviours in their chosen subject areas
• All of our learners are properly prepared for life and work in today’s, and tomorrow’s, world
• All of our learners feel safe, supported and respected
• The learner voice positively impacts the learner experience in demonstrable ways
Our Goals: 2
A Fantastic Workplace
To provide a fantastic place to work where wellbeing and development are prioritised.
This means that employees are well-managed and led, and feel recognised, supported and positively rewarded. The College is a Learning Organisation which prioritises a culture of individual and team development, teamwork, trust, integrity and inclusivity. Our people feel proud to work at Colchester Institute.
Success for us will mean:
• All of our people are consistently well-led and managed
• All of our people feel safe, recognised, invested in, well-developed and positively rewarded for their work
• All of our people describe a culture of teamwork, trust and integrity where wellbeing and a positive work-life balance are supported
• The positive principles of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are the lived experience of all employees
• Our people feel proud to work at Colchester Institute
• Our Values are well-known, understood and embraced by all of our employees
• Our absence and turnover rates are reducing; we attract and retain great people
Our Goals: 3
Financial Strength and Physical Resources
To further build the financial strength and physical resources to enable achievement of our goals.
This means that sound financial planning and controls safeguard the College’s future and enable investment in physical and digital resources that support an outstanding learner experience, transform business processes and positively impact the environment.
Success for us will mean:
• Good Financial Health is achieved and maintained over the life of this plan
• Digital solutions embracing AI, underpin and enhance effective teaching and learning, and enable business transformation that delivers greater organisational efficiency
• A continuous programme of investment in our buildings, facilities and equipment that inspire learners and support the acquisition of skills that drive economic growth
• Our College registers a 50% reduction in carbon emissions ahead of the original 2030 target
• Development of annual financial surpluses to support year-on-year investment in estates, and continual investment in our people
Our Goals: 4
A Responsive Curriculum
A responsive curriculum, mapped to local and national skills priorities, that meets the skills needs of individuals, organisations, the economy and the environment.
This means that our curriculum fully reflects local and national skills priorities, including green skills and emerging technologies. Both professional and personal skills are prioritised, making Colchester Institute learners great employees, and responsible citizens.
Success for us will mean:
• The curriculum is clearly mapped to current and future local and national skills priorities
• There is clear evidence that our learners gain strong skills and knowledge, shown through high pass rates and positive progression and destinations
• All of our learners receive sound, impartial careers and progression support
• There is content in every course that promotes positive action in relation to sustainability and social action
• Our curriculum is inclusive by level, subject, provision type and delivery mode
• Achievement Gaps are eliminated, including for our learners with SEND, and by ethnicity, gender and age
Our Goals: 5
Productive Partnerships
Collaborative, productive partnerships that positively impact the College, its staff and its learners, and enhance our reputation.
This means that employers contribute to the design and delivery of learning and recognise Colchester Institute as vital to their success. Other partnerships, including trade and professional bodies, enhance our ability to deliver on this plan, building our reputation as an essential, anchor institution in North Essex.
Success for us will mean:
• There is evidence of employer co-design and co-delivery in every relevant programme
• Learners interact with potential future employers in every relevant programme
• Employers can list ways in which Colchester Institute adds value to their organisation
• Apprenticeship numbers, employer numbers and the breadth of the apprenticeship offer, at all levels, grow each year
• There is growth in T Levels (or their future equivalent) and higher-level technical qualifications each year
• All of our Study Programme learners have experience of work during their course
• The Colchester Institute brand is widely known for outstanding employer, and other stakeholder, partnerships that support and enhance local economic growth
