Northumberland College Partnership Programme

Introduction
Northumberland College, a general FE college, seeks input from multiple potential partners who wish to work with the Corporation to explore the opportunities presented by “New Challenges, New Chances”, published by the Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills in December 2011 .

Through partnering with other organisations we seek to improve teaching and learning; grow student numbers; reduce costs; strengthen our curriculum; improve links with schools, universities, and employers; create a route to improved buildings and facilities; and improve the positioning of the College as a community asset with local stakeholders in the driving seat.

Interested parties are invited to send a brief letter of interest to the Acting Principal by 31st January. It should be no more than two sides of A4 and addressed to:
Chris Todd
Acting Principal
Northumberland College
College Road
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9RG

The letter of interest should identify areas of interest you would like to discuss further and outline your capability and proven track record in implementing similar initiatives.

How proposals will be evaluated
Subject to confirmation by the governing body, it is expected that proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:
• Accelerates improvement in the quality of teaching and learning
• Supports growth in funded student numbers
• Improves the responsiveness of the curriculum to learner requirements
• Improves the responsiveness of the curriculum to employer needs
• Provides opportunities for cost reduction
• Strengthens the provision of higher education in Northumberland
• Improves opportunities for progression from schools to further education
• Improves opportunities for progression from further education to higher education
• Has the potential to provide access to capital funds to improve, develop, and replace the College buildings and estates.
• Improves the positioning of the College as an asset for Northumberland communities with governance arrangements which place community stakeholders in the driving seat.
The governing body will evaluate the written submissions against these criteria, and invite selected proposers to meet with governors to discuss their proposals.

Timescales
The College is following a four-stage process, outlined below:
 

Stage 1

Activity: Call for potential partners and consideration of responses

Outcome: A “Partnership Blueprint”, agreed by the Corporation, which states how we envisage the future in terms of curriculum, income, costs, partnerships, and governance
 

Stage 2

Activity: Public consultation

Outcome: Documented public support for the Partnership Blueprint, modified as necessary in line with feedback
 

Stage 3

Activity: Procurement

Outcome: Formal procurement processes, if required, to enable implementation of the agreed Partnership Blueprint
 

Stage 4

Activity: Implementation

Outcome: Working with selected partners, following procurement where required, to implement the Partnership Blueprint.

The current activity represents Stage 1 of the process.
As stated above, letters of interest should be forwarded by 31st January 2012. Initial discussions with selected proposers are targeted for the first half of February.

Procurement issues
Stage 1 does not constitute a procurement activity – it is an exploration of a range of potential options.

Should Stage 1 identify any required procurement activity, such procurements will be carried out in accordance with EU regulations and legislative requirements, and within the College’s financial procedures.

Weather forces college closures

Northumberland College was forced to close its centres this morning (Thursday) due to the ongoing snow.

All students are advised that there will be no lessons this afternoon or evening at any centres. The college expects to open as normal again tomorrow (Friday).

The college phone system is currently down, so we are unable to take any calls.

Engineers are working hard to fix the problem and hope to have the system back up and running soon. In the meantime, you can email advice.centre@northland.ac.uk or use the Live support service via the button on this home page to access our contact centre staff.

Apologies for any inconvenience.