Reigate College

Name of lead inspector: Richard Beynon, Her Majesty’s Inspector

p.1

Address: Castlefield Rd, Reigate RH2 0SD Monitoring visit: Reigate College, 15 September 2017

p.1

Context and focus of visit

Reigate College is a sixth form college located on the edge of Reigate in south east Surrey. The area around the town is one of relative affluence and low unemployment. However, there are pockets of deprivation within the college’s wide catchment area. Around 96% of students are on level 3 courses, the rest are on level 2 courses. Almost all students study full time and are between 16 and 19 years of age. In 2015/16 the College had four partner schools and around one third of students came from these schools. The GCSE average score of students on entry to advanced courses is generally below the average for sixth form colleges nationally. Two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors carried out the visit on one day. They focused on the ways that college leaders had responded to ‘Prevent’ duty legislation, and on the ways that leaders and managers promoted British values.

p.2

Significant progress

Senior staff and the safeguarding leads and team have worked successfully to meet their legislative responsibilities. Safeguarding leads have good levels of communication with partner bodies, for example local authority safeguarding leads and police specialist advisers. Leaders and those responsible for safeguarding make sure that materials used for staff and governor training and for tutorials are up to date and reflect current events. The college has a strongly inclusive atmosphere and ethos and provides a safe and welcoming community for all students. Even first year students, who have been at the college for a very short time, spoke of new friendships and the broadening of their horizons since arriving. A new policy that requires all staff and students to wear identity badges is popular, well observed and well monitored. Staff and governors receive good levels of training about ‘Prevent’, and about

p.2

Significant progress

associated topics such as the promotion of British values. Staff also receive good levels of training about ways to protect students from the dangers of sexting, female genital mutilation and forced marriage. As a result, most staff and governors understand these topics well and are able to advise students clearly. However, a small number of staff are unclear about the ways they can apply the training received. Although staff training is well planned, leaders carry out insufficient checking of understanding and assessment of the impact of training. Monitoring visit: Reigate College, 15 September 2017

p.2

Reasonable progress

All students have induction and tutorial sessions dealing with British values and with the dangers they may face from online radicalisation. Posters and visual displays around the college also help to keep these matters in their minds. In their tutorials, first year students take part in a very successful series of tutorial events based around community responsibility. These encourage students to think of their place in the college, local and national community. However, second year students are not always able to recall the content of training they received in year one. Although tutorials do focus on an appropriate range of topics, the tutorial programme does not involve any assessment of impact and understanding of these topics. Students are not encouraged, and not always able, to articulate the ways that training might affect their day-to-day behaviours.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Students benefit from a good range of training activities, especially during their first year at the college. But second year students’ grasp of the topics they learned about during their first year is not always good. Second year students are unable to recollect key messages from training. Where they can, these are often related to generic examples rather than local or college-based scenarios that might affect their day-to-day lives. No assessment has been made of the impact of training, or of understanding. Students have not yet been involved in the planning and roll-out of college-wide activities about the ‘Prevent’ duty, or to promote British values and associated topics. Staff do not encourage them to contribute to preparation of tutorial training materials or comment on the effectiveness of those that are used. Members of the students’ union and student governors have limited involvement in planning training

p.3

Reasonable progress

and promotional initiatives or in assessing the effectiveness of these.

p.3

Reasonable progress

The ‘Prevent’ risk assessment is detailed in terms of processes and resourcing. The assessment deals thoroughly with leadership responsibilities, incident management partnership working, staff training and resourcing for welfare and pastoral activity, Monitoring visit: Reigate College, 15 September 2017 with online safety mechanisms and with site security and the management of personnel, including volunteers. However, the document says little about students’ understanding or behaviours, or about the ways that these feature as risks, or in the assessment of risk. Although the assessment does identify the individuals responsible for actions, many target dates are imprecise. Also, the assessment does not identify clearly the success measures towards which named staff should work.

p.3

Significant progress

Leaders and managers have worked very successfully to make sure that all visiting speakers are subject to careful vetting, and that students are safe from the dangers of radicalisation and extremism. The arrangements for checking the suitability of visiting speakers are very thorough. These involve, for example, reviews of any press and publicity materials associated with the speaker or their organisation, and a check on websites and other online indicators of a speaker’s views. Staff also carry out careful checks on the limited numbers of individuals and organisations that hire rooms at the college. Monitoring visit: Reigate College, 15 September 2017 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 .

p.4

Significant progress

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

p.5

Significant progress

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 .

p.5

Significant progress

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 children looked after, 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,

p.5

Significant progress

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

p.5

Significant progress

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

p.5

Significant progress

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

p.5