Weston College keeps hold of its gold

Weston College is proud to announce it has retained its coveted Investors in People Gold and Champion status.

The internationally-recognised accreditation puts the College alongside the very best in the world when it comes to people management.

In February 2010 Weston became the first, and only, further education college in the South West to earn the prestigious Gold accreditation.

In 2013, the College learned it had retained the Gold accreditation, which was made to less than two percent of UK businesses, after they have met stringent criteria.

Now, following a series of interviews with around 70 members of staff, meetings, visits and more rigorous scrutiny, the College can confirm it has, once again, retained its Investors in People Gold and Champion accreditation.

This is the first review which has involved Weston College staff working in the South West prison network and offender learning.

Weston College also holds Investors in People Champion status, an award given to a very small number of organisations which are used as role models for others looking to gain Investors in People status.

Dr Paul Phillips OBE, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, said: “To retain this prestigious award once again is a great honour, and a reflection of the time, effort and energy we put into staff development.

“Our aim is to create brighter futures for all our students, and we do that by putting the learner first in everything we do.

“But in order to achieve that, we need a team of outstanding people to support those learners, and that team needs to be managed, supported and developed.

“Retaining our Investors In People Gold accreditation demonstrates our continuing commitment to attracting, rewarding and retaining staff of the highest calibre, which then enables and empowers them to provide the very best for our learners.”

Investors in People Practitioner Liz Kingdom said: “It became clear very quickly that Weston College really does embody the spirit of Investors in People, finding innovative and creative ways of supporting and involving the team, and constantly seeking to make further improvements in a rapidly changing and often very challenging external environment.

“There is an enviable team ethos with everyone, whether they work in the facilities team, business or student support, or are involved in delivering teaching and learning – feeling they are pulling together.

“It was especially gratifying to hear about the high levels of respect and trust for members of your senior team – there were many positive comments made about how they lead and manage in a supportive, motivational, yet challenging manner, encouraging people to progress and recognising skills and interests.

“One of the things that came across really strongly was the sense of pride that people take in the success of their learners.

“There was a genuine interest and desire for all students to succeed to the best of their ability, and people took a very evident, personal, satisfaction in being able to support this.

“Only around five per cent of organisations achieve Gold accreditation, and for Weston College to retain it once again, during a period of significant expansion and change, is a credit to everyone involved and truly something to be proud of.

“What really stands out is that the College does genuinely care about its staff, and recognises that people have lives outside work.

“The approach to work-life balance, including health and wellbeing, was mentioned by many of those I spoke with, who had personal experience of dealing with personal and family issues which were made so much easier by the flexibility of approach that was taken by managers.”