Swarthmore Education Centre

Swarthmore Education Centre Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Sarah Lonsdale, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent specialist college

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Address: 2–7 Woodhouse Square Leeds LS3 1AD Monitoring visit: Swarthmore Education Centre, 12 and 13 March 2025

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Context and focus of visit

Swarthmore Education Centre 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

Swarthmore Education Centre is an independent specialist college offering study programmes for students with learning difficulties, disabilities and long-term mental health issues. Almost all students have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. At the time of the monitoring visit, there were 81 students.

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Significant progress

Leaders and managers have planned successful training and development opportunities for staff. They focus on crucial training that is linked to the specific elements of teaching practice that teachers need to improve. As a result, training is purposeful and is having a positive impact on teaching practice. Staff are provided with opportunities to achieve teaching qualifications, and those with certificates in education are supported to achieve a degree.

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Significant progress

Teachers use the highly effective training to develop their use of relevant teaching and learning strategies. They use their knowledge of working memory to identify new strategies that they can use to support students to understand new concepts and remember more. In mathematics lessons, teachers have developed a good understanding of the features of the novice and expert student. They use this to consider carefully the starting points of students and scaffold support to enable students to process basic calculation skills before applying these to worked examples. Teachers have a thorough understanding of why students might struggle and can plan effective strategies to address this.

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Significant progress

Teaching assistants receive effective support to develop skills in using questioning techniques and giving effective feedback to students. They benefit from specialist research resources and the time to review these to develop their approach to supporting students. Staff reflect on and discuss their learning successfully to identify how to make best use of it in their sessions. They report being more confident in rephrasing questions to develop students’ thinking in lessons. Monitoring visit: Swarthmore Education Centre, 12 and 13 March 2025 Teachers and teaching assistants benefit from a range of specific training courses that enable them to understand their students and provide meaningful support and intervention. Staff cover topics such as diabetes, epilepsy, mental health first aid and autism awareness. They use this training very well when supporting students, including when helping students to understand their feelings. Students who are

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Significant progress

unable to read and write use pictures to represent their feelings each day. This enables staff to support successfully students who may have difficulty managing their emotions.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have made sensible appointments to the board of trustees since the last inspection. They have recruited new trustees with experience of education to help strengthen this focus on the board. They have also recently recruited to a quality lead post, and additional staff have been given responsibility for work experience. This is providing a more precise focus on the progress that students make across all aspects of the curriculum and the capacity to improve the study programme.

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Reasonable progress

Managers and curriculum leads have introduced observations of teaching practice that focus effectively on what teachers do well and what they need to improve. They use the results of observations to set targets for staff development, such as training in goal setting. However, in a small number of instances, actions from observations are not followed up thoroughly enough to enable leaders and managers to check fully on improvements to practice.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers closely monitor the progress that students make. Curriculum leads review students’ progress and use this to inform discussions with teachers about what support or targets students need. Students who are at risk of falling behind attend helpful one-to-one sessions to address their areas for development. Managers carefully link the progress that students make to outcomes in EHC plans to ensure that students are supported to achieve their overall targets.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have introduced a range of systems to measure the progress of students, the take-up of work experience placements and staff’s professional development. They use this information effectively to analyse progress and to provide management reports, including reports for trustees. Leaders acknowledge that these systems create an increased workload for staff and are keen to develop further the use of management information. They are currently researching systems that will provide a clearer oversight and reduce the administrative burden on managers and staff. Monitoring visit: Swarthmore Education Centre, 12 and 13 March 2025

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Significant progress

Leaders and managers have swiftly addressed the lack of work placements since the last inspection through the appointment of specialist staff. Most students are on a work placement or have recently completed one. Staff are rightly proud of the well- established links that they have with supportive employers who offer meaningful opportunities in areas such as retail, café and leisure facilities, farms and conservation centres. Work coaches successfully seek new employers in response to students’ aspirations and interests, such as a mechanics garage and animal care centre.

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Significant progress

Staff provide highly effective support for students on work placement that reduces weekly to enable students to develop independence. For example, in the first week work coaches shadow students, before students move on to working independently with employers and, for most, travelling to placements by themselves. As a result, students develop their understanding of how to travel safely, gain confidence in going to new and unfamiliar places and thrive in a work placement, without the need for support.

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Significant progress

Students have access to good-quality work placements that support the development of their personal skills. Students with lower cognitive ability attend work experience as a group. They attend a conservation centre and work on projects in gardening where they develop their team-working skills and the ability to follow instructions while learning about horticulture and nature. Staff have sourced similar projects in local museums and working urban farms to provide students with a breadth of experiences.

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Significant progress

Students on work placements make significant progress in the development of communication skills and can confidently respond to requests from managers. For example, students progress from working independently on cleaning and kitchen tasks to customer-facing roles such as answering the telephone on reception. They are rightly proud of their achievements and are more confident and resilient as a result. Employers explain how students flourish and make significant contributions to the workplace.

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Reasonable progress

Managers and teachers have made effective changes to the English and mathematics curriculum since the last inspection. They have broadened the offer of qualifications that students can work towards during their study programme. Teachers now support students well to develop and gain accreditation for their skills incrementally. Monitoring visit: Swarthmore Education Centre, 12 and 13 March 2025 The new curriculum has led to a significant increase in the number of students who achieve an English qualification or unit. However, despite overall mathematics achievement improving, at the time of the monitoring visit it was too early to see the full impact of these curriculum changes in mathematics.

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Reasonable progress

Teachers plan useful English and mathematics classes as part of students’ study programme. They teach the fundamentals of English and mathematics that support the development of students’ knowledge. Teachers set students individual termly targets that reflect the outcomes in their EHC plans and respond to gaps in their knowledge. Staff monitor students’ progress carefully and celebrate the achievement of targets with students. Students’ targets are displayed in classrooms for them to see. As a result, most students know what they are working on or can refer to the displays when they are unsure.

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Reasonable progress

Teachers support students well to develop their English and mathematics skills during creative lessons. In media lessons, students create short animations that require counting, timing of the piece and timing to add sound effects. In fantasy art, students are encouraged to talk about different feelings and what strategies they can use to overcome feelings such as being overwhelmed. Consequently, students learn about how to use English and mathematics in the context of their subjects.

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Significant progress

Teachers use highly effective probing questions, practical observation and formal assessment to check students’ understanding in lessons. They use the results to identify precisely what students know and can do and what they need to explore further. For example, in fantasy art teachers use questioning to check students’ understanding of the effects that different-sized paint brushes will create on their artwork. Teachers then demonstrate brush strokes to reinforce the effect that they have on the page. They successfully address misconceptions and support students to progress quickly.

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Significant progress

Teachers plan a variety of activities and individual tasks for students in response to their needs and areas for development. They know their students very well and use assessment outcomes to inform individualised activities. For example, in cooking, students are given different recipes to follow, depending on their level of skill and experience. They are provided with different tools for cutting, such as knives for more-experienced students and scissors for those who are less confident. This means that teaching activities are targeted well to students’ needs, and all students are challenged and make swift progress in the development of new knowledge and skills.

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Significant progress

Teachers successfully reinforce learning by revisiting previous topics. They use recap activities at the start of lessons to ensure that activities build on what students know. Monitoring visit: Swarthmore Education Centre, 12 and 13 March 2025 For example, in sound and rhythm lessons teachers reinforce the difference between major and minor. Students can apply their knowledge to new concepts and explain how this might be used to represent happy or sad within a musical compilation.

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Significant progress

Teachers successfully utilise teaching assistants and support staff. They carefully plan the deployment of teaching assistants and direct them to work with students who require support in class. Teachers monitor teaching assistants’ interventions closely to ensure that they do not provide too much support for students. For example, in cooking, teachers encourage students to work independently and only seek support if they become stuck. As a result, students are successfully encouraged to develop their independence. Monitoring visit: Swarthmore Education Centre, 12 and 13 March 2025 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

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Significant progress

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

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