Grow 19 LTD

Further education and skills inspection report

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Provision for learners with high needs Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this provider

Grow 19 LTD is an independent specialist college in Kent that provides education and training to learners aged 18 to 25 years old with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Learners have a wide range of needs, some of which are complex, and include emotional and mental health, physical and learning difficulties.

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Information about this provider

Learners study one of four learning pathways to prepare them for employment, independent living and/or social care. At the time of inspection, there were 36 learners training in, for example, catering and hospitality, construction and maintenance and horticulture. Nearly all learners study English and mathematics from entry level to level 2, at a level appropriate to them.

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Information about this provider

The college does not work with any subcontractors. 18 to 20 June 2024

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

Learners behave exceptionally well at college and work. They consistently meet the high expectations they set with staff, who use personal support plans very effectively to manage learners’ behaviours. Learners are very respectful and tolerant of people they work with and meet. Learners enjoy the calm, purposeful and friendly environment staff have created at college. They take significant pride in their workspaces and make sure tools are stored safely, workstations are clear and signs for good health and safety practices are visible. Learners learn and demonstrate the behaviours they need for college, work and life rapidly and successfully.

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

Learners are motivated highly to succeed. They attend lessons very well and demonstrate the reliability that staff and, where relevant, employers expect of them. When learners are absent, caring staff check on their welfare and make sure they always catch up on missed work. Learners become increasingly confident at work and model exemplary professional standards to other learners, who quickly adopt them.

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

All learners enjoy a rich and varied range of extracurricular activities that benefit them and their communities highly. Learners use their skills and talents to improve their communities and they develop stronger social skills from the relationships they form with others. For example, they litter pick at a nearby hospital, maintain gardens at a local nursery and repaint walls in preparation for a community mural. Learners improve and deepen their understanding of how to stay healthy. They enjoy talking with others on community walks and boxercise sessions to stay fit. Specialists, such as NHS nurses, help them to understand healthy relationships and behaviours. Learners are well equipped with the knowledge to make intelligent decisions about their health and well-being.

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

Learners benefit greatly from highly valuable work placements. Staff identify learners’ career goals carefully and match them closely to work placements. For example, learners with a passion for hospitality work in cafes and hotels. Learners interested in construction work in maintenance teams at housing associations. Learners pursue their interests enthusiastically and master new skills they need for life and work.

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

Learners rightly feel safe at college and work. Learners know to contact staff if they need help. Leaders make sure employers know how to help learners. Police officers and other professionals provide learners with helpful advice to stay safe when not at college.

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better?

Leaders and staff raise the ambitions and prospects of learners effectively. They consider learners’ interests and aspirations carefully. Staff tailor learning to learner’s needs expertly. Leaders use their community connections well to provide learners with highly valuable work placements and work-related activity. Learners flourish 18 to 20 June 2024

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and move on to employment and independent living with the transferable skills they need.

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Leaders and staff plan learning thoughtfully so learners link together and practice what they learn. For example, learners use their speaking and listening skills in the context of customer service roles. Learners practice their angle-measuring skills when constructing joints in carpentry. Learners build their knowledge and skills to apply what they know confidently in different situations.

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Expert and talented staff use clear explanations, high-quality resources and provide learners with helpful strategies so they understand key concepts and techniques well. Staff use instructions skilfully to break down complex tasks so that learners can develop skills over time. In construction and maintenance studies, staff use clear and effective prompts to describe the order of work when painting doors. Staff are adept at helping learners to become more independent and to work safely. For example, teachers help learners to use accessibility functions on their phones that help them read. In carpentry, learners remember health and safety rules and know to wear masks to protect their eyes from dust. As a result, most learners develop the skills to work independently and make good progress.

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Staff use questioning well to check what learners know and help them remember what they have learned. They use assessment effectively in order to adjust learners’ learning plans, provide support and set academic targets for the future. Learners know how well they are doing from the feedback staff provide and they improve their work. Staff do not ensure consistently that learners are sufficiently aware of their personal targets. As a result, most learners do not know how to make swift progress in these areas of their development and do not make the rapid progress of which they are capable.

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Leaders and staff monitor learners’ progress carefully to inform their planning and celebrate learners’ achievements. Most learners make strong progress and achieve their academic targets. Leaders rightly recognise that they have enrolled learners on too many qualifications for them to achieve realistically in the time available. Leaders have clear plans in place to rectify this, but it is too early to judge the impact of these plans.

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Staff help learners to understand their next steps once they leave college. For example, learners develop the skills to travel independently and safely. They learn about different social care provision to make well-informed choices about what is best for them. Learners become increasingly independent as a result of their studies. They complete food safety courses and practise interview techniques. Consequently, learners are ready for their next steps and move on to purposeful employment, voluntary roles and care provision successfully.

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Leaders care for the well-being of staff deeply. Staff benefit from resources that promote positive mental health and healthy lifestyles. They value the specialist training they receive in topics such as behaviour management and trauma-informed practice, which helps improve their teaching and the support they offer to learners. 18 to 20 June 2024

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Leaders ensure that specialist support, such as speech and language therapy and physiotherapy, is well coordinated to help learners and support staff. All staff are extremely proud to work at the college and leaders motivate them to do their best.

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Highly experienced governors work effectively with leaders to make sure learners develop the skills and have the experiences they need to be successful. They challenge leaders effectively so learners benefit from high-quality education and support. Governors make sure leaders are well supported and that their well-being is cared for, which helps them in difficult situations.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Make sure learners understand their personal targets fully so they can evaluate their progress and improve as a result.  Make sure that leaders enrol learners in qualifications accurately so that learners achieve all their planned qualifications on time and continue to achieve to a high standard. 18 to 20 June 2024

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Provider details

Address Wolfe Building Malling Road Snodland Kent ME6 5HS

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Provider details

Principal, CEO or equivalent Kirstie Hemingway

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Provider details

Provider type Independent specialist college

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Provider details

Main subcontractors None 18 to 20 June 2024

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the head of college, 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

Mark Hillman, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Emma Leavey His Majesty’s Inspector Josie Grainger Ofsted Inspector 18 to 20 June 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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

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