Barnsley College

Barnsley College

Address: Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AN Unique reference number (URN): 2827037

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders, teacher educators and mentors share a deep commitment to inclusion. They are proud to recruit trainees from a broad range of backgrounds, including areas where participation in further and higher education is typically low.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have anchored inclusion deeply in the curriculum. Inclusive practices are modelled accurately by teacher educators and replicated by trainees in their practice. In doing so, leaders are developing a workforce equipped to meet the breadth of needs that exist in and around Barnsley.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders sustain a culture in which trainees can express with confidence any needs or barriers to learning that they experience. Staff thoughtfully and proactively support those who disclose needs so that all achieve, irrespective of these factors. Strong relationships

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Expected standard

between teacher educators, mentors and trainees ensure that those who experience temporary barriers to learning are quickly identified and support is put in place rapidly so they remain on track.

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Expected standard

Staff implement adaptations for trainees who require reasonable adjustments quickly and effectively. Specialist teams provide clear and insightful recommendations to support trainees with needs such as dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Staff and trainees use these to co-design effective adaptations for use in training and on placements. Leaders have introduced employer support plans to keep under review the effectiveness of agreed adaptations.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders and staff have thoroughly embedded a culture of support and care for their trainees. They know their trainees extremely well. They discuss trainees’ progress weekly to identify any emerging support needs. They review how well trainees cope with the demands placed upon them. Where needed, they quickly engage with trainees’ line managers and mentors to discuss supportive strategies.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Trainees are proud to meet the high expectations that leaders, teacher educators and mentors set for them and work hard to do so. They understand their role in delivering high- quality experiences and outcomes for the children, young people and adult learners in the settings where they teach. Trainees know that leaders match their high expectations with care and support for trainees’ development and wellbeing. This inspires and motivates trainees to want to achieve their very best.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff are very mindful of the workload of trainees in their teaching roles and successfully build trainees’ resilience to meet the demands of the profession. They help trainees to develop strategies to work efficiently and effectively, such as working away from distracting environments and the responsible use of digital technologies to maximise their time.

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Achievement Expected standard

Trainees plan their lessons and approaches to behaviour management carefully. They confidently adapt their teaching, employing the inclusive practices that they have been trained in. Trainees understand their role in promoting a sense of safety and belonging in learning environments and fostering self-esteem in their learners.

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Achievement Expected standard

Trainees embed wider skills, including digital skills, fluently in their teaching. Apprentices teaching learners aged 14 to 16 use digital tools well to incentivise and reward positive behaviours.

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Achievement Expected standard

Trainees are reflective and enthusiastic to improve their practice. Those on PgCE programmes use reflective models highly effectively to review their teaching practice accurately and plan their own targets to further improve. However, this is not as consistent for apprentices.

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Achievement Expected standard

Trainees and apprentices well prepared for their careers as teachers. They understand the realities of the role and how to manage their workloads sensibly.

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Achievement Expected standard

Almost all trainees and apprentices complete their programmes and achieve their qualifications. Most move into employed teaching roles in local education settings, with a significant number taking on additional responsibilities, such as becoming course leaders.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Leaders implement a forward-thinking ITE curriculum that prepares trainees well for their future teaching roles. They frequently review the curriculum so that it reflects emerging trends in the further education landscape. Teacher educators deliver and revisit training in inclusive practices frequently so that trainees develop the skills to adapt their teaching accurately. They develop trainees’ understanding of a range of needs and how these can impact on learners' behaviours. Teacher educators help trainees to develop a ‘toolkit’ of strategies to implement in their teaching based on trauma-informed practice, universal design for learning and unconditional positive regard.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Teacher educators set useful assessments that help trainees to consider critically the theoretical perspectives of teaching. Trainees use case studies to explore how to adapt their teaching based on learners’ needs. Useful feedback from teacher educators helps trainees to understand how well they translate theory to practice and how to improve their work.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Staff support trainees to learn about their statutory duties in relation to safeguarding early in the programmes. They revisit these themes routinely, which develops trainees’ confidence in how to report concerns and how to seek support in any complex situations that they encounter.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Teacher educators and mentors observe trainees teach and provide helpful feedback, including precise actions to help trainees to improve their teaching. Trainees generally act on this feedback to make well-informed adaptations to their teaching practice. Trainees on PgCE programmes demonstrate a thorough consideration of their previous targets to develop their expertise. For example, trainees reflect on the impact of their teaching on learners' cognitive load when teaching complex processes, prompting them to break tasks down into manageable steps.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Trainees learn through well-planned sessions taught by passionate and knowledgeable teacher educators. Most benefit from learning alongside their fellow trainees. Through this, they gain valuable insights into the experience of teaching a broad range of curriculum specialisms. Leaders recognise the need to enable all trainees to access these very valuable opportunities.

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Leadership Expected standard

Leaders, teacher educators and mentors are aligned in their vision to develop a skilled teaching workforce equipped to meet education and skills priorities in Barnsley and the

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Next steps

Ensure that all apprentices benefit from opportunities to work collaboratively with their peers so that they learn about the breadth of the further education and skills sector.

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Next steps

Support apprentices to use reflective models accurately so that they can identify with precision the strengths in their practice and targets to improve. surrounding areas. They have thoughtfully redesigned programmes so that trainees on all routes are skilled to teach and meet the needs of a diverse range of learners. Leaders are proud to work with a small selection of carefully chosen partners to prepare trainees for employment in specialist settings, including alternative provision and the education and care of adults and young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

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Next steps

Leaders routinely evaluate the quality of their initial teacher education programmes (ITE). They agree sensible actions to improve provision where the need is identified. Leaders changed the sequence of the content on the level 5 learning and skills teacher apprenticeship so that trainees now benefit from additional time to develop their confidence and readiness for professional discussions at end-point assessment. Leaders are committed to further strengthening the level 5 apprenticeship so that the quality of provision is consistently high across all programmes.

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Next steps

Teacher educators access high-quality professional learning. They are supported well to engage in research and many pursue higher level qualifications. This helps teacher educators to remain up to date with evidence-informed pedagogy, digital technology and inclusive practices because of sessions delivered by internal specialists and the college’s wide network of strategic partners.

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Next steps

Mentors receive helpful training, which they use to support trainees very effectively. Mentors at external placement settings develop very positive working relationships with teacher educators that enable them to fulfil their roles well.

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Next steps

Leaders care about staff wellbeing and are alert to their workload. Where staff experience challenges, leaders identify how to lessen pressures through helpful temporary adaptations. Staff feel deeply valued and invested in ITE provision for the benefit of the college and its local partners.

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

Trainees are highly motivated and committed to their futures in the teaching profession. They are eager to improve their practice to deliver the best outcomes and experiences for the learners they teach.

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

Trainees are proud of the progress that they make on their programmes and the contributions that they make to the communities of professional practice where they train and teach. Those who attend training sessions with fellow trainees benefit from sharing their

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Team inspector:

Rachel Angus, His Majesty's Inspector ideas and experiences. Through this, they learn about the breadth of the further education and skills sector.

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Team inspector:

Trainees develop a sound understanding of the influence of inclusion on their approach to teaching and managing behaviour. They learn about a broad range of needs, including special educational needs and/or disabilities, mental health needs and those posed by socio-economic factors. Trainees experience first-hand the inclusive practices that are modelled by teacher educators and mentors. They apply these practices with confidence in their own teaching.

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Team inspector:

Trainees develop securely the knowledge and skills to teach their individual subject specialisms. They translate the theoretical concepts that they are taught into practical strategies that suit the curricular demands of the subjects that they teach. Mentors help trainees to reflect on their strengths as trainee teachers and how they can improve further. Trainees on the full-time PgCE are highly reflective about the impact of the curriculum choices and teaching strategies that they employ on their placements.

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Team inspector:

Trainees thrive throughout their training because of the strong network of support from dedicated staff, including expert teacher educators and mentors. Staff are attuned to the wellbeing of their trainees. They support trainees to communicate openly their needs and any pressures that they may face in training. They help them to identify practical strategies to ease these pressures. This builds trainees’ resilience and their readiness for their future careers.

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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 (OIs) 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

Barnsley College is a large general further education college serving the town of Barnsley and the surrounding South Yorkshire region. Initial teacher education trainees study the level 5 learning and skills teacher apprenticeship or the professional graduate certificate in education (PgCE) on a full or part-time basis.

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About this inspection

At the time of the inspection, there were 37 trainees. Of these, 27 were on the level 5 learning and skills teacher apprenticeship and 10 on the PgCE. Most trainees are employed in teaching roles at the college.

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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.

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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. 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

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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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