Cambian Lufton College

Cambian Lufton College Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Clifford Shaw, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 January 2024

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Type of provider: Independent specialist college

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Address: Lufton Yeovil BA22 8ST Monitoring visit: Cambian Lufton College, 24 and 25 January 2024

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Context and focus of visit

Cambian Lufton College was inspected in January 2023. At that time, inspectors judged the overall effectiveness of the provision to require improvement.

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Context and focus of visit

The focus of this monitoring visit was to evaluate the progress that leaders and managers have made in resolving the main areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.

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Context and focus of visit

Cambian Lufton College is an independent specialist college based in Somerset. It provides education and training for students with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and behavioural and emotional difficulties. The college offers residential and day provision for students aged 16 to 25. At the time of the monitoring visit, 26 students were enrolled, the majority of whom are residential and live in homes that are in, or close to, the college campus. Around two thirds of students study at the college for 52 weeks a year.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have taken effective action to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Since the previous inspection, they have appointed teachers who have the appropriate skills and knowledge to teach students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Students are taught well by teachers. As such, students gain new skills and knowledge; they increase in confidence and make progress in their learning at the expected pace.

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Reasonable progress

Governors support leaders well. They provide leaders with the resources they need to appoint well-qualified and experienced staff. As a result, this has improved the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. The recent appointment of a senior leader with responsibility for education and quality has enabled leaders to implement and manage important improvement actions successfully. For example, leaders have improved the effectiveness of the review of the progress students make towards achieving their targets and goals in lessons and over time. Teachers now contribute valuable insights to the medium- and longer-term reviews of the progress that students make. Teachers are clear about what students have learned and achieved, so they know what they need to do to improve. A senior teacher provides teachers with support and coaching. This helps them to improve their practice and to apply Monitoring visit: Cambian Lufton College, 24 and 25 January 2024

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Reasonable progress

the new pedagogical methods they have learned because of recent professional development.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders monitor closely the actions they are taking to improve teaching, learning and assessment. They assess accurately the strengths of the college’s curriculums. Leaders rightly recognise the importance of work-related curriculums and have strengthened relationships with employers and community groups to provide purposeful work placements for students. Consequently, students learn new skills and gain in confidence when serving customers in shops and working in local businesses and a National Trust property. Leaders have refreshed and expanded the enrichment opportunities for students. Residential and day students take part in a wide range of additional activities, such as attending film nights, roller-skating and art clubs. As a result, they improve their mental and physical health, and the instances of students’ dysregulated behaviour on campus have reduced.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have taken appropriate actions to ensure that all staff who teach students are either qualified or are in training to qualify as a teacher. They ensure that all staff have individualised training plans to enable them to acquire the qualifications and specialist skills they need to be effective in their roles. Leaders ensure that staff who are studying for qualifications have time allocated to attend lectures at a local further education college, as well as to complete their coursework. As a result, leaders have established a growing and sustainable cohort of skilled teachers.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders identify and select appropriate professional development themes to help staff to understand well the role they play in impacting positively on the experience and learning of students. For example, leaders have placed a focus on training staff in topics such as neurodiversity and co-regulation. This helps staff to know what strategies to use to help students to modify and regulate their behaviours better. Staff also gain new knowledge and skills to help students to learn more over time. For example, teachers learn to teach students how to improve their personal interactions with others through the use of relevant social stories. Teachers learn how to use ‘talking mats’ to help students to express themselves using pictorial language as an alternative to writing or speech.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders foster a collaborative culture and encourage staff to share their professional practice and experiences regularly. Clinical therapy specialists discuss with teachers the planned content of their lessons and how to meet students’ individual needs effectively. For example, information sharing between teachers and clinical support Monitoring visit: Cambian Lufton College, 24 and 25 January 2024 staff has resulted in a reduction in the use of stimuli that may trigger student anxiety or dysregulated behaviour.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have taken effective actions to ensure that teachers plan teaching effectively. Teachers use online learning plans effectively to link closely the content of the lessons they teach to the goals set out in a student’s education, health and care plan. As a result, teachers frequently assess the impact of their teaching on students’ learning and make appropriate adjustments to ensure that they make the expected progress towards achieving their goals.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that teachers carefully assess what students already know and can do at the start of their course. Teachers use this information well to plan teaching that builds on students’ strengths. They gradually increase the complexity of the tasks they set students and, consequently, students remember what they have learned well. Teachers work closely with clinical therapy staff to determine the best strategies to support students so that they are prepared well to live more independent lives. Teachers are now more confident to use positive therapeutic and sensory interventions with students and to seek further advice from clinical specialists as required.

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Reasonable progress

Teachers use appropriate practical strategies to help students to build their resilience and maintain concentration in lessons. As a result, students are rarely distracted by the behaviour of others, enjoy their lessons and work diligently. Teachers use video technologies to record the feedback they provide to students. Students watch the recordings to help them to commit what they have been taught to their long-term memory.

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Reasonable progress

Teachers do not use modified equipment well enough to enable students to learn how to carry out independent living tasks more effectively. For example, when preparing food, a minority of students are overly supported by teachers and, as a result, do not develop the skills needed to perform these tasks for themselves. Monitoring visit: Cambian Lufton College, 24 and 25 January 2024 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

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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