Chatsworth Futures Limited

Chatsworth Futures Limited

Address: Vicarage Road, Swinton, Greater Manchester, M27 0WA Unique reference number (URN): 141887

p.1

Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, learners are made safer and feel safe.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect providers for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The provider has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The provider has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

p.1

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have created an inclusive and nurturing environment in which learners feel welcome. Staff members take time to greet all learners on arrival at college. This helps learners prepare for the day ahead.

p.2

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have implemented rigorous initial assessments to identify learners' needs swiftly and accurately. Staff take time to get to know learners before they start college, and they work with other agencies to ensure learners have the support they need.

p.2

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have ensured that all staff undertake regular staff development to improve their practice. This includes training that helps staff understand learners' individual needs, as well as developing a whole-college approach to positive behaviour and communication.

p.2

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders collaborate with external professionals to ensure that learners have access to bespoke therapies and wider support. Teachers use the information that occupational therapists provide to make physical adjustments to the learning environment.

p.2

Inclusion Expected standard

Staff frequently monitor learners' progress to ensure that they are moving towards the outcomes of their education, health and care plans. Most staff help to develop learners' independence and adjust support as needed. However, on a few occasions, some staff intervene too quickly, which prevents learners from developing their independence skills.

p.2

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders work well with local agencies to ensure learners have access to inclusive work experiences and services that will aid them in the future.

p.2

Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders mostly recognise the college's strengths and areas for improvement and have implemented a plan to improve. They are updating the college's vision and strategic plan to ensure it provides the best possible curriculums, teaching and training for current and future learners. This plan includes improving the college's learning environments. Leaders have recruited an experienced governing body that supports their work. Individual governors advise on various aspects of the colleges' work, including safeguarding, finance and curriculum development. Leaders provide governors with information to support their discussions. However, this information lacks the precision governors need to offer effective oversight and challenge about the quality of teaching and learning.

p.2

Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders have focused on developing systems to monitor the quality of the curriculum and the training they provide to students. Although leaders have developed an ambitious schedule of quality assurance activities, they have not sufficiently focused on improving the teaching and support that some staff provide.

p.3

Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders have developed a professional learning programme to help staff to develop their teaching skills and to extend their knowledge of learners' support needs. This programme includes training from speech and language therapists and external agencies that help staff understand the risks that learners may face outside of college.

p.3

Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders carefully consider staff workloads and support their welfare. They encourage staff to take time out when learners' behaviours are challenging. Staff members have access to mental health first aiders and participate in regular staff development days focused on wellbeing.

p.3

Achievement Expected standard

Learners make positive progress from their starting points and achieve the outcomes set in their education, health and care plans. Teachers break learning aims into smaller objectives, enabling learners to develop new skills, knowledge and behaviours over time.

p.3

Achievement Expected standard

Leaders accurately assess learners' starting points, including their English, mathematics and digital skills. Teachers typically use this information effectively to develop activities that help learners build independence. As a result, learners develop new skills, including the confidence to speak in groups, use money accurately and travel independently.

p.3

Achievement Expected standard

Learners produce work of an expected standard, and some achieve externally recognised qualifications, including entry-level English and mathematics.

p.3

Needs attention

Learners progress to positive destinations such as paid employment, volunteering positions in charity shops, retail outlets and cafes. When learners progress to social care settings, they are better able to demonstrate confidence and resilience in their local communities.

p.4

Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders carefully consider learners' aspirations when developing individualised career guidance. Teachers help learners explore different career options, including through helpful internal and external work experiences. Teachers support learners in applying for job opportunities, completing job applications and preparing for interviews.

p.4

Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders have begun creating opportunities to enable more learners to develop the skills and confidence to progress into paid, sustained employment. These include taking part in work experience in local charity shops, cafes and community action groups.

p.4

Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders and staff have high expectations for attendance, behaviour and punctuality. As a result, learners arrive promptly and are ready to work and study. Attendance is high, and leaders act swiftly to identify any barriers to attendance and provide prompt interventions and support.

p.4

Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders have designed a comprehensive citizenship curriculum to meet learners' wider developmental needs, including building resilience and wellbeing. They have created age- appropriate learning resources to help learners understand adult relationships and to recognise coercive behaviours.

p.4

Participation and development Expected standard

Learners understand how to live in modern Britain, the importance of respect and tolerance and how to recognise the signs and symptoms of radicalisation and extremist behaviours. Learners know how to stay safe online and who to speak to if they have a concern.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have designed a range of educational pathways to meet the needs of learners with education, health and care plans. They have collaborated closely with local authorities, parents and external partners to develop curriculums that develop learners' social, communication and life skills.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders typically have an accurate understanding of the programmes they offer. In a few cases, leaders' understanding of the quality of teaching that staff provide is too positive, which hinders them in improving teaching practice. This means that leaders do not have a comprehensive understanding of the quality of the curriculum.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Teachers sequence and plan learning well, so learners can practise and develop their independence skills. For example, on the life skills pathway, learners practise making cold drinks first, then hot drinks, and finally preparing simple meals. However, in a few cases, teachers do not use the information they receive about learners to produce resources that help learners to overcome their barriers to learning.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Teachers provide learners with useful feedback that helps them improve their work, for example by using capital letters and pronouns correctly. For the most part, teachers check learners' understanding, provide effective feedback and carefully explain how learners can improve. However, at times teachers do not consistently reinforce and repeat learning activities so learners improve.

p.5

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Learners are prepared for their next steps beyond college life. Leaders work proactively with other agencies to enable learners to progress to positive destinations such as employment, social care and volunteering.

p.5

What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners enjoy their time at college. They appreciate the support they receive to improve their independence and make new friends. They value the support they receive, which enables them to plan and prepare for their next steps.

p.5

What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners feel safe at the college and know how to stay safe online and in their local communities. They learn skills that will help them in their everyday lives, including cooking, independent living, and using public transport.

p.5

What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Teachers help learners to develop their English and mathematics skills by speaking confidently in public, using money and working positively with customers in their work experience settings. Teachers encourage learners to take part in community and charitable activities, as well as helping them to access local leisure and social activities near the college and their homes.

p.5

What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners participate in a wide range of activities, including volunteering for local charities and raising money at coffee mornings. They also volunteer at the food bank and other local events.

p.5

What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Most learners achieve their education, health and care plan targets and progress to positive destinations. Staff are caring and want learners to do well in their studies. However, in some cases, staff are too quick to support learners, which at times prevents them from developing their independence.

p.5

What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners benefit from a supportive and inclusive environment. Staff are mindful of learners' individual needs. However, some vocational and life skills learning environments need updating. The college currently shares its facilities with a local specialist school but needs its own facilities to develop learners' vocational and life skills further.

p.5

Team inspectors:

Kay Hedges, Ofsted Inspector Jane Young, Ofsted Inspector

p.6

Next steps

• Leaders should ensure governors receive precise information to improve their oversight of the provision so they can be assured leaders are taking the right actions to raise standards. • Leaders should continue to implement the college's strategy of improvement, including developing the learning environment. • Leaders should provide teachers with the necessary support and guidance to ensure that the quality of teaching and learning is consistently high. • Leaders should ensure that learning support staff are equipped with the skills and knowledge to help learners to develop their independence and autonomy. • Leaders should continue to develop the careers advice and guidance learners receive to prepare them for adulthood and enable them to find paid employment.

p.6

About this inspection

Chatsworth Futures Limited (Chatsworth Futures) is part of the Sovereign Trust. The college provides education and training for young people aged 19 to 25 years with profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties and autism spectrum disorder. The college is based in Swinton, Greater Manchester and shares premises with a local school for children who have special education needs and/or disabilities.

p.6

About this inspection

Learners study on programmes that range from pre-entry to entry level. Learners follow one of three pathways. The skills for life pathway, for pre-entry learners with complex needs; the independence pathway, an entry-level programme with a focus on developing skills for independence, and the preparation for work pathway, which focuses on preparing learners for volunteering and paid employment.

p.6

About this inspection

At the time of inspection, there were 43 learners. Sixteen learners follow the skills for life pathway, thirteen learners follow the independence pathway and the remainder follow the employability pathway. All learners have an education, health and care plan.

p.6

About this inspection

Head of College: Bethany Cocken The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

p.6

national average

'This provider' and 'national average' figures are taken from the publicly available DfE achievement rates. Where the DfE have supressed the figures, usually due to small cohorts, this has been mirrored in the Report Card and will be shown by an 'S'.

p.7

Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other providers can learn from it.

p.8

Strong standard

The provider reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

p.8

Expected standard

The provider is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

p.8

Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

p.8

Urgent improvement

The provider needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

p.8

Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

p.8

Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.8

Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Urgent improvement

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Urgent improvement

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

p.9