South Trafford College
About the organisation:
South Trafford College is a general further education college based in Altrincham, Cheshire. It was awarded Learning and Skills Beacon Status in July 2006.
Context:
The college has three distinct target markets; school leavers, adults and employers.
The aim is to provide individuals with the opportunity to achieve in a supportive and inspirational environment. There are 1,975 full time and 6,500 part time students who can choose from a wide range of A Levels and vocational qualifications.
Specialist areas comprise Business and Professional Studies, Information Technology and Computing, Creative Arts and Media, Early Years, Health and Social Care, Hairdressing, Beauty and Holistic Therapies, Hospitality, Travel and Tourism and Sport, Recreation and Leisure.
The adult and community learning site, which specialises in Skills for Life and Information Technology courses in the community, is located in Partington, Manchester.
Strengths
The college has strong employer links reinforced by having Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) status in three areas; Sports and Recreation and Leisure, Healthcare, and Hospitality
It has achieved funding from Active England, a Sport England programme, to develop the Trafford Sports Enterprise Initiative. This three year project is aimed at bridging skills gaps within the sports and leisure industry through business training programmes and developing community-wide sporting opportunities for local people.
At its last inspection in January 2006 the college was rated outstanding in all five cross-college areas. It was the first college to be awarded Grade 1 ratings across the board under the inspection regime introduced the previous September.
Beacon activity:
South Trafford is planning to work with other Beacon organisations to meet the challenges of Framework for Excellence, the Learning and Skills Council's performance assessment system for further education.
It has been sharing best practice on its tutorial system and is providing consultancy services to other training organisations and colleges.
In partnership with industry stakeholders and employers, it is working with the North West Development Agency on a World Class Service Project for the hospitality sector. The project is aimed at developing responsive training which allows employers to recruit and develop staff with the required skills to deliver high quality service.
In addition, South Trafford has been working with Edge Hill University to develop an innovative post graduate management training programme for aspiring managers in the further education sector.