As endorsements go, this takes some beating because it comes right from the horse’s mouth – our staff.

These highly regarded lists are compiled from scores generated by anonymous staff surveys. The surveys gathered views on eight areas of the College, including wellbeing, pay and benefits, personal growth and strength of leadership.

The College was ranked 28th in the not-for-profit category and 21st in the overall list of south west companies. We were also the top-ranked college nationally.

Basically, we’re highly ranked because our staff think we should be.

Working for us means you work for a successful organisation. But you don’t have to take our word for it – our recent accolades and awards speak for themselves.

Among our top accomplishments was being rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. We’re also the only college in the West of England to achieve it.

In 2017 we were awarded The Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education (regarded as the most prestigious award in the education sector), and two years earlier we were named 'College of the Year' and 'Overall Further Education Provider of the Year' in the Times Educational Supplement (Tes) FE Awards.

We’re also an Investors in People (IIP) ‘Champion’ and have been awarded IIP ‘Platinum’ status, which shows our commitment to invest in our staff.

Weston College has undergone a remarkable transformation since Dr Paul Phillips was appointed Principal in 2001. We’re now one of the top colleges in the UK, rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and winners of a string of awards and honours (see above).

The Weston College ‘Group’ is now spread across five key sites including a University Centre – one of the first of its kind in the UK.

We’re also due to open two new purpose-built training facilities in 2019 – the Construction Training Centre and Health and Active Living Centre.

This incredible progress has been achieved under the leadership of Dr Phillips, who has a huge wealth of experience and expertise in the sector. Last year, Dr Phillips was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his work in further and higher education.

As a Weston College employee, you’ll always receive the support you need when it comes to your health and wellbeing.

We have a dedicated Staff Welfare Officer who is on hand to provide support and guidance when you need it. We allocate every new member of staff a mentor as part of the College wide Mentoring programme.

We also offer an occupational health referral system, and access to the Bupa Employee Assistance Programme, which provides free and confidential support 24 hours a day. Aside from these day-to-day services, the College operates a series of initiatives to help staff and students maintain their physical and mental wellbeing. These include sports, healthy eating and general wellbeing sessions, as well as workshops to address issues like low self-esteem, low confidence and smoking cessation.

Staff can use the Knightstone Campus’s Fitness Suite free of charge. In addition to this, staff will also have access to our new state of the art facilities at the Health and Active Living Skills Centre.

It’s important that our staff are continually developing – as professionals and individuals. That’s why we run extensive programmes of development and CPD.

We also give employees discounts on a wide range of leisure and special interest courses.

As well as this, we provide a range of other benefits, including:

• Holiday – a minimum of 30 days (reduced pro-rata for part time staff)
• Pension – all staff are automatically entered into a pension scheme relevant to their role with generous employer contributions
• Access to learning resource centres – these well-equipped facilities are open to staff and students
• Restaurants – staff benefit from discounted prices at Lasseter’s restaurant at the Winter Gardens, and the College’s training restaurant at the Knightstone Campus
• Hair, beauty and relaxation treatments – staff receive discounts on a wide range of hair and beauty treatments.