New City College highlighted in national AoC report for its work around keeping students safe

New City College is featured in a ground-breaking report being presented to the Government which highlights all the innovative work that colleges around the UK do on a daily basis.

Launched on December 9, the report, titled Mission Accepted: The Role of Colleges Across the Government’s Five Missions, has been written and published by the Association of Colleges in a bid to secure better funding for further education.

It focuses on Labour’s promise to deliver five missions to rebuild Britain, and stresses how colleges across the country will be critical to implementing these missions – stating that, in fact, they are already contributing much of the good work being done to achieve these.

But the report warns that without changes and more investment in colleges, there is a real risk that the missions will not be met.

The Government’s five missions are:

1. Kickstart economic growth – to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 – with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off
2. Make Britain a clean energy superpower – to cut bills, create jobs and deliver security with cheaper, zero-carbon electricity by 2030, accelerating to net zero
3. Take back our streets – by halving serious violent crime and raising confidence in the police and criminal justice system to its highest levels
4. Break down barriers to opportunity – by reforming our childcare and education systems, to make sure there is no class ceiling on the ambitions of young people in Britain
5. Build an NHS fit for the future – that is there when people need it; with fewer lives lost to the biggest killers; in a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer

New City College has been highlighted as one of the colleges delivering some outstanding work within Mission 3 – Take back our streets – by informing, supporting and educating students in all aspects of staying safe, particularly when out in the community.

The Association of Colleges was so impressed with all the events and activities that NCC organises along the theme of keeping students safe that they attended Havering Sixth Form Campus and Tower Hamlets Campus to film one of the events and interview students and staff for the Mission Accepted report.

Watch the AoC’s film here:

At the Staying Safe events held across all nine main NCC campuses, there are a wide range of external agencies who attend and students can meet police officers and talk about their fears as well as being informed about the dangers of drugs, county lines, drinking, vaping, smoking, anti-social behaviour and gambling.

They can get advice from experts on topics such as road safety, drink spiking, knife crime, domestic violence, mental health, cyberbullying, consent and relationship boundaries, grooming, coercive behaviour and sexual harassment.

Other events held across the college on similar themes include a day of awareness on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls, talks from health professionals and survivors of violence, and an initiative called MetGirlz which looks to break down some of the stereotypes and to show young females the opportunities that a career in policing has to offer.

This collaborative effort between New City College and a number of external community organisations provides students with valuable insights, tools and resources to be more aware of their own safety and wellbeing and what to do in situations where they may feel vulnerable, such as on their journey to and from college and when they are on a night out.

The events are aligned with an extensive tutorial programme where empowering messages are enforced to all students in the classroom setting, with special emphasis at each campus on the issues within their own communities.

Emma Wood, NCC Group Head of Tutorial and Enrichment said: “The feedback we get from students after these events and tutorial sessions shows the power of what we are doing and also the importance of this work.

“But we need the funding to carry on promoting a safer future for all. Unless we get the funding, the backing and the acknowledgement that what we are doing is so important, these issues won’t go away.”