Trinity Specialist College

Trinity Specialist College Re-inspection monitoring visit report

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Type of provider: Independent specialist college

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Address:

Lindridge Farm, Lindridge Road, Sutton Coldfield B75 7JB Monitoring visit: Trinity Specialist College, 4–5 October 2016

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Context and focus of visit

This is the second re-inspection monitoring visit to Trinity Specialist College following publication of the inspection report on 18 April 2016, which found the provider to be inadequate overall.

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Context and focus of visit

This monitoring visit focused on themes and priorities for improvement identified at the first monitoring visit on 25–26 May 2016.

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Reasonable progress

The recording and monitoring of all safeguarding concerns and incidents are now thorough and accurate. All staff are clear about their responsibilities and know what to do if a safeguarding incident arises. The sequence of events relating to each case is appropriately detailed and relevant background information is included. College leaders are aware that greater use needs to be made of the learning points section to identify any changes in college practice that would improve the management of similar cases or detect trends in the type of incidents occurring. The investment in online safeguarding software that monitors computer usage and records all safeguarding incidents contributes to improvements in the recording and reporting of safeguarding activity. The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) now receives an email as soon as soon as a member of staff records an incident on the system and is able to make a judgement about the action required. A second DSL is now in place and

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Reasonable progress

appropriately trained. The college safeguarding lead is quick to inform the relevant agencies where concerns about individual learners arise as a result of changes in circumstances or where pre-enrolment information given to the college was inaccurate. However, despite college leaders’ best efforts, the local authority remains slow in responding to requests to review placement support; in the short term, college leaders allocated additional resources from other funds to ensure that learners have the appropriate level of support. College leaders are making good progress in ensuring that the responsibilities defined under the ‘Prevent’ duty are met. A senior leader actively engages with local partners, including the regional ‘Prevent’ coordinator. A register of learners considered to be at risk of radicalisation or extremism is in place and regularly reviewed. All staff are now required to complete relevant training; plans are in place

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Reasonable progress

to ensure that leaders and managers keep staff informed about changes in the approach to implementing the ‘Prevent’ duty. Where the risk assessment process Monitoring visit: Trinity Specialist College, 4–5 October 2016 identifies concerns about individual learners, responses are proportionate and appropriate. College leaders intend to include an understanding of mental capacity at future staff training days to help teachers and learning support staff to recognise how safeguarding and the ‘Prevent’ duty arrangements affect different individuals.

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Reasonable progress

Currently, Trinity staff use a range of commercial functional skills assessment tools that broadly identify learners’ level, their general abilities and gaps in learning. Leaders and teachers recognise that the existing assessment arrangements are not sufficiently linked to the medium- and long-term goals of each individual learner and do not clearly identify the specific knowledge skills or understanding necessary for learners to be successful. For the most-able learners, managers are at the early stages of devising personalised assessments that will identify the elements of particular work experience placement that a learner is able to do and what learning strategies are required to enable learners to achieve their work-related goals.

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Reasonable progress

Where learners have complex or significant learning difficulties, further work is required to adapt assessments so that the emphasis is on increasing independence, enabling individuals to make informed choices and, where appropriate, making a positive contribution to their local community.

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Reasonable progress

At the previous monitoring visit, a priority for improvement was to work with schools and the local authority to improve the poor quality of information received about learners. The pre-enrolment reports received from a minority of schools and information from some parents remain inaccurate, resulting in Trinity staff revising assessments to identify the actual starting point of individuals. College leaders continue to investigate ways in which this sharing of information can be more accurate and relevant to the aims and aspirations of learners.

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Reasonable progress

Since the previous monitoring visit, all staff now contribute to developing an environment that promotes the skills necessary for adult life. The interactions and communication between college staff and learners are generally appropriate. Learners respond well to this approach. Teachers and learning support assistants are beginning to integrate work experience and work-related activities into the curriculum, although further development is required to make this fully effective. The work experience diary sets specific targets for learners as well as recording the tasks. However, the reviewing of targets to identify the level of achievements by learners is not sufficiently clear. The range of work experiences offered and the partnership working with key employers are good and for the most-able learners lead to them developing good and, in some cases, Monitoring visit: Trinity Specialist College, 4–5 October 2016

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Reasonable progress

industry-standard skills. In a minority of cases, learning support assistants are not used effectively. For example, as learners become more confident in the workplace, the need for intensive support decreases; where this occurs, learning support staff are not taking advantage of this change in their role to develop resources or undertake other activities while providing necessary on-site support. College leaders continue to review and refine how subjects are taught and how teachers and learning support staff can adapt learning techniques and strategies so that each learner has the personalised experience they require to reach their potential. Further work is required to ensure that learning goals are sufficiently clear and linked to the aims and aspirations of each learner. Managers are aware that too many sessions focus on achieving competences relating to a qualification rather than the skills necessary for adult life.

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Reasonable progress

The involvement of specialist therapeutic staff is at an early stage of implementation but is already having an impact on learners. For example, music therapy is reducing levels of anxiety and improving the well-being of learners who are taking part in these sessions.

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Reasonable progress

Since the previous visit, leaders and managers have responded well to the judgements and priorities for improvement and started to overcome the weaknesses identified in the inspection report. Managers visited outstanding providers to identify effective practice that could be incorporated into Trinity Specialist College’s curriculum. As a result of the visits, college leaders purchased a new management information system, bringing together the distinct assessment, administration and monitoring of progress functions currently being used.

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Reasonable progress

College leaders recently appointed three qualified teachers with specialist skills and expertise in the area of functional skills and profound and complex learning difficulties. These teachers have already made improvements in the personalising of learning targets and to how learning support staff are deployed in sessions. Senior leaders recognise that further improvements in managing learning support staff are required. The plans to improve the accommodation for learners with the most complex and challenging learning difficulties are appropriate and well considered.

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Reasonable progress

The college director established a board of trustees to advise senior leaders, monitor of the quality of college provision and have oversight of all college policies and procedures. The membership of the board includes a parent and a human resources specialist, an expert in governance and a local authority educational psychologist. The board members are very clear about their role, the priorities for action, the support and guidance they can offer and how they will hold leaders and managers to account. It is too early to evaluate the effectiveness of the board at this early stage of if its development. Monitoring visit: Trinity Specialist College, 4–5 October 2016 College leaders produced a draft self-evaluation report for the monitoring visit. The current draft provides a comprehensive narrative of the actions taken by college leaders and their staff but lacks sufficient evaluative detail about the achievements,

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Reasonable progress

progressions and other outcomes of all learners. Leaders agree that some of the strengths identified meet the minimum standards expected for provision for learners with high needs and are in the process of setting more demanding performance targets for the college. Too much of the evaluation describes the actions taken and not how teaching and learning improve the life chances of learners and enable them to achieve their medium- and long-term goals. Monitoring visit: Trinity Specialist College, 4–5 October 2016 the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . Learner View Learner View is a website where learners can tell Ofsted what they think about their college or

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provider. They can also see what other learners think about them too. To find out more go to www.learnerview.ofsted.gov.uk .

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Employer View Employer View is a 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. To find out more go to www.employerview.ofsted.gov.uk .

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regulates and 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 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

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

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

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