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Other · Ofsted report

Franklin College

Inspected — · published 29 May 2012 · URN 130586

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Summary

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  • Postcode verified

    DN34 5BY

  • Name on report verified

    Franklin College

  • URN verified

    130586

Page 1 of 17
Page 1 of the report

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−13Mixedmore positive than 18% of reports of this type

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Praiseeffectivemake good progressimprovedoutstandingeffectivelyexcellentconsistentlyenthusiasm
Criticisminadequateinsufficientpoortoo manyfailednot sufficientlyinsufficientlyfail

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Pages
17
Words of findings
4,745
longer than usual (typical 1049)
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Hard
Flesch 37, typical 45
Average sentence
17 words
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6
typical 5
Hedged sentences
9%
“some”, “not always”, “most”…

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Findings 87%About the inspection 13%

Full report text

Published date 29 May 2012 Inspection Number 395175 Unique reference number: 130586

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Name of lead inspector: Patrick Geraghty HMI

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Last day of inspection: 24 February 2012

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Address: Chelmsford Avenue, Grimsby, DN34 5BY

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Information about the provider

1. Franklin sixth form college has 1600 full-time students aged 16 to 18. In addition there are yearly about 700 mostly part-time adult students. The college curriculum includes mainly subjects at advanced level. An increasing number of vocational subjects is offered at intermediate and advanced level. The college is situated in Grimsby, and draws from a relatively wide geographic area covering north Lincolnshire that has a population of approximately 160,000. The college's mission is ‘to provide an excellent learning experience, in an inclusive and supportive environment, which inspires students to achieve their potential’. The current Principal has been in post since May 2010. Almost all the college’s provision is funded by the Young People’s Learning Agency.

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Information about the provider

2. Within the area, post-sixteen education and training is also provided by a further education college. Of the ten local secondary schools all, except one, have become academies and four of these offer sixth form provision. The proportion of local school leavers achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including English and mathematics, was 52% in 2010/11. Within the college’s catchment area there is an outward migration of talented young people at 19 plus and a shortage of high-level skills. Unemployment is high among young people. Most employment opportunities are in low-skilled work and the gross average wage is low. The minority ethnic population is 1.5%. The area is also one of considerable contrast, with some districts in the region experiencing the least deprivation, and others among the 10% most deprived nationally.

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Information about the provider

3. The inspection took into account all of the provision of the college. Specialist inspectors looked in detail at the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in science and mathematics, art, media and performing arts, English and modern foreign languages, and business, economics and law.

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Overall inspection summary of Franklin College

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

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Grade 3

Science and mathematics Grade 3 Art, media and performing arts Grade 3 Languages, literature and culture Grade 3 Business, economics and law Grade 3

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Overall effectiveness

4. The overall effectiveness of the college is inadequate because key outcomes have not improved sufficiently and college systems and managers have failed to drive improvement at an appropriately rapid pace. Success rates for intermediate students and for those on GCE AS level courses have been consistently and significantly below sixth form college national averages. Since the last inspection there has been no trend of improvement in poor success rates in AS level and on intermediate courses. Retention rates on too many courses are poor. The proportion of students achieving high grades across many subjects at advanced level remains low. Those students who complete their courses at GCE A level generally make good progress and pass rates are in line with the average for similar colleges. In the current year retention rates have improved.

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Overall effectiveness

5. Students make a positive contribution to a harmonious and caring college community, demonstrating mutual respect and tolerance for each other and college staff. They engage in a wide range of enrichment activities. In discussions with inspectors students demonstrated a wide range of learning interests from the letters of Cicero, quantum physics, contemporary Spanish political history to the character traits of Sir Andrew Agucheek in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’.

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Overall effectiveness

6. Inconsistencies across observed teaching and learning sessions mirror the wide range of students’ outcomes. Too much teaching remains satisfactory. In the satisfactory lessons teachers’ expectations of students are low. Pace and challenge are not sufficient to enhance learning and promote better and ambitious outcomes. While there is good and better teaching practice, mechanisms to disseminate this and enhance the skills of all teachers are underdeveloped. In too many lessons literacy, oracy and numeracy are not sufficiently integrated to encourage student participation and language skills acquisition. The assessment of student work demonstrates inconsistencies in practice; too many students remain unclear about what they need to do to improve.

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Overall effectiveness

7. Following the arrival of a new Principal in May 2010, the college has developed clear improvement objectives although these have not been communicated sufficiently well to all staff. Managers are not driving improvements with urgency and, although provision is beginning to improve, the pace of change is too slow. Managers have welcomed the introduction of timely data on which to base decisions. The weaknesses identified in the last inspection around the frequency of lesson observations and the ageing accommodation have been tackled, but there has not been sufficient progress in improving the outcomes for students in some key aspects of provision. Quality assurance arrangements have not yet consistently led to improvement in the quality of teaching and learning or outcomes for students. The college has good arrangements to listen and respond to students.

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Key findings

 Outcomes for students are inadequate. Success rates for students on GCE AS courses and intermediate-level courses have been consistently and significantly below the national average for sixth form colleges for three years. The college has identified strategies to tackle this poor performance. Retention rates are poor but are beginning to improve. Enrolment procedures are better focused and the progress that students make is monitored effectively. It is too early to judge the impact of these improvement initiatives.  Students who are retained on GCE A-level courses generally make good progress and achieve around the national average for sixth form colleges. The proportion of higher grades achieved at advanced level is too low on many courses. Adult students generally make good progress.  Teaching, learning and assessment are satisfactory. The quality of teaching and learning is inconsistent. At its best teaching inspires and challenges

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Key findings

students but in too many lessons students are not challenged sufficiently. A significant minority of lessons are not as effective as they should be because teachers dominate, and consequently opportunities for students to develop cooperative and independent learning skills are limited. Although students thrive on the opportunities to become involved in exciting extension activities, teachers do not provide enough stimulating work for students to complete outside of lessons.  In many lessons teachers do not plan how they are going to support literacy, numeracy and oracy in sufficient detail. Additional literacy and numeracy support for those identified as requiring it is effective. Students who receive additional support achieve slightly higher success rates than students who do not receive support. Students with particular support needs also achieve at least as well as their peers. Good advice and guidance now ensure that

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Key findings

students are placed on an appropriate course. Students receive effective support with their applications to higher education.  Leadership and management are inadequate. A clear vision for the future has been developed. The college recognises that strategic priorities need to be communicated more effectively to staff. College systems and managers have failed to drive improvement at a sufficiently rapid pace since the last inspection. Targets and indicators of improvement are not sufficiently specific and are not used to judge the effectiveness of all actions taken to improve. However underperformance is beginning to be tackled.  The process for observing lessons has improved and is now more consistent and systematic. However the outcomes of lesson observations are not used to design or inform improvement strategies. The process for sharing of the best teaching practice is underdeveloped.  The college has begun to diversify its curriculum to better match the needs

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Key findings

of all students. The college in recent times has been proactive in developing partnerships with schools, other post-16 providers and employers to diversify its range of provision and to better match community needs. The addition of more vocational courses at advanced level has enhanced the curriculum offer.  The process of self-assessment is satisfactory. Better use of performance data has informed judgements. Improvements have been made in retention, monitoring progress and supporting students to achieve. However, self- assessment is not yet rigorous enough to support sustained improvements in teaching and learning raising outcomes for all students.  The college meets its statutory requirements for safeguarding. Procedures ensure that learners are safe.

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further?

 Ensure rapid and sustained improvement in success rates at GCE AS level and intermediate level by implementing existing retention strategies rigorously and evaluating their impact fully.  Increase the percentage of high grades across advanced-level courses by improving lesson planning to ensure that the needs of individual students are met through appropriate and challenging learning activities. Provide greater opportunities, including homework assignments, to supplement learning in class.  Ensure that all lesson plans include a stronger focus on the development of students’ literacy, numeracy and oracy skills and use lesson observations to evaluate how effectively students acquire and improve these skills.  Improve the quality and consistency of teaching and learning by using the outcomes of lesson observations to inform actions for improvement. Devise mechanism to encourage regular sharing of good practice between

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further?

classroom practitioners.  Increase the rigour of self-assessment through deeper interrogation, involving all staff, of the root causes of underperformance. Use data more systematically to analyse performance across the college and to inform where improvements are needed. Use data more systematically to develop precise and measurable targets for all aspects of performance. Monitor progress against targets regularly. Evaluate fully actions taken to remedy weaknesses and use the outcome of this evaluation to set further targets to raise and sustain performance at a high level.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 4

8. From 2008/09 to 2010/11 success rates for students on intermediate courses and on advanced courses at AS level for the majority of the provision, have been consistently and significantly below sixth form college averages. Retention rates have been poor. Too many students were enrolled on courses that were inappropriate to their learning needs or abilities. This variability in outcomes was reflected in all curriculum areas inspected. In some subjects at AS level these variances were very significant. The percentage of students achieving higher grades on advanced courses, especially at AS level, is too low. Those students who complete their courses at GCE A level generally make good progress and pass rates are in line with the average for similar colleges.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 4

9. Since the last inspection the pace of improvement has been too slow and the college has only recently started to remedy weak performance. For example, more focused enrolment procedures have enabled the better allocation of students to appropriate courses and as a result more students are staying on their courses. The curriculum has been broadened to include a greater choice of vocational courses. Well-focused strategies have led to improved attendance. As the college acknowledges in its self-assessment, these measures have yet to achieve their full impact on final course outcomes. 10. In too many classes students are insufficiently challenged or encouraged to have high expectations and their learning and progress are only satisfactory. The standards of student work seen by inspectors were too variable and sometimes marking was insufficiently directive in signalling next step development. The development of literacy, communication and numeracy

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Outcomes for learners Grade 4

across the curriculum and opportunities for some students to develop these skills more fully are insufficiently exploited. Students in receipt of additional learning support perform better than their peers. When students are given the opportunities to develop their learning they respond with enthusiasm and challenge and their progress is good. Many students develop good personal and social skills. Developing links with employers and partnership arrangements are raising employability skills, although such programmes are at an early stage. Students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress. Adult students generally make good progress. 11. Students who progress from AS to A level and remain on their courses are prepared well for their next stage of education with good guidance to higher education, and future careers. Guidance for employment is developing and reflects the new priorities of the college.

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Grade 3

12. Teachers are well qualified and enthusiastic about their subjects. Resources to support learning are good. The attractive displays of students’ work throughout the college help to celebrate students’ successes and provide an incentive for others to match their achievements. However, the quality of teaching and learning varies too much between, and sometimes within, subjects so that it is hard for students to maintain consistently good progress. Teachers identify clearly the knowledge and skills that students are expected to acquire. However their lesson planning does not always provide activities that are best suited to achieving them. In too many lessons teachers take insufficient account of the starting points of students or fail to provide activities which are suitable both for the most able students and for those who find learning more difficult. The promotion of equality and diversity receives insufficient prominence in lesson planning.

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Grade 3

13. An important feature of the most successful lessons is the way in which teachers challenge the assumptions of students and encourage them to express, and justify, their views. This approach is welcomed by students who find such lessons stimulating and rewarding. Inspectors found that students make more progress in lessons where teachers’ expectations are higher. However, teachers often fail to provide sufficient challenge to students, either through providing insufficiently demanding work or by using questioning techniques ineffectively. These lessons are often dominated by the teacher and do not provide sufficient encouragement for students to learn independently. Outside of lessons students have good opportunities to participate in extension activities; for example, through the ‘Blue Sky Club’ or work on the extended project qualification with topics as diverse as the dynamics of aircraft wings and the Spanish transition to democracy beyond

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Grade 3

Francisco Franco. Students say, and inspectors agree, that these activities provide an excellent opportunity to build self-confidence, develop good oral skills and extend their learning. However, subject teachers often do not provide sufficient, or sufficiently challenging, work to be completed outside of lessons or for homework. Opportunities are therefore missed to develop further the enthusiasm of students by failing to provide interesting and absorbing material to supplement learning in class.

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Grade 3

14. In a minority of lessons, teachers provide good opportunities for students to apply their literacy skills, for example in constructing a single paragraph to summarise a complex topic in order to analyse, recap, and use their vocabulary accurately. However, in the majority of lessons, teachers do not give enough priority to the development of students’ literacy in their planning. There are often insufficient opportunities for them to model the use of new specialist vocabulary or improve their written English. Teachers do not correct work for grammatical and spelling errors to a consistent standard, and although the development of technically accurate English may be reinforced in an individual subject, it is not sustained over a complete programme of study. Students who have been identified as requiring additional help with literacy and numeracy receive effective support through ‘booster’ classes and individual support outside of lessons. These students

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Grade 3

achieve slightly higher success rates than those who do not receive such support.

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Grade 3

15. Students now receive accurate advice and guidance which ensures that they are placed on an appropriate course when they join the college and, as a result, the college’s own data indicate that retention is improving. Students who have particular learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive good individual support, either directly by the college or through its effective liaison with external agencies. The high number of students applying to higher education, including to the most prestigious universities, receive good, impartial advice to assist their applications. Students are given effective support within individual tutorials, and much informal support outside of lessons. Such support helps them to monitor progress towards achieving their target grades and to identify what their next steps in learning should be. Assessment is generally accurate, but sometimes does not provide sufficient guidance to students on how their work could be

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Science and mathematics Grade 3

16. Teaching, learning and assessment are satisfactory overall and good in mathematics. This reflects improvements that have resulted from actions taken to rectify the unsatisfactory outcomes for most AS subjects in 2010/11. The proportion of high grades is low on many courses. New arrangements through the ‘Franklin Start’ initiative to improve initial advice and induction have contributed to improvements in retention. Attendance rates are good.

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Science and mathematics Grade 3

17. In lessons where students make better progress, they respond well to their teachers’ high expectations. For example, in mathematics students often show high levels of motivation to practise and hone their developing skills in topics such as trigonometry and differential equations. In one outstanding mathematics session, the teacher directed students’ efforts skilfully into very productive discussions on logarithms. In these lessons teachers plan a variety of activities to motivate students. In less effective lessons teachers’ questions are sometimes not sufficiently challenging or do not probe students’ understanding deeply enough. More able students are not stretched to achieve their best. Students do not have enough opportunities to model the use of specialist vocabulary.

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Science and mathematics Grade 3

18. Subject support sessions are a new feature of the area’s approach to improving outcomes. Where students attend these sessions, their understanding and skills improve. Support for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good. The quality of assessment is too inconsistent. Teachers make frequent checks on learning in lessons but the effectiveness of these is sometimes lessened when they fail to probe students’ answers sufficiently and have lower expectations of them. Students benefit from good, and some excellent, assessment practices in mathematics, geology and some science lessons. Where homework is more frequent, and teachers review students’ work regularly, students have good opportunities to develop their learning and skills. Students receive regular assessments of their progress against their personal targets. Initial assessment takes place early in the course to identify those needing extra

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Science and mathematics Grade 3

support and to check course suitability. It is unclear how well these new arrangements identify literacy and numeracy needs.

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Science and mathematics Grade 3

19. Students receive good advice and guidance on career progression and many students progress to higher education. Their career prospects are enhanced through additional learning opportunities such as extended projects.

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Science and mathematics Grade 3

20. Resources for learning are good. Students are motivated by vibrant displays, particularly in mathematics. Where teachers have shared good practice by taking an active part in the college’s teaching and learning communities, students have benefited from a greater range of teaching approaches. The use of information and learning technology in lessons is satisfactory. Students have good access to learning resources on the college’s virtual learning environment. The promotion of equality and diversity is satisfactory, but lesson plans rarely refer directly to the promotion of diversity.

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Arts, media and performing arts Grade 3

21. While considerable work has been done to improve outcomes for learners, including the establishment of teaching and learning communities to disseminate good and better practice, success rates have remained below average on too many programmes. A number of actions are in place to rectify this. For example, the use of data to monitor students’ progress has improved. The introduction of the ‘Franklin Start’ is proving more effective in placing students on the most appropriate courses. It is too early to see the full impact of these initiatives; however college data indicate that in-year retention has improved. Outcomes are good in performing arts subjects.

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Arts, media and performing arts Grade 3

22. In the best lessons probing questioning checks learning and understanding. Lessons are well prepared. Students develop a range of practical skills across the broad range of provision. Interesting and exploratory work journals are created in art and design subjects. Students use technology well in music and media, and students in performing arts work with high energy and enthusiasm. Some outstanding teaching was seen in drama and there is strong, well-structured teaching and learning at intermediate level in music and media. Students’ work is displayed and celebrated well, and classrooms provide good visual stimuli. Thorough and detailed written assessment and feedback are given regularly and are linked closely to individual target grades and examination board criteria. Monitoring of individual progress is consistently good, with regular one-to-one feedback to students telling them how to improve their work.

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Arts, media and performing arts Grade 3

23. In the weaker lessons planning is less detailed with little use of learning strategies to meet individual needs. Not all students are fully engaged in lessons. Students’ time is not always well directed. Too much research and ‘cutting and pasting’ is done in lesson time that could be completed more effectively in advance or for homework. As a result too little time is spent in class developing higher-level technical skills through use of the available specialist equipment. Much homework lacks stretch and challenge. While questioning techniques are generally good, student answers lack depth and the use of specific specialist terminology expected at advanced level is insufficient. Some sessions are overly teacher led and do not give advanced- level students enough opportunity to contribute. Equality and diversity are not well embedded into lesson planning and practice.

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Arts, media and performing arts Grade 3

24. Course enrichment is good and enhances students’ creativity very well. Students benefit from a range of relevant visits and speakers. They participate successfully in events including competitions, community projects and theatrical productions for the public. Students receive very good support from their teachers, technicians and support workers.

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Languages, literature and culture Grade 3

25. Whilst satisfactory overall, the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment directly reflect the variability of outcomes achieved by students in English and modern foreign languages subjects Too many success rates at advanced level are significantly below the average for sixth form colleges. The percentage of students achieving higher grades is low. Nevertheless, some of the strategies introduced this year, particularly on English courses, are beginning to lead to improvements. Retention rates have improved on AS courses.

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Languages, literature and culture Grade 3

26. Where teaching is most effective teachers’ questions encourage students to explore their ideas in depth and challenge them to try different techniques, and to work creatively. The promotion of equality and diversity is embedded into courses and students explore a wide range of social issues, and analyse different attitudes and values. Activities in the best lessons are varied and stimulating and students benefit from opportunities to work with other students, share ideas and extend their learning. In such lessons students approach their work with enthusiasm and make good progress. They settle quickly into tasks and they are keen to contribute to discussion. Teachers reinforce key learning points well, and students use literary and linguistic terms with confidence as a result. Students’ enthusiasm is enhanced by a successful initiative in English which encourages students to read more widely and to create ‘Love Books’ in which they keep their favourite literary

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Languages, literature and culture Grade 3

27. In less effective lessons there are insufficient opportunities for students to learn from one another and the pace of activities is too slow, without clear timescales for the completion of tasks. As a result students lose focus and their progress slows. In modern foreign languages lessons the approach to the use of the relevant language is variable. In these lessons teachers do not give simple instructions in the foreign language, or encourage students to use the language independently. This limits the opportunities that students have to develop a good range of skills and to expand their vocabulary. Students’ accents are not of the standard expected at this stage of their course.

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Languages, literature and culture Grade 3

28. Teachers provide students with frameworks that help them to structure their written work and to improve their analysis of texts. The best lessons provide opportunities for students to reflect on their learning, and this leads to students being able to articulate the progress they have made, and explain how they plan to make further improvements. Marked work in modern foreign languages courses is not always helpful in explaining to students how they can improve. In some cases grammatical errors are identified clearly, but in others there are no notes on students’ work to show their mistakes, or the good features of their writing. Teachers’ comments are very general and some extended pieces of writing are not graded, so the students do not know exactly how well they have done.

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Business, economics and law Grade 3

29. Teaching, learning and assessment are generally satisfactory, but there are significant variations in quality. Published student outcomes reflect this. For example, whilst for advanced-vocational courses in financial studies and law and in A level, success rates are high, for AS business studies, accounting and economics they are low. Attendance and punctuality are good and retention in the current year has improved markedly from a similar period last year. A significant proportion of students who successfully complete advanced courses progress to higher education.

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Business, economics and law Grade 3

30. Most teachers use directed questioning effectively and in the better lessons teachers use probing questions to check deeper understanding and encourage students to justify their answers and provide further examples. In a minority of sessions teachers are less adept at debriefing activities and consequently students have less opportunity to reflect on what they have learned. Classroom discussions are generally confined to teacher-student interactions. There is good practice in law sessions where students participate in lively debates that are well managed and have clear learning outcomes.

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Business, economics and law Grade 3

31. In the better lessons teachers have the skills and experience to plan effective learning sessions that provide ample opportunities for all students to develop required skills and knowledge. In an A-level accounting lesson about marginal costs and break even analysis, strategies focused on individual learner needs were employed to good effect and as a result all students made good progress and demonstrated analytical and reasoning skills.

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Business, economics and law Grade 3

32. In the less effective lessons teachers dominate and students are often too passive because there is insufficient work to engage all of them in learning. Activities offer little stretch and present too little challenge, especially for the more able students. The good practice seen in law and accounting is not shared effectively across other subject areas. The promotion of equality and diversity and of literacy and numeracy is patchy.

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Business, economics and law Grade 3

33. Assessment is satisfactory. Students understand the progress they are making and receive detailed verbal feedback on their marked work. The arrangements for monitoring students’ progress are more systematic and effective than previously; students are clear about their targets, what they need to do to achieve them, and by when. The application of marking strategies and the quality of written feedback with advice for improvement are variable. In the best examples, teachers give detailed feedback, annotate students’ work to confirm where they have achieved against set criteria, and draw attention to spelling and grammatical errors.

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Business, economics and law Grade 3

34. Robust enrolment, induction and initial assessment strategies are ensuring students are on appropriate courses. Students receive good one-to-one support, advice and guidance and benefit from subject-related enrichment activities. The introduction of business and law ‘Career Academies’ has secured the active support of local employers and widened opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. The introduction of vocational qualifications in law and business has provided more coherent progression routes to meet students’ needs and interests.

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Grade 4

35. Since the last inspection key outcomes have not improved and college systems and managers have failed to drive improvement at an appropriately rapid pace. Under the Principal’s leadership the college has developed a clear vision for the future. Underpinning the strategic plan are stated targets and progress indicators. Not all indicators are tightly defined, making progress difficult to judge. Curriculum managers and staff are not closely involved in the development of the plan. The college recognises that strategic priorities need to be communicated more effectively to staff. Management structures are clear as are arrangements for staff appraisal. Underperformance is beginning to be tackled. Curriculum managers have retention targets for each course and performance towards these are monitored by senior managers. College data indicate that more students are staying on their courses but it is too early to say how this will affect students’ overall success

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Grade 4

rates. Governors understand well the challenges faced by the college and support the Principal’s desire to improve standards. Risk and financial performance are closely monitored.

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Grade 4

36. The need to improve teaching is recognised as a college priority but actions taken to do so are not comprehensive or consistent. While a new lesson observation system has been established, mechanisms to analyse and evaluate its impact on improving the quality of teaching and learning are not fully developed. The sharing of good practice is not widespread. The college self-assessment report acknowledges that actions taken to improve teaching have not yet had an impact on students’ outcomes.

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Grade 4

37. The college has begun to diversify its curriculum and has improved how students are placed on appropriate programmes. The number of vocational qualifications is beginning to increase. The drive to improve collaborations with local schools and the local general further education college is helping to shape the new curriculum to the benefit of students. The extension of the advanced-vocational curriculum has added greater breadth and flexibility to the traditional A-level offer. Students commented that they valued the widening of the curriculum to better match their needs and aspirations. Work with employers is improving through the development of ‘Career Academies’. Partners report that the college is responsive to their needs, relationships are well managed and communication is good.

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Grade 4

38. Self-assessment is satisfactory and portrays a realistic summary of the college’s performance. Better use of performance data has helped to inform judgements but does not yet underpin clear strategies to drive improvement. Judgements about teaching and learning are not sufficiently precise and this, combined with a lack of a more comprehensive analysis of college-wide performance data, has hindered the formation of a coherent teaching and learning improvement strategy. Developments have been made on improving retention and in the monitoring of students’ progress but such changes have not yet delivered sustained improvements in outcomes for all students. Students are confident the college listens to and acts on their views.

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Grade 4

39. The college meets its statutory duty in relation to equality and diversity. The equality and diversity group has a clear remit to oversee the college’s response to legislation and judge its impact through the monitoring of data. Gaps in performance of different groups of students are identified but it is too early to assess whether actions taken have been effective in rectifying any underperformance. A programme of training for equality and diversity is in place for all staff and governors. The needs of students with physical disabilities are met well. There is insufficient promotion of equality and diversity in lessons.

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Grade 4

40. Clear policies and procedures are effective in ensuring students are safe, and that the college meets its statutory responsibility in relation to safeguarding. The college has appropriate links with relevant referral agencies and all staff and governors are trained annually. Appropriate recruitment and vetting processes for all staff, governors, contractors and volunteers are in place. A link governor for safeguarding takes a close interest in the effectiveness of college procedures and all governors receive an annual report.

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Information about the inspection:

41. Two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and five additional inspectors, assisted by the deputy principal as nominee, carried out the inspection. This was a live pilot inspection carried out under the draft Common Inspection Framework 2012. Inspectors also took account of the college’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, comments from the funding body, the previous inspection report, and data on students and their achievement over the period since the previous inspection. 42. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and emails to gain the views of students and employers. They also looked at questionnaires learners and employers had recently completed for the college. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. Inspectors collected evidence from programmes in each of the subject areas the college offers.

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Franklin College

Learning types : 14 – 16 learning programmes : NVQ vocational units; Diplomas; 16-18 learning programmes leading to qualifications: FE full- and part-time courses; 19+ learning programmes leading to qualifications: FE full- and part-time courses; Apprenticeships; Other work based learning: NVQs, access to apprenticeships ; Foundation learning; Learning for social and personal development; adult safeguarded funded learning;

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Franklin College

Inspection grades are based on a provider’s performance:

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Franklin College

1: Outstanding; 2: Good; 3: Satisfactory; 4: Inadequate Overall 16-18 Learning programmes 19+ Learning programmes Approximate number of enrolled learners at the time of inspection Full-time learners Part-time learners Overall effectiveness 4 4 / Outcomes for learners 4 4 / The quality of teaching, learning and assessment 3 3 /

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Franklin College

The effectiveness of leadership and management 4 4 /

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Franklin College

Subject areas graded Grade Science and mathematics Arts, visual arts and publishing Language, literature and culture Business inspects to 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

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Franklin College

you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’. Ofsted

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Franklin College

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

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