Waltham Forest College gains whole College accreditation to the Matrix Standard

Waltham Forest College has successfully achieved the whole College matrix accreditation, demonstrating the high quality and consistent strength of its career information, advice and guidance services for learners and apprentices.

The matrix Standard is owned by the Department of Education and has become the international quality standard for organisations that deliver information, advice and guidance (IAG) as part of their service offering.

The accreditation process entailed a three-and-a-half-day review by a qualified assessor, with input from almost 50 staff members, a mix of learners and a range of partner organisations.

The assessment report noted that the College’s ‘continuous development of the IAG service over the last ten years and the focus upon course, career, college, and community encompasses the ethos of Waltham Forest College. The evidence shows how passionate staff are about encouraging learners to meet their aspirations’.

Several other key strengths were identified during the assessment, detailed:

• There was clear linkage to the College’s strategic objective leading and developing robust local, regional, and national partnerships to maximise influence in the learning and skills landscape.
• The College sees partnership work as an essential and critical element to working in harmony with the local community to support and nurture learners to meet their goals, raise their aspirations and prepare them for their next steps.
• It was very clear that an outcome from the embedded cross-college approach to supporting students and apprentices is the visibility of staff’s professionalism and learner centric commitment.
• The College’s drive to introduce technology that is supportive of a learning environment.

Roger Chapman, Head of the matrix Service for The Growth Company said:

“This is a fantastic achievement for Waltham Forest College, and I would like to congratulate the team on their success. We believe that at the heart of high-quality advice and support services are strong leadership, excellent service and a focus on continuous improvement, all underpinned by effective use of the resources available. The matrix Standard is designed to benchmark organisations against best practice in these areas. With their accreditation success, Waltham Forest College is working to provide the best possible support to their clients.”

Amir Ahmed, Director of Learner Experience and Marketing at Waltham Forest College, said:

“We are delighted to successfully achieve the matrix Standard accreditation but what is particularly important for me is that we have successfully been accredited for our whole College for the first time.

“I am extremely proud of the continued ambition of our staff who are able to support our learners in their next steps. In this most recent evaluation, it was clear that the strategic vision of Waltham Forest College demonstrated our commitment and dedication to our learners and how we positioned ourselves as an anchor institution within the community, serving London’s skills and employment needs”.