Redcar & Cleveland College

Redcar and Cleveland College Re-inspection monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Malcolm Fraser HMI

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Type of provider: General further education college

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Address:

Corporation Road Redcar North Yorkshire TS10 1EZ Monitoring visit: Redcar and Cleveland College, 10 – 11 January 2018

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Context and focus of visit

This is the first re-inspection monitoring visit to Redcar and Cleveland College following publication of the inspection report on 16 November 2017 which found the provider to be inadequate overall. The effectiveness of leadership and management and outcomes for learners were also judged inadequate. The quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and personal development, behaviour and welfare were judged as requires improvement. The inspection graded three provision types: 16 to 19 study programmes; adult learning programmes and apprenticeships. All three were judged as requires improvement.

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identified at the inspection?

Following the inspection in October 2017, governors and leaders recognised as imperative the need to take urgent action to improve the culture within the college and the morale of staff. They maintain a clear commitment to improving these through their plans for improving the quality of provision delivered by the college and establishing the long-term sustainability of further education provision in Redcar.

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identified at the inspection?

Leaders and managers have taken effective early action to address weaknesses identified at the inspection. These include actions to improve reporting to governors, improve attendance and retention, and raise learners’ awareness about the risks of radicalisation and extremism and their understanding of British values. As these actions were only implemented recently, in many cases it is too early to see any significant impact.

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identified at the inspection?

Leaders and managers acted quickly following the inspection to put in place a detailed, relevant and helpful post-inspection improvement plan (PIIP). The plan details actions to tackle the weaknesses identified and enables leaders and managers to record progress. Most sections of the PIIP include clear and specific success indicators such as percentage improvements in achievement. However, in a few instances, success indicators are too general. This means that managers are not yet able to evaluate the impact of all of their actions. Leaders and managers regularly review and record whether actions have been implemented by agreed dates using a risk-rating; however their reviews focus mainly on whether actions have been completed rather than on whether they have had the intended impact. The section of the PIIP covering teaching, learning and assessment does not identify all improvements that need to be made, such as improving tutors’ skills to challenge

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identified at the inspection?

Governors and leaders have taken swift action to tackle strategic weaknesses relating to the financial position of the college, how well it meets local needs, and the processes that are in place to improve the quality of provision and outcomes for Monitoring visit: Redcar and Cleveland College, 10 – 11 January 2018 learners. They have benefited significantly from the support provided through a service-level agreement with another further education college in the region to provide leadership and senior management support. These actions have resulted in early and rapid improvements in the leadership and management of the college.

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identified at the inspection?

Leaders and managers identified that they needed to make immediate improvements to quality improvement and performance management arrangements. They have improved arrangements for evaluating the quality of teaching, learning and assessment through more focused lesson observations and the introduction of learning walks. However the quality of teaching and learning has not yet improved in all curriculum areas. Reviews of course performance have been enhanced and are beginning to enable managers to intervene more swiftly where learners’ progress is too slow, or retention and attendance are not high enough. Further work is needed, however, to ensure that courses are reviewed against a broad enough range of specific success criteria.

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identified at the inspection?

Leaders have made improvements to the process for staff appraisal and performance management. This now focuses well on monitoring how well learners attend and the progress of learners on the courses that each member of staff teaches. However, the performance management of tutors still does not draw sufficiently on the outcomes of lesson observations to identify performance objectives and the specific training required to tackle weaknesses in their teaching. In addition, staff appraisals do not identify how staff can develop their career aspirations and contribute fully to the college’s future plans.

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Priorities for improvement

 Review the actions in the post-inspection improvement plan and ensure that they all have clearly defined targets and success indicators so that leaders and governors can accurately evaluate the impact of actions.  Ensure that the recently introduced course review process uses a sufficiently broad range of specific success criteria so that swift action can be taken to bring about improvements to underperforming courses.  Ensure that appraisals of tutors’ performance make clear reference to the outcomes of lesson observations so that specific improvement targets can be set and any necessary training and development required to support these targets can be identified and provided.

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account for the college’s performance?

The governing body has been radically transformed since the inspection. The leader of the local council has been appointed as the new chair of governors. Governors have established a new leaner structure which minimises committees. The full board now meets every two weeks ensuring that all governors are well informed about the progress the college is making in implementing necessary improvements. The Monitoring visit: Redcar and Cleveland College, 10 – 11 January 2018 principal of the college which is providing support to Redcar and Cleveland College attends all board meetings. The new chair of governors has been very proactive in meeting with individual governors and providing clear guidance on the expectations of the role and clarifying lines of accountability.

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account for the college’s performance?

The information that the board receives from leaders and managers has improved significantly since the inspection. Clear reports supported by data about finances and college performance provide governors with relevant information to challenge leaders and managers about the progress the college is making. However, governors and leaders recognise that further improvements need to be made to reports; in particular, to include greater analysis of the information provided and make clear recommendations for governors to consider. As well as reports on performance, governors focus in depth on one key issue at each meeting. For example, at the next meeting, their focus will be on attendance. Minutes of recent board meetings demonstrate that governors are now challenging leaders and managers much more effectively using the enhanced information that they now receive.

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Priorities for improvement

 Leaders must provide more detailed analysis and recommendations for consideration in the reports they provide for governors to inform better their debates and the decisions they take.  Governors should keep their new board structures and arrangements under review to ensure that they continue to be effective in moving the college forward quickly enough.

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be sustained and developed further?

Governors and leaders have acted very quickly and decisively to ensure that provision within Redcar and the areas the college serves can be sustained. Plans are in place for the college to merge in the summer of 2018 with another local further education college. The college’s service-level agreement with this college and the detailed work of the merger planning group are enabling leaders to make good progress towards ensuring that the merger will be completed by the planned date. Leaders have identified clear strategic priorities to sustain and further enhance provision in the local area following the merger. Leaders and governors have secured exceptional financial support to make the necessary structural changes and to enable the college to continue to operate until the merger date. This has also enabled them to make key appointments to enhance staffing capacity.

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be sustained and developed further?

Since the inspection, leaders and managers have focused well on reviewing the curriculum so that it meets local needs more effectively. Planning for the 2018/19 curriculum has begun and plans include a strong focus on provision of lower-level programmes to engage with harder-to-reach learners and those at risk of not being engaged in education, employment or training. The college has also increased its provision for learners with high needs. Leaders and managers are developing the Monitoring visit: Redcar and Cleveland College, 10 – 11 January 2018 college’s apprenticeship programme well to meet the needs of local employers. This includes the planned introduction of higher-level apprenticeships in subjects such as management. Since the inspection, leaders and managers have developed good links with a range of local stakeholders including the local and combined authorities to plan to meet local long-term regional needs relating to regeneration plans for the

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be sustained and developed further?

To meet the strategic need to increase the numbers of learners who enrol on programmes with the college, leaders and managers have revised the college’s marketing and recruitment strategy. Liaison with schools has been much improved. Marketing, previously a service the college contracted out, is in the process of being brought in-house.

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Priority for improvement

 Governors and leaders must monitor closely the impact of recent strategic and structural changes that have been made to the college to ensure that they remain effective in taking the college forward and sustaining the provision for Redcar and the surrounding area.

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radicalisation and know how to protect themselves from these risks?

Following the inspection, leaders and managers took swift action to ensure that all governors, staff and learners received training, including an online course, to raise their awareness about the risks of radicalisation and extremism. The large majority of learners and apprentices now have at least a sufficient, and often a good, awareness of different forms of extremism, how to protect themselves from the risks of radicalisation and how to recognise the warning signs in others. In addition, learners can articulate the particular risks of extremism and potential radicalisation in relation to Redcar and the local contexts in which they live and work.

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Priority for improvement

 Continue to provide training and support for staff so that they increase their confidence to discuss issues relating to radicalisation and extremism with learners and to maintain a high profile about these risks in learning and wider college activities.

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well and make good progress towards achieving their qualifications?

Within the PIIP, leaders and managers have stated a clear commitment to improve the quality of provision experienced by learners and the outcomes that they achieve. The PIIP identifies a range of actions to resolve the college-wide strategic Monitoring visit: Redcar and Cleveland College, 10 – 11 January 2018 weaknesses which led to the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and outcomes for learners requiring improvement. Although there are early indications that the quality of provision is improving in some subject areas, it is too early to see a clear impact across all subject areas.

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well and make good progress towards achieving their qualifications?

Learners in a few subject areas, for example health and social care, have been involved in evaluating the teaching and learning activities they experience and the progress they are making. Tutors have used this feedback alongside their own evaluations to make improvements to the delivery of the curriculum. As a result, an improved proportion of learners now make good progress. However, this good practice has not been replicated across all subjects. Teaching, learning and assessment in subjects such as construction and hairdressing and beauty therapy do not enable enough learners to make good progress towards achieving challenging learning targets. Tutors, particularly in construction subjects, do not sufficiently reinforce good learning attitudes and work-related behaviours. Consequently, too many learners arrive late to lessons, are not prepared or equipped to commence learning at the start of the lesson and, in a few cases, continue to demonstrate poor

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well and make good progress towards achieving their qualifications?

attitudes and behaviours that not all staff challenge sufficiently.

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well and make good progress towards achieving their qualifications?

Leaders and managers are taking firm action to ensure that all staff apply and use consistently the revised attendance policy which was introduced in September 2017, a month before the inspection. By staff focusing appropriately on rewards for good attendance and applying an escalating scale of sanctions for poor attendance, early indications are that attendance rates are showing encouraging signs of improvement. However, attendance is still not consistently good across all subjects. Overall, attendance remains below the college target for learners’ main programmes and is lower still in English and mathematics.

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Priorities for improvement

 Leaders and managers must take decisive action to ensure that tutors plan and provide teaching and learning activities so that learners in all subject areas make good progress towards achieving challenging learning targets.  Ensure that teachers in all subjects consistently reinforce high expectations of learners so that they attend well, are punctual and develop good learning and work-related attitudes and behaviours.

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progress in developing their English and mathematics skills?

College leaders have developed and publicised well to staff a clear strategic priority to improve the quality of provision and learners’ outcomes in English and mathematics. The responsibility for leading the English and mathematics provision has been transferred to a senior leader of the college. Along with other leaders and managers she has successfully ensured that the improvement strategy for these subjects aligns with other strategies to support improvements to the college, such as the new attendance policy and staff appraisal and performance management. Monitoring visit: Redcar and Cleveland College, 10 – 11 January 2018 The leader of English and mathematics provision has an accurate and appropriately circumspect view about the quality of provision. She has implemented a range of actions aimed specifically at improving the performance of individual members of staff and subject teams. While recent results in mathematics functional skills exams

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progress in developing their English and mathematics skills?

show marked improvements on the previous year, with a greater number of learners sitting exams, she rightly recognises that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in English enables learners to make better progress in this subject than they do in mathematics.

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progress in developing their English and mathematics skills?

The proportion of vocational subject teaching staff who positively reinforce the importance to learners of attending and achieving in English and mathematics is increasing. Consequently, although learners often remain less enthusiastic about these elements of their study programmes and apprenticeships, the majority have a good understanding about why they are important to their future learning and career aspirations. However, a minority of vocational tutors need to do more to ensure that learners on their courses recognise these subjects as integral and valuable parts of their learning programmes.

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Priorities for improvement

 Ensure that all college staff promote a consistent message to learners about the importance of English and mathematics so that learners’ attitudes to, and their attendance at, English and mathematics continue to improve.  Ensure that leaders and managers of English and mathematics provision continue to implement the improvement plan actions they have identified and keep these under continual review so that the provision in these subjects, and in particular mathematics, continues to improve. Monitoring visit: Redcar and Cleveland College, 10 – 11 January 2018 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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Priorities for improvement

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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Priorities for improvement

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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Priorities for improvement

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Priorities for improvement

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Priorities for improvement

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Priorities for improvement

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