Meet the Principal
It is with great pride and pleasure that I introduce you to The JCB Academy. The academy is innovative, unique and unlike any other school, developing business leaders and engineers from Year 9 to Sixth Form and providing Intermediate (level 2) and Advanced (level 3) apprenticeship programmes. The JCB Academy is for learners aged 13-18 with an interest in engineering and/or business.
With cutting-edge facilities, world-leading partners and genuine industrial challenges that bring theory to life, our learners are equipped with aptitudes and skills that prestigious apprenticeship providers, universities and global companies look for in future business leaders and engineers.
The Academy has a unique curriculum developed by The JCB Academy and its core partners. Working with the likes of Bosch Rexroth, JCB, Toyota and Harper Adams University, we ensure that the curriculum is embedded in real industrial practice and includes genuine industrial challenges.
The JCB Academy is a challenging place to learn with the working day more like business hours rather than schools hours – learners pursue academic and technical excellence through projects and conventional academic subjects. We ensure quality of access for all learners and provide rich opportunities to complement the curriculum and build confidence, leadership and creativity.
To help learners make the most of the opportunities, there are substantial support services in place to ensure that everyone thrives in this unique environment. Learners are assigned a Support Mentor who supports the learners’ health and wellbeing and acts as a go-to aide for both the learners and the parents. Due to our small cohort and a dedicated department, we can respond to a wide range of issues including stress, anxiety, depression, lifestyle, relationships and bereavement.
High emotional currency between staff, learners and families fosters a nurturing environment where diversity and difference is celebrated. Through co-regulation with staff, learners are encouraged to communicate, express emotions and to adopt a superior standard of conduct.
The academy’s purpose-built apprenticeship training centre provides training for Level 2 and Level 3 apprenticeships in engineering and fabrication and welding. Several companies including Michelin, JCB, Marston’s, Alpha Manufacturing, Bri-Stor Systems and Merlin Entertainments use the academy as their chosen apprenticeship training provider.
The JCB Academy Sixth Form offers a pathway in traditional A-levels and vocational diploma pathways in engineering and business. The sixth form is also at the forefront of the new T-Level development for engineering and manufacturing and courses will be on offer from August 2022. Learners will benefit from 80% study and 20% industry placements.
Hear about the unique JCB Academy experience from our Learners and read what they say or take a 360° look in and around the academy with our virtual tour.
I look forward to welcoming you in person in the near future.
Mrs J McGuirk
Principal
Partnership Building
Industry Partners
We are proud of our links with industry and the wider business community, and work very closely with our Core Challenge Partners (see below) to realise our aim of ‘Changing lives by developing the engineers and business leaders of the future’. With these companies, we ensure that The JCB Academy curriculum is embedded in real industrial practice and includes genuine industrial challenges. Thanks to all these links, each of our learners leaves here ready to take up a challenging career in business and industry.
Our Learners
As soon as our learners join The JCB Academy they are assigned a personal Learning Mentor, who supports them – via one-to-one discussions at least twice per week – throughout their time here. Mentors provide guidance and advice to ensure that our learners really benefit from all that is on offer here and they are also the key point-of-contact for parents.
Our Parents
Staff at The JCB Academy are aware that parents or guardians are a learner’s first and most important educators, so we do our best to ensure that they are fully involved in the education process and have a stake in all the developments regarding their son’s/daughter’s learning. We believe passionately in being an open learning environment, which develops good relationships with home; this means we contact parents or guardians regularly and we encourage them to contact us whenever they feel it would be helpful.
Core Challenge Partners
The JCB Academy are proud of their links with industry and the wider business community, and work very closely with our Core Challenge Partners to realise our aim of ‘Changing lives by developing the engineers and business leaders of the future’. Working with these companies, we ensure that The JCB Academy curriculum is embedded in real industrial practice and includes genuine industrial challenges. Thanks to all these links, each of our learners leaves here ready to take up a challenging career in business and industry.
Our Core Challenge Partners include:
- Bosch Rexroth Group
- Capula
- Continental Engineering Services
- Harper Adams University
- Institution of Engineering and Technology
- JCB
- National Grid
- Parker
- Pentaxia
- Rolls-Royce
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK)
- The Royal Academy of Engineering
- Ultra Electronics PMES
- Unilathe
If you would like further information on becoming a partner of The JCB Academy, please visit our Employer Partners section by clicking here.
Executive Pay
The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer NIC and pension costs) exceeded £100,000 was:
| 2020-21 | 2019-20 | |
|---|---|---|
| In the band £160,000-170,000 | 0 | 1 |
| In the band £110,000-120,000 | 1 | 0 |
Trustees’ remuneration and expenses
One Trustee has been paid remuneration or has received other benefits from an employment with the Academy Trust. The principal as a Trustee only receives remuneration in respect of services provided undertaking the roles of principal under his contracts of employment. The value of Trustees’ remuneration and other benefits was as follows:
During the year ended 31 August 2021, no expenses were reimbursed or paid directly to any Trustee (2020 – £nil to any Trustee).
Governance
You can contact the Chair of Governors at:
Mr Max Jeffery
c/o Clerk to the Governors
The JCB Academy
Mill Street
Rocester
Staffordshire
ST14 5JX
Email: chair@jcbacademy.com
The boards of members and trustees at The JCB Academy are unpaid positions, please view our trustees here.
Attendance of meetings
The information on governance included here supplements that described in the Trustees’ report and in the Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities. The board of Trustees has formally met 4 times during in the year to August 2021.
Attendance in the year to August 2021 at meetings of the board of Trustees was as follows:
| Trustee | Meetings attended | Out of a possible |
|---|---|---|
| M Jeffery, Chair | 4 | 4 |
| D R Bell, Vice Chair (current position) | 4 | 4 |
| A J Greer | 2 | 4 |
| D M Richards | 3 | 4 |
| S Simpkin | 1 | 4 |
| T Penter | 4 | 4 |
| H Kaur | 4 | 4 |
| J McGuirk, Principal and Accounting Officer | 4 | 4 |
| P Gwinnett | 4 | 4 |
The board maintains effective governance in fewer than 6 meetings annually through the use of a subcommittee structure.
The Finance link committee is a sub-committee of the main Board of Trustees , its purpose is to prepare and present their analysis of the financial performance and position of the Academy to the Board of Trustees throughout the year. The committee meets on a regular basis prior to full Board of Trustees meetings and will subsequently present their findings.
Attendance in the year to August 2021 was as follows:
| Trustee | Meetings attended | Out of a possible |
|---|---|---|
| T Penter | 3 | 3 |
| M Jeffery | 3 | 3 |
| J McGuirk | 3 | 3 |
| R Hubinger | 1 | 1 |
The Members met in meetings as follows:
| Member | Meetings attended | Out of a possible |
|---|---|---|
| D Ross | 1 | 1 |
| M Turner | 1 | 1 |
| J C Bamford Excavators represented by M Jeffery | 1 | 1 |