Newcastle City Learning Mission, Vision and Strategic Priorities 2025-2026

Mission/Purpose:

Providing opportunities in Newcastle for all to learn, improve and grow.

Vision

Enabling Newcastle city residents to grow and thrive by providing high-quality, relevant development opportunities, making a difference to the employment chances and lives of all our learners.

Key Objectives 2025-2026

• To provide a relevant curriculum offer to meet the needs of adults, young people and employers' training needs to support residents from the city of Newcastle Upon Tyne and beyond to move closer to the jobs market and obtain good quality work and to improve individual well-being through better mental health.
• To offer high-quality educational experiences and support, to allow the residents, both young and old, to improve their knowledge, skills and confidence to realise better life chances by the successful delivery of our North East Combined Authority Adult Skills Budget.
• To sustain our continued positive financial position in challenging circumstances to ensure the sustainability of the service within the city.
• To provide alternative post-16 education and training opportunities to the young people of the city of Newcastle to help them make the transition onto higher level studies or work with greater confidence and the skills to succeed.
• To play our part in the city's Inclusive Economy strategy, ensuring that we can offer relevant education and training programmes to move residents closer to the jobs market and ensure that all can access a pathway to sustainable work opportunities.

Our Core Values

Respect

Teamwork

Integrity

Nurturing

Compassion

The service seeks to embed these values and behaviours in all that we do. Newcastle City Learning is part of Newcastle City Council. Our staff share the values and behaviours of Newcastle City Council.

Newcastle City Learning sits within the Deputy Chief Executive's Directorate which leads on the inclusive economy strategic plan. Newcastle City Learning has the responsibility of the delivery of the Adult Skills Budget and Tailored Learning Budget allocated to Newcastle City Council. It provides courses at two main sites Westgate College and The Heaton Centre as well as provision based in various smaller venues throughout the city, including Gosforth Library. 

Newcastle City Learning provides a curriculum offer within the three main strands of adult education, including foundation learning being our largest cohort, vocational learning and tailored learning. We seek to offer opportunities to adult residents to better prepare themselves for the world of work or higher-level study. 

We liaise with partners to ensure we meet the North East Combined Authority's skills plan priorities, ensuring an inclusive economy and opportunities for all who wish to take up education and training to move them towards a better life.

The service has diversified in recent years to provide an alternative curriculum for young learners aged 16-19 or up to 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), adults with learning difficulties and disabilities, including those with High Needs funding. 

In addition, the service has a small growing Employer Responsive provision, including apprenticeships supporting the needs of local employers.

Our alternative post-16 provision provides a bridge for many young people who may be progressing at age 16 having not realised their full potential at school and require a programme of learning to help them make the important transition to be able to gain the most out of a higher-level vocational programme and/or employment. Newcastle City Learning strives to provide a supportive environment for those young people to firm up their foundation learning and qualifications, and develop their social and emotional skills to become successful in the future. 

Newcastle City Learning also offers high quality apprenticeship provision to support both the Council and local employers within the city. They also offer a wide range of bespoke training for employers to ensure the up skilling of existing employees.

Newcastle City Council - Values and Behaviours

Proud 

• We take pride in and celebrate each other’s achievements
• We have a positive, optimistic, can-do attitude
• We do our very best to meet and exceed the expectations of our colleagues, customers, partners and residents
• We help and support others to make a positive difference
• We make sure that we celebrate and praise each other’s good work

Fair

• We are honest and treat people equal to their needs
• We respect and value every person as an individual
• We listen to other opinions and points of view and embrace difference
• We are decent, fair and compassionate
• We act with integrity in everything we do
• We are accountable for our actions and our performance

Ambitious 

• We are passionate, determined, enthusiastic and want to succeed
• We believe in making the most of opportunities to help us succeed
• We achieve more when we work together
• We are enthusiastic about change
• We encourage others to be their best
• We have the courage to change things for the better and make a difference
• We are passionate about making Newcastle a great city

Much of our work is focused around supporting our residents to get back into work, and to find the confidence to once again, play a significant role within their local communities and families. There is substantial evidence which tells us that continuing our learning plays a vital role in improving individual confidence, development of better social and communication skills and improving wellbeing and self-worth.

The service also provides a range of self-funded learning and leisure activities, such as modern foreign languages and arts and crafts courses, which provide an essential place of safety, comfort and social interaction, helping to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Updated October 2025.