Vision West Nottinghamshire College
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Vision West Nottinghamshire College is the trading name of ''West Nottinghamshire College'', a
further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
college having two main campuses in
Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
, with smaller sites at nearby
Sutton in Ashfield Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 48,527 in 2019. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield, four miles west of Mansfield, two miles from the Derbyshire border and 12 miles nort ...
and
Kirkby in Ashfield Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield District of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of 25,265 (according to the 2001 National Census), it is a part of the wider Mansfield Urban Area. The Head Offices of Ashfield Distr ...
, Nottinghamshire, England.
Telegraph. ''Vision West Nottinghamshire College guide''. Retrieved 31 December 2013
The main college campus is the Derby Road campus on the south edge of Mansfield; the Chesterfield Road campus is in Mansfield town centre. There are other sites and further affiliated Education outreach, outreach venues in the Mansfield and Ashfield area and the largely urban corridor along the M1 motorway route between the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The ''College of Further Education'' was formed in the 1970s by combining elements of an old Technical College dating back to 1928 and adjacent College of Arts dating from 1930 in Mansfield town centre with a newer, main Technical College established in 1960 at a large development on former farmland at Derby Road, on the outskirts of Mansfield.
'Our Mansfield and Area' website administered by Mansfield District Council Museum ''Annals of Mansfield'' – 'Timeline' "''15 November 1960. West Nottinghamshire Technical College, Derby Road, officially opened by Mr. (later Lord) Alfred Robens''" Retrieved 31 December 2013
Ofsted
Retrieved 12 October 2010
Both sites remain in use, and the college provides dedicated shuttle buses from the different sites.


College

As of 2018, the college's website quoted 26,000 students including apprentices. It offers further education to about 19,000 students in full- and part-time education including courses for 14- to 16-year-olds in collaboration with local schools. The programmes include the majority of 'A' Level courses, access to higher education, and vocational apprenticeships which include bricklaying, plumbing, carpentry, gas fitting, painting and decorating, construction management, driving passenger vehicles, forklift truck driving and railway engineering. A variety of community and adult courses is also provided across the local area. The college has a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) status for engineering, specialised construction, logistics and care. A 2008 Ofsted report accorded the school Grade 1 (outstanding) on all inspection points, but at the 2012 inspection the college ratings lowered from Outstanding to good overall with some satisfactory areas and some inadequate.


Name changes

After opening as a newly built Technical College in 1960, the Derby Road site became locally known as ''Derby Road Tech''. West Nottinghamshire College of Further Education was founded in 1976 as the result of a merger of West Nottinghamshire Technical College and Mansfield College of Art (sometimes called ''College of Arts''), previously Mansfield School of Arts. A change in the law – the
Further and Higher Education Act 1992 The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within England and Wales, with consequential effects on associated matters in Scotland which had previously been ...
– allowed colleges to become ''Incorporated'' and run semi-autonomously, in this case becoming the ''Corporation of West Nottinghamshire College'',
West Nottinghamshire College. Report and Financial Statements for the period ending 31 July 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2013
with finances changing from local authority control to that of the Further Education Funding Council in April 1993. The college renamed itself ''Vision West Notts'' in September 2011. Shortly after, however, the college adopted its current trading name of ''Vision West Nottinghamshire College''. The formal title is ''West Nottinghamshire College'', as cited in the
Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
report of June 2012, although it is often referred to as 'West Notts College'.


Campuses

As the largest campus, Derby Road offers a wide range of courses and facilities to university-level. It is also home to a 150-seat theatre, fine dining restaurant and hair and beauty salon and spa. It is also home to the Vision University Centre which provides Higher Education and professional qualifications. The Construction Centre at Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a specialist facility providing a training environment for construction students. The Engineering Innovation Centre at Sutton-in-Ashfield is a specialist hub for students of mechanical and electrical engineering and motor vehicle maintenance at various levels


Vision University Centre

A £6.5 million dedicated new building on the Derby Road site was constructed in 2016 to better-enable higher education provision. It was part-funded by a D2N2 grant of £2.6 million. A collaboration with
Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...
has enabled the College to offer foundation degree courses in several academic, health and technological sectors.


Vision Studio School

First mooted in 2012,"West Notts unveils new 'school' plans". ''Chad'', 28 November 2012, p.13. Accessed 13 June 2022 in 2013 the college announced a new studio school based at the Chesterfield Road site, to provide education for 300 year 10 to year 13 pupils (ages 14 to 19),Studio school’s new chief outlines "bold new approach" to learning
West Nottinghamshire College About us, 9 September 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2019
with a 9-to-5 working day to mirror commercial practices and having a slant towards work placements and training.Pioneering new school opens its doors
West Nottinghamshire College, 9 September 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2019
In conjunction with the participation of local businesses and organisations, it was intended to be a stepping stone between education and employment. The school was officially opened in 2014 by
Lord Karan Bilimoria Karan Faridoon Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria, (born 26 November 1961) is a British Indian businessman, life peer in the UK House of Lords, and a university chancellor. Bilimoria founded the global beer brand, Cobra Beer and is the company's chai ...
, and had three principals until its closure in 2017, after an Ofsted report criticising its performance as inadequate in all areas except one, and with pupil numbers falling. The trust running the school commented that it was no longer financially viable to keep it open.Vision Studio School staff in a "state of shock" at closure plans
''Chad'', 13 July 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2019


Financial crisis

During 2018, the college suffered a major financial shortfall necessitating emergency government loans of £2.1m and termination of 100 staff. Referring to a report by the Further Education Commissioner, government minister
Anne Milton Anne Frances Milton (''née'' Turner; born 3 November 1955) is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Skills and Apprenticeships from 2017 to 2019. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Guildford from 2005 to 2019. Elected as ...
described the situation as a "...serious corporate failure...", needing external administration by the
Education and Skills Funding Agency The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is an executive agency of the government of the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Department for Education. The ESFA was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of the Education Funding Agency an ...
(ESFA). After the resignation of previous Principal Dame Asha Kemkha in October, a new interim Principal and Chief Executive Officer having a background in dealing with struggling colleges was appointed to start in November. The college issued a statement anticipating further losses of up to 78 non-teaching staff in a bid to save £2.7m, and further expects that by 2019-20 its income will have reduced by £21m compared to 2016-17, due to government reforms changing national apprenticeship funding, with payments being made directly to outside training providers instead of through colleges. Previously, the college benefitted by retaining 20% of the total for managing the schemes. The college established a subsidiary company, ''Vision Apprentices'', in 2010 after 12 organisations nationally were picked to each receive a share of £7m government funding to establish an Apprenticeship Training Association, providing long term placements for 2,550 apprentices with local and national companies. The college has confirmed a commitment to retention of existing courses and quality of tuition for the students and apprentices. In early 2019, the college confirmed that senior staff were no longer issued with corporate credit cards after the former principal was reported to have claimed in excess of £41K expenses over a three-year period.


The Inspire and Achieve Foundation

In 2009, college principal Asha Khemka established the Inspire & Achieve Foundation, a registered charity to improve the prospects of young people from regeneration areas such as Mansfield.
Chad, local newspaper, 31 December 2013 ''New Years Honour for West Notts chief'' Retrieved 31 December 2013


Dame Asha Khemka, former Principal

Principal
Asha Khemka Dame Asha Khemka (born October 1951, in Sitamarhi, Bihar)Principal's life story inspires students. ''Chad'', 2 November 2016, p.46. Accessed 2 January 2022 is a former British educator who resigned as Principal and CEO from West Nottinghamshire C ...
, an OBE since 2009, was awarded a DBE in the
New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...
list 2014. She was Principal and Chief Executive of West Nottinghamshire College since May 2006, succeeding Di McEvoy-Robinson. Khemka resigned with immediate effect on 1 October 2018 following a special meeting with the board of governors of the college, which experienced financial difficulties during 2018.High-profile college principal quits after warning over finances
'' TES'', 1 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018
Her salary was reported in 2017 as being the third-highest in the field at £275K, compared to £245K for 2014/15 and £229K paid in 2013/14. ''FE Week'' reported that Khemka resigned without accepting a financial payout amounting to £130K.


Royal visit

On 20 February 2009, the college's Construction and Skills Logistics Academy was visited by the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
, who unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark his visit.


Alumni

*
Jason Michael Holland Jason Michael Holland (born 25 January 1971) is an English designer, university lecturer, writer and awards judge who created the 1997 website Head-Space, which is included in Management Today's ''Ten Websites That Changed the World'', and is an ...
* Ben Brown, lawyer and Crown Counsel to the British Overseas Territory of
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name wa ...
Overcoming the odds – from council housing to solicitor advocate
The Law Society The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...
, 4 May 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021
*
Calvin Robinson Calvin John Robinson (born 29 October 1985) is a British conservative political commentator, writer, and broadcaster. Since 2022, he has been a deacon in the Free Church of England (FCE). He is a regular contributor to ''The Daily Telegraph'', t ...
, Anglican deacon, political commentator, journalist, policy advisor and campaigner


References

{{Coord missing, Nottinghamshire Further education colleges in Nottinghamshire Educational institutions established in 2006 Schools in Mansfield 2006 establishments in England