Suffolk New College (SNC) is based in Suffolk with campuses in Ipswich, ‘On the Coast’ at Leiston (which was opened in September 2018), and the Rural Campus at Otley, acquired following the cessation of Easton and Otley College at the end of 2019. In addition, Suffolk New College has recently assumed responsibility for the Skills Centre in Halesworth, where provision commenced in September 2020. Suffolk New College has close links with the University of Suffolk as the Ipswich Campus is situated in what is known as the ‘Education Quarter’ of Ipswich and is close to the regenerated waterfront. In this academic year, there are two thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine (2889) full-time and forty-six (46) part-time 16 – 18-year-old students, four hundred and thirty-four (434) full-time and one thousand two hundred and seventy-nine (1279) part-time 19+ students; six hundred and eighty-three (683) apprenticeships and eighty-four (84) Higher Education students. The College concentrates upon ensuring a syllabus that meets the wants of students, employers, and the broader community. The offer takes into account the need of providing a skilled workforce for the future. Nine curriculum areas are ensuring an extensive range of learning, including Science and Digital Industries; Care Industries; Creative Arts; Engineering and Construction; Rural; Service Industries; Foundation Learning; English and Mathematics; ESOL, and Apprenticeships. Ipswich has been designated an Opportunity Area (OA) by the Department for Education. The Principal sits on the Partnership Board of the OA, which was formed in September 2017. It is one of the twelve areas in England chosen by the Government as such and the purpose is to unlock the potential of England’s young people through education. The partnership working arising from this has supported the concentrate upon the eight Gatsby Benchmarks and it was considered that the College had made good progress in addressing these.

The Values of Suffolk New College are ‘openness and trust; having a learning culture to support all staff; providing platforms for expressing opinions, concerns, and views for all staff at all levels; involvement in decision making; recognizing, appreciating, and celebrating achievement and success areas; actively encouraging and finding time for continued professional development, creating time to generate new ideas and experiment; and valuing and respecting differences and views of others, promoting diversity.

There are eleven Strategic Aims. Of particular note are those relating to the promotion and response to the student’s voice, whilst raising aspirations to obtain high-level qualifications; working closely and actively with employers so that the student experience is enhanced and securing and celebrating positive destinations or further academic progression for all students. The support to students described within the College’s Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) Statement of Service and Careers Strategy are fully aligned and support organizational strategic purposes through a service that is described as student-centered and solutions-concentrated; a service which is flexible and proactive, and which meets student wants; uses information about students objectively to inform the support and guidance provided; work collaboratively with students to review progress, plan next steps and strategies to achieve these; collaborate with external partners to share information appropriately both ways in the interest of securing high-quality outcomes for the students, and to listen to feedback and proactively respond in the spirit of continuous improvement. Within the Strategic Plan, there is a section relating to the labor market. This shows how the College will support projects such as the Sizewell C Nuclear Power project and the positioning of the campus at Leiston will enhance this. There are plans to develop partnerships along the East Anglian Coast with the University and East Coast College in the provision of qualifications relevant to, for example, food and food production; and wind farm provision. There is a new Digital Hub to be built in Rope Walk in Ipswich, which is very close to the campus and is another indicator of the College’s response to employer needs. The College is investigating the feasibility of a specialist ICT link with British Telecom (BT) at Martlesham and reflects upon its position at the beginning of the Cambridge Corridor. There is also potential development of new qualifications within Construction Services and Engineering.