Community College Initiative Ltd

Community College Initiative Ltd Progress monitoring report

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Name of lead inspector: Linnia Khemdoudi, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent specialist college

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Address: Unit 36 Waterhouse Business Centre Chelmsford Essex CM1 2QE Monitoring visit: Community College Initiative Ltd, 17–18 March 2021

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Context and focus of visit

Community College Initiative Ltd was last inspected in June 2019. At that time, inspectors judged the overall effectiveness of the provision to require improvement.

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Context and focus of visit

This monitoring visit focused on the extent to which leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action to provide education and training in the current circumstances. It was undertaken as outlined in the operational note on visits carried out from January 2021 and with reference to the further education and skills handbook.

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Context and focus of visit

These visits are to help learners, parents, employers and government understand how providers are meeting the needs of learners in this period, including those with high needs and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Context and focus of visit

Following changes to government guidance and the imposition of COVID-19 (coronavirus) lockdown restrictions, inspectors carried out this monitoring activity through both remote and on-site activities. As a result, the range of evidence available to inspectors was narrower than would be the case during an on-site inspection. Therefore, this report provides a more limited level of assurance.

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Context and focus of visit

The impact of COVID-19 has been taken into account in the findings and progress judgement below. Inspectors did not evaluate leaders’ response to COVID-19 during the spring and summer of 2020, when the provider was not open to all learners and there were no national expectations regarding remote education.

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Significant progress

Leaders have made very good progress to improve provision since the previous inspection. They have worked effectively to find suitable partners to help them improve their practice. For example, leaders now work with more flexible awarding organisations. This allows learners to sit exams on demand. As a result, learners quickly gain the qualifications they need for their next steps.

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Significant progress

Leaders have ensured that learners continue to access programmes of learning despite the pandemic. Learning support assistants (LSAs) support learners to access online learning activities. An LSA is physically present with a learner to enable them Monitoring visit: Community College Initiative Ltd, 17–18 March 2021 to participate in learning, while a tutor presents a lesson online. This includes in the community and home-settings where necessary. The impact is that learners engage very effectively with all planned learning activities.

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Significant progress

LSAs support tutors to ensure that learners make good progress. LSAs often support learners outside of college activities, acting as their personal carer. This enables LSAs to build trust and helps to support learners with a range of wider social issues. LSAs help tutors to identifying topics for learning that interest and engage learners. Consequently, learners take part in these learning activities enthusiastically.

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Significant progress

Leaders are highly effective in working with the local authority (LA) and their preparing for adulthood team. In partnership, they provide tailored support and an individualised curriculum for each learner. Leaders frequently review the impact of learners’ support with the LA. This ensures that it remains appropriate to their needs. Learners benefit from very individualised learning plans. These include their personal support needs, academic goals and career aspirations.

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Significant progress

Leaders have developed good partnerships with local employers and social enterprise organisations. Learners take part in good-quality, relevant work and volunteering opportunities. Leaders take care to match learners’ placements to their interests and goals. These include developing a community farm and working in engineering. Learners take part in a range of activities, such as learning to cook outdoors, horticulture and welding. Learners improve their self-esteem, resilience and often gain sustainable jobs from their placements.

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Significant progress

Tutors have developed highly effective working relationships with parents. Tutors phone them frequently. Tutors talk about learners’ progress and share any concerns regarding learners’ education, independence, behaviour and well-being. Parents feel included and listened to. Consequently, they can articulate fully the progress their young people are making.

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Significant progress

Tutors provide learners with good-quality, impartial careers advice and guidance. Tutors use learners’ career aspirations to inform their individual targets and work activities. These include short-, medium- and long-term targets to support successful achievement. Consequently, learners’ progression into relevant, sustainable work or further study is good.

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Significant progress

Tutors enable learners to improve their English skills effectively over time. Tutors encourage learners to write in full sentences and to improve their spelling. Tutors embed English and mathematics qualifications into individual learning activities and projects. Learners gain formal English and mathematics qualifications where appropriate.

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Significant progress

Leaders and tutors plan a curriculum to help learners understand healthy eating. For example, tutors teach learners how to adapt a recipe so it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Learners can articulate the purpose of learning about healthier lifestyles. However, too often, staff accept learners’ unhealthy eating choices while on college premises. Learners with anxiety and behavioural issues often consume high energy Monitoring visit: Community College Initiative Ltd, 17–18 March 2021 drinks at lunchtimes that negatively impact on their behaviour. Staff do not challenge these learners about their choices. Staff do not reinforce the impact these choices have on learners’ health and behaviour. As a result, learners do not always reflect on or adapt the food and drink choices they make.

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Significant progress

Tutors feedback on learners’ work is sometimes too generous. Tutors are often too keen to praise and build learners’ confidence in their work. A few tutors do not give learners a clear understanding of what they need to improve on, or give them sufficient direction on how to do so.

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Significant progress

Tutors frequently review and adapt learners’ targets to ensure that learners make reasonable progress. Tutors have a very good oversight of learners’ short-term achievements, but they do not review these alongside learners’ long-term goals. It is not clear to parents and learners how short-term targets contribute to learners’ long- term goals.

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Significant progress

Leaders have created a positive culture of safeguarding learners. Leaders work very closely with a range of external agencies. They ensure that learners and their families get the support they need in a timely manner. Tutors tailor learning activities to learners’ individual needs and personal circumstances, for example ensuring that learners understand how to remain safe when online and recognising the dangers of gang culture. As a result, learners develop a good understanding of how to stay safe.

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Significant progress

Leaders and those responsible for governance should take further action to:

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Significant progress

 ensure that tutors review learners’ short-term targets relative to their long- term goals  ensure that leaders and tutors consistently challenge and discuss the impact of unhealthy food choices on learners’ health, particularly when eating and drinking unhealthy options in college  ensure that tutors’ feedback on learners’ work is encouraging but not overly generous, so learners are clear of how they can continue to improve their skills. Monitoring visit: Community College Initiative Ltd, 17–18 March 2021 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education

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Significant progress

and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Significant progress

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Significant progress

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Significant progress

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Significant progress

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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