Myerscough College

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

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Name of lead inspector: Alison Cameron Brandwood, His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection dates: 27 and 28 November 2024

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Type of provider: Specialist further education college

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Address: St Michael’s Road Bilsborrow Preston Lancashire PR3 0RY Monitoring visit: Myerscough College, 27 and 28 November 2024

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Context and focus of visit

Myerscough College was inspected in November 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

Myerscough College is a specialist further education college focusing on land-based, science, engineering and sports courses. The college’s main site is the Bilsborrow campus in Preston. The college has a further five centres in Manchester, Blackburn, Penrith, Warrington and Liverpool. At the time of the monitoring visit, the provider had 1,666 students aged 16 to 18, 891 adult students, and 837 apprentices. The college receives high needs funding for 286 students. Leaders work with three subcontractors. Two of the subcontractors provide training for students on education programmes for young people. The remaining subcontractor provides training to apprentices.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have put in place a range of suitable and thorough quality assurance and improvement measures since the previous inspection. These measures are already having a beneficial impact on the quality of education. Leaders are focused on developing an ambitious culture in which staff have high expectations and aspirations for students, including those with high needs. Leaders have worked collaboratively with staff who understand the reasons for the changes and are committed to their implementation. Following feedback from staff, leaders refined the weekly professional development sessions. Staff now have time to plan and embed what they learn into their teaching practices. Leaders check the effectiveness of their training through termly walkthroughs. Leaders use the activities outlined in the annual quality cycle to ensure that the improvements they have implemented are working. They have put in place five

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Reasonable progress

checkpoints throughout the academic year. Leaders use the information they gather to assess teaching practice against specific aspects of teaching and learning such as the effective use of starting points and the quality of teachers’ feedback. To date, they have implemented two quality checks across all curriculum areas. Leaders have identified improvements and further developments in teachers’ teaching practice from the first to the second checkpoints. Monitoring visit: Myerscough College, 27 and 28 November 2024 Governors challenge leaders about how effectively the new quality processes are improving the quality of education that students receive.

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Reasonable progress

At the time of the visit, attendance was high. Leaders have put in place a wide range of actions to improve student attendance. In sport, leaders identify individual students who have low attendance in English and mathematics lessons. They conduct one-to-one meetings with students, send letters home to parents and monitor attendance in sessions. They immediately follow up with calls to find out why students are missing. Leaders rightly recognise that they need to improve the achievement of students consistently across all levels. They identified that too many students who started their courses in September 2023 were not on the right programme. In addition, staffing changes affected the quality and consistency of teaching that students experienced. Ineffective timetabling and sequencing were also factors affecting students’ success in achieving their qualifications at levels 2 and 3. Consequently, leaders have strengthened the initial advice and guidance that new and progressing

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Reasonable progress

students receive. At this early stage in the academic year, the proportion of current students who remain on their course following enrolment has increased significantly in comparison to the previous year.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have taken a series of effective actions to improve their curriculums. Following the previous inspection, they swiftly put in place a comprehensive review of their courses. Leaders ceased offering a small number of programmes that did not meet the purpose of the college, were extremely poor performing or where they were unable to recruit appropriate staff. Leaders work closely with managers and teachers to strengthen the ambition of the curriculums so that students are challenged to meet their full potential. Leaders have introduced additional qualifications to the level 3 sport (basketball) curriculum. Basketball experts teach refereeing and coaching qualifications. This means that students are better prepared for alternative well-paid jobs in the sector if they do not move into being basketball professionals. Leaders use a range of robust evidence to assess students’ starting points. Students

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Reasonable progress

complete assessments that are relevant to the specific knowledge, skills and behaviours of their course. Leaders ensure that teachers use the starting point information for students, including those with high needs, accurately to set challenging targets. Leaders rightly acknowledge that there is further work to do to Monitoring visit: Myerscough College, 27 and 28 November 2024 ensure that all teachers use starting points effectively to plan learning. At the time of the visit, the large majority of students are working at or above their target grades.

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Significant progress

Leaders’ actions to improve the quality of feedback that students receive have been significant. Following the previous inspection, leaders took swift action to identify the components of effective feedback and devised a rubric for teachers to use. Leaders communicated the expectations to staff. Teachers attended specific training to improve the feedback that they provide. Following feedback, students studying animal care include the quantities of different food in the feeding plans that they devise for animals. Students appreciate the comprehensive feedback that they receive and most of them improve their work over time. Leaders continue to rigorously monitor the quality of feedback that teachers give to students.

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Significant progress

Leaders have put in place highly effective actions to improve the use of EHC plans and targets, which are having a considerable beneficial impact on students with high needs. Curriculum and learning support staff benefit from useful training that means they now set, monitor and review students’ EHC plan targets effectively. Curriculum and inclusion support staff collaboratively develop student profiles that map directly to EHC plan outcomes. The profiles include adaptive teaching strategies that teachers and support staff use successfully in lessons to meet students’ individual needs. Teachers feel much more confident in how to support students with high needs. Students develop skills in independence, confidence, timekeeping, and communication. They learn how to self-regulate and manage anxiety and difficult behaviours. Students make good progress in line with their peers. Monitoring visit: Myerscough College, 27 and 28 November 2024

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Significant progress

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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Significant progress

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