Milton Keynes College

Milton Keynes College

Address: Milton Keynes College (Bletchley Campus), Sherwood Drive, MK3 6DR Unique reference number (URN): 2827089

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have taken deliberate steps which have successfully raised the profile of inclusive practices across the college. They have implemented clear and very effective processes to quickly identify trainees' barriers to learning. This includes the creation of an open and highly supportive culture in which trainees feel comfortable to disclose potential barriers such as special educational needs or caring responsibilities. Staff understand their trainees very well, and as a result, trainees know how to ask for help and are confident their needs will be accommodated. Leaders and staff put in place carefully targeted support which enables trainees to achieve and thrive on their course and in their new roles as teachers at the college. Leaders carry out course-level audits and learning walks that focus on inclusion to ensure needs are being met. Leaders meet the learning support needs of trainees very effectively. They systematically

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Inclusion Strong standard

review the effectiveness of the support trainees receive and quickly make adaptations in response to trainee's changing needs. Trainers use a wide range of strategies and reasonable adjustments to provide support that supports trainees very well to make progress with the development of teaching skills. For example, they provide catch-up sessions when trainees are absent caring for family members, make adaptations to the physical learning environment and use subtitles to provide early assistance with language barriers.

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Leadership Strong standard

Leaders have a very clear and highly successful vision for the initial teacher education (ITE) programme as a vehicle to increase and upskill the teachers at the college. In recent years, they have made significant changes to the ITE curriculum to better suit the needs of both the trainees and the college. The ITE curriculum includes evidence-based approaches to teaching and prepares trainees well to teach in the further education and skills sector. Leaders ensure that the provision complies with the Department for Education Expectations for the Delivery of ITE and the requirements of the occupational standard.

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Leadership Strong standard

Leaders are highly focused in their trainee recruitment. They ensure that trainees meet the needs and skills gaps of the region, which they do. Trainees are recruited carefully and ethically, in line with relevant legislation and following the college's safer recruitment policy and procedures.

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Leadership Strong standard

Initial teacher education has a high profile in the college. Leaders and governors maintain careful and constructive oversight of the quality of the programme. Leaders monitor data rigorously and hold staff to account robustly, encouraging a culture of continuous quality improvement. When they identify weaknesses, they take swift actions that lead to improvements for trainees. For example, they strengthened progress tracking to identify more quickly trainees at risk of falling behind and improved initial advice and guidance. As a result, there are marked reductions in the number of trainees leaving the programme early.

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Leadership Strong standard

Leaders collaborate very effectively with a wide range of stakeholders to inform and enhance the initial teacher education curriculum. They work well with local authorities to contextualise inclusion and with universities to increase challenge and academic rigour. Leaders provide a helpful programme of research-informed professional learning for staff and mentors. This includes training on radical candour and transactional analysis, which teaching and mentoring staff value highly.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders have very high expectations for the professional growth, behaviours and attendance of trainees. Trainees, who all teach at the college, value this and respond accordingly. Trainees attend very well. If they miss sessions, they swiftly make up gaps in learning.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders have created a respectful, nurturing environment in which trainees feel supported and safe. Trainees know how to safeguard themselves. They know that leaders would never tolerate incidents of bullying or unprofessional behaviours.

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Expected standard

Trainees benefit from a substantial network of practical care and pastoral support which is highly effective. Mental health teams and counselling services support trainee wellbeing. Mentors and line managers accommodate flexible working, which helps trainees with caring responsibilities especially.

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Expected standard

Trainees understand and demonstrate the professional behaviours associated with teaching very well. They are thoughtful, reflective practitioners. They understand the importance of maintaining professional boundaries, which they do sensitively. They model professional behaviours, such as resilience and respect for others, consistently well. Trainees manage their workloads carefully and know how to delegate or seek help. They are very well prepared to work in the further education and skills sector.

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Achievement Expected standard

Trainees develop substantial new knowledge and skills because of the training they receive. Mentors provide extensive support which deepens trainees' subject-level understanding. Trainees can apply their learning effectively to shape and inform their own teaching. They become skilful in adapting their teaching to accommodate the needs of different learners.

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Achievement Expected standard

Trainees are well prepared for the realities of teaching. They quickly increase their confidence in managing the behaviour of their learners. Trainees understand their roles in keeping learners safe and follow the college procedures diligently when capturing and recording concerns.

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Achievement Expected standard

Trainees reflect on their teaching and know their strengths and areas for development. However, in a few cases the level of feedback trainees receive is limited, so they do not have a clear enough sense of their priorities for improvement. Trainees perform very well on the programme and many gain promotions or move into managerial roles at the end of their course.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Leaders ensure that their initial teacher education curriculum is ambitious and designed carefully to meet the needs of trainees teaching in the further education and skills (FES) sector. Trainees are taught about the roles and responsibilities of being a FES teacher alongside a well-planned focus on classroom management, safeguarding and meeting the needs of learners with special educational needs and/or disabilities and other vulnerabilities.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Theory lessons and teaching practice are seamlessly integrated throughout the programme. Trainees typically benefit from a breadth of experiences, such as visits to other settings, team teaching and cross-sector shadowing, which inform their teaching well. Trainees discuss their learning with subject mentors before practising newly learned strategies in the college's classrooms and workshops. As a result, trainees build their understanding of adaptive teaching as they plan and teach their classes.

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Next steps

• Leaders should ensure trainees receive feedback that enables them to accurately and independently recognise their strengths and priorities for improvement.

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Next steps

• Leaders should ensure trainers consistently provide all trainees, including those for whom English is not their first language, with feedback that helps the trainee to improve their spelling and grammar. Trainers make effective use of relevant and high-quality research, such as development of schemas, to inform their curriculum. They explain clearly how they use scaffolding techniques to enable learners to access, recap and reinforce learning. Trainees enjoy learning about active learning strategies and use these in a variety of situations. This has improved in recent years. However, there is sometimes an over-reliance on active learning and trainees do not always focus on the intended outcomes for their learners or the barriers they are trying to overcome with these techniques.

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Next steps

Trainees benefit from highly effective mentoring. Mentors, who are often previous trainees themselves, understand the demands of the programme and the role well as a result of the helpful training they receive. They attend frequent updates and standardisation meetings to ensure this knowledge remains current. Mentoring is a clear area of strength in the programme. Subject and pastoral mentors take their responsibilities seriously. They consistently provide very effective support, including subject-specific advice and guidance, that trainees value highly.

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Next steps

Trainers use assessment sensibly and appropriately to identify gaps and to support trainee progress. Trainees value the helpful feedback they get from trainers and mentors. They make highly effective use of the guidance they receive to improve their writing and their teaching. However, trainees with English as an additional language do not always receive the same high-quality feedback on their spelling and grammar to maintain the focus on the need to improve English skills.

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What it's like to be a trainee at this provider

Trainees are proud to work and study at the college. They swiftly develop a strong sense of belonging and community. They feel valued by leaders, who show demonstrable care for their welfare and wellbeing by providing support networks, employee assist programmes, time off for study and flexible working.

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What it's like to be a trainee at this provider

Trainees learn from teacher educators and mentors who are carefully trained to model best- practice, quality-first teaching. Trainees recognise and respond well to these high expectations, which are embedded through the highly positive culture of the college. They are proud to be part of the college community and aspire to be the best teachers they can be. Trainees progress and achieve well. Many previous trainees stay at the college and build their careers as curriculum managers and mentors.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place. Trainees consistently praise the expertise and helpfulness of trainers, mentors and line managers at the college. They help trainees to build their skills and grow in confidence as they settle into their roles as new teachers. Staff make sure that trainees feel safe and supported to disclose any barriers to learning. They put in place helpful learning support plans for trainees who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They provide short-term adaptations such as changes to a training plan or flexible learning options for trainees with temporary barriers such as illness or for trainees who are carers. As a result, trainees stay on their course and thrive.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

Trainees value the feedback they receive from trainers and mentors, which helps them understand how to improve, such as planning impactful lessons. Although feedback is typically well focused, concise and helpful, in a small number of instances, feedback is overly positive and focused on process. Consequently, trainees cannot always recognise or articulate those things that will make the biggest improvement to their teaching.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OI) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with leaders, managers, governors, teacher educators, mentors and trainees during the inspection.

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About this inspection

Milton Keynes College is a large general further education college in the city of Milton Keynes. It has two main sites, one in the centre of the city and one in Bletchley. Initial teacher education trainees all study the two-year L5 Diploma in Teaching, which is taught at the Bletchley campus.

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About this inspection

At the time of the inspection, there were 18 trainees funded under the 'Taking Teaching Further' scheme who were in scope for the inspection. They are all employed by the college. This data is from 27 January 2026

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Exceptional

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

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Strong standard

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

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Expected standard

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

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Needs attention

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

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Urgent improvement

The provider needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of training.

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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.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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

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