Linking the QIP to individuals within the team at York College

Meet the Expert - Debi Saunders

Debi Saunders is the Senior Quality & Compliance Officer at York College, bringing with her over 40 years of experience in the education sector. Across her career, including 36 years as a teacher and 6 years in quality roles, Debi has developed a deep understanding of how to support staff, improve processes, and embed quality practice across an organisation. At York College, she leads on the use of CollegeiP, guiding colleagues in aligning objectives, evidence, and improvement activities.

In this session, Debi shares how York College is evolving its Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) to become more than a compliance exercise. By setting up QIP objectives so that every team member can contribute activities and evidence, the college is creating a more inclusive and collaborative approach. This shift places staff at the heart of the QIP process, making it part of their day-to-day experience rather than a separate or imposed task.

Although this approach is still in its early stages, Debi highlights emerging examples of its impact, from increasing engagement with QIP objectives to strengthening ownership of quality across teams. Attendees will gain insight into the practical steps taken so far, the challenges of embedding a new system, and the opportunities this model offers for fostering a culture of continuous improvement.