Coventry College

Published date 19 January 2011 Inspection Number 354433 Unique reference number: 130472

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Name of lead inspector: Paula Heaney HMI

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Last day of inspection: 10 December 2010

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Type of provider: General Further Education College

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Information about the provider

1. Henley College is one of two medium-sized colleges in Coventry. In 2009/10 approximately 6,900 studied at the college. The college recruits a high proportion of students from the most disadvantaged areas in Coventry. Unemployment and the proportion of the population who have no qualifications are above the national averages. The college is situated in an area designated a New Deal for Communities (NDC) regeneration zone. Around 60% of learners, aged 16–18 receive the Education Maintenance Allowance.

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Information about the provider

2. The college offers provision in most subject areas, apart from construction and social sciences. The largest areas are preparation for life and work; health, public services and care; retail and commercial enterprises and leisure, travel and tourism. The college is based on one main campus with other centres operating within the local community providing courses in literacy, numeracy and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). Higher education courses are offered mainly in applied sciences, computing and sports studies.

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Information about the provider

3. Around a quarter of learners are from minority ethnic backgrounds, reflecting the local community, with the largest groups being Asian Indian and Black African learners. The number of Year 11 pupils in Coventry who achieve five A*–C grades at GCSE, including English and mathematics, is lower than the national average and significantly lower for those who live in the immediate area .

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Information about the provider

4. The inspection took into account all the provision offered by the college. Provision in engineering, sport, travel and public services, literacy, numeracy and ESOL and for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities was inspected in depth. Additionally, employer responsive provision for apprentices and for employees on Train to Gain courses was inspected.

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Young learner provision:

Foundation learning tier 237 part-time learners

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Young learner provision:

1,321 full-time and 256 part-time learners

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Adult learner provision:

Further education (19+) 463 full-time and 2103 part-time learners

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Employer provision:

Train to Gain Apprenticeships 507 learners 156 apprentices

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Summary report

Grades: 1 is outstanding; 2 is good; 3 is satisfactory; 4 is inadequate

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Grade

Leadership and management 3 Safeguarding Equality and diversity

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Subject Areas Grade

Learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities 3

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Overall effectiveness

5. Henley College Coventry is a satisfactory college. Outcomes for learners have improved at a slower rate than nationally. Success rates in 2009/10 were around the most recent national averages. They were high for adults on foundation and advanced level courses, for learners aged 14–16 and for work- based learners. Achievement for learners on foundation and intermediate level courses was below average, particularly for learners aged 16–18 as a significant proportion do not pass courses additional to their main qualification. Retention is improving and is high for adults. Attendance is good. Learners make satisfactory progress is lessons and good progress on work-based courses. The proportion of learners completing literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) qualifications at foundation level is low.

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Overall effectiveness

6. Teaching and learning are satisfactory; but the proportion of good or better lessons is low. While most learners enjoy lessons and are supported well, in the less effective lessons they do not achieve their full potential. College observations of teaching and learning focus insufficiently on the progress learners make in comparison to their abilities. The broad range of courses meets most learners’ needs and interests well, including for more vulnerable learners. Partnerships are good and are effective in supporting more vulnerable learners. Care, guidance and support are good, particularly in helping learners to develop their personal and social skills and in ensuring they remain in learning.

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Overall effectiveness

7. Leadership and management are satisfactory, and good for employer responsive provision. While self-assessment is broadly accurate overall, judgements on outcomes and the quality of teaching and learning have been over-generous. The governing body have been insufficiently critical when challenging the college on learners’ outcomes. Safeguarding arrangements are good. The college promotes equality and diversity satisfactorily, and recognises the need to tackle the increasing gap between female and male achievement. It is too early to assess the impact of the recent restructure of senior management. The college has a satisfactory capacity to improve further.

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Main findings

 Outcomes for learners are satisfactory, including for more vulnerable learners. Success rates are high for adults on foundation and advanced level courses, for learners aged 14–16 and for work-based learners. Learners make satisfactory progress when compared to their starting points. The achievement of different groups of learners is largely in line with the college average.  Retention has improved, particularly for learners aged 16–18, and is around the national average overall. Attendance is high. Learners develop good personal, social and practical skills to prepare them for progression to other courses and for employment. The achievement of foundation level literacy, numeracy and ICT qualifications is low.  Most learners enjoy their courses and training. They develop a good awareness of how to lead healthy lifestyles, particularly through ‘sexperts’, trained peer advisers in sexual health. Participation in activities and roles in college and in

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Main findings

the wider community, such as volunteering, to broaden learners’ experiences and skills is good. Learners say they feel safe.  Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Learners generally enjoy lessons and most make satisfactory progress. Teachers support learners well and working relationships are good. However, teachers are not focused sufficiently on ensuring all learners make the progress of which they are capable in lessons and prior attainment information is not always used effectively to plan learning.  Teachers are generally well qualified and experienced; many use a range of teaching methods, including the use of information learning technology (ILT), to promote and support learning. However, learners’ literacy and numeracy support needs are not always developed sufficiently in many lessons. Internal observers focus too little on learning when judging the quality of lessons.  Assessment is frequent and fair. In the best practice, teachers provide detailed

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Main findings

verbal and written feedback that informs learners clearly what they need to do to improve. However, written feedback is not always as useful and assessment in lessons is not always effective in monitoring and improving learners’ progress.  The college provides a broad range of flexible and responsive programmes that is effective in meeting learner, employer and community needs well. However, learners in many subject areas do not have sufficient opportunities to participate in work experience or work placements.  Partnerships are good. Learners at all levels benefit from strong and highly effective partnerships that widen participation and develop learners’ work and life skills effectively. The college works particularly well with employers, schools and community organisations to strengthen provision and support arrangements, especially for more vulnerable learners.  Care, guidance and support are good. Most subject areas within the college

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Main findings

provide good support for learners with additional learning needs. Personal support for most learners is particularly effective in helping learners stay on at college and progress to higher-level courses or employment.  Leadership and management are satisfactory. The college has a clear focus on meeting the needs of its local community, which is promoted well by the governing body, managers and staff at all levels. Financial management and the management of work-based learning are good. Arrangements to involve learners more fully in college decision making are increasingly effective.  Safeguarding arrangements are good and the college has very secure procedures to ensure learners are kept safe. The promotion of equality and diversity is satisfactory. Centrally, the college promotes equality and diversity well; although in lessons it is more uneven. The college has recognised the need to rectify the increasing gap between male and female learners’

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Main findings

achievement.  Quality improvement mechanisms have had too little impact on raising success rates. Standards of performance have been over-estimated and actions have not always been sufficiently timely. Governors have not challenged the Principal and senior managers sufficiently on improving the academic performance of the college. Provision for the small number of learners in engineering is inadequate.

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further?

 Raise achievement for foundation and intermediate learners by ensuring they are well prepared for and complete assessments by agreed deadlines.  Develop the approaches used successfully at intermediate level, and those introduced recently, to raise the attainment of literacy, numeracy and ICT qualifications for learners at foundation level.  Increase the proportion of good or better lessons by focussing more sharply on learning and on ensuring learners are challenged sufficiently in order to achieve their full potential.  Use the information on learners’ prior attainment more effectively in planning lessons to ensure learners receive appropriate support and make the progress of which they are capable.  Ensure that all learners benefit from work experience opportunities.  Measure the progress learners make more systematically and regularly within departments to improve performance monitoring and to enable more timely

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further?

support to be put in place.  Ensure the governing body places greater focus on challenging the Principal and senior managers on the academic performance of the college.  Continue to develop quality improvement strategies that identify more quickly areas of underperformance at course level and introduce actions to remedy these with greater speed, using a more rigorous approach to self-assessment and lesson observation.

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What learners like:

 safe and friendly environment in the college  being treated as adults  teachers’ expertise and support to help them succeed  achieving qualifications quickly on apprenticeships  interesting courses which motivate them to learn  wide range of activities and trips  developing a greater awareness of healthy lifestyles and well-being.

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What learners would like to see improved:

 increased opportunities for work experience  cost and quality of food in the refectory  better access to computers  access to secure storage for their belongings and equipment  décor of some classrooms and workshops.

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What employers like:

 quick response by the college to queries and requests for information  the college’s willingness to work in partnership with employers to improve training  efficiency and professionalism of college staff  well designed provision to meet employer requirements.

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Capacity to make and sustain improvement Grade 3

8. Improvements in success rates present an uneven picture since the last inspection. While success rates overall are in line with the most recent national averages and self-assessment is broadly accurate in identifying the main strengths and areas for improvement, the college has been over-generous in assessing learners’ outcomes and the quality of teaching and learning. Lesson observations show an inflated view of the quality of teaching and learning, with an insufficient focus on learning and progress made by learners. The governing body has not challenged senior managers sufficiently on learners’ outcomes. Actions to improve performance have been too slow. For the small proportion of learners in engineering provision is inadequate.

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Capacity to make and sustain improvement Grade 3

9. The Principal restructured senior management in spring 2010. As a result, lesson observations are more rigorous; more targeted intervention and support in under-performing areas are underway; the corporation committee structure has been rationalised; and managers’ skills are being developed to support improvement more effectively. Learners’ involvement in decision-making is increasingly effective. However, it is too early to measure the impact of the changes introduced recently.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

10. Outcomes for learners are satisfactory overall and broadly in line with the most recent national averages. Success rates are higher for adults than for learners aged 16–18. While success rates for learners aged 16–18 on advanced level courses have improved to the national average, an area for improvement at the last inspection, they remain low for foundation and intermediate level learners. This is largely as a result of poor achievement of courses additional to learners’ main qualifications, particularly in engineering, catering and beauty therapy. Learners achieve their main qualifications at foundation and intermediate level largely in line with similar colleges. Retention has improved at almost all levels and is at least at the national average or higher. Attendance has improved and is high. Success rates for adults on foundation and advanced level courses, for learners aged 14–16 and for work-based learners are high.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

11. Learners with identified learning difficulties and/or disabilities achieve in line with their peers, and adults achieve at a higher rate. Most learners from minority ethnic backgrounds have higher success rates than White British learners, although success rates fell for the small numbers of learners aged 16– 18 from Asian Indian backgrounds and for Mixed Caribbean adults. Success rates are higher for females than males and in 2009/10 the gap has widened, with fewer males achieving their qualifications than the previous year. 12. Most learners enjoy their courses and the facilities and support the college provides. They report they feel safe. Learners’ progress in lessons is satisfactory overall. They develop good social and personal well-being skills and good practical skills in lessons. The standard of work is satisfactory overall and is good for work-based learners. The acquisition of literacy, numeracy and ICT

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

qualifications at intermediate level has improved to around the most recent national averages. However, for learners at foundation level, success rates fell and are low. Actions to improve learners’ progress in the new functional skills at this level are in place, but it is too early to measure their impact. The proportion of learners progressing from foundation level to higher level courses is high. While the college tracks learners’ destinations overall, this analysis is insufficiently detailed to provide information by level of course.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

13. Learners make a good positive contribution to the community and develop good knowledge and understanding to enable them to make informed choices about their health and well-being. In conjunction with the primary care trust, around 30 learners trained as ‘sexperts’ (sexual health peer mentors) to provide advice and guidance to their peers on relationships and safe sex practices. An increasing number of learners undertake roles as volunteers or as college ‘ambassadors’ to assist at college events and open evenings to develop their skills and confidence further.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

14. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Teachers use a range of teaching methods to motivate and engage learners in lessons. ILT, including the virtual learning environment (VLE), is used confidently by many staff. Learners generally enjoy their lessons and most make satisfactory progress. The quality of teaching varies between different subjects with some good teaching in most curriculum areas. However, teaching is not consistently good across the college, as in too many lessons learners’ prior attainment information is not used effectively to ensure learning is planned to meet individual needs. More able learners are not challenged sufficiently in too many lessons and consequently they do not achieve to their full potential.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

15. Teachers know their learners well personally and generally provide good pastoral support. Working relationships between learners and teachers are good. Staff are well qualified and experienced, and use their skills effectively to support the good development of learners’ vocational skills in practical lessons. In theory classes, teaching is not as effective as often the learning aims of lessons are unclear. Learners’ literacy and numeracy needs, in lessons outside of functional skills courses, are not always developed effectively. The promotion of equality and diversity in lessons is satisfactory, although opportunities are missed in a number of lessons to develop learners’ knowledge and understanding further. 16. Assessment practice varies across the college. On work-based programmes, assessment is good with assessors visiting learners in the work-place frequently and providing good support that enables many learners to complete courses

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The quality of provision Grade 3

early. In the most effective assessment practice within the college teachers, provide detailed feedback to learners that informs them what needs to be done to improve. However, not all practice is this effective and in too many lessons, teachers do not use assessment sufficiently well to check learners’ understanding or progress.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

17. The college has recently improved arrangements for monitoring the quality of teaching and learning, with a sharper focus on learning and the progress made by learners in lessons when judging the quality of teaching. As a result, the college has now identified clear priorities to improve the quality of teaching and learning further. The college’s development unit and the team of advanced practitioners provide good support for staff needing to develop their teaching skills.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

18. The college’s response to meeting the needs and interests of learners and employers is good. Most subject areas offer a broad range of provision with good progression opportunities. Feedback from learners, employers and partners is valued by the college and used effectively in the design, development and improvement of the provision. Training is flexible and responsive to the needs of participants and stakeholders. Good use is made of community locations when learners are unwilling or unable to travel to the college campus. The college provides a satisfactory programme of additional activities to enhance learners’ progression and development. Learners value these opportunities highly, although the college does not gather and analyse information on participation routinely.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

19. Learners benefit from good partnerships. The college develops high quality partnerships, which have a significant and positive impact on learners’ experiences. Many partnerships, including those with special schools, residential homes for people suffering from mental illness, and the local primary care trust for example, meet the needs of particular groups of disadvantaged learners and help learners progress to higher levels of learning or employment. Partnership work with local schools supports pupils in their transition from school to college very effectively and helps them stay at college. The college is viewed as a valued and reliable commercial partner by the many employers for whom it provides training.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

20. Care, guidance and support are good. Good information, advice and guidance about the college, higher education and career opportunities are available to learners at all stages of their education and training. Support for the high number of learners with additional learning needs and for more vulnerable learners is well organised and managed and is effective. The success rate for learners in receipt of this support is higher than the college average and has shown slight improvement over the last three years. Tutors and mentors are highly skilled and effective in helping learners develop personal skills and awareness of important issues such as making informed and better choices on a healthy lifestyle. Recent improvements in the quality of tutorials have been followed by increases in retention. Reviews of learners’ progress are not always sufficiently timely and learners’ targets are insufficiently challenging in

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The quality of provision Grade 3

supporting them to improve and achieve to their potential.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

21. The college has a clear focus on meeting the needs of the local community in an area of relative deprivation. The Principal, senior managers, governors and staff strongly embrace this ethos. Much emphasis has been placed on developing provision at lower levels, often in partnership with other agencies. The college has a supportive culture and actions to improve retention have been successful. However, the impact of quality assurance and approaches to improvement have had limited success. Provision is inadequate for the small number of learners in engineering. Overall success rates on both long and short courses in 2009/10 are no higher than the previous year. The Principal initiated a restructuring of senior management roles in spring 2010. However, it is too early to comment on the impact and effectiveness of the recent changes.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

22. Staff development is planned well, reflecting college strategic priorities clearly. A wide-ranging and appropriately focused programme of middle management training is in place to support improvement further. Most curriculum managers use management information confidently and appropriately for self-assessment purposes and for monitoring retention and attendance. Learning resources are generally fit for purpose and some are of good quality, such as the practical resources in engineering and the outdoor surface for sports students. The management of work-based learning is much improved after re-organisation in 2009, and is good.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

23. Governance is satisfactory. Although the governing body challenges senior managers vigorously on financial and employment matters, such challenge is insufficient in respect of learners’ outcomes. Attendance at governing body meetings is low but has now improved. The governing body is becoming increasingly aware of college activities through links with curriculum and learner support services. The ethnic profile of governors now reflects that of the student body. It is too early to judge the impact of changes to the committee and meetings structure introduced recently.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

24. Safeguarding arrangements are good. The college has created a culture where staff and learners are very safety aware. Policies and procedures are very detailed and the safeguarding of learners, particularly the most vulnerable, is given high priority. Appropriate arrangements exist for vetting staff, governors, contractors and volunteers. The college promotes safe working practices and conducts thorough risk assessments in curriculum areas for trips and activities. Incidents of bullying or harassment are swiftly and effectively dealt with and learners are confident that the college listens and responds to any concerns they raise. Staff have received appropriate training and are supported well in fulfilling their responsibilities by designated senior managers and by the college’s safeguarding and well-being manager.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

25. Approaches to equality and diversity are satisfactory. Recently revised arrangements have strengthened the structure for managing, monitoring and promoting equality and diversity throughout the college. Success rates are analysed routinely by age, ethnicity, gender and disability at both college and course level. Success rates for learners from minority ethnic backgrounds are similar to college averages overall with no significant variations for any particular groups over time. Success rates for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are above college averages. However, as recognised by the college, male learners underachieve and the gap between male and female success rates at age 16–18 increased in 2009/10.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

26. The promotion of equality and diversity is inconsistent across the college. Equality and diversity are promoted well through centrally coordinated induction arrangements and activities. However, in curriculum areas the promotion of equality and diversity to learners is more uneven. In the best examples, lesson plans and resource material identify clearly, where and how learners’ knowledge and broader awareness are to be developed further. In other areas, including in work-based learners’ reviews, detailed planning is lacking and opportunities are missed to develop learners’ understanding.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

27. The learner involvement strategy introduced recently makes much wider use of texting, emails and the college VLE to gather learners’ views more effectively. Learners are consulted very well on college matters, and participate actively in course-based forums and on the student council. Responses by the college to issues raised by students are acted upon and communicated clearly. For example, in response to learner feedback, student services staff are now available in the evening. While these relatively new approaches have not yet engaged all groups of students fully, involvement is increasing.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

28. Resources are managed and utilised well. Financial management is strong. The college has a strong commitment to sustainability and actions to reduce energy consumption are having a positive impact. The college campus is well maintained and cared for. The college provides satisfactory value for money.

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Context

29. The subject area offers courses in mechanical engineering and computer-aided design (CAD) from foundation to higher levels. Most of the 84 students enrolled study full-time and are aged 16–18. Approximately a quarter of all learners are of minority ethnic heritage. A very small number of learners follow apprenticeship courses. Almost all learners are male.

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Key findings

 Outcomes for learners are inadequate. Success rates have declined for the majority of learners since the last inspection. Almost half of all learners study at advanced level where success rates are extremely low. Only a quarter of the learners who study at this level full-time, achieve the qualification. The small numbers of advanced apprentices make very slow progress.  Learners enjoy their learning. The quality of learners’ work is good in practical lessons. Learners carry out a wide range of manufacturing procedures competently, including the use of use of lathes; computer controlled milling machines and CAD software packages. Key skills success rates in numeracy are very low. Attendance is satisfactory.  Learners feel safe. Learners adopt safe practices during practical work and are aware of their responsibilities towards health and safety. In a few lessons staff do not reinforce best practice consistently, for example in general

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Key findings

house-keeping and the cleaning of lathes.  Overall, teaching and learning are satisfactory although the quality of lessons ranges from good to inadequate. Teachers make good use of a range of stimulating activities that include interactive e-learning and assessment in the majority of lessons. However, a minority are planned poorly, they do not meet learners’ needs and teaching is uninspiring. As a result, learners make slow progress.  Many lessons rely too heavily on the teacher’s input. Teachers fail to extend the progress of the more able students sufficiently or use available resources to engage or stimulate learners’ interests. Too few learners benefit from ILT to develop and extend their learning in class and at home.  The range of provision is satisfactory. However, the absence of a broad-based intermediate level engineering course results in some learners lacking the skills required to progress to and achieve at advanced level, particularly for the

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Key findings

mathematics and science aspects. Apprenticeship provision is too limited.  Partnerships with employers are inadequate and links with local schools have declined significantly. A short course for two local schools at the college enable younger learners to study mechanical maintenance at another local provider. Opportunities to undertake work experience to provide learners with industrial experiences are not available currently.  Arrangements to provide additional learning support for the learners that require it are currently not operating effectively, resulting in some learners failing to reach their full potential. Teachers and learners do not benefit from support from specialist literacy and numeracy tutors, particularly in English where learners’ poor grammar and spelling often go uncorrected.  Leadership and management are inadequate. Leaders and managers fail to promote a clear vision or set appropriate priorities to raise expectations and

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Key findings

improve teachers and learners’ performance. Self-assessment fails to assess all areas of the provision comprehensively and accurately.  Quality assurance procedures are not fully effective. The college has been over-generous in its grading of observations of teaching and learning. Current arrangements have failed to improve learners’ success rates and the overall quality of provision, particularly at advanced level.  The promotion of equality and diversity is satisfactory. While the progress of different groups of learners is monitored, the analysis of success rates and progress by different minority ethnic groups is insufficiently detailed. Enrolments into the subject area by females are low, despite positive marketing posters and open days.

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What does Henley College Coventry need to do to improve further?

 Develop teachers’ skills further in challenging all learners to achieve to their potential, incorporating innovative activities and assessments to stimulate and extend learners’ progress in lessons and when studying at home.  Improve the use of individual learning plans through the setting of sharper and more challenging targets for learners so they are better informed of what they need to achieve and how they can improve.  Support learners’ literacy and numeracy learning needs more effectively and so raise success rates in functional skills qualifications and on their main qualifications, particularly where success rates are below national averages.  Broaden the provision further by extending the range of full-time intermediate level courses and by providing work experience opportunities, and so better prepare learners for progression to advanced level courses and to employment.  Strengthen and sharpen curriculum management ensuring more rigorous

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What does Henley College Coventry need to do to improve further?

quality assurance arrangements and performance monitoring that incorporate learners and stakeholders’ views, so that concerns are resolved more quickly.

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Context

30. The college offers full and part-time vocational courses from entry to advanced level in sport, travel and tourism and public services. Of the 475 learners, most are aged 16–18, with the remainder equally apportioned as adult learners and learners aged 14–16. Just under half the learners attend full-time. Around a quarter of the learners are from minority ethnic backgrounds and the large majority are male.

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Key findings

 Outcomes for learners are good. Success rates on many courses have improved to around the most recent national averages and are higher on some courses. On advanced level public services courses, success rates improved significantly and are now high. Success rates remain low on sports courses for a very small minority of learners overall. Sports apprentices achieve at a high rate. On travel and tourism courses, success rates are high. Achievement of foundation level key skills qualifications is low, especially in information and communication technology on sports courses.  Learners’ progress is good in lessons. Learners make good improvements in their work following feedback from their teachers, although the most able often remain unchallenged. Progress is particularly good in practical lessons in sport and learners’ development of communication skills in travel and tourism and public services is good. Learners enjoy their learning. In lessons, learners are

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Key findings

willing to ask for help when needed and most are motivated well to succeed.  Although learners’ attendance has been low, it has improved recently on most courses together with learners’ punctuality. Learners are responding well to attendance targets through close monitoring. When learners miss lessons, they use the college’s VLE effectively in order to access resources and to catch up on missed work.  Learners use safe working practices in college and at work. Through appropriately focussed class and tutorial material, they develop a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. In practical classes, health and safety measures are applied and reinforced rigorously. Learners state they feel safe at college.  Through an increased awareness and understanding of their own health and well being, many learners report they are now following fitness and healthy eating programmes as a result of their lessons. Teachers promote personal

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Key findings

fitness and nutrition within sports courses well. The tutorial system provides opportunities to explore wider health issues such as alcohol abuse, sexual and mental health, which learners appreciate.  Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, although more effective in travel and tourism and public services lessons. Good use is made of ILT, especially in travel and tourism, which engages students in a wide range of interesting activities and helps to promote independent learning. In a minority of lessons in sports, activities are insufficiently interesting and lack challenge for the most able learners. Teachers’ questions are often too general in all areas. In most functional skills lessons, learning activities lack a vocational context, which learners find less interesting. While learners and teachers meet to discuss progress and to set targets, they are insufficiently detailed to help learners

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Key findings

achieve to their full potential or provide sufficient challenge for the most able.  The needs and interests of learners are met well. The range of provision is broad, with different levels available and clear progression routes. An increasing number of learners progress to higher education courses at the college. Learners gain a good range of additional qualifications that enhance their employment opportunities, especially in travel and tourism. Interesting and effective enrichment activities, for example expeditions, visits to tourist destinations, sports teams and training activities, contribute well to learners’ achievements and enjoyment.  Good quality partnerships are used well to benefit many learners. For example, a local school partnership enables the college to run a successful young apprenticeship in sport programme, while a local football club helps to deliver a football apprenticeship. A successful community partnership supports

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Key findings

individuals with disabilities to take part in a series of football matches, with the college becoming British colleges’ champions in 2010.  Guidance and support for learners are good. Individual tutorials are regular and increasingly effective in helping learners to achieve. Learners value the fact that tutors and teachers are supportive and always easily accessible. Students are well informed about the opportunities available to them.  Leadership and management are good. Staff at all levels communicate well and share the college’s push for improvement. Curriculum leaders use data well to plan and monitor the provision. Resources are used well and support learners effectively. Indoor and outdoor sports facilities are satisfactory and the college often uses high quality off-site resources. The travel shop in travel and tourism is used particularly effectively to give learners relevant industry experience.

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Key findings

 Actions to improve the quality of provision are good. Learners’ views are considered well in self-assessment process. Some lesson observation judgements by the college are over-generous and place insufficient emphasis on the quality and effectiveness of learning. Actions to improve performance have been successful, such as the use of ILT in lessons and a steady improvement in success rates on many courses. However, on-going monitoring of agreed improvement targets and checks on progress are insufficiently timely.  The promotion of equality and diversity is satisfactory. The proportion of females on sports courses and males on travel and tourism courses is low. However, the college has well developed plans to develop provision, such as a football academy for females. Equality and diversity are promoted well in some lessons but often schemes of work do not identify when this is to happen. Learning resources on travel and tourism courses encourage students to

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Key findings

consider the needs of people different from themselves and challenge fixed views on stereotypes effectively.

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What does Henley College Coventry need to do to improve further?

 Improve success rates on programmes identified as performing less well by using a variety of learning and assessment activities within lessons, including individual and targeted questioning and feedback, to provide appropriate challenge to all students.  Continue to reinforce to learners the importance of good attendance in order to improve their progress further.  Record individual and detailed targets for learners, to provide appropriate stretch and challenge, especially for the most able, so learners achieve to their full potential.  Ensure that the monitoring of actions to improve performance is more timely, to enable more regular checks on the progress and effectiveness of strategies in place.

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Context

31. The subject area offers full and part-time courses, from entry to intermediate level. Of the 583 learners, just over half study literacy and numeracy courses, with a small minority studying full-time. More learners study literacy than numeracy. Most learners are adults from minority ethnic backgrounds and the large majority is female. ESOL courses are offered in five outreach centres. Literacy and numeracy courses are offered in a variety of community, school and employer settings. ESOL provision is managed within a department separate from the literacy and numeracy provision.

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Key findings

 Outcomes for learners are satisfactory overall. In 2009/10, success rates improved but remain below the most recent national averages. Success rates in ESOL and numeracy are higher than they are in literacy. Intermediate level literacy success rates are low and learners’ progress on literacy courses, in relation to their starting points, is insufficient.  Success rates on ESOL courses are high. Learners develop good language skills, particularly in vocational subjects, to support and prepare them for employment. Learners’ success rates on foundation level literacy and numeracy courses are high but on entry and intermediate level literacy courses, they are low. Learners make good progress in acquiring English and mathematical skills required for progression to the next level course.  The standard of learners’ work is satisfactory overall, and good on ESOL courses. Many learners progress to higher level courses in literacy, numeracy

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Key findings

and ESOL and to other courses at the college. Progression to employment and voluntary work is also good, with a few learners having been successful in gaining places at university.  Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, and good on ESOL courses. Most ESOL lessons are lively, engaging and stimulating. Learners are taught challenging language and vocabulary related to real life. For example, learners on an ‘ESOL for Care’ course learned the meaning and application of terms such as ‘confidentiality’, ‘privacy’ and ‘dignity’ through discussions and real-life case studies. Effective use of ILT in lessons, through a good range of images and web-based materials, supports learning well.  Too many literacy and numeracy lessons are satisfactory rather than good. In many of these lessons learners are not challenged sufficiently to achieve their potential and make slow progress. Teachers talk too much and work is often

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Key findings

dull and uninspiring. Insufficient attention is paid to developing learners’ language skills through discussions and activities.  The range of provision is good in literacy, numeracy and ESOL. It is responsive to the needs of the learners, employers and the local community. Literacy and numeracy courses are offered at a range of community venues and in workplace settings at flexible times. Staff at college are able to develop their literacy and numeracy skills to intermediate level and beyond, which supports their personal development needs well.  Support for learners is good. Regular group and individual tutorials enable additional support needs to be identified promptly. An essential skills workshop enables learners to use literacy and numeracy support flexibly. Learners report that pastoral support is good.  Leadership and management are satisfactory overall, and good in ESOL. Courses and provision in ESOL are managed well and learners’ progress is

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Key findings

monitored closely and effectively. Arrangements to improve the quality of ESOL provision are robust and effective and involve the staff well. In literacy and numeracy, the monitoring of learners’ performance, course quality and provision is not as effective. Tutors and learners on literacy and numeracy courses are not sufficiently clear about which qualifications will be taken, and so progression routes are unclear.  Self-assessment is largely accurate, although in literacy and numeracy not all the areas for improvement are identified. College observations of teaching and learning are over-generous in grading and do not focus sharply enough on the progress learners are making in lessons.  Safeguarding arrangements are good. Learners feel safe and secure in the college. They appreciate the checks security staff make to ensure learners have their identity badges. The promotion of equality and diversity is good and staff

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Key findings

challenge learners’ use of language to ensure they use appropriate terms when developing their language skills in a diverse cultural environment.

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What does Henley College Coventry need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that information on learners’ prior attainment is used more effectively in planning learning activities and in setting more challenging goals, particularly on intermediate level literacy courses, so that success rates improve.  Increase the proportion of good or better lessons in literacy and numeracy by improving the rigour of lesson observations, providing appropriate support and development for teachers to raise attainment and sharing best practice across the literacy and numeracy and ESOL teams.  Provide detailed information and guidance on courses, qualification levels and progression routes for teachers and learners so they are clear which literacy and numeracy qualifications they are studying and where they can move to next and in the future.  Sharpen curriculum management ensuring more rigorous quality assurance arrangements and performance monitoring, to identify strengths and areas for

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What does Henley College Coventry need to do to improve further?

improvement more effectively and quickly.

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Context

32. The subject area offers full and part-time programmes in preparation for working life at the main campus and at community venues. Courses include modules on independent living and life skills. Functional skills in English and mathematics, and work-related skills are included on some courses. Of the 140 learners, around a half attend full-time. Most learners are adults and a small proportion are from minority ethnic backgrounds.

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Key findings

 Outcomes for learners are satisfactory. Learners develop good personal and social skills. They enjoy their learning and feel safe. Learners grow in confidence significantly and participate well in team activities. In some practical lessons, learners are able to take a lead in activities and demonstrate problem solving skills effectively. Tutorials are effective in developing learners’ understanding of appropriate behaviour in a range of situations.  Learners’ progress in lessons is satisfactory. Most learners achieve their learning objectives. However, some learners make insufficient progress. All learners attend accredited learning programmes and the majority achieve their certificates on completion of their course. The standard of learners’ work is satisfactory overall. In some practical lessons, learners work is of a high standard. However, the course work is not always sufficiently challenging.

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Key findings

 The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall, but not enough teaching is good or better. A minority of lessons are not planned sufficiently well to meet learners’ individual needs and focus insufficiently on skill development. In the few good or better lessons, learners participate well in challenging and interesting activities that develop their skills well.  Learners’ short-term targets in their individual learning plans are often too vague to enable their progress to be measured effectively. However, not all learners on long courses have learning plans to aid their development and progress. Initial assessment is not used effectively to develop detailed learning programmes. Where learners attend more than one subject, opportunities are missed to plan for the development and reinforcement of skills across all subjects.  Not all learners have literacy and numeracy support in lessons. The

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Key findings

development of these skills is insufficient for pre-entry learners and for some learners on other community provision. In a small minority of lessons, learners develop literacy and numeracy skills but these are not formally accredited.  Provision meets learners’ needs satisfactorily. The availability of courses at a wide range of community venues increases participation in learning effectively, including some evening provision. While a minority of programmes are designed to prepare learners for independent living and work, opportunities to provide a combination of qualifications and levels to meet learners’ needs are missed. Insufficient numbers of learners take part in work experience activities. Only a small number of learners on employability projects benefit from work experience.  Good quality partnerships increase learning opportunities very effectively. Strong links with specialist agencies and local services enhance learning

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Key findings

sessions and provide additional enrichment activities. Good links with employers on one project have been successful in supporting learners into employment.  Support for learners is satisfactory overall. Pastoral support is particularly effective in enabling learners to participate in learning activities and college life. However, learning support assistants are not utilised effectively in many lessons. In some cases, they are overly helpful to learners, prompting learners too quickly.  Leadership and management are satisfactory. Team working is good and teachers work collaboratively to develop effective strategies to support learners. Observations of teaching and learning focus insufficiently on learning and skill development and are often over-generous. Self-assessment over-estimates many of the strengths of the provision. Arrangements for staff development are satisfactory, although opportunities to observe good practice in other learning

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What does Henley College Coventry need to do to improve further?

 Continue to develop the rigour of observations of teaching and learning, focussing on the progress of learners and their skill development, to ensure individualised teaching and support meet the needs of all learners in lessons and help them make the progress of which they are capable.  Set and monitor targets for learners that reflect their current skills and learning accurately and support the successful achievement of challenging learning goals and qualifications more effectively.  Ensure that programmes are planned effectively to enable learners to practise and reinforce their learning in a range of different situations and lessons, and that qualifications are well-matched to learners’ abilities and potential.  Provide literacy and numeracy support and accreditation where appropriate for learners by assessing their needs and planning learning programmes to develop these skills.  Increase opportunities for work experience activities and the range of

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What does Henley College Coventry need to do to improve further?

vocational tasters available to learners, ensuring they are included in learning programmes routinely.

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Information about the inspection

33. Three of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and six additional inspectors, assisted by the college’s director of training, as nominee, carried out the inspection. Inspectors also took account of the college’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, comments from the funding bodies, the previous inspection report, reports from the inspectorate’s quality monitoring inspection, and data on learners and their achievement over the period since the previous inspection.

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Information about the inspection

34. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and emails to gain the views of learners and employers. They also looked at questionnaires learners and employers had recently completed for the provider. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. Inspectors collected evidence from programmes in each of the subject areas the college offers. Record of Main Findings (RMF)

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Henley College Coventry

Learning types: 14 – 16: Young apprenticeships; Diplomas; 16-18 Learner responsive: FE full- and part-time courses, Foundation learning tier, including Entry to Employment; 19+ responsive: FE full- and part-time courses; Employer responsive: Train to Gain, apprenticeships

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Henley College Coventry

Outcomes for learners 3 2 3 3 2 How well do learners achieve and enjoy their learning? 3 How well do learners attain their learning goals? How well do learners progress? How well do learners improve their economic and social well-being through learning and development? How safe do learners feel? 2 Are learners able to make informed choices about their own health and well being?* How well do learners make a positive contribution to the community?* 2 Quality of provision 3 3 3 3 2 How effectively do teaching, training and assessment support learning and development? How effectively does the provision meet the needs and interests of users? 2 How well partnerships with schools, employers, community groups and others lead to benefits for learners? How effective are the care, guidance and support learners receive in helping them to achieve? Leadership and management 3 3 3 3 2 How effectively do leaders and managers raise expectations and promote

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Henley College Coventry

ambition throughout the organisation? How effectively do governors and supervisory bodies provide leadership, direction and challenge?* How effectively does the provider promote the safeguarding of learners? 2 How effectively does the provider actively promote equality and diversity, tackle discrimination and narrow the achievement gap? How effectively does the provider engage with users to support and promote improvement? How effectively does self-assessment improve the quality of the provision and outcomes for learners? How efficiently and effectively does the provider use its available resources to secure value for money? *where applicable to the type of provision Grades using the 4 point scale 1: Outstanding; 2: Good; 3: Satisfactory; 4: Inadequate Overall 14-16 16-18 Learner responsive 19+ Learner responsive Employer responsive Approximate number of enrolled learners Full-time learners Part-time learners

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Henley College Coventry

Overall effectiveness 3 3 3 3 2 Capacity to improve 3 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231 or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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Henley College Coventry

To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann’s Square Manchester M2 7LA

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Henley College Coventry

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk No. 090105

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