Treloar College

Published date 21 December 2011 Inspection Number 384815 Unique reference number: 132980

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Last day of inspection: 10 November 2011

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Type of provider: Independent specialist college

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Address:

Holybourne London Road Alton Hampshire GU34 4EN Telephone number: 01420 547400 Treloar college

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Information about the provider

1. Treloar College is an independent specialist college located in Holybourne, Hampshire and offers residential and day provision for students aged 16 to 25 with physical and sensory disabilities and/or other learning difficulties. Most of the students are funded for very high levels of support. The Trust is a registered charity that owns the college and Treloar School. In 2012 the School is being relocated to the college site as part of ‘Vision Treloars’.

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Information about the provider

2. In 2010/11 the college provided for 166 students. Of these, 92 were male and 151 were white. The college identified in its self-assessment report that there has been a marked trend towards increased complexity of need, with fewer ambulant students. An increasing number of students have additional moderate to severe and complex learning disabilities. The number of students following courses at higher levels had reduced. In 2010/11, 37 students were following advanced-level programmes, 17 intermediate programmes and 112 were at foundation level, the majority on entry-level programmes. Of the 37 students studying at advanced level, 19 attended the nearby Alton College, supported by Treloar staff.

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2010/11

Further education (16 to 18) 98 full-time students

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2010/11

Further education (19+) 68 full-time students

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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 4 Safeguarding Equality and diversity

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Overall effectiveness

3. The provision is good for students who study at intermediate and advanced level. They achieve high success rates in a wide range of subjects, however, although the majority of students, who are at foundation level, have high success rates their qualifications are not sufficiently challenging. As such these outcomes do not demonstrate they have made adequate progress from their starting points. Furthermore, the college does not adequately capture the distance travelled in relation to other significant aspects of provision to show students have made important gains, for example in independent living. The college has been slow to identify that it does not meet the requirements of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and that it does not have the level of specialism required to work with its current cohort, where the great majority of students have complex needs and study at foundation level. Teachers and support

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Overall effectiveness

assistants have not received sufficient training in working with students with high levels of need. Teaching and learning are inadequate for these students. Governors and the Principal have responded to the nine areas of non- compliance found by the CQC and the concerns of the Local Safeguarding Children Board, and, over the past six months, have worked hard to meet regulatory requirements. The situation has improved, but many of the senior staff are new in post, and the two key senior managers for safeguarding and student welfare are interim appointments. The college now has procedures and protocols in place in regard to the welfare and safety of students, and has strengthened its quality monitoring arrangements, but these have not had time to be fully implemented or monitored.

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Main findings

 Outcomes for students are satisfactory overall. The success rates are high at advanced and intermediate level. Most students at foundation level achieve their qualification goals. However, these achievements are not sufficiently challenging and these students have therefore not made adequate progress. Most students achieve their annual non-accredited goals, although weaknesses in baseline assessment fail to demonstrate that they represent good achievement. Most students achieved their destination goals in relation to education in 2010/11; however none of the 18% who had a destination goal related to employment achieved this outcome.  Students progress well through different levels, but the college is in the early stages of implementing a base-line to capture the distance travelled by students in all other aspects of their programmes, such as the development of skills of social interaction or independence. Progress in lessons is less effective,

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Main findings

particularly for foundation level students, with too little emphasis by teachers on learning. Students’ contribution to the local community is good.  Teaching and learning are inadequate overall. Teaching is satisfactory at advanced level, in practical contexts and in the residences, where it was lively and relevant for students. Too much teaching at foundation level, particularly pre-entry levels, is unsatisfactory. Weaknesses in teaching and learning included lesson content that was too difficult for most of the students in the group, very little learning taking place and insufficient use of interactive information and communication technology (ICT) to facilitate communication. Too many teachers focus on meeting accreditation requirements rather than meeting the learning needs of students. Students achieve their units of accreditation, but these are not always the most appropriate ways to meet their needs.

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Main findings

 Teachers and learning support assistants have not received sufficient specialist training to teach the students at foundation level. The teaching observation scheme is not sufficiently rigorous in identifying specific strategies for improvement, and it has not improved the quality of teaching and learning. The mentoring scheme to support teachers has not yet started.  Students at advanced level have a wide choice of subjects, and at intermediate level the range is satisfactory. The business centres provide good opportunities for practical business training. Opportunities for work experience have recently improved. Evening activities have increased but weekend activities are insufficient, with too few staff available.  Students on lower-level courses learn in mixed-level groups, sometimes covering three levels which results in the learning needs of all students not being met At entry levels students have insufficient regular formal opportunity

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Main findings

for expressive arts or outdoor activity.  Support for students is satisfactory overall. Personal tutors provide good support and call strategic review meetings when required. Therapists work with the multi-disciplinary team, but are not sufficiently integrated into curriculum planning and delivery. Recent changes to assessment and risk have yet to be applied consistently.  Leadership and management are inadequate. Senior managers have been slow to identify the decline in the college’s performance and respond adequately to the learning and support needs of the student cohort at foundation level. The Principal has taken a strong lead in the revision of the college’s policies, practices and procedures, but these have not yet had time to demonstrate impact.  Governors have a clear view of the future development of the college but have failed, until very recently, to identify where the college does not meet

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Main findings

regulatory requirements. They now challenge the college with greater rigour and have improved the arrangements for scrutiny of the college, but further work is needed to meet regulatory requirements. Governors have recently agreed to strengthen management to improve accountability, and give greater prominence to the welfare and safety of students at senior levels. They have yet to focus on expertise in curriculum management.  Safeguarding is inadequate. The college has revised its policies, practices and procedures and staff have received updated training as required. The college does not yet have adequate formal procedures for checking the extent to which teachers and support assistants are following the guidance on risks, safety and accessibility in individual student plans. Current procedures do not include formal practice checks to ensure that all staff understand the guidance in relation to individual students. Inspectors observed examples of unsafe practice

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Main findings

in the classroom during the inspection.  The promotion of equality and diversity is inadequate. The college has involved the students well in developing its policies, and monitors the gaps in performance well. It has an effective system for reporting incidents. However, teachers do not promote equality and diversity sufficiently in the classroom. In addition, too few student documents are available in accessible formats. Furthermore, the needs of students at foundation level are not met adequately.  Self-assessment and quality improvement are inadequate. The college only recently identified significant shortfalls in its safeguarding arrangements and the quality of teaching and learning. The subsequent quality improvement plan is rigorous and the self-assessment process has been revised so that it includes all departments. However, the college is still in the early stages of rectifying areas for improvement, and has further to go in developing sound auditing and

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Main findings

monitoring practices for its educational provision.

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What does Treloar College need to do to improve further?

 Implement arrangements for measuring students’ progress, including social interaction and levels of independence and ensure that all students are on challenging programmes, relevant to their needs.  Strengthen the lesson observation and mentoring scheme so that it focuses on what students have learnt and is specific about areas for individual teacher’s improvement.  Ensure that all teachers and learning support assistants receive specialist training so that they are better able to help students learn, particularly those with complex learning needs.  Utilise the expertise of the multi-disciplinary team in curriculum development, session planning and classroom delivery.  Implement the revised safeguarding policies and procedures. Ensure that the specialist staff check practice in relation to the risks and guidance in the young person’s plan, so that all staff know how to work safely and effectively with the

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What does Treloar College need to do to improve further?

individual students with whom they have contact.  Implement fully the revised self-assessment and quality improvement activities so that the college can better identify and rectify shortfalls in performance.  Provide more guidance for staff about the promotion of equality and diversity through the curriculum.

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What students like:

 the friendly and supportive staff  cooking in the residences  going out  the equipment that is available  the learning resource centre  the new building  the opportunities available at Alton College.

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What students would like to see improved:

 the preparation for leaving the college  the activities at weekends  the food  the amount of practical work  being able to stay in bed on Saturday morning.

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Capacity to make and sustain improvement Grade 4

4. The college’s overall performance and the quality of its provision have declined since the previous inspection. Governors’ and managers’ monitoring and scrutiny of provision has been ineffective. Until very recently they failed to provide sufficient specialist training for staff and had not identified lack of compliance with the CQC standards. Educational provision for the significant minority of students at advanced level is good. Teaching and learning for the majority of students at foundation level are poor. Governors and senior managers now recognise what needs to be done to improve the provision and to meet regulatory requirements. They have a detailed quality improvement plan that is monitored weekly. The college has been active in recent months in revising its policies, protocols and practices, and in training its staff but it is too soon to see any sustained improvements.

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Outcomes for students Grade 3

5. Outcomes for students are satisfactory. Success rates at advanced level are high both at the partner sixth form college and at Treloar, despite a decline of around 5% between 2009/10 and 2010/11. An increasing number of students achieve higher-level grades. Value added measures have improved at the partner college although it has declined at Treloar. Success rates at intermediate level are also good. However, while success rates at foundation level are high these qualifiactions are not sufficiently challenging and do not demonstrate that students have made satsfactory progress from their starting points. Analysis of data indicates no significant differences in the achievements of students from minority ethnic backgrounds, or of different types of disabilities or gender. 6. Most students achieve their long-term annual goals, but short-term goal setting in the classroom is less effective. Most leavers in 2010 achieved their

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Outcomes for students Grade 3

destination goals related to education and training but none achieved their employment goals. 7. Students make good progress through the different levels of courses. However, the college is not able to capture the distance travelled in all aspects of the provision although a baseline process has just been developed to enable this to happen. 8. Students improve their social and economic well-being through their experience of living in a residential setting and, in some cases, work experience. Students say they feel safe. They make informed choices about their health and well- being, and have access to a range of health and welfare facilities. The students’ contribution to the community is good. They are involved in activities locally and nationally to raise awareness of issues relating to disability.

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The quality of provision Grade 4

9. Teaching and learning are inadequate overall. Lessons at advanced level are well planned, imaginative and stimulating. The teaching of practical sessions and of independence skills in residential accommodation is lively and effective.

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The quality of provision Grade 4

10. Too little classroom teaching and learning at foundation level is satisfactory or better. Staff do not take sufficient account of students’ existing skills or knowledge. The subject matter of lessons is pitched at too high a level. Many students are not able to absorb the quantity of information given to them. Too much teaching focuses on producing evidence for accreditation and does not engender genuine learning. Activities are not sufficiently varied forthose students with short attention spans. Targets are frequently too broad. Teachers make insufficient use of interactive technologies to make learning accessible and enjoyable. Teachers do not explore equality and diversity issues sufficiently and they do not consistently brief learning support assistants or effectively deploy them.

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The quality of provision Grade 4

11. The recently improved lesson observation scheme has not yet had time to improve the quality of teaching. Observers still focus more on teaching than on learning, and do not give enough guidance on how to improve practice. Learning support assistants are not included in the observation scheme. The proposed teacher mentoring scheme has not yet started.

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The quality of provision Grade 4

12. The range of learning opportunities satisfactorily meets the needs and interests of students overall. The partnership with Alton College provides a wide range of programmes at advanced level. Business centres at Treloar provide opportunities for practical business training. However at foundation level, groups of students are sometimes taught in classes where levels of ability are mixed. The distinctions between the levels are not sufficiently clear and as a result, the needs of students are not met. Entry-level courses do not provide regular opportunities for sports, games, dance and music as part of the formal curriculum. Opportunities for work experience have recently improved. The range of evening activities has recently increased but shortages of care staff limit weekend activities.

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The quality of provision Grade 4

13. Partnerships are satisfactory. The college has good partnerships for students working at the higher levels, but partnerships for students with more complex needs are not formally linked to the curriculum.

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The quality of provision Grade 4

14. Support for students is satisfactory overall, and support for students at Alton College is good. Personal tutors at all levels know the students well and provide helpful guidance and support. The meetings arranged by them to facilitate improved support for specific students are effective. Multi-disciplinary processes and systems have improved. However, the therapists are not sufficiently integrated into curriculum planning and delivery to ensure maximum impact for students. Nursing practices to respect the privacy of students have improved, but students still have to collect daily medication from the health centre. The young person’s plan is still in the pilot stage but indicate that staff have a better understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). However, practice checks are not formally carried out to ascertain whether or not staffapprpriately implement risk requirements. The new arrangements for initial assessment, review,

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The quality of provision Grade 4

transition and risk are comprehensive and much improved, but teachers inconsistently use assessment data and risk assessments when planning for individual students.

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Leadership and management Grade 4

15. Leadership and management are inadequate. Since their visit in April 2011, and the review in July 2011, where CQC identified nine non-compliant outcomes, the Principal has provided strong leadership. A thorough review of the residential, medical, nursing and therapeutic services, as well as the senior management structure has been conducted. The changes being implemented as a result of the review mark the start of a cultural shift, where different departments of the college work in a more integrated way. The new senior management structure allows for improved lines of accountability and gives greater prominence to the management of student care and safety. The college is now in a better position to improve its performance but it is only at the start of its journey.

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Leadership and management Grade 4

16. Governors have not provided a satisfactory overview of the college. They have a clear vision for the college and have been heavily involved in supporting ‘Vision Treloars’ whereby the school is to be relocated onto the college site. Governors are visible in the college, and now scrutinise and challenge the college with greater rigour. However, they have been slow to recognise the declining standards and the shortfalls in meeting external regulatory requirements.

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Leadership and management Grade 4

17. Safeguarding is inadequate. Following the CQC visits in April and their review in July 2011, the college has developed new and revised policies and protocols for student welfare and safety. Progress has been made but at the time of inspection, no further reviews had been published by the CQC. All staff have received significant amounts of training, including in the Mental Capacity Act (2005), and the college has an improved incidents and reporting system. All staff are checked with the Criminal Records Bureau. Early signs of improvement include the multi-disciplinary pre-entry assessment, and the development of young person’s plan, but these are at early stages of implementation. The college has not yet put in place safeguarding arrangements to monitor the extent to which guidance on risk, accessibility and safety is being implemented. Practice checks are not carried out by specialist staff to ensure that staff fully

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Leadership and management Grade 4

understand them. Inspectors saw examples of the failure to implement these in lessons.

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Leadership and management Grade 4

18. The promotion of equality and diversity is inadequate. Appropriate policies are in place and students were involved in their development. Procedures for dealing with incidents and complaints are satisfactory. The equality and diversity calendar includes a good range of themes, but teachers do not use these routinely in lessons. Equality and diversity are not consistently well planned and reinforced across the curriculum and too little information is available in accessible formats. Students at foundation level are not making adequate progress.

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Leadership and management Grade 4

19. The self-assessment arrangements are inadequate. The college has responded to external regulation and inspection findings, and down-graded its self- assessment grades significantly. Although the revised grades are more realistic, they fail to give sufficient weight to areas for improvement, in particular teaching, learning and safeguarding. A new quality co-ordinator is developing an integrated self-assessment process and the current quality improvement plan is detailed, with risks monitored on a weekly basis. However, the actions taken have not yet had a demonstrable impact on the quality of provision for the majority of students.

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Leadership and management Grade 4

20. Engagement with students, parents and carers and other stakeholders is satisfactory. The parent and student voice conferences provide valuable feedback on areas of concern. Managers take suggestions seriously and have started to implement agreed actions.

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Leadership and management Grade 4

21. Physical resources are good but too few teachers have had specialist training to teach students at foundation level. Technology facilities are good but teaching staff have not received adequate training in making best use of these resources. Financial management is sound but the quality of provision has declined and value for money is inadequate.

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Information about the inspection

22. Two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and two additional inspectors, assisted by the provider’s nominee, carried out the inspection. Inspectors also took account of the college’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, the previous inspection report, reports from the inspectorate’s quality monitoring inspection, and data on students and their achievement over the period since the previous inspection. In addition they took account of reports from the Care Quality Commission.

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Information about the inspection

23. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and emails to gain the views of students and employers. They also looked at questionnaires that students and employers had recently completed for the provider. They observed learning sessions and collected evidence from programmes across the college. Record of Main Findings (RMF)

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Treloar College

Learning types: 14 – 16: Young apprenticeships; Diplomas; 16-18 Student 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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Treloar College

Outcomes for students 3 3 3 How well do students achieve and enjoy their learning? 3 How well do students attain their learning goals? How well do students progress? How well do students improve their economic and social well-being through learning and development? How safe do students feel? 3 Are students able to make informed choices about their own health and well being?* How well do students make a positive contribution to the community?* 2 Quality of provision 4 4 4 How effectively do teaching, training and assessment support learning and development? How effectively does the provision meet the needs and interests of users? 3 How well partnerships with schools, employers, community groups and others lead to benefits for students? How effective are the care, guidance and support students receive in helping them to achieve? Leadership and management 4 4 4 How effectively do leaders and managers raise expectations and promote

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Treloar College

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 students? 4 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 students? 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 16-18 Student responsive 19+ Student responsive Approximate number of enrolled students Full-time students 130 73 57

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Treloar College

Overall effectiveness 4 4 4 Capacity to improve 4 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for students 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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Treloar College

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Treloar College

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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