Leicester College

FE&S report Leicester College General Further Education College

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Provision for learners with high needs Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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This is a provider that requires improvement

 Outcomes for English and mathematics GCSE and functional skills qualifications are too low.  The college’s study programme does not meet the expectation that all learners should have an opportunity to participate in work experience.  Overall attendance rates are too low, especially in GCSE English and mathematics.  Actions taken by governors, leaders and managers have not yet resulted in good or better standards of provision for all groups of learners.  Teachers do not always provide sufficiently detailed feedback to learners on how they can improve.  In too many lessons, teachers do not provide work that is hard enough to challenge the most- able learners.

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The provider has the following strengths

 Teachers are enthusiastic and learners enjoy lessons in well-organised and resourced learning environments.  Outcomes for learners in engineering, administration, building and construction and access programmes are good.  Progression to higher education for level 3 learners is good.  College managers have developed particularly effective partnerships to meet local industry, community and employer needs.

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Information about the provider

 Leicester College is the only general further education college in the city of Leicester and is the largest single learning provider. It has three main sites and operates from several community venues. In 2014/15, the college enrolled over 22,500 learners, mostly adults on part-time courses and around 4,300 learners aged 16 to 19 on full-time study programmes. The college has a significant apprenticeship programme and a small number of learners with high needs.  The 2011 census shows that Leicester’s population of around 330,000 is ethnically diverse, with 45% describing themselves as White British and 37% as Asian British. Around 18% of households have no one who speaks English as their main language, compared with 4% nationally. Achievement of GCSEs in English and mathematics at grades A* to C for young people leaving school is below the national average. Unemployment in the city is slightly higher than the national average.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Improve outcomes in GCSE English and mathematics and in functional skills qualifications by ensuring that interventions are successful and that learners complete their course by regularly reviewing and monitoring learners’ progress, attendance and achievement in these subjects.  Ensure that all learners on study programmes benefit from their entitlement to external work experience.  Strengthen attendance monitoring so that dips in learners’ attendance are identified immediately and interventions ensure that learners complete their course successfully.  Leaders and managers at all levels should identify precise targets for improvement in order to be able to measure the impact of improvement actions on learners’ progress and accelerate the pace of required change.  Help learners to understand what they have to do to improve their work by ensuring that teachers provide more detailed constructive written feedback and that programme managers take greater

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

responsibility for monitoring this.  Ensure that teachers provide challenging activities during learning sessions that stretch all learners, especially the most able.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because senior leaders’ and managers’ actions have not yet resulted in good or better standards of provision for all groups of learners. Study programmes, which account for over one third of the college’s total budget, require improvement. Too few learners achieve qualifications in English and mathematics and not all learners have the opportunity to participate in work experience, as required by the programme. Governors, leaders and managers have acknowledged these weaknesses, but the actions they have taken so far have not yet resulted in sufficient improvement.  Arrangements for the management of staff performance and staff appraisals are effective. Staff appraisals are detailed and clearly linked to teachers’ training and development needs as well as to learners’ achievements. However, the impact of the ensuing professional development has not yet led to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

consistently good outcomes for all learners.  Self-assessment judgements are broadly valid, although the grades are too generous, particularly for high needs provision, which college managers self-assessed as outstanding. Arrangements for self-assessment are comprehensive and include the views of stakeholders. Curriculum teams receive helpful performance data to support self-assessment judgements. The college’s improvement plan is clear, though managers have not yet achieved many of the curriculum improvement targets.  For a minority of teachers, the observation of teaching and learning is not frequent enough. For example several teachers delivering provision for learners with high needs had not received sufficiently frequent observations, and as a consequence curriculum managers’ assessment of the quality of teaching was substantially undermined. Observers pay good attention to the craft of teaching, but they do not always

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

comment in sufficient detail about how well learners are learning or the effectiveness of assessment.  Senior managers plan the curriculum well to meet the priorities identified by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership. Collaborative links with employers, for example, help the college to respond positively to employment gaps in the care, health, education, wholesale and retail sectors. The college’s governing body comprises a wide range of local employers who contribute well to the college’s links with the community.  Subcontracting arrangements with external partners are effective. College managers select partners carefully to extend the range of provision and to engage hard-to-reach groups such as local Asian women. Effective partnership work with schools and the local authority broadens opportunities for young people who are at risk of not engaging in education, training or employment.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Through judicious financial management and by achieving a modest year-on-year surplus the college has been able to maintain high levels of capital investment to benefit learners. The college has recently built a specialist centre for learners with profound and multiple learning difficulties and/or disabilities which meets their support needs well, along with a new engineering technology centre to meet the increasing local demand for engineering training.  All staff and governors receive appropriate training in equalities at the start of their service as well as regular update training. Teachers promote equality and diversity in their subject areas well. While training is available, the extent to which teachers are able to successfully promote fundamental British values and an awareness of the dangers of radicalisation and extremism is not consistently good.  The governance of the provider – Governors have the skills and expertise to oversee the performance of the college and they provide

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

helpful support to the senior leadership team. Their oversight of finances and resources is effective. – The challenge that governors provide for the senior leadership team is not having a significant impact on improvements, for example in relation to the poor performance in English and mathematics.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective – All staff receive training to improve their awareness of the signs of neglect and abuse and they know how to raise concerns. – Good links with relevant agencies ensure that staff are well informed and know what to do if they have concerns, for example about sexual exploitation or forced marriage. – Governors and senior leaders have a good understanding of their duties to promote British values and to safeguard learners from the dangers of radicalisation and extremism. However, during inspection, learners remembered little about ‘Prevent’.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Learners’ development of English and mathematics skills on study programmes is slow. Too few reach the standards expected of them. Although teachers focus effectively on the development of English and mathematics through their subject teaching, they do not identify errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar in written work consistently.  Although learners benefit from rigorous initial assessment that identifies their interests, strengths and areas for improvement, teachers in a minority of subject areas do not use or update what they know about learners’ starting points to ensure that learners work to aspirational targets.  While the large majority of learners receive detailed, constructive and developmental feedback from their teachers and instructors, too many learners receive insufficient written feedback and are not able to improve their work as they should. In a minority of lessons, teachers do not check that all learners are

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

ready to progress to the next stage of their learning.  Most learners enjoy their lessons and benefit from enthusiastic teachers and well-structured and well- resourced learning environments that encourage them to do well in their chosen field. For a small minority of learners, teaching lacks the pace to keep them fully occupied and learners lose interest in their work.  The use of technology to support learning requires improvement in the majority of lessons. A minority of teachers and learners use the virtual learning environment well, for example in catering, to develop skills and complete homework to prepare for future lessons.  Learners benefit from regular and detailed assessment. Most teachers and the majority of learners know how much progress they have made and what they have to do to complete. Highly knowledgeable learning support assistants and key workers work very well in classrooms and with parents and employers

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

to ensure that learners receive the support they need to improve their grades, get back on track or keep up with their peers.  Teaching, learning and assessment are good in practical lessons. Well-qualified and highly experienced teachers exemplify the professional standards required and learners are highly motivated and eager to apply high-level skills in practical contexts. Learners develop good practical skills and display highly effective techniques and professional attributes, particularly in music and drama, photography, catering and beauty.  Teachers have high expectations of behaviour in classrooms and practical sessions. They are quick to notice and challenge the occasional use of inappropriate language. Consequently, learners behave well, listen attentively and respect each other’s opinions. Their social skills are well developed and learners in catering and hair and beauty, for example, demonstrate good customer service skills.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Apprentices and learners show good understanding of the general principles of equality and diversity. However, they cannot always apply this understanding to their specific job roles or vocational contexts well enough.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare requires improvement

 Attendance in a minority of lessons during inspection was too low. While college data indicate that attendance rates over the longer term are broadly satisfactory, they are too low for learners aged 16 to 19 in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), English and mathematics, childcare and health and in sports and service industries for adult learners.  Not enough learners develop their English and mathematics skills to a sufficiently high level. The promotion of literacy and numeracy is generally good in many lessons, especially in vocational study programmes, apprenticeship provision and in many adult classes. High needs learners develop good speaking and listening skills. However, in English and mathematics lessons leading to a qualification, too few learners complete and achieve the qualifications successfully.  Staff do not provide sufficient work experience placements for learners on study programmes. At the time

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare requires improvement

of inspection the staff had secured placements for around half the learners on study programmes. Managers have identified this as an area for improvement and are in the process of strengthening links with local employers and the National Citizen Service to help identify more external work experience placements. The full impact of these changes has yet to take effect.  The proportion of learners who progress to employment on completion of their programme has declined in recent years and managers currently do not gather sufficiently detailed information to identify whether that trend has continued.  Not all staff use the newly-introduced ‘learner employability achievement programme’ to its full effect to enhance learners’ employability skills and aid progression to further study or employment. As a result, only a minority of learners develop a range of valuable skills such as research and study skills, job-search,

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare requires improvement

CV writing and information technology skills. However, not all learners develop these skills to a sufficiently high level to maximise their chances of progressing on completion of their studies.  Most staff develop effective strategies to raise learners’ awareness of equality and diversity. A high proportion of learners make an equalities ‘pledge’, to help raise their awareness of, and commitment to, demonstrating respect for others. However, not all staff are sufficiently proactive in raising learners’ awareness of British values, or the risks associated with radicalisation and extremism.  In the majority of curriculum areas, learners have a positive attitude to learning and arrive in lessons suitably prepared and equipped. They are confident, motivated and self-assured, and actively engage in lesson activities. As a result, they develop positive working relationships with their peers and with staff,

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare requires improvement

and gain high levels of satisfaction from their studies.  Learners on level 3 courses wishing to progress to higher education receive good support and guidance to help them choose and apply for a degree course. As a result, a high proportion of these learners are successful in securing a university place.  Staff provide good pastoral support for learners such as by helping them to identify and break down barriers to learning, dealing with bullying and harassment and helping learners in receipt of additional learning support to achieve. Specialist careers advisers provide good, impartial advice and guidance on careers and course options to prospective and current learners.  Learners have good access to a varied enrichment programme which includes events celebrating black history month, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender week, as well as religious and community festivals.

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Outcomes for learners require improvement

 Overall success rates for learners aged 16 to 19 on study programmes declined in 2014/15 and are too low. This is principally because the proportion of these learners who achieve functional skills qualifications in English and mathematics as part of their programme is low. Achievement of GCSE English and mathematics at grades A* to C was also low. Managers have taken a range of actions to tackle these low outcomes and early indications suggest that in-year improvements are taking place. However, it is too soon to assess the impact of these initiatives, particularly given the low in-year attendance rates in GCSE English and mathematics classes.  Overall outcomes for apprentices are generally good, particularly at intermediate level. The proportion who complete within the planned timescales is very good for all levels and age groups. However, too much variation exists in the proportion of apprentices in different subject areas who complete their

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Outcomes for learners require improvement

programmes successfully. For example, though apprentices in retailing and wholesaling, service enterprises and administration perform well, not enough apprentices following programmes in early years, engineering, hospitality and catering and sport, leisure and recreation complete their programme.  Data for 2014/15 indicate that a high proportion of learners studying a full-time level 2 course returned the following year to study another substantial qualification at the same level. The college’s self- assessment report does not acknowledge this area of concern. However, progression into higher education for advanced-level learners is high. Leaders have yet to secure accurate information on the destinations of a majority of learners who completed their course in 2015.  The large majority of learners on vocational courses, apprenticeship programmes and in adult learning, including those with additional learning support needs, make at least the progress expected of them,

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Outcomes for learners require improvement

including in lessons. However, too many learners on level 3 programmes do not make the progress expected given their starting points.  Managers and assessors make good use of the recently introduced electronic portfolio to track and monitor apprentices’ progress carefully. As a result, most apprentices make satisfactory progress towards completion of their framework. Managers on study programmes make good use of tracking data to understand the proportion of their learners who are on target to achieve the qualification and how many require additional support to help them achieve. However, the tracking tools used across different study programmes vary too much and this results in inconsistent assessment of the progress that learners are making.  Overall outcomes for adult learners are in line with national rates, with few differences between qualification types and levels. The weakest subject areas are functional skills in mathematics and, to a

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Outcomes for learners require improvement

lesser extent, in English. Adult learners perform better than younger learners in almost all subject areas. However, adult learners’ attendance is often low, especially in English for ESOL lessons delivered in community venues.  Data indicate that in 2013/14 and in 2014/15, learners with experience of local authority care stayed in learning and achieved better than their peers, largely as a consequence of good-quality care and support from the college’s student services team.  College managers scrutinise performance data on retention and achievement regularly to identify differences in achievement between groups of learners so that they can take appropriate actions to minimise these disparities. Leaders’ data indicate that they have significantly reduced the differences in performance among the majority of groups of learners on study programmes.

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16 to 19 study programmes require improvement

 Leicester College provides study programmes for 16- to 19-year-olds in all 15 sector subject areas. The largest areas are: preparation for life and work; engineering and manufacturing technology; health, public services and care; and arts, media and publishing. Study programmes constitute the largest of the four types of provision inspected.  Teachers do not always prepare all their learners sufficiently for work. Not enough learners participate in work experience, although most programmes include work-related activity such as trips, visits and guest speakers. In a small minority of curriculum areas, staff provide good opportunities for learners to develop their practical skills in well-organised work experience placements in subjects such as catering, where a vast network of contacts is used effectively to place learners in high-quality restaurants.  Teachers do not plan lessons well enough to cater for individual learners by taking into account learners’

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16 to 19 study programmes require improvement

prior attainment and starting points fully. Consequently, the progress for a minority of learners is slow, while others, especially the most able, receive insufficient challenge and become bored and frustrated.  Assessment of learning requires improvement. In most lessons teachers clarify, identify and close gaps in learners’ knowledge effectively. In a small minority of childcare and dance sessions, teachers fail to check individual learners’ knowledge and understanding effectively. This leads to these learners making slower progress.  In the large majority of lessons, teachers use their expert knowledge and experience well and make good use of high-quality resources that enable learners to develop confidence in acquiring new practical skills. Teachers’ use of practical demonstrations is effective and learners develop a wide range of vocational skills.  The standard of practical work is good. Learners in fashion produce well laid-out and constructed

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16 to 19 study programmes require improvement

sketchbooks to a high standard. Teachers integrate English and mathematics skills with vocational lessons effectively. They do this through report writing, research and mental mathematics activities. Learners learn how to use basic arithmetic skills to calculate, for example, the weight and quantity of ingredients to measure when preparing a meal.  Learners receive good feedback on the quality of their written work that helps them to improve and reach higher standards. Written feedback is effective in providing learners with guidance on how to improve their spelling and grammar. In music and production arts, teachers give feedback to learners in audio format, which provides additional highly detailed and accessible commentary on progress.  Learners receive good careers advice and guidance, including effective advice on apprenticeship opportunities and progression to university. Teachers provide useful careers talks and access to the

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16 to 19 study programmes require improvement

college’s specialist careers advice and learning mentors. These facilities enable learners to make informed decisions in line with their chosen steps. However, too few learners progress from level 2 to level 3 upon completion of their course.  Learners receive good support outside their lessons to aid their progress. They receive support from their learning mentor, who provides help and guidance on specific aspects of their work, as well as developing employability skills. Learners use the college’s extensive virtual learning environment well to extend their learning through independent research and study. Learners who need extra help receive good additional support to help them overcome barriers to their learning.  Learners feel safe and follow safe practices in workshops and studios. The promotion of equality and diversity is effective. Childcare learners debate and discuss how children growing up in this country

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16 to 19 study programmes require improvement

benefit from exposure to diverse cultures and religions. Learners studying music discuss the influence of politics and popular culture on different musical genres.

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Adult learning programmes are good

 Around 7,500 adult learners follow courses in ESOL, GCSE English and mathematics, functional skills in English and mathematics, access to higher education, hair and beauty, business studies and in health and social care. Most courses are short and taught part time, though around 350 learners study full time on a range of access courses. The college offers many courses in community venues across the city.  Most tutors use teaching and learning activities that interest and motivate learners, so that all learners enjoy their learning. This enables learners to improve their knowledge and skills and to progress well in lessons. Most learners develop good skills in writing and in basic mathematics to prepare them for employment. The majority of learners benefit from sessions that allow them to work independently and make good progress over time.  Learners on access programmes develop the deeper learning, research and higher-order critical thinking

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Adult learning programmes are good

skills they need for higher education. Many progress to prestigious universities. Teachers have high expectations of learners and raise their aspirations successfully. Teachers and learners demonstrate good skills in using interactive projectors and whiteboards to enhance learning.  The adult programme meets local needs effectively. This is particularly so for the large community ESOL provision and the range of courses that promote employability skills relevant to Leicester’s diverse communities. Adult learners are highly motivated and make good progress in vocational courses. For example, accountancy learners demonstrate analytical development of skills and knowledge related to their preferred choice of career.  Teachers provide good verbal feedback to help learners improve. Learners on access courses receive constructive written feedback and know exactly what they should do to improve. However, this is not true

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Adult learning programmes are good

for all adult programmes and too many learners do not get the detailed written feedback they need to improve. Tutors do not always correct spelling and grammatical errors to reinforce the correct use of English and subject-specific terminology.  All tutors promote and embed equality of opportunity and diversity well in teaching and learning. Learners benefit from an inclusive learning environment that fosters mutual respect and pride in their work and contributions in class.  Teachers encourage learners to help each other in class. Learners become confident, participate in discussions and debates during lessons and they enjoy the benefits of learning.  The provision of initial information, advice and guidance has improved and is now effective, ensuring that learners are on an appropriate course that meets their needs and aspirations. Learners on access programmes benefit from timely and helpful guidance about their next steps, which supports them to

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Adult learning programmes are good

prepare for higher education.  Target setting and monitoring of individual learner progress is weak on many adult learning programmes, leading to a decline in performance outcomes on a few courses. Teachers do not always set useful, individual targets for learners that identify starting points, current knowledge and progress to date accurately.

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Apprenticeships are good

 The college has over 1,600 apprentices across eight subject areas, with the largest numbers in construction, engineering, business and care. Around 700 apprentices are aged 16 to 18. The college subcontracts a very small minority of the provision to six independent learning providers. The majority of apprentices study at level 2. The college has a few higher-level apprentices.  Teachers and assessors have high expectations of their apprentices and use their vocational expertise particularly well to motivate, challenge and enhance apprentices’ knowledge and understanding. Teachers are skilled at developing apprentices’ technical abilities and practical skills.  Teachers plan lessons well. In a motorcycle maintenance lesson, apprentices demonstrated how their classroom-based learning successfully linked to the workplace by confidently carrying out pre-service maintenance checks, including accurately measuring fluids, oils and tyre pressures and checking the

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Apprenticeships are good

security of safety-critical components in line with the manufacturer’s technical specifications.  Initial assessment captures apprentices’ prior attainment effectively. However, teachers do not routinely use this information well to individualise learning or to set challenging activities and targets, particularly for apprentices with relevant previous experience. In the small minority of weaker lessons, planning of learning does not identify how planned activities meet individual apprentices’ needs. As a consequence, the pace of teaching is too slow and the more-able apprentices receive insufficient challenge and do not achieve their full potential.  Apprentices work in a good range of supportive local employers. They are able to work independently with minimum supervision and are valued members of staff. Employers support apprentices to achieve within the planned timescales. Skills development is particularly good, especially for apprentices in

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Apprenticeships are good

engineering; apprentices can confidently programme complex codes into specialist equipment for the production of plastic moulds and observe good health and safety practice when working on the shop floor.  Resources are good for off-the-job training and college managers regularly update them. For example, specialist motor vehicle and engineering resources, including spray-painting booths, welding, hydraulics and pneumatics equipment, as well as industry-standard computer-aided design equipment, are available to reflect the growing demand from employers for their workforce to be skilled, competent and trained in using modern technology. However, trainers and assessors are not using interactive learning technologies imaginatively to extend learning for apprentices outside of the classroom.  Assessment in practical sessions and in the workplace is good. Assessors use observation and directed questioning well to test and confirm apprentices’ vocational skills. Assessors’ detailed verbal feedback

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Apprenticeships are good

ensures that apprentices know what they need to do in order to improve. In a minority of cases, staff do not record short-term, specific targets well enough to prompt apprentices to remember all of the agreed targets. Apprenticeship staff expect apprentices to meet the minimum competency pass mark in written questions, which does not stretch them sufficiently.  Teachers help apprentices to develop their use of mathematics in lessons by planning interesting tasks that incorporate different concepts effectively, for instance calculating appropriate ratios of base coat and colour tint when respraying motor vehicles.  The teaching of English requires improvement. Tutors and assessors do not correct spelling and grammatical errors in apprentices’ written work routinely. Neither do they promote the importance of accurate note taking and good report-writing skills in lessons. Opportunities for apprentices to practise

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Apprenticeships are good

using English in a wider context beyond the vocational exercises during lessons, such as by encouraging them to read specialist vocational magazines to extend their confidence in using technical vocabulary in a range of settings, is often too limited.  Personal support is good. Effective relationships between staff, apprentices and employers lead to well- coordinated support that meet apprentices’ personal needs effectively. Employers provide good mentoring and supervision for apprentices in the workplace. Apprentices value the guidance and support from teachers and assessors highly because it helps them to develop confidence and use their initiative.  Apprenticeships delivered by the college meet the standards set out in the Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England. The college’s apprenticeship training agency successfully meets the needs of aspiring apprentices and prospective employers and progression for these apprentices into sustained

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Apprenticeships are good

employment is high.  Teachers reinforce equality and diversity during sessions covering employment rights and responsibilities at work. While a few tutors encourage apprentices to explore different scenarios related to equality and diversity, not all assessors and review officers challenge apprentices’ perceptions or extend their thinking about wider equality and diversity issues so that they are better prepared for their future career. Apprentices’ understanding of how to keep themselves safe from the risks of extremism and radicalisation was limited.

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Provision for learners with high needs requires improvement

 The college has 79 learners in receipt of high needs funding from two local authorities. Of these, six are following mainstream vocational courses across the college, and 73 are following discrete programmes, known as supported learning. The college offers provision in three distinct programme areas, according to level of need, and almost half of the learners have very high needs.  Reviews of learners’ progress over time are not frequent enough, and the recording of progress in lessons does not clearly identify what learners have learnt. The tracking and monitoring of learners’ progress is in the early stages of development. Managers have yet to establish a baseline from which to monitor the progress of learners from their starting points. As a result, teachers do not have an accurate picture of the progress learners have made.  The teaching of English and mathematics is not consistently good enough, with insufficient planning for

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Provision for learners with high needs requires improvement

individual needs. Teachers do not have sufficient confidence to integrate English or mathematics effectively within their classroom practice. They provide learners with positive and helpful feedback on written work, but they do not always use assessment effectively to develop basic skills in English and mathematics.  Teachers provide learners helpful oral encouragement and feedback, although they do not always identify precisely enough how learners could improve and they give praise too readily. The quality of written feedback is generally satisfactory, though it is not always sufficiently detailed.  Initial assessment is thorough and takes account of multi-agency assessments of learners’ needs, as well as the views of parents and carers. College staff manage learners’ transition from school very well. The college’s participation in the local school links programme means that college staff already know many of

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Provision for learners with high needs requires improvement

the learners, which considerably eases the transition process.  Although the initial stages of assessment are thorough, teachers do not always use the findings well for planning lessons, and do not take enough account of the needs of individual learners. As a result, learners have insufficient time to complete tasks, and the more-able learners receive insufficient challenge.  Teachers and learning support staff have a good understanding of the support requirements of learners with very high needs. Learning support staff work well with teachers and ask for their advice when unsure of what is required of them during lessons. However in other curriculum areas, the support staff are insufficiently involved in planning, and as a consequence are less effective in meeting individual needs.  In the most effective lessons, teachers prepare imaginative activities that engage all learners. They enable them to develop their fine-motor skills through the use of switch technology so that they become

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Provision for learners with high needs requires improvement

more confident in classroom sessions and can participate in group discussions. In effective practical sessions, such as cookery, learners develop good independent living skills. They learn how to prepare simple and nutritious meals, while observing basic hygiene and safety practices.  Learners engage productively with the local community. They have the opportunity to develop their employability skills in a range of settings, for example, learners who are planning to progress to supported employment work in a local charity, helping to make jams and chutneys for sale in a supermarket.  The accommodation for learners with high needs is good. It is purpose-built, with sensory rooms and high-quality equipment, including augmentative technologies. The specialist medical and therapeutic support for learners with very high needs is highly effective in enabling them to participate in learning and to make the progress expected of them.

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Provision for learners with high needs requires improvement

 Learners say and inspectors agree that the college provides them with a safe environment. Learners know who to speak to if they have a problem. They work in an inclusive environment where they learn to respect each other as well as their teachers and support staff.

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Provider details

Type of provider General further education college

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full contract year

Principal/CEO Verity Hancock Website address http://leicestercollege.ac.uk/

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Intermediate Advanced Higher

16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 519 514 174 434 3 22 Number of traineeships 16-19 19+ Total 3 20 23 Number of learners aged 14–16 28

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Intermediate Advanced Higher

Funding received from Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency

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main subcontractors:

 Construct Training Ltd  Topps Tiles Plc  Global Banking School Limited  Management Focus Training Solutions Limited  N D A Foundation Limited

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Inspection team

Jai Sharda, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Julie Ashton Her Majesty’s Inspector Chris Jones Her Majesty’s Inspector Peter Nelson Her Majesty’s Inspector Victor Reid Her Majesty’s Inspector Joyce Deere Her Majesty’s Inspector Maggie Fobister Ofsted Inspector Karen Tucker Ofsted Inspector Sylvia Farrier Ofsted Inspector Anne Taylor Teresa Kiely Tracey-Mace Ackroyd Ralph Brompton Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

The above team was assisted by the vice-principal – employer engagement, commercial and international, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of students and employers; these views are reflected within the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider. guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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 reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Inspection team

Crown copyright 2016 Learner View is a website where learners can tell Ofsted what they think about their college or provider. They can also see what other learners think about them too.

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Inspection team

To find out more go to www.learnerview.ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Employer View is a new website where employers can tell Ofsted what they think about their employees’ college or provider. They can also see what other employers think about them too.

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Inspection team

To find out more go to www.employerview.ofsted.gov.uk .

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