Horizons College

Horizons College Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Kathryn Rudd, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent specialist college

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Address:

Horizons College Uplands Educational Trust Stratton Road Swindon Wiltshire SN1 2PN Monitoring visit: Horizon’s College, 12 June 2019

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Context and focus of visit

Horizons College was inspected by Ofsted in May 2018. At that time, inspectors judged the overall effectiveness of the provision to require improvement.

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Context and focus of visit

The focus of this monitoring visit was to evaluate the progress that leaders and managers have made in addressing the main areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.

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Context and focus of visit

Horizons College is part of the Uplands Educational Trust, a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, located in Swindon, Wiltshire. The college has two main sites, the Stratton Road and Headlands campuses. It was registered as an approved provider in 2014. The college provides specialist education and support for young people aged between 16 and 25 who have a wide range of learning difficulties and/or disabilities, ranging from those who have a high level of need and those for whom employment is a possible outcome.

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progress

Managers’ actions are rapidly improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Systems for monitoring teaching, learning and assessment are effective and closely aligned to the actions identified in the improvement action plan. Managers now accurately observe and evaluate teaching and support. They check the quality of teachers’ planning of learning carefully and the targets they set for each learner. Teachers and support staff receive constructive feedback on the quality of their work. As a result, teachers are now better able to make the progress of which they are capable.

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progress

Managers use robust quality assurance systems to monitor the work of all staff. They hold staff to account for achieving their improvement targets and improving the quality of their teaching and support. Managers now know what provision has improved, and what requires further improvement so that learners receive increasingly strong teaching and assessment practice.

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progress

All learners now participate in an assessment of their skills and knowledge when they enrol at college. This assessment clearly identifies learners’ strengths and areas to improve in English, mathematics, social skills and behaviours. Learners’ targets link well to the longer-term goals identified in their education, health and care plans. Managers frequently check the progress that learners are making towards their targets, which ensures they are on track to achieve their goals. Where learners are not achieving at the expected pace, managers identify and implement appropriate remedial interventions. For Monitoring visit: Horizon’s College, 12 June 2019 example, two learners were identified as working below their expected level in mathematics. Managers worked closely with the staff to establish individual action plans to develop the skills required. Because of the impact of monitoring on improving the

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progress

quality of teaching, most learners now make the expected or better progress.

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Reasonable

Since the previous inspection, leaders have recruited many new staff to the college. As a result of this recruitment, the number of staff with specialist qualifications and expertise has increased. This includes a specialist teacher who is using their expert subject knowledge alongside the team to develop the curriculum for learners with the most complex needs.

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Reasonable

Leaders now provide staff with a wide range of development activities to ensure they are well prepared for the new approaches to teaching, learning and assessment being introduced. These include developing improved teaching methods and more effective support for young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For example, staff benefit from working with the specialist adviser to improve the use of technology in sessions. The programme of regular staff development enables teachers to use new teaching, learning and assessment strategies. These better meet learners’ needs and enable them to develop new skills.

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Reasonable

Managers ensure that learners now benefit from impartial advice, guidance and helpful information from college staff and independent external careers advisers. As a result, learners know more about the opportunities available to them when they leave college. Many have raised aspirations, which include gaining employment. Learners also attend events such as ‘Employers Week’, where they meet a range of local employers and learn about new careers in retail and catering. Learners often use this new knowledge to inform their choice of work placement.

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Reasonable

Since the previous inspection, managers have recruited a team of five therapists through a local partnership with the local health trust. This ensures they gain from closer or more specialist clinical supervision and professional governance. The therapists are currently working in staff teams and assessing and supporting learners. They are already starting to develop positive new practice and strategies. However, as the full therapy team have only been in place for a month, it is too early to measure the full impact of their work on the quality of service received by learners.

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progress

Staff now use a variety of assessment methods to accurately identify learners’ knowledge of English and mathematics on entry to the college. They use this information effectively Monitoring visit: Horizon’s College, 12 June 2019 in order to set learners relevant targets to help them to achieve their goals. Managers use a clear set of criteria to identify learners who should work towards and be entered for qualifications in English and mathematics.

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progress

When developing the curriculum, managers prioritise the development of learners’ English and mathematics skills. A specialist teacher now leads the development of English and mathematics across all lessons at the college.

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progress

Managers and staff have raised their aspirations for learners. For example, managers hold regular meetings with teachers to check whether the learner’s qualification level is appropriate and that their individual programme supports the development of relevant skills.

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Staff set learners clear targets to improve their English and mathematics skills and learners apply these well in lessons and community settings. For example, learners improve their verbal and written skills when ordering coffee in a café, writing their curriculum vitae or sending emails to the local MP, requesting a meeting to discuss local concerns. Teachers routinely correct learners’ spelling and grammar in the written work they produce.

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progress

Managers and staff check learners’ English and mathematics progress regularly and take appropriate action if required. For example, managers recognise that learners who have more complex needs would gain from further work on developing their spoken language. As a result, the speech and language therapist is now working with staff to develop alternative approaches for learners to practise these skills. Monitoring visit: Horizon’s College, 12 June 2019 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 provider. They can also see what other learners think about them too. To find out more go to

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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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