East Sussex College

Vision, Mission & Values

• Our vision is to empower and sustain our communities through education and skills.

• Our mission is to deliver a consistently excellent student experience through expert teaching, inspiring facilities and our partnerships with our employers.

• Our values include Partnership, Respect, Inspire, Diversity & to Empower.

Our Strategic Priorities

Our strategic drivers emerged from a series of Board away sessions throughout 2020/21 where the internal and external context of the College were carefully considered.

Six workstreams were identified to deliver the transformation and consolidation for this stage of the Colleges journey. These are shown below alongside the key objective for each, with a later section of this strategy providing some key success measures.

About East Sussex

East Sussex’s captivating and inspiring coastline, expansive beaches, rolling green hills and historic towns and villages make it one of the most beautiful places in the country to live, study and conduct business.

Almost two thirds of the county is either a designated part of the South Downs National Park or the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

We have a rich and varied cultural offer that engenders pride and a sense of place in the county. There is a wealth of cultural attractions and some of the more renowned places include Glyndebourne and Charleston near Lewes, the Towner contemporary art museum in Eastbourne, the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, and the Hastings Contemporary Gallery in Hastings.

In 2019 the county was home to over 550,000 people, with over 57% (317,900) aged between 16-64, which is lower than regional or national averages. Population projections to 2027/28 show that whilst the overall population will grow by 5.5% (to 581,731) the 65+ population will rise by 18.8% (to 170,309), increasing the proportion of older people in the county from 25% to 29%.

The latest data shows that in Dec 2020 the proportion of the working age population in employment in East Sussex (76%) is just above the national average (75.4%). The unemployment rate of 6.1% is above

the national average (4.6%). This has risen sharply due to the pandemic, with the number of people claiming Universal Credit increased by 11,640 to 20,775 between March and May 2020.

Our county also has pockets of severe deprivation, with parts of Bexhill, Eastbourne, and Newhaven in the top 20% of deprived places in the country with two wards in Hastings in the top 10%. While educational attainment in schools has improved significantly, adults have fewer higher-level qualifications, with only 56.6% having a Level 3 or above, significantly lower than regional (63.5%) or national averages (61.4%).

The College’s catchment area for 16-18 students extends to over 50 schools covering East Sussex, Brighton & Hove, West Sussex and South Kent. The Year 11 cohort size is expected to grow across significantly across this area by the midpoint of this decade, providing a significant opportunity for growth.