Making a Difference Award Sponsor Interview: David Malone, Principal of Calderdale College
As Principal of Calderdale College, David Malone is passionate about the role education plays in transforming lives and strengthening communities. As sponsor of the Making a Difference Award at the Calderdale Community Spirit Awards we celebrated organisations that have identified challenges, created solutions and made a lasting impact. We caught up with David to talk about the College’s role in Calderdale, the importance of partnerships and why making a difference is at the heart of everything they do.
For people who might not know about Calderdale College, can you tell us a little bit about the college and the role it plays in our community?
Calderdale College is a General Further Education College, supporting around 2,500 young people aged 16 to 18, up to 5,000 adults throughout the year, and around 1,000 apprentices.
We deliver everything from specialist support for students with additional needs, right through to degree level courses. We’re a large organisation and a really important part of Calderdale and the wider area.
But we’re much more than an education provider. We see ourselves as a civic organisation with a responsibility to the place we’re part of. For many people, we’re a first choice for education, but for others we’re a second chance, a place where people can rebuild confidence, improve their life chances and achieve things they may not have thought possible. Around 63% of the people we serve come from areas of highest deprivation, compared to a national college average of around 30%. We know the role we play, and we don’t take that responsibility lightly.
You talk about the college’s six Ps. What are those?
Our six Ps are people, place, prosperity, planet, performance and partnerships. They underpin everything we do including our strategy, our conversations and our goals. For us, place is incredibly important. We’re proud to be Calderdale College and we understand the responsibility that comes with that.
The college feels like much more than an education provider, it feels like a key part of the community. How important are partnerships with charities, businesses and community groups?
They’re absolutely essential. We work with over 1,000 employers every year, whether that’s through work placements, apprenticeships, industry partnerships or businesses coming into college to talk to students about opportunities. It’s not just about employment. It’s about bringing people into the college, helping students understand what’s possible and connecting education with real life. Our partnerships with charities and community organisations are also incredibly important. We work with organisations across Calderdale and beyond, including supporting recruitment projects with charities such as Overgate Hospice and working alongside community partners. We don’t do anything in isolation. Everything we do is connected to a partner, and those relationships keep us grounded and remind us why we’re doing what we do.
What makes Calderdale such a special place to live, learn and work?
I think the first thing is its diversity. At the start of every academic year, you bring together people from completely different backgrounds, communities and experiences. Those first couple of weeks are always interesting because people are meeting each other for the first time. Then something amazing happens, all of that disappears and the college becomes its own community. When I first interviewed for the role, I was amazed by how many people had a connection with the college. People told me they had studied here, their family worked here, their grandparents had been here when it was the Institute for Mechanics.
That’s what Calderdale is about. People care about the place, and they care about each other. It’s a community that gets hold of you.
“They don’t sit around waiting for somebody else to solve a problem. They see something that needs doing and they get on and do it.”
You sponsored the Making a Difference Award at the Calderdale Community Spirit Awards. What does making a difference mean to you personally?
Making a difference is our whole purpose. When you work in further education, our job is to make a difference every single day. What I admire about community groups and charities is that they don’t sit around waiting for somebody else to solve a problem. They see something that needs doing and they get on and do it. I think there’s a lot we can learn from that. If more people decided not to wait for someone else to fix things and instead asked, “What can I do to help?”, the world would be a better place. At the college, we ask ourselves constantly, “What difference is this going to make?” Every decision has to come back to whether it will create a positive impact for our students, our staff and our community.
The Making a Difference Award recognised organisations that introduced new ideas and strengthened the community. Why do you think those organisations are so important?
These organisations fill the gaps. The college can’t be everything, we do everything we can to support our community, but there will always be challenges where individuals, charities and community groups step forward and create solutions. Those people are incredible because they don’t wait, they identify a need and they act and that’s exactly what the Making a Difference Award celebrates.
Do you think it’s about creating that feeling that “it takes a village to raise a child”?
Absolutely, the more partners we bring together, the more opportunities we can create. That includes large organisations, but also small businesses and community groups. Every relationship matters. Sometimes we need to be brave and say, “there’s a gap here, so how can we work together to fill it?” The Community Spirit Awards are a great example of that. They celebrate people who haven’t waited for someone else to take action, they’ve just got on and made things happen.
What would you like to see happening across Calderdale over the next five years?
We want to continue becoming more of a community asset and we’re looking at hosting more community events, including initiatives around International Women’s Day where we can open the college up as a place for women to come together, explore opportunities and think about their futures. We also have new sporting facilities opening which will allow more schools, clubs and community groups to use high quality facilities. Ultimately, we want people to think of Calderdale College first when they’re looking for a partner because we absolutely want to support them.
Quick Fire Questions
Tea or coffee?
Tea.
Favourite place in Calderdale?
Hebden Bridge, I love running along the canal there.
Three words to describe Calderdale?
Inclusive. Community. Quirky.
A local organisation or charity everyone should know more about?
Halifax Opportunities Trust.
What makes you smile instantly?
Student success, seeing people greet each other, the college community, the Piece Hall and a nice meal!
Favourite meal?
A good pasta dish, I’m a big fan of spaghetti bolognese.
What are you most proud of about Calderdale College?
Inclusion.
If you could grant one wish for Calderdale, what would it be?
That people knew more about what Calderdale College does. We don’t always shout about ourselves enough, and there are so many brilliant things happening here that people should know about.
