Liberty College

Further education and skills inspection report

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Provision for learners with high needs Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Information about this provider

Liberty Training Ltd is an independent specialist college providing training to prepare young people with high needs for the world of employment. Learners have a range of needs from autism spectrum disorder to oppositional behaviour disorder. Many learners have found previous education settings challenging and have not previously been able to thrive and make progress towards their interests and aspirations. At the time of the inspection there were 63 learners, 45 in Year 1 and 18 in Year 2. Learners study a qualification in employment, functional skills in English and mathematics and undertake work experience as part of their programmes.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Leaders and staff have created a culture which is extremely supportive. Staff ensure that the college is welcoming and there is a calm environment for learners to learn in. Learners benefit from spaces where they can develop their social skills and areas where they can take time out when they need to regulate their behaviours. Learners feel they are well supported by staff in the classrooms and at their work placements. As a result, most learners can express their feelings and emotions appropriately and are supported by staff to understand and develop strategies to manage them better. However, a small minority of learners have not yet learned to manage their responses in an appropriate way.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Leaders and staff ensure that learners develop their confidence, independence and mental resilience. Learners experience a range of activities that they would not normally have access to, such as trips outside of the local area, travelling abroad, 8 to 10 June 2022

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sitting down for meals to celebrate events and Duke of Edinburgh Awards. As a result, learners widen their experience and are supported to recognise their own personal emotional triggers and manage their behaviours more effectively.

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Leaders ensure that learners experience a wide curriculum which helps learners prepare for adulthood in modern Britain. They experience relevant and useful learning around healthy sexual relationships, healthy habits, unhealthy habits and how to change them, such as smoking. In addition, learners are able to study additional qualifications to meet their needs and interests. For example, learners can study first aid and food hygiene to prepare to work in catering.

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Learners feel safe when they are at college and work experience and know what to report, and who to report it to, if they have any concerns about their safety.

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better?

Leaders’ vision is clear and ambitious: to provide high-quality programmes for learners who might not otherwise be in education. They work closely with the local authority, employers and schools to ensure that they offer training which prepares learners for local employment opportunities and meets their needs.

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better?

Leaders have structured the curriculum so that it builds logically over time. Staff teach through a topic-based curriculum. They carefully build on learners’ prior learning and revisit topics regularly to reinforce and consolidate learning. For example, in Year 2, tutors start the year by reviewing the learning that learners have retained, to identify gaps in learning. They revisit, in more detail, the employability skills learned in Year 1, to prepare learners for their next steps.

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better?

Leaders carefully recruit staff that have the right background and characteristics to be able to work with learners who have special educational needs or social, emotional and mental health needs. Leaders provide useful training to support staff to improve their practice, such as teaching qualifications, behaviour management training and qualifications in providing careers information, advice and guidance.

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better?

Teaching staff are calm and considered in their work. They demonstrate effective teaching skills and work well with teaching assistants. All staff know their learners exceptionally well. They make use of this knowledge to ensure that learners receive the right support to enable them to be successful in their studies. As a result, learners are supported to understand key topics and understand fully any misconceptions. For example, a tutor supported a learner to understand the difference between positive and negative stereotypes and terms when describing homosexuality. They encouraged open and honest discussions to help the learner understand the impact of their language.

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better?

Tutors present information clearly using a range of imaginative methods and resources. They carefully check learners’ understanding through group questioning 8 to 10 June 2022

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and individual supportive discussions. Teaching assistants support this process well to ensure that learners stay on task.

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Most learners benefit from clear feedback on their work and understand how they can improve the individual errors. Tutors make effective use of continuous assessment to inform their planning and teaching, and identify learners’ strengths and areas to improve. However, tutors do not track and monitor learners’ progress on the programme or during their work experience sufficiently to help staff, employers and learners know exactly what learners can do and what they need to work on. As a result, staff and learners do not have clear and manageable targets that they are working towards over time.

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Leaders and staff have taken appropriate action to improve the relevance and quality of the work experience placements for learners. Learners now benefit from valuable opportunities that meet their interests to gain valuable work skills and develop their knowledge of their chosen careers. Employers benefit from receiving key information and strategies to support learners at work. As a result, learners are increasingly given more responsibility at work and are proud of what they have achieved.

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Learners benefit from useful impartial careers information, advice and guidance throughout the programme. They have valuable regular discussions with all staff and can clearly articulate their plans, the steps they are taking and the actions they need to achieve to prepare for their chosen career or next step. As a result, learners are confident and positive about their futures.

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Leaders and managers do not concentrate quality assurance processes closely enough on how well tutors are teaching and the impact of teaching on learners’ progress. Consequently, the actions leaders take to improve the provision are not focussed on the learner and how the provision can be improved to help learners to progress further.

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Leaders have not ensured that the arrangements for governance provide sufficient scrutiny and challenge. This inhibits the speed that leaders can identify and correct any weaknesses.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that they have fostered a positive culture of safeguarding. The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and deputies are very well qualified and experienced to ensure that learners and staff are safe. The DSL ensures that all concerns are expertly managed, recorded and tracked and have in place suitable links to relevant support agencies. Leaders recruit staff appropriately to ensure that they are safe to work with young people with high needs. 8 to 10 June 2022

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Leaders have in place effective processes and security of site to ensure that learners are safe in the college and in the workplace.

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Leaders should swiftly ensure that they put in place governance arrangements to provide scrutiny and challenge in all of the work that they do.  Leaders should ensure that they focus their quality assurance processes on the quality of education so that they know what learners are learning and can put in place effective actions that have a positive impact on the learners’ success.  Teaching staff and leaders should ensure that they track learners’ attainment of knowledge and skills in their qualifications more effectively so that they can plan their training more precisely. 8 to 10 June 2022

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Provider details

Address Paragon House Albert Street Ramsgate Kent CT11 9HD

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Provider details

Provider type Independent specialist college

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection 31 July–2 August 2019

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Provider details

Main subcontractors N/A 8 to 10 June 2022

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the programme manager, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. The inspection was carried out using the further education and skills inspection handbook and took into account all relevant provision at the provider. Inspectors collected a wide range of evidence to inform judgements, including visiting learning sessions, scrutinising learners’ work, seeking the views of learners, staff and other stakeholders, and examining the provider’s documentation and records.

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Inspection team

Emma Leavey, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Judy Lye-Forster Her Majesty’s Inspector 8 to 10 June 2022

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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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