SupaJam Education In Music and Media

Further education and skills inspection report

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SupaJam Education in Music and Media Independent specialist college

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Overall effectiveness Good Effectiveness of leadership and management Good Provision for learners with high needs 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 Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings

 Senior leaders have a well-defined, ambitious mission for the college that is supported by staff and is securely embedded in the ethos of the college.  Leaders have extensive, well-established relationships with a wide range of high-profile industry specialists. These allow students to work frequently alongside industry professionals.  The vast majority of students gain new skills, knowledge and understanding and achieve their music business qualifications.  Students make good progress on their music courses and move on to further and higher education or employment.  Students develop good technical and practical skills that prepare them well for employment or further study.  Tutors know their students well and use effective strategies to motivate them to engage with their learning.  Students’ behaviour is good. They develop good personal, social and work skills that enhance their independence.  Students benefit from good careers advice and

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Summary of key findings

guidance and from extensive opportunities to undertake learning in high-quality, real-work environments.  The board of advisers use their expertise and experience to support senior leaders effectively in the development of the college.  Students benefit from a positive and harmonious environment that is warm and welcoming and provides a safe place for them to develop and grow in confidence.  Not all tutors make the most effective use of the learning support practitioners in their classrooms.  The proportion of students who achieve a qualification in English is too low.  Attendance is low for a small number of students.

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Information about the provider

 SupaJam Education in Music and Media (SupaJam) is an independent specialist college. It provides further education for young adults not in education, employment or training who also have special educational needs and education, health and care plans. SupaJam is based in Swanley, Kent.  In 2013, SupaJam was a subcontracted educational provider and began with 11 students enrolled. In 2017 they opened as an independent specialist college with 68 students enrolled. This year they have 70 students enrolled, all aged between 16 and 25. Students study music business qualifications at levels 1 to 3, and functional skills or GCSE mathematics and/or English.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Leaders should help tutors to develop their skills in whole-class teaching so that they plan more effectively their work with learning support practitioners (LSPs) to support students and develop their independent study skills.  Tutors should provide clearer feedback on students’ written work, so that students know how to improve their spelling, punctuation and grammar.  Managers should better evaluate the impact that teaching is having on the students’ development of new skills, knowledge and understanding.  Leaders should ensure that those students with low attendance at classes attend more often.  Leaders and managers should increase the numbers of students who achieve their planned qualifications in English.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Senior leaders have a clearly defined mission for the college. They are ambitious for all students and have high expectations of what students can achieve. They provide effective education and training to some of the most vulnerable students through the bespoke delivery of a vocational curriculum centred around the music industry. Drawing on their extensive industry experience, they are highly dedicated and committed to achieving their mission to help vulnerable young people who have previously fallen out of formal education to engage, achieve and progress in an inclusive learning environment.  Leaders and managers effectively use self-assessment and other quality assurance processes to identify and capture the key areas of strength and areas for development across the provision. Leaders and managers know their provision well and are rightly focused on further developing and improving the quality of teaching, learning and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

assessment. As a result, they have put in place extensive actions to upskill and develop their mainly inexperienced teaching workforce. However, it is too early to see the full impact of all of these actions.  Staff benefit from opportunities to develop their skills and continue their professional development. Almost all teaching staff have undertaken a teaching qualification since starting employment at SupaJam and almost all LSPs are currently undertaking a teaching or teaching assistant qualification. As a result of the training they have been able to access a number of staff who commenced in the role of LSP have now progressed to roles with higher levels of responsibility. Leaders and managers provide effective professional development for staff in areas related to their role such as managing behaviour, supporting students with autistic spectrum disorder, visual or hearing impairments or learning difficulties. Staff value these activities.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders use observations of teaching and learning to evaluate relative areas of strength and weakness. They provide accurate and detailed feedback to individual tutors on their teaching and make appropriate suggestions for areas of improvement. However, in their observations, managers do not always evaluate precisely enough the progress students make in developing new skills, knowledge and understanding. This limits their understanding of the effectiveness of teaching on students’ progress.  Leaders have extensive and well-established relationships with a wide range of high- profile industry specialists. They effectively use these relationships to provide high-calibre guest speakers, workshop leaders and work experience placements for students. As a result, students frequently work alongside industry professionals and experience a wide range of roles and responsibilities in the music industry, working at live festivals and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

events.  Leaders and managers effectively use staff appraisals and performance management to tackle weaknesses, motivate staff and promote good practice. Through the appraisal process staff are encouraged to be ambitious and develop their skills to move into roles with greater responsibly. Where staff are not performing to the expected standard, they are given extensive support and training. However, if they are unwilling to make the required improvements, then leaders make decisive use of the robust performance management procedures.  Students benefit from good careers advice and guidance, which outlines the full range of local, regional and national opportunities to work in the music industry and other sectors.  Leaders and managers have established a positive and harmonious environment for all students and staff at the college. They create a warm welcome every morning for students, staff and visitors. Senior leaders greet students every morning into the college

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

and ask how they are. Students enter the college to music playing, laughter and polite conversation that sets the positive and welcoming tone for the whole day.  Staff have high expectations of students’ behaviour. This leads to respectful and tolerant interactions that exemplify British values. Through the effective and consistent management of students’ behaviour, staff have helped students to develop and sustain strategies to manage their own behaviour successfully. As a result, students are increasingly able to tackle situations and interactions that they would have previously found overwhelming.

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The governance of the provider

 Governance for the college is provided by a recently formed board of advisers. Members of the board draw on their extensive expertise from a broad range of sectors, such as welfare and safeguarding, education and curriculum, and finance and resources. They use this expertise to support the chief executive officers and senior leaders to develop and improve the provision for students.  As a newly formed board they have established themselves quickly as a great source of expert advice and guidance, but the extent to which they can yet scrutinise and challenge the work of leaders and managers is limited. They rightly recognise that, as they formalise the work they undertake and establish themselves, they will play a greater role in holding senior leaders to account.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Students feel safe at the college and on work experience placements. They know who to speak to if they have any concerns about themselves or their peers. They are confident that staff would deal swiftly and effectively with any matters raised. Students are knowledgeable about how to keep themselves safe online and have a good awareness of the risks associated with radicalisation and extremism.  The designated safeguarding leads are highly experienced and very well trained. All staff undergo appropriate training for their level of responsibility. The designated safeguarding leads have effective links with external agencies to whom they refer, if they have any concerns. Staff recruitment is carried out with integrity and ensures the suitability of staff to work with young people and vulnerable adults.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Students enjoy their learning, work well in class and make good progress. Students show good levels of perseverance and engagement in sessions. During a level 3 vocational music lesson students worked hard to prepare lessons to deliver to level 1 and level 2 students on a variety of music-related topics.  Tutors and LSPs use their music industry experience and skills well. Their use of ‘live’ examples helps students relate what they are learning to the employment they seek. Students value the experiences staff share and appreciate what they learn from them.  Students’ behaviour is good. They follow class rules and comply well with all behaviour expectations. Students are tolerant of each other and work well as a team when required to do so. They are polite and friendly towards each other. They respect each other’s differences, opinions and ideas. They work and socialise harmoniously together, often

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

providing insightful peer support. During a practical music session one student gave another some excellent feedback, which the student received positively.  Students develop good performing and technical skills. They use industry-standard resources in college classes and when on work experience. Students have highly beneficial opportunities to practise and develop music and media skills, such as photography and journalism, during projects when working backstage at television shows or at music festivals.  Students take part in, enjoy and benefit greatly from meaningful practical learning in a real-life work environment. All students work throughout the year on an innovative festival project that culminates in the summer term, when they take on music and media roles, such as performing, lighting, artist liaison or spectator safety during the three-day, large-scale music festival.  Students receive supportive and detailed oral feedback from tutors during practical

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

activities. As a result, they are able to correct their technique and make good progress in developing their technical and performance skills. For example, during rehearsals for the music festival students refined their performances. During a media class students learned to focus a camera and perform a successful pan shot, not having used a camera before.  Managers and staff effectively manage education, health and care plans for students with high needs. They communicate students’ needs in a timely and appropriate manner to teaching and support staff. Regular reviews ensure that students’ changing needs are identified and responded to appropriately.  Staff work effectively with parents and carers. They share students’ achievements and successfully work together when students are struggling and need additional support.  Feedback on students’ written work does not always provide students with sufficient

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

information to improve their work, although it does praise what students have completed well. Mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar are highlighted to students, but students do not receive sufficient information to be able to develop the required strategies for self-correction in the future.  Too few tutors have the skills to conduct whole class teaching effectively. They do not plan sufficiently well what the LSP will do in these situations to ensure that all students make progress in developing their independent learning skills.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

 Students are proud to be studying at SupaJam and speak very positively about the college. They produce work of a good standard. Students identify the progress they are making and report feeling positive about education for the first time. Many students now feel that employment in the music and media industries is achievable. Students moving on to university this year value the support they received from staff, particularly in giving them the self-confidence to help them to succeed. Other students now have the self- confidence to perform in public for the first time.  Students with complex needs are well supported to overcome their barriers to learning. They receive good support for their personal welfare, develop their resilience and improve their self-esteem as a result of the nurturing college environment. Many have suffered negative experiences in the past, but are grateful that the staff ‘never give up’ on them.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

 Students have extensive opportunities to develop their employability and personal skills. Through a range of high-quality placements and projects, students practise and refine their music and media-related skills, experiencing a range of job roles in the music industry. Students benefit from workshops provided by professional artists. These help students to develop their curriculum vitae writing and interview skills, while also developing a greater understanding of the music and media industries.  Students gain additional employment-related qualifications and skills. Through their work experience students have gained a level 2 spectator safety qualification and now have the opportunity to use this qualification for further work. Many students develop additional new skills, such as playing an instrument.  Students receive good support for their personal welfare. Students have full and effective access to staff if they have concerns or difficulties. Students are encouraged to eat

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

healthily. They are given breakfast, fruit and tinned food for consumption at the college for lunch or to take home.  Students benefit from timely access to speech and language therapy. They also have access to national health services such as the child and adolescent mental health service and physiotherapy.  Students explore personal, social and ethical topics through their social, moral, spiritual and cultural lessons. Students gain a good understanding of British values, equality and diversity and the ‘Prevent’ duty from their induction to the college. Not all teachers take opportunities in their vocational lessons to refresh the students’ understanding of the topics covered at induction.  For a minority of students their personal difficulties and previous barriers to education have led to low attendance. Staff strive to help students to understand the importance of regular attendance for employment. Students who do not attend are followed up in a

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

timely way to ensure their well-being. Attendance has improved but remains too low for a small proportion of students.

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Outcomes for learners Good

 Students make good progress on their music business courses and, as a result, they are able to move on to higher level study, or into employment or training. The vast majority of students who stay to the end of their programme achieve their qualification. Of those students who leave early, the majority leave for personal reasons or because they have gained employment.  The very large majority of level 3 students who are leaving the college this academic year have been offered a place at university to study music or related subjects, for example music journalism or music production. Almost all level 3 students who left in 2018 have remained in sustained employment, education or training with almost half in music- related fields. The very large majority of students who achieve a level 1 or level 2 qualification progress internally to the next level.  Students develop good personal, social and employability skills that enhance their

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Outcomes for learners Good

independence. They improve their communication skills and develop their confidence and, as a result, the vast majority are able to work effectively and take an active part in the community.  The proportion of students achieving functional skills qualifications or GCSE grade 4 to 9 in English is too low. The number of students achieving functional skills qualifications in mathematics has improved and is good. Students develop their ICT and mathematics skills well through their vocational studies.

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Provider details

Type of provider Independent specialist college

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Provider details

Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year CEO David Court and Nick Stillwell

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

Main course or learning programme level Level 1 or below Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 or above Total number of learners (excluding apprenticeships) 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

15 10 13 10 6 16 - - Number of apprentices by apprenticeship level and age Intermediate Advanced Higher

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ - - - - - - Number of traineeships 16–19 19+ Total - - - Number of learners aged 14 to -

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

Number of learners for which the provider receives high- needs funding At the time of inspection, the provider contracts with the following main subcontractors: -

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the director of programmes, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners, staff and employers; these views are reflected in the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider.

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Inspection team

Judy Lye-Forster, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Ben Walsh 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

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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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