OUR PEOPLE AND CULTURE STRATEGY
Introduction
At the Heart of Yorkshire Education Group, our commitment to excellence in the way we lead, support, and develop our people is, and will remain, fundamental to delivering the highest standards of education and training for our students, communities, and employers.
Our people are the key to unlocking our success. The way we attract, retain, develop, and engage our workforce directly influences the experience we offer and the outcomes we achieve. Our values – Collaboration, Ambition, Inclusion and Respect – guide us in creating a culture that enables every colleague to thrive and make a meaningful impact.
Kindness and compassion are at the heart of how we work together. We believe in a culture where everyone is treated with respect, where empathy underpins leadership, and where colleagues feel supported and valued for who they are and what they contribute. Our overarching objective is to foster a culture and ethos where all colleagues, all students, all stakeholders, feel “Safe, Seen and Significant”
In a changing educational and economic landscape, we must remain agile, inclusive, and forward-thinking in how we grow and support our workforce.
As we look ahead, we recognise the increasing importance of wellbeing, diversity, digital confidence, communication, and leadership at all levels. We will nurture a culture where every individual is valued, where continuous learning is expected, and where all colleagues are empowered to play their part in leading the way to excellence.
Our people journey begins at the point of attraction and continues throughout every stage of a colleague’s journey through their employment and beyond, where colleagues who move on remaining as ambassadors. We will focus on how we identify potential, support progression, reward fairly and champion a sense of belonging — ensuring everyone can succeed and contribute to the Group’s future.
Purpose
The People Strategy provides an overview of the direction for our workforce over the next five years. It sets out the interventions we will take to ensure we develop effectively as a Group, live our values, and deliver our objectives. The People Strategy supports and enables other organisational strategies and helps boost workforce capability and engagement by creating the conditions for a motivated and engaged workforce.
Where are we now?
(September 2025)
As a public sector organisation, we operate in a rapidly evolving employment and education landscape shaped by changing student needs, government skills reform, and advances in technology. The growing national focus on skills and technical education, employer engagement, and lifelong learning places our workforce at the centre of the UK’s ambition to drive productivity and close skills gaps.
Like many across the sector, we face increasing challenges in recruiting and retaining talent especially in areas vital to regional and national growth. These pressures are intensified by shifting workforce expectations, demographic change, and heightened competition for skilled professionals.
Our people are our most powerful driver of innovation and impact. We view workforce investment not as a cost, but as a strategic lever to transform lives and deliver the best for our students and communities.
We are building on strong foundations: high levels of employee satisfaction, a shared commitment to our mission and values, and a culture that prioritises kindness, compassion, and accountability.
The delivery of this strategy depends on confident, values-led leadership at all levels and on nurturing a culture where every colleague feels a sense of purpose, inclusion and belonging.
Our vision, mission and values
Our Vision
Quite simply, our vision outlines what we are aiming for in the future, in terms of our long-term goals. Our vision is
“To be an inspiring, first-choice education group, passionately serving all of our communities.”
Our Mission
Our Mission describes why we are here, our purpose and what we do:
“We positively transform our students’ lives and the communities we serve by putting them at the heart of everything we do.”
Our Values
Our values act as the moral compass for our organisation. They encapsulate the way we do things, how we behave and how we make our decisions.
Collaboration Ambition Inclusion Respect
Our CAIR values have Our People at the heart and guide us in everything we do
Strategic Goals 2025-30
Our Mission and Vision are delivered through four Strategic Goals
1. Developing skills and knowledge for the future
2. Delivering transformative outcomes
3. Nurturing inclusion and belonging
4. Being future-focused, resilient, and sustainable
People and culture strategic pillars
The People and Culture Strategy is an enabler, delivered through four pillars that are future-focused and underpinned by a clear action plan.
1. Attracting, Retaining and Rewarding Great People
We will attract, recruit, and retain a diverse and skilled workforce, including those with industry expertise, through inclusive, agile, and values-led practices. We will offer fair, transparent, and sustainable reward and recognition aligned with our values and financial context. Investment in employee experience, career pathways and benefits will support retention and progression, helping us build a workforce that is resilient, motivated and committed to the Group’s purpose.
2. Creating a Culture of Belonging and Wellbeing
We will foster a culture where all colleagues feel respected, supported and connected to our mission. Kindness and compassion will be central to how we lead and work together. We will continue to embed inclusive practice, actively value diversity, and promote psychological safety across our colleges. Wellbeing will remain a shared priority, with proactive support in place to help individuals and teams thrive.
We will use the Investors In diversity FREDIE framework to guide our improvement journey:
Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, Engagement
3. Empowering High Performance and Future-readiness
We will build a workforce that is adaptable, collaborative and equipped for the future. In response to ongoing reform and the rise of AI and automation, we will support digital confidence, lifelong learning, and innovation in all roles. Clear expectations, meaningful feedback, and access to development will support individual and team performance. We will recognise and harness the strengths of our cross-generational workforce to deliver the best outcomes for our students, employers, and communities.
4. Enabling Leadership and Accountability at All Levels
Leadership will not be defined by role alone, but by behaviour. We will equip colleagues at all levels with the confidence, capability, and support to lead with empathy, clarity, and accountability. Our investment in leadership development will promote consistent, inclusive, and cross-functional approaches, aligned with our strategic goals. People data and insight will support effective decision-making and enable authentic, values-led leadership across the Group.
What will success look like?
By September 2029 we will be recognised as an employer of choice across the region. Our workforce will be diverse with inclusion at the core.
Our employee voice will be loud and heard. We will have an in depth understanding of the perceptions of our people through actively seeking feedback, acting where it will benefit our working lives.
We will have demonstrated our commitment to improving our people’s sense of belonging and caring about our individual wellbeing and futures.
Our approach to professional development will enable individuals to strive for continuous self-development, ensuring everyone is able to thrive and be the best that they can be to develop our next generation of leaders.
How
will we know how we are doing?
How
will we know we are successful?
We will continuously measure a range of internal performance measures, taking positive action where necessary to improve our working lives, with the overall objective of our people acting as advocates who agree that the Group is a first-class place to work and study.
By July 2030
+ Our employee engagement scores in the staff survey (measured by Net Promoter Score) will be above 10.
+ We will have achieved the Investors in Diversity Gold award through the implementation of our EDI Strategy and action plan.
+ Over 90% of staff agree that their wellbeing is taken seriously.
