Accreditation and Memberships
Plymouth College of Art is proud to be a member of and receive accreditation by a number of organisations for our business and education provision. We are also proud to work in partnership with prestigious organisations to delivered shared aims.
Awarding Organisations
Plymouth College of Art is accredited by the following Awarding Organisations to deliver courses with qualifications:
- University of the Arts London
- OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations)
- Pearson
- City and Guilds
- ABC Awards
- Trinity College London
- AQA (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance)
Plymouth College of Art is a Children's University Learning Destination. We are recognised by the Children's University as a provider of accredited learning opportunities for 5-14-year-olds. Children aged 5-14 who attend our Young Arts Club, or 14-year-olds who participate in Plymouth City Council's Summer Mix programme at the College, can collect 'stamps' to record hours of learning which contribute to the award of a certificate.
Plymouth College of Art offers a range of apprenticeships specifically designed for the Creative Industries. The Creative Skillset Tick is an invaluable tool for employers, highlighting courses and apprenticeships which offer the highest level of teaching facilities and the greatest industry links. Plymouth College of Art has been awarded the Creative Skillset Tick for our Photo Imaging; Fashion and Textiles, and Creative Digital Media Apprenticeship programmes.
Following a short Ofsted inspection on 23 and 24 May 2017, Plymouth College of Art is pleased to announce that the result of the inspection was judged to be “good,” maintaining the outcome of the college’s last inspection in May 2013. In the face of developments in the structure and location of FE teaching at the college itself, and the changing educational and political landscape in the UK, this result is a significant recognition of the college’s ongoing commitment to pre-degree education as part of a continuum of creative learning and practice in the region, which extends from the age of three at Plymouth School of Creative Arts, to Masters level study at the college.
We are pleased to confirm that the College has retained its kite mark for a further year as a two-tick employer. We have retained this symbol by committing to interviewing all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for job vacancies and to consider them on their abilities; discussing with disabled employees what the College can do to make sure they can develop and use their abilities; ensuring that every effort is made to ensure that an employee who becomes disabled can stay in employment, and ensuring that annual disability awareness events take place and keep these commitments under review each year.
The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education safeguard quality and standards in UK universities and colleges so that students have the best possible learning experience. Plymouth College of Art is a subscriber institution to QAA inspection and review services.
Based on the evidence available, the TEF Panel judged that as a higher education provider, we deliver teaching, learning and outcomes for our students that meet rigorous national quality requirements for UK higher education.
Advance HE supports universities in putting institutional strategy into practice for the benefit of students, staff and society. They bring together HE-focused expertise in governance, leadership, teaching and learning, and equality, diversity and inclusion, to help Universities to deliver world-leading teaching, research and scholarship. They do this through the provision of specialist knowledge and resources, externally recognised benchmarking and recognition schemes, and a member-focused, collaborative approach.
Building Plymouth Project is a Plymouth City Council led partnership with local construction and built environment stakeholders that aims to link local people with jobs and apprenticeships, training and career opportunities.
Plymouth College of Art is an education partner and proud member of the network of colleges and businesses around the UK who support Creative & Cultural Skills and the Building a Creative Nation campaign.
The Creative Industries Federation is the national organisation for all the UK’s creative industries, cultural education and arts. They ensure the creative industries are central to political, economic and social decision-making.
Cumulus is the only global association to serve art and design education and research. It is a forum for partnership and transfer of knowledge and best practices. Cumulus consists currently of 340 members from 61 countries.
Devon & Plymouth Chamber of Commerce is an accredited member of the British Chambers of Commerce network. Representing over 40,000 employees in the county, Devon Chamber connects businesses to enable growth and success in the region. Working in partnership with local authorities, strategic organisations and British Chambers of Commerce, Devon Chamber of Commerce works to improve business conditions in the county.
ELIA is a globally connected European network that provides a dynamic platform for exchange and development in higher arts education. It represents 260 members in 48 countries, across all art disciplines. ELIA advocates for higher arts education by creating new opportunities for its members and facilitating the exchange of good practice. ELIA realises its aims by organising events, forming cross-membership working groups, participating in research projects, and producing policy papers addressing topical issues.
The Heads of Educational Development Group (HEDG) network has over 100 Heads of educational development as its members, and provides excellent opportunities for networking, collaboration and discussion for representatives from a large number of Higher Education Institutions across Britain.
GuildHE Limited is an official voice for UK higher education, especially for universities and colleges with a tradition of learning, research and innovation in industries and professions. As a formal representative body, the Government consults GuildHE on higher education policies. GuildHE helps influence the development of the Teaching Excellence Framework; Lord Stern’s review of the Research Excellence Framework; and the future regulation of the sector through the Higher Education and Research Bill. GuildHE promotes and maintains a distinctive, diverse, inclusive and internationally successful higher education sector in the UK, and articulates its benefits to students, employers and wider society.
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) Institute was established in 2002 to shape the higher education policy debate through evidence. HEPI are UK-wide, independent and non-partisan and are funded by organisations and universities that wish to see a vibrant higher education debate, as well as through their own events.
Plymouth College of Art is part of the growing network of institutions who offer free Saturday art and design classes for 14-16-year-olds under the Sorrell Foundation's National National Art & Design Saturday Club (NADSC).
Plymouth's own Saturday Arts Club has provided an influential model for the development of the now country-wide Saturday Club programme and Plymouth College of Art Principal, Andrew Brewerton, sits on the steering committee for the NADSC.
The National Society For Education (NSEAD) is the leading national authority concerned with art, craft and design across all phases of education in the United Kingdom. They provide a coherent and comprehensive source of information for art and design teachers and lecturers, and aim to continually define and reassess policies in all areas of art, craft and design education, disseminating new ideas, research and good practice, and providing a forum for discussion.
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) is an independent body set up to review student complaints. Free to students, the OIA deals with individual complaints against Higher Education Providers in England and Wales.
The core aim of Plymouth Area Business Council (PABC) is to encourage and sustain constructive dialogue and ideas between the private, third and public sectors operating in the Plymouth City region for the long-term benefit of its inhabitants. PABC became an integral part of the Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce in 2018 and is now the economic policy advisory group to the Chamber.
The Plymouth Social Enterprise Network CIC aims to be a focal point for the social enterprise sector within Plymouth providing a way for social enterprises to exchange information, ideas and expertise helping to strengthen the sector, represent the interests of social enterprises and provide the opportunity for social enterprises to influence the development of their sector within Plymouth.
South West Business Council (SWBC), is a private sector-led, sub-regional economic partnership. National, regional and local private and public sector organisations are represented at quarterly meetings designed to enhance the competitiveness of the region and facilitate economic development.
Tate Exchange is an annual programme that brings together international artists, over 60 partners who work within and beyond the arts, and the public. Tate Exchange is a journey of discovery into the different ways that art has become active over the last 60 years and how artists have changed our understanding of what art can be and what it can do.
The United Kingdom Arts and Design Institutions Association (UKADIA) is a group of specialist arts and design institutions from across the UK’s higher and further education sectors. They aim to promote, nationally and internationally, the key contributions of specialist colleges to the UK’s world-renowned reputation in visual arts, performance and the creative and cultural industries. UKADIA aim widen participation in Higher Education and encourage mobility into professions serving the creative and cultural industries.