Setting

Ms Mariane Cavalli Principal Warwickshire College Warwick New Road Leamington Spa Warwickshire CV32 5JE

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in the lifelong learning/further education sector

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your provision in the week beginning 17 October 2011. Please pass my thanks on to your staff for the time they gave to our telephone discussions and for the information which they provided before and during the inspection.

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in the lifelong learning/further education sector

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and to a published national overview report. This report will identify the overall quality of provision leading to Awarding Body qualifications and identify the overall strengths and areas for development. However, in line with previous practice, inspectors will not make graded judgements of the quality of the provision in each centre; they will evaluate and feed back identified strengths and any points for further development. These are outlined below for your centre.

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in the lifelong learning/further education sector

The published overview report will list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text.

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Outcomes for trainees

Recruitment is high on the free-standing Preparation to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) programme which also delivers the preliminary unit of the Certificate in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (CTLLS) programme. Success rates are consistently high on both the PTLLS and CTLLS programmes for all groups of trainees when compared with national averages. Progression from the PTLLS programme to the CTLLS or Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS) programme is low. Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 1231231 Textphone 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Trainees are highly reflective and enthusiastic learners, fully committed to delivering active and varied sessions for their learners. They have developed good, supportive and productive relationships with their learners, peers and tutors. Trainees on the CTLLS programme are employed in support or associate roles and have been

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Outcomes for trainees

recruited onto the most appropriate programme. They have good subject knowledge and have gained confidence in their ability to teach while on the course.

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The key strengths are:

 trainees’ extensive and up-to-date knowledge of their specialist area  the experienced and knowledgeable team of teacher trainers who provide high quality central training. Trainees can see the relevance of this training to their teaching. They value the good variety of approaches used, the modelling of good practice and how they are supported in sharing ideas especially through peer assessment opportunities  the high quality of personal support for trainees. Tutors know their trainees well and ensure they are accessible to trainees in person and through electronic media. Trainees value the helpful and rapid response they receive to communications  tutors’ close monitoring of trainees’ achievements which helps them to succeed  the encouraging, informative and rapid feedback trainees receive on written assignments and following observations  the flexibility staff have built into the programme enabling trainees to attend a

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The key strengths are:

range of sessions and be assessed at times convenient to their varied work-loads  the well-developed learning channel within the college’s virtual learning environment which trainees access from home and work  the rigorous assessment and internal verification processes  the accuracy of self-assessment and identification of the priorities for further improvement.

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The key areas for development are:

 ensuring that all trainees receive specialist observation and support, including those not employed by the college  introducing a more structured assessment of trainees’ potential and progress, with clear targets and actions, monitoring these rigorously and systematically so that all trainees recognise their achievements and priorities for improvement  encouraging trainees to use their reflective logs to evaluate all aspects of their training, including their own teaching and assessments, so these inform their practice  addressing all identified improvement points in a timely manner. As explained in the inspection guidance, a copy of this letter will be published on the Ofsted website. It will also be available to the team for your next inspection.

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