Croydon Metropolitan College

Croydon Metropolitan College 30-32 South End, Croydon, Surrey CR0 1DN

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders’ vision to provide the best-quality education possible is shared by staff and inspires students, regardless of their starting points, to make strong progress.  Leaders have ensured that all the independent school standards are met. The proprietor offers effective support and challenge to the vice- principal in respect of the quality of education provided.  Students make good progress because they are well taught; their progress is monitored closely.  Teaching often uses questioning well so that students provide detailed and thoughtful responses that help them improve their work. However, this is not consistently the case.  Positive relationships between staff and pupils are the backbone of this college. Mutual respect and care resonate throughout the college.  Students are thoughtful and mature young adults who conduct themselves well, both in lessons and around the college.  Students are well prepared for the next stage of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

their education. As a result, they are successful in securing the university places of their choice to continue their education.  The college promotes students’ spiritual, moral social and cultural development well. Teachers encourage students to discuss and reflect on issues of interest.  The college offers a breadth of academic subjects. Each student follows a curriculum to meet their specific needs. The range of extra- curricular activities is more limited.  Attendance is in line with the national average. Nonetheless, not all students are punctual to college and a small number do not attend college regularly.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

Compliance with regulatory requirements  The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.  

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the consistency in the quality of teaching and learning, particularly questioning skills, by ensuring that teachers have access to high-quality external training.  Increase the extra-curricular activities available to students to further develop their personal, social and employability skills.  Improve rates of punctuality to college and reduce the absence of those students who do not attend regularly.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The vice-principal and proprietor are ambitious for the college and have ensured that all the independent school standards are met. They have established an ethos of respect, positive relationships and aspiration to achieve.  Leaders have a good understanding of the college’s strengths and weaknesses. They use a wide range of information to maintain current successes and create clear plans for improvement.  Since the previous inspection, more rigour has been introduced to the monitoring and assessment of students’ progress. As a result, current assessment information is more accurate and based on secure evidence. Leaders and teachers use this information well to identify any underperformance and take effective action as a result.  The vice-principal regularly monitors teachers’ performance. Staff value the feedback for improvement they receive and opportunities to learn from the best practice in the college.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

However, staff do not have access to external training to improve their teaching. As a result, opportunities to develop the quality of teaching further are limited.  Leaders provide a curriculum that is broad, balanced and flexible enough to meet the individual needs of the students who attend the college. The curriculum also supports students’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Leaders recognise that students would benefit from a greater breadth of extra-curricular activities.  Students are well prepared for life in modern Britain through the promotion of fundamental British values. Through their experiences in the college and the example set by adults, students develop positive values, attitudes and respect for people. They also understand democracy and the rule of law.  Arrangements to support students from the time they join to the time they leave the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

college are strong. Because of the guidance they receive, students are able, to make informed choices about what they are going to do next.

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Governance

 The proprietor is ambitious for the college, has a clear understanding of the college’s priorities and is committed to its continuing success.  Sufficient support and challenge is offered to the vice-principal to ensure that students receive an effective quality of education.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The college has an up-to-date safeguarding policy on its website, which meets requirements.  Leaders have created a culture where all adults understand their responsibility and play their part to keep students safe. Recruitment and vetting checks are strong and statutory requirements are met.  Regular training ensures that all staff are aware of what action to take if they have a concern about a student’s safety and well-being. Combined with the school’s thorough procedures, this means concerns are picked up quickly.  Students feel safe. They know who to go to should they want to report a concern or for reassurance and guidance. They have a clear understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when online.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teaching is consistently good. Teachers’ strong subject knowledge, high expectations and careful planning extend and deepen students’ learning.  Students, including those with high starting points, are given challenging work in lessons and make good progress because of this.  Students receive consistently high-quality feedback about their work. Teachers take time to assess students’ work carefully and draw out any misconceptions or points for students to consider. As a result, students commit to improving their work and make better progress.  Teachers and leaders monitor the progress of students carefully and put in place well- structured interventions if a student starts to fall behind. Students value the support they receive from their teachers.  Relationships between staff and students are productive and supportive. Students speak highly of their teachers and state that they benefit from teachers knowing their strengths

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

and what they need to do to succeed.  Students are set regular and challenging homework. This helps reinforce their learning and contributes to their good progress.  Effective questioning is used to check students’ understanding and encourage them to explore ideas further. For example, in biology and religious studies, teachers used penetrating questions to probe students’ understanding and encourage them to think deeply about the topic in question. Where questioning is less probing, students make less progress because they do not explore or develop ideas.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote students’ personal development and welfare is good.  The college is an inclusive environment where every student is valued and their views are recognised. Students are proud to be a part of this college. They work well together and show real respect, understanding and concern for each other.  Students report that bullying is very rare and that, should it occur, they are confident that it would be dealt with swiftly. Scrutiny of the college’s behaviour logs confirms students’ opinions.  Through an effective programme for personal, social, health and economic education, students are well prepared for life in modern Britain. This includes, for example, regular debating of social and political issues; learning how to keep themselves healthy and safe; and developing an understanding of those who are different to themselves. Students demonstrate an empathy for others and willingly raise funds for charities such as the

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Personal development and welfare

British Heart Foundation.  Students understand how to be successful learners and what they need to do to take the next steps in their lives. Students show pride in their work, demonstrated through the presentation of their work and the willingness to improve further in light of teachers’ advice.  Since the previous inspection, students have been given more opportunities to develop leadership skills. For example, a student council now works with college leaders to improve the overall provision. Students value the compulsory yoga classes and understand how they contribute to their mental and physical well-being. The student council and leaders are working together to increase the opportunities for physical education.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is good.  Students demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning and lessons are free from interruption. As a result, students make good progress.  The college is an orderly environment and students’ conduct around the college is mature and responsible.  Leaders monitor and tackle the first signs of absence. As a result, overall attendance is broadly in line with the national average. Nevertheless, some students are not routinely punctual to college and a very small number are persistently absent.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Students’ completing both A-level and GCSE qualifications make good progress from their starting points. Students who join the college have often not achieved their potential in their previous school. As a result, starting points for many students are below average. On both GCSE and A-level courses, the majority of students’ good progress results in improvements in grades.  Students who need to improve their English and mathematics GCSE grade are supported very well and make progress above that seen nationally. In 2018, students resitting their GCSE English qualification improved by at least one grade. Those students resitting mathematics GCSE all improved by at least two grades.  Leaders have an accurate understanding of how well students are achieving. Inspection evidence confirmed that current students are making strong progress over time.  Scrutiny of students’ work showed that students of all abilities are set challenging work.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

As a result, the majority of students make good progress. The most able students make strong progress, because of the effective support and challenge they receive from teachers. However, in some lessons, ineffective questioning limits the progress of students of all abilities.  The college provides highly effective careers advice and guidance. Students are successfully supported to gain places in university, with many securing their first choice institution. Students also benefit from taking up work experience placements relevant to their career aspirations.

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Sixth form provision Good

 At the time of the inspection, all students were in the sixth-form provision. Therefore, all aspects of the sixth-form provision are covered in the body of the report.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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School details

Of which, number on roll in sixth form 20

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School details

Email address viceprincipal@croydonmet.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 11–13 November 2015

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Information about this school

 Croydon Metropolitan College is an independent co-educational college located in Croydon.  At the time of the inspection, there were no pupils on site in Years 9 to 11. In previous years, there were too few pupils in Years 9 to 11 to be reported on.  The proprietor is also the principal of the college. However, the day-to-day management of the college is undertaken by the vice-principal. The college does not have the equivalent of a governing body.  The college was last inspected in November 2015.  The college does not use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning across a range of academic subjects. The majority of visits to classes were made jointly with the vice-principal.  Inspectors reviewed students’ work in books and folders to see how well they are learning.  Meetings were held with the vice-principal, the proprietor and a group of staff.  Inspectors collected the views of students through formal and informal meetings.  Inspectors reviewed the surveys completed for this inspection by six members of staff and the three responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey.  A range of documentation was scrutinised, including leaders’ evaluation of the college’s performance, policies, safeguarding records, and records of students’ progress and attainment.

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Inspection team

Carolyn Dickinson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

David Davies Ofsted Inspector 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 .

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Inspection team

Parent View You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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