Education has not escaped the squeeze in government funding over the last decade or so and the further education sector, consisting of around 300 colleges and sixth forms colleges in England, has had to cope with more than its fair share of cuts. The individual colleges have had to look at how they can continue to provide the lifelong learning opportunities they have always delivered for their local communities. The skills that colleges provide to school leavers, apprentices and adults looking to retrain or develop their existing careers are vital to our economy. However, the ability of colleges to support these learners has been stretched to the limit by nearly ten years of harsh cuts to their funding.
Many colleges have opted for formal partnerships and mergers over recent years. This process is now also being driven further by a series of “Area Reviews”, initiated by the government to look at further education provision across England's regions. London alone had around 40 separate colleges and sixth form colleges at the start of 2016, but the merger trends could see this shrink to as few as 10 or even less within the next 2-3 years.
In Brent, the College of North West London has a long history of providing technical and vocation education. It has particular strengths in engineering and construction, teaching specialist skills such as welding and air conditioning that attract learners from across the country. Around 10,000 students per year go through its doors. Quality is strong and improving further, and the college has recently won three national awards for its Student Experience. 2015/16 saw the best set of results in CNWL's long history, with achievement rates likely to place the college in the top 5 in the capital, when published this spring.
To safeguard the future of the College and put itself in the best position to continue to serve the population and employers of the area, a merger with nearby City of Westminster College has been proposed. The merger aims to consolidate the colleges' finances, enable efficiencies through the sharing of services and improve standards through collaboration. Both colleges are rated Good by Ofsted and approach the future together in a strong position. By retaining their own names and identities, as part of a joint college group, the colleges plan to retain what has made them successful individually.
Brent Council, who has been involved in the Area Review of west London, endorses this merger as part of the final report, and will continue to take an active interest in the process. The priority of the Council, working with the College, is to help ensure that residents from diverse backgrounds, such as found in Brent, continue to benefit from a range of educational options and routes to obtain skills and qualifications.
