College and Community

The Isle of Thanet has a population of 130,000 and forms part of the north eastern peninsula of Kent. Although it now adjoins the mainland, Thanet has maintained a strong, self-contained sense of community. The three towns of Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate have distinct characteristics and the hinterland is still largely rural, with farms and small villages. With a dry, sunny climate and a large number of blue flag beaches, Thanet is an attractive area for residents, visitors and for retirement.

The decline in manufacturing and tourism has resulted in a weak economic and employment base. The area contains some of the most deprived wards in South East England, which are categorized by high unemployment, low wages and low educational attainment. However, Thanet has great potential for regeneration which has been facilitated by some recent significant developments including Kent International Airport, Manston Business Park, Westwood Cross new town centre, Thanet Earth, The London Array Windfarm, Turner Centre Margate, Ramsgate Harbour/Marina Project and the imminent high speed rail services.

The Thanet Community provides excellent opportunities for the development of further education and training. Within this context, Thanet College aims to serve the broad range of needs within the area and offers provision in all subject sector areas. Catering and Hospitality has long been established as a Centre of Vocational Excellence, with an international reputation. There has been recent growth in demand for Health, Public Services, Care, Hair, Beauty, Tourism and Construction. The College also has strong provision for Skills for Life, EFL, ESOL and for students with learning difficulties and disabilities.

In 2009-2010, Thanet College will have:

1600 16-18 Learners
3300 Adult Learners
400 Staff
An Apprenticeship Programme
A Train To Gain Contact of £500k
An annual budget of £15m

The mission of the college is to aim to raise aspirations, develop skills and deliver quality. The College core values are:

High performance and top quality
A culture of mutual respect and fairness
Professionalism with a strong customer focus
The diversity of our learners; inspiring and empowering people to achieve their potential

The current college inspection profile confirms that all college provision is good or satisfactory. Staff teams are strongly committed to improvement and we have clear strategies to drive up quality.

The College benefits from a strong and well informed Board of Governors, with the active involvement of student governors. The College Organisational Chart is attached for information. A small senior management team provides leadership in the strategic direction of the college and the cross-college team of managers meets fortnightly to develop a collegiate approach to development.

We are committed to working with community organisations and the college is considered to have a leading role in the future development of Thanet. The Principal is a member of the Board of the East Kent Partnership. There is also a well established partnership arrangement with Canterbury Christchurch University, which has a campus in Thanet. One of our particular strengths is working with local employers; the College has been successful in achieving Action for Business College status and is currently working towards the Training Quality Standard.

Thanet College works in close partnership with schools and the Thanet 14 -19 Consortium, which is often quoted as best practice within the county. We have a successful School Links programme. The college, which hosts the National Junior Chef competition, has also established a hospitality and catering pre-vocational training centre for students aged 14-16. Kent County Council has developed a new multi skilled pre-vocational centre within Thanet and the college is one of the lead partners in this development. The college is very effective in supporting individual learners and students with learning difficulties and disabilities.

The main 11 acre college campus overlooks the sea in Broadstairs, Kent. This is an attractive landscaped site, which comprises a listed building, together with a range of modern specialist education and training facilities, including a childcare centre, a good central Learning Resource Centre with a Conference suite and a Professional Development Centre. A £4m project on the Pegwell building has created superb restaurant facilities and training kitchens for the Centre of Vocational Excellence in Hospitality and Catering. The college also has off-site training facilities for Construction and Community based provision for adults. There is space and potential to develop the current campus.

The college had advanced plans for a major capital development project, to relocate the college to a new campus, alongside the University in Broadstairs. However, with the demise of the LSC Capital Investment Programme, this ambition cannot currently be realised and the college has decided not to proceed with the purchase of the 9 acre site. Governors have begun to review the property strategy and in the short term there will be a focus on essential heath and safety works and the maintenance programme on the current site, pending the next options review in 2010.

The financial position of the college has been strong in recent years but this has been adversely affected by the sunk costs of the capital relocation project. As a result the financial health of the college has recently dropped from Outstanding (Category A) to Good (Category B).

Thanet is an attractive place to live and residential accommodation is good and relatively affordable. Broadstairs has long been recognised as a small, delightful and well preserved seaside resort, whilst Margate and Ramsgate are frequently identified as national hot spots for property investment. Thanet has many listed buildings and conservation areas where Georgian terraces and Victorian homes have been protected in areas of redevelopment. The Isle of Thanet also has a range of small characterful villages within the rural community. Thanet has considerable attractions for families and there is an excellent choice of schools within the area.

Further Information is available on the following websites:

Thanet College

Related Pages

Accolades

College and Community