KMS Kent Ltd

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

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Type of provider: Independent specialist college

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Address: The Street Womenswold Canterbury Kent CT4 6HE Monitoring visit: KMS Kent Ltd, 2 and 3 December 2021

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Context and focus of visit

From autumn 2019, Ofsted undertook to carry out monitoring visits to independent specialist colleges newly Education and Skills Funding Agency-funded from August 2018 onwards. This monitoring visit was undertaken as part of those arrangements and as outlined in the ‘Further education and skills inspection handbook’, especially the sections entitled ‘Monitoring visits’ and ‘Monitoring visits to providers that are newly directly publicly funded’. The focus of these visits is on the themes set out below.

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Context and focus of visit

KMS Kent Ltd is a small specialist post-16 institution which opened in 2018. The college is based in Womenswold, near Canterbury in Kent. Most learners are aged 16 to 19, with five who are aged 19 to 25. All learners have moderate learning difficulties, anxiety and/or autism and are in receipt of an education, health and care plan (EHC plan). Learners follow one of three pathways in either catering, creative industries or employability at entry level to level 1. All learners study English and mathematics, some up to level 2. At this visit there were 29 learners on programme.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have a clear rationale for the provision, which is to enhance and enrich the lives of their learners through an inclusive curriculum. They have developed a curriculum that meets the needs of the local authority and draws on the experience and expertise of their teaching staff. As a result, the curriculum is based around three pathways, in catering, creative industries and employability. Learners move on to local further education provision in catering and creative arts or into employment or voluntary work.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have accurately identified the weaknesses in the provision. They have introduced a wide range of suitable interventions and initiatives over the past year, but it is too early to see the impact of these on the quality of the provision and on learners’ outcomes.

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Reasonable progress

All learners receive independent careers and progression interviews through an external company which specialises in work experience and careers advice and guidance. As a result, the learners have been matched with a work placement, which takes place in the spring term. Learners also access face-to-face workshops and a Monitoring visit: KMS Kent Ltd, 2 and 3 December 2021 virtual platform to support their development and knowledge of employment opportunities in the local area.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have a clear understanding of the progress that the learners attending college are making. They accurately identify when a learner is not making the progress expected of them and quickly put in place suitable interventions to support them.

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Reasonable progress

Six learners are currently not attending college because their transport has not been put in place in a timely way by a third party. As a result, too many learners are missing their education as they cannot access college and some are unable to take part in online or remote learning because of their additional needs and anxieties. Despite their best efforts, leaders and teachers have been unsuccessful in engaging all of these learners while they wait for their transport to be provided.

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Reasonable progress

Teachers work in partnership with the learner, their parents or carers and external agencies to plan programmes that meet the needs of the learner. They appropriately take into consideration learners’ starting points, such as their English and mathematics levels, and their EHC plan outcomes. They also consider the barriers learners have to making progress, such as their poor social interaction and communication skills. Teachers work with a range of therapists and external specialists to support learners, for example speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and the child and adolescent mental health services. As a result, most learners participate in learning and develop new skills.

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Reasonable progress

Teachers prepare detailed ‘provision plans’ for each learner. These include the outcomes the learner is working towards, their support strategies and interventions. Teaching assistants know their learners well and use their knowledge effectively to provide personalised support that promotes independence and supports learners to overcome anxieties and communication difficulties. They are adept at employing strategies such as the personalisation of resources or the use of writing frames, which enable learners to make progress.

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Reasonable progress

Teachers support learners to develop their mathematics and English skills. Learners work towards and achieve appropriate qualifications. Teachers and teaching assistants promote the development of learners’ skills in lessons such as cookery. Learners calculate timings for cooking; they use the clock to plan the start and end times of cooking or for when they should return from a break. Learners develop their digital skills. For example, in creative industries, learners are confident in using Monitoring visit: KMS Kent Ltd, 2 and 3 December 2021 digital cameras to record digital clips, which they download and edit into short films for their assignments.

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Reasonable progress

Not all teachers set learners learning targets that are sufficiently challenging. Teachers overly focus on meeting the unit criteria for the baseline qualification and not always on the wider potential of the learner to develop new knowledge and skills.

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Reasonable progress

Learners feel safe and benefit from the quiet, rural setting in which KMS Kent Ltd is located. They know whom to speak to if they have any concerns or worries.

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Reasonable progress

Staff make effective use of a comprehensive system to record all concerns and interactions with learners that involve welfare, safeguarding or behaviour. The designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) maintain detailed records of the actions taken, the external agencies involved and the subsequent outcome of all concerns that are raised.

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Reasonable progress

Staff are trained to an appropriate level and new staff undertake a comprehensive induction that covers safeguarding topics, including the ‘Prevent’ duty, child protection and online safety. The DSLs frequently train staff using a case study method to update staff on safeguarding and welfare topics, such as neglect, sexual abuse and physical abuse.

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Reasonable progress

The DSLs have effective relationships with external agencies, including social services, St Giles Trust and Charlton Athletic Community Trust, who support learners who require counselling services. Monitoring visit: KMS Kent Ltd, 2 and 3 December 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 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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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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

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