The AoC Charitable Trust’s primary purpose is to raise funds and oversee their application for the benefit of post-16 education and its vision is to have great colleges transforming lives and communities. The Trustees are appointed from the Association of Colleges’ Main Board, AoC's executive officers and independent representatives. Trustees appointed from the AoC’s Board include the Chair, the Chief Executive and the Director of Finance; executive officers include the Trust’s Director. Independent representatives are appointed for their knowledge, experience and status in the sector. All appointments require the approval of the Trustees. An informal induction process is carried out. As a minimum, the Trustees meet on a termly basis, although additional meetings are held if required.
The Trust has oversight for a range of awards that’s celebrate best practice in further education and more. Information can be found by following the specific links on this website; this includes the Beacon Award, Student of the Year Award and Gold Awards.
The Trust also supports the work of AoC Sport. We know that sport and physical activity are effective in improving mental health and wellbeing and as such directly support educational attainment. Utilising all expertise within the AoC group, we work closely with AoC Sport to jointly deliver projects that support and develop the physical and mental health of all within the post-16 education landscape. We believe that sport and physical activity are essential components of college life that give students a significant advantage in education, employment and health. Our vision is for every college student to participate regularly in sport or physical activity. To see more of our work with AoC Sport, please visit the website.
AoC Beacon Awards have been established for 25 years and are trusted and well-recognised brand. Celebrating the best and most innovative FE practice in the UK, they allow colleges to benchmark themselves nationally and recognise staff at all levels. Thanks to our sponsor partners, over £1.5 million has entered the sector and over 450 awards have been presented.
The AoC Beacon Awards programme provides our partners with the opportunity to achieve specific objectives. These include the opportunity to, demonstrate their support for the college sector through their investment, which helps the sector continually improve and support millions of students annually. Our partners can choose to be a specific award sponsor or a general award programme sponsor; each with different options and bespoke benefits.
The AoC Beacon Award partners will have their dedicated award designed and promoted in their name, with their objectives considered. Beyond the traditional marketing benefits, the sponsorship includes opportunities to play a key role in assessment process, meet finalists and feature at our joint celebration - the TES FE Awards and AoC Beacon Awards in March 2020.
Partners are included in our integrated, 365-day, communication strategy, to ensure that their investment in the sector is acknowledged. It is only with the support of the partners that the AoC Beacon Awards is able to celebrate and uplift the college sector.
The Student of the Year Awards are designed to recognise students who not only succeed in their studies but have contributed to the wider college and its community. These awards recognise those students who have overcome barriers, demonstrated commitment, innovation and leadership. There are four categories and can found on the Award section of the AoC website.
Sponsors will have the opportunity to sponsor an individual award and announce the winner at the AoC Annual Conference in November and further celebrate the award with a parliamentary reception in spring of 2020 hosted by Peter Kyle MP and attended by MPs and Ministers.
AoC has always recognised and pay tribute to successful and influential people who have been educated and trained in colleges. We are currently developing ideas on a new award and more information will be available in due course. We are keen to work with a potential sponsor/s on this development.
If you are interested in sponsoring please contact us to discuss options and ideas: [email protected]
Director | Ian Munro
Manager: Charitable Trust & Member Services| Rachel Costello
Member Services Co-ordinator| Sarah Gardner
Any queries relating to the Charitable Trust please contact the AoC Charitable Trust Team.
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