Weston College will provide education in 19 prisons across England after successfully bidding for three major contracts.

Since 2012, the College has operated in nine prisons across the South West.

Following a revamp of the procurement process, it retained contracts for the South West, and was also selected as the provider for the South East region. The three contracts, worth £15.7 million per year, cover Avon and South Dorset, Devon and North Dorset and Kent, Surrey and Sussex. They begin on April 1. The Weston College brand will now appear in the educational facilities in all 19 prisons.

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, said: “It speaks volumes for the results we achieved under the previous system, that we have been selected to deliver education in an additional ten prisons.

“Our dedicated team of staff work tirelessly to change the lives of the prison learners, and improve their prospects of employment on release.

“This is a major endorsement from the Ministry of Justice of those efforts, and we’re extremely proud to be one of just four national providers of prison education across England.

“That said, delivering education in prison is always challenging and we’ll continue to work with prison governors, staff, partners and employers to ensure the quality of our provision remains as high as possible.”

The new Prison Education Framework (PEF), which replaces the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS), will provide a core curriculum of education in each prison. The providers – including Weston College – will deliver the curriculum in the prisons.

The reforms are designed to enable providers to be more flexible and creative in giving individuals the skills they need to unlock their potential, gain employment and become assets to their communities.

Weston College delivers a wide range of courses in the prison, including catering, English, maths, customer service, art, carpentry, plastering and bricklaying.

College lecturers recently held a series of successful MasterChef-style competitions in prisons across the south west. Prison learners were taught a range of catering skills before putting them to the test and cooking a meal of their own. Prison governors then chose the winner after sampling the dishes.

Hello, I’m Sharna. I’m a Business Administration apprentice, in the Traineeship team at Weston College.

For National Apprenticeship Week, I am going to be telling you about my experience as an apprentice, here at Weston College.

I started my apprenticeship in March 2018 and it has been a really exciting journey. I was very anxious to start my new job as I had never worked in an office environment before and I wasn’t familiar with this sort of work. As soon as I started everyone was so nice to me, and always willing to help which allowed me to settle in quickly.

Being a part of the Weston College team has allowed me to develop my skills and knowledge within the business admin sector. I was very fortunate to be invited to attend the 2018 Business Awards, which gave me a chance to witness the hard work and dedication it takes to be a Weston College employee. I was also given the opportunity to work on social media throughout the night, which was a great experience.

Throughout my time working in the Training Solutions team, I have been given multiple opportunities to support the staff as well as the learners - providing administration and recruitment support. This is something which I have really enjoyed, as I have been able to influence learner outcomes and development.

I would recommend an apprenticeship to anyone who is looking for experience and to try something new. It is the perfect way to get the work experience you need to kick off your career. I haven’t looked back since starting my apprenticeship, it was definitely the right route for me to take, and it has allowed me to get my foot in the door at Weston College.

For more information on apprenticeships, click here. 

Weston College has made it into the prestigious Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list.

The College was the highest ranked College in the list and was placed 28th in the not-for-for profit category in the whole of the UK.

The Sunday Times 100 list is regarded as the Oscars of employee engagement. The 2019 places were announced at a glitzy awards ceremony held at the Battersea Evolution, London on Wednesday 20th February.

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College, said: “To be included in such a prestigious roll of honour at the Sunday Times 100 List is a major achievement and testament to the emphasis we place on putting our staff at the heart of the business.

“Employee engagement and investment are among our highest priorities. This award reflects those priorities, as well as the commitment and dedication our people give us in return.

"Being recognised at UK level is hugely rewarding and we will continue to work hard to support our employees both personally and professionally.”

The College won a place in the list after a comprehensive staff survey carried out by ‘Best Companies’, who compile the Sunday Times List. The survey gathered the views of Weston College employees across eight key factors including wellbeing, pay and benefits, personal growth and the strength of leadership at the College.

Organisations in the not-for-profit category must employ at least 50 employees, and achieve one of the highest 100 highest survey scores in the category. They must also be either a charity, an organisation set up for community benefit, a public sector organisation, or a Community Interest Company (CIC).