Cambian Lufton College

Further education and skills inspection report

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Cambian Lufton College Independent Specialist College

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate Provision for learners with high needs Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings

 The arrangements for safeguarding are ineffective. Senior leaders do not promote a strong culture of safeguarding to ensure that all students are safe.  Senior leaders’ actions to maintain or improve the quality of education have been ineffective.  Senior leaders have not ensured that the curriculum meets the needs and interests of the current students. Students are not studying courses at the correct level.  Students do not benefit from comprehensive and helpful transition plans to enable them to make appropriate and timely arrangements for their futures.  Students do not develop their employability skills through purposeful and safe work experience.  Students do not have sufficient access to specialist impartial careers guidance. As a result, they do not have sufficient information to make informed choices about their future careers or education.  Tutors do not have the necessary skills and expertise to ensure that students benefit from

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Summary of key findings

high-quality learning programmes.  Staff do not use the current systems effectively in order to ensure that students’ progress is tracked against their education, health and care plans and academic milestones.

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Summary of key findings

The provider has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings

 Students make good progress in English, mathematics and information and communication technology.  Students enjoy their learning and the wide range of additional activities on offer to them.  Students develop useful skills to help them in their future lives, such as cooking and budgeting.  Therapy, residential and education staff work collaboratively to support students to develop their independent living skills.

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Information about the provider

 Cambian Lufton College is an independent specialist provider of further education and residential care. Situated in South Somerset, the college caters for a wide range of students with learning difficulties that include autism, social and emotional impairments, and other complex needs and behaviours. The college offers residential and day provision for students between 16 and 25 years of age, including those needing up to 52-week provision.  The majority of students are residential and live in a range of homes that are situated in, or close to, the college campus. However, some are located in the nearby town. College staff seek to promote community access and inclusion. There are currently 21 local authorities that commission places at the college.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Urgently improve the effectiveness of safeguarding by: – prioritising the welfare and safety of all students – ensuring that all notifications, incidents and concerns are reviewed and that the requirements of ‘Working together to safeguard children’ and ‘Keeping children safe in education’ are fully implemented – supporting staff to ensure that local authorities are notified promptly about all incidents and safeguarding concerns within expected timescales – ensuring that all staff have adequate training and immediately report incidents to appropriate staff – investigating significant concerns from students, parents and staff about professional practice and learning from these incidents – having an accurate oversight of all instances of physical restraint, supporting staff and students after a restraint has taken place and ensuring the welfare of all concerned – recording and investigating all complaints within required timescales and putting

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

actions in place to stop events reoccurring where required – reviewing all medication errors and providing appropriate staff training to prevent recurrence – risk assessing work placements regularly – providing staff with adequate supervision and support to enable them to reflect on their practice and identify concerns.  Improve the quality of leadership and management by: – developing the curriculum to meet the needs of students and enabling them to reach their full potential – improving the quality and timeliness of all students’ support plans so that they receive the appropriate living, learning and work arrangements when they leave the college – working closely with employers to ensure that students are developing their skills in the workplace effectively – improving students’ opportunities to access specialist, impartial and knowledgeable staff who can help them plan for their futures – developing staff skills and their understanding of recording systems in order to

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

effectively track student progress.  Improve tutors’ expertise so that they have the necessary skills, education, knowledge and physical resources to deliver high-quality teaching that meets students’ specific needs so that they make good progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Those responsible for running and overseeing the college have not been successful in preventing its decline. All the areas identified for improvement at the time of the previous inspection still remain. The quality of teaching and learning, students’ outcomes and their personal development and well-being, along with the quality of leadership and management have all declined. Leaders’ initiatives to tackle any decline have proved ineffective.  Leaders have not made sufficient resources available to ensure that all students are taught well and kept safe. Senior leaders do not deploy staff effectively and ensure that students receive good-quality teaching, learning and assessment. Too many tutors and support staff do not have the relevant experience or qualifications to deliver high-quality experiences for their students.  Senior leaders do not ensure that quality assurance and quality improvement processes

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

support continuous improvement. The observation of the teaching, learning and assessment process does not enable tutors to improve their teaching. Senior leaders have recognised this and plan to introduce a new system in September 2019. Senior leaders have been too slow to ensure that information from any self-assessment activities are used to drive improvement.  The curriculum is poorly developed and ineffective. It does not meet the differing needs of students, especially those with the most complex needs. Too often students are put on courses and in groups with friends rather than in a group that ensures they reach their full potential. The most able students do not have the opportunity to study qualifications at an appropriate level. Senior leaders have evaluated that the curriculum is weak. An appropriate plan is now in place to implement a new curriculum for students from September 2019.  Senior leaders did not identify the significant concerns around safeguarding. For example,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

they have not had clear oversight of risk assessments for work experience and work placements. As a result, senior leaders are unaware if placements are safe for their students.  Staff appraisal is ineffective. Managers do not set appropriate targets for staff to improve their practice or link targets closely enough to the priorities for the college. The current system does not support staff to develop their skills, knowledge and behaviour or to recognise their good performance. Senior leaders plan to introduce a new appraisal system in September 2019, but its introduction has been too slow to drive improvement more quickly.  College leaders do not act on feedback to bring about improvements quickly. A significant minority of staff and parents do not feel that the college is well led and would not recommend the provision to others. Current senior leaders have started processes to improve communication and address concerns, including regular newsletters for parents.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

However, despite gaining useful feedback from parents and staff, they have not yet acted on this.  The college’s approach to the use of data is ineffective. For example, senior leaders do not know if there are gaps in achievements of different groups of students or if attendance is improving from the previous year. Therefore, they are unable to put actions in place to improve the outcomes for students.  The new management team is appropriately qualified and experienced and knows how to improve the college. However, it has been too slow in implementing its planned improvements. Senior leaders and governors have plans that show the potential to have the appropriate staff and training in place by September 2019 and to support the improvements required.

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The governance of the provider

 Governors have failed to execute their key duties in respect of safeguarding students. New governors in place since April 2019 have introduced more robust processes to support change. However, they have not had sufficient time to demonstrate impact in handling of concerns, incidents and complaints.  Governors are committed and dedicated to the college. They challenge senior leaders to determine how identified weaknesses are being tackled but have accepted too readily responses from senior leaders. They support the sharing of expertise and ensure that practice in teaching and training is shared among Cambian schools and colleges. However, governors are hampered in their work by ineffective college appraisal and improvement systems that do not enable them to understand the impact of actions intended to tackle college weaknesses.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.  Staff have comprehensively mismanaged safeguarding records. Senior leaders do not consistently respond to incidents appropriately and quickly. Staff do not make safeguarding notifications within the timeframes for either statutory or internal guidance. Senior leaders do not always review incidents thoroughly enough or ensure that proper follow up action is taken to reduce further incidents.  Effective staff training has been lacking, leaving students exposed to poor practice. Staff caring for students with complex health needs, including epilepsy, have not received appropriate training.  Significant concerns about staff practice towards students are not consistently investigated. This affects the welfare of students as their safety is not prioritised and lessons are not learned.  Senior leaders do not ensure effective oversight of incidents of physical restraint. Records

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Safeguarding

of physical restraint sampled were inaccurate and confusing. They did not routinely include staff or student discussions after incidents so as to offer support and review required changes to practice. First aid is not recorded as being offered to students and staff, when it may have been needed.  Processes for managing complaints are ineffective. There are no formal records of the complaints made since the previous inspection. Records of responses and outcomes to address complaints are not routinely recorded, nor are the timescales of responses. This is not in line with the complaints process of the provider.  Senior leaders do not review medication errors to ensure further incidents can be prevented. When errors are made, there is a lack of follow-up discussion, training and monitoring of staff in order to minimise future risks to students.  Senior leaders do not ensure that staff are provided with consistent, good-quality

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Safeguarding

supervision to reflect on and reduce safeguarding incidents.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Too little teaching is effective in helping students to make good progress. Few staff have sufficient expertise or skills to meet the complex needs of students. Too many staff have to teach subjects they do not feel competent to teach. As a result, students do not receive high-quality teaching and support.  Training to improve the quality of teaching has been ineffective. Consequently, staff have a limited knowledge of different teaching strategies that would help them meet the varied needs of students. Too many find it difficult to adjust their teaching according to the results of students’ assessments.  Staff use a variety of different tools to record progress and achievements. For example, some staff do not feel confident to recognise and record the progress students make, using the newest progress tracking tool. Therefore, progress is not always captured, or it is recorded on another tool. As a result, it is difficult to assess accurately the progress

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

students have made.  Staff are not always appropriately ambitious for students. Teaching is more often arranged and organised to complete set tasks rather than planned and executed carefully to meet students’ learning needs. As a result, a minority of students do not achieve the relevant level of qualifications.  Parents, carers and employers do not know the progress students are making. Parent meetings are now in place. However, it is too early to identify whether this has successfully improved communication.  Staff identify students’ support and additional learning needs through an early assessment of their starting points. However, due to staff shortages, this support is not always evident in sessions or around the college. As a result, students’ learning is not consistently good.  Students make good progress in English, mathematics and digital skills. They can communicate with others, carry out internet research and use their numeracy skills in a

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

range of settings. For example, students are able to calculate change correctly when selling cakes. A small minority of staff do not correct students’ written work where required. As a result, students do not understand where they need to improve and how.  The majority of students successfully develop skills to become more independent. They learn how to travel independently and improve their problem-solving and social skills. For example, students can correctly identify and collect meal ingredients without support.  Therapists effectively work with education and care teams. As a result, students have the appropriate physical resources and support to access the curriculum. For example, therapists have developed a range of sensory resources to improve students’ ability to focus on education. Staff use low and high technology communication resources for students with more complex needs. These include communication software and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

comprehensive communication profiles. Staff develop resources for individual students, such as laminated pictorial attendance registers. This means students can work independently to take the register.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

 During the inspection, students said they feel safe and know who to talk to if they have any concerns. However, students are not safeguarded effectively at this college.  The vast majority of students have an appropriate level of understanding of how to keep themselves safe from harm. They develop their understanding of equality and diversity through a range of activities. However, staff do not develop the most able students’ understanding of the risks associated with radicalisation and extremism sufficiently well.  A high proportion of students attend work experience or voluntary placements. However, senior leaders do not manage work experience and voluntary placements effectively. Risk assessments are not in place for all employers. Students do not benefit from work placements that develop their skills and prepare them for their future. Too many students carry out repetitive, low-level tasks that do not challenge them or develop their skills.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

Employers are not sufficiently involved in planning and reviewing placements with the college.  Students do not have sufficient access to specialist and impartial careers advice and guidance. Students had access to a career fair last year, but most students do not have clear ideas or plans in place for their future education, employment or training. They do not have the opportunity to discuss their ideas for their future with an impartial, specialist careers adviser.  Attendance is good for the vast majority of students. However, managers do not analyse data sufficiently well to identify trends and plan appropriate interventions if necessary.  Students’ behaviour in classes and around the college is generally good. All staff are expected to use students’ behaviour plans to help them manage their students. However, managers recognise that staff require further training in managing and de-escalating

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

students’ poor behaviour, as these plans are not always followed.  Students with specific needs, for example non-verbal students, use adapted resources to support their learning. Teachers use practical activities to stimulate students’ interest and learning. For example, in a Glastonbury themed mathematics class, students weighed rice to make rain maker instruments, which they enjoyed playing together. Students take pride in their work and want to do well.  Students enjoy their learning and take part in a wide range of additional and social activities. They are able to choose activities that interest them, for example drama, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme and football training with the local professional team. Through these activities, some students overcome their fear of public speaking and group working and develop their communication skills and self-confidence.

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

 Staff do not take sufficient account of students’ starting points when designing learning programmes and placing students on courses. Most students study a similar range of courses, which are insufficiently challenging for some and insufficiently tailored to meet individual needs and aspirations.  Staff do not consistently monitor and record students’ progress. Too many students’ targets are marked as ‘ongoing’. Students’ achievements do not always inform their next steps or lead to more challenging targets. Progress and achievement do not inform curriculum planning.  Students’ work meets the requirements of their qualifications and learning goals. Portfolio work shows students developing their skills and knowledge in line with expected standards but rarely goes beyond the minimum requirements of the qualifications. A few students progress to higher level qualifications.  Students’ communication skills are enhanced when working in groups at college and

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

during trips and visits. Students at lunchtime sit together and are encouraged to communicate throughout the meal. Those students who were able to spoke to inspectors about their time at college.  The proportion of students staying at college to complete their courses has improved over the last twelve months and retention is currently good.  The majority of students make expected progress on to their planned destination for living, learning and work. A very small minority of students progress into further education.  The majority of students become more independent and they develop skills that will support them in their future lives. Students develop useful life skills, for example travelling more independently, and managing a budget by planning and costing menus and shopping for food.  A significant minority of students who left the college last year met their aspiration to live more independently. A few students who returned to live with their families are receiving

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

direct payments to support daily living.

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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 Principal/CEO Darren Jackson

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Provider details

Website http://www.cambiangroup.com/ourservices/service/home/ tabid/106/id/162/s/17/xmps/1816/default.aspx

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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

3 84 – 1 – – – – 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: None

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the head of education, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners 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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Information about this inspection

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that of a number of incidents that occurred since the previous inspection are under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken in response to the incidents were considered alongside the other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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Inspection team

Tracey Zimmerman, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Anna Gravelle Social Care Regulatory Inspector

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Inspection team

Alison Attfield 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

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 .

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Inspection team

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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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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