Brooklands Technical College

Brooklands Technical College

Address: Brooklands Technical College, 46Heath Road, Weybridge, KT13 8TT Unique reference number (URN): 2888930

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Achievement Expected standard

Trainees develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to become effective further education teachers. As a result of the feedback they receive and their own reflection, they become increasingly confident in their teaching and develop a greater understanding of how their practice influences learner engagement and participation. They apply their learning successfully within their vocational settings. Trainees develop skills in managing behaviour, adapting teaching and supporting learners with a range of needs. As a result, they are increasingly well prepared for the practical realities of teaching in the further education and skills sector.

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Achievement Expected standard

Leaders monitor trainees’ progress carefully through reviews, tracking meetings and quality assurance activities. Where trainees require additional support, leaders put appropriate interventions in place to help them remain on programme and continue to make progress. Most trainees are progressing through the programme successfully. They are well prepared for the final apprenticeship assessment and understand the opportunities available for further professional development and career progression within the further education sector.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Leaders have designed a teacher-training curriculum that supports vocational specialists to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to become effective further education teachers. The curriculum is carefully sequenced so that trainees first develop an understanding of effective teaching before applying and refining their practice within their vocational settings. Learning builds progressively over time, enabling trainees to develop confidence as reflective practitioners. The curriculum is aligned to the knowledge, skills and behaviours of the apprenticeship standard and prepares trainees well for the realities of teaching in the further education and skills sector. Trainees develop their understanding of pedagogy, curriculum planning, behaviour management, assessment and inclusive practice. They learn how to adapt their teaching to meet the needs of learners with different starting points and support needs.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Teacher educators, coaches and mentors use their vocational and educational expertise to model evidence-informed approaches to teaching. Trainees have frequent opportunities to apply new learning within their own classrooms and reflect on its impact through mentoring discussions, coaching activities, learning visits and observations.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Leaders draw on specialist expertise from across the college to enrich the curriculum. For example, trainees benefit from input on inclusion, safeguarding, digital pedagogy and quality assurance. This helps trainees understand how wider college systems and processes support learners’ participation, progress and achievement. Trainees understand how to recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns and their responsibilities in keeping learners safe.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Trainees value the opportunities they get to develop their practice within industry-standard learning environments and use technologies that support contemporary teaching approaches. These experiences help trainees connect vocational expertise with effective teaching practice and prepare learners for employment and further study.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Trainees benefit from wider professional development opportunities across the college, which help them broaden their professional knowledge and prepare for future roles and responsibilities.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

The mentoring and coaching that staff provide support trainees to develop their teaching effectively. Feedback generally helps trainees understand what they are doing well and what they need to improve. However, the developmental feedback that trainees receive is not always sufficiently precise in identifying the actions trainees need to take to further develop their teaching, and subject specialist mentoring is not equally well developed across all curriculum areas.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have created an inclusive environment in which trainees feel comfortable discussing their additional needs and personal circumstances that may affect their learning. They identify barriers early through the use of skills scans, enrolment processes, progress reviews and ongoing discussions with trainees. This helps leaders understand trainees' individual needs and arrange support that helps trainees remain on programme and continue to make progress.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Teaching and learning coaches, mentors and inclusion staff work together well to review trainees' needs and coordinate suitable adjustments. They draw on specialist expertise to ensure that trainees with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing significant personal circumstances, receive support that reflects their individual needs. This includes making reasonable adjustments, flexible submission arrangements, additional teaching sessions and where appropriate breaks in learning. Trainees' experiences of an inclusive culture help them understand the importance of identifying and removing barriers to learning so that all learners can participate and achieve.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Trainees value the inclusive culture and know who to approach when they need help. The adjustments leaders put in place enable trainees to participate confidently in their programme, remain engaged in their learning and teaching roles and continue to make progress towards becoming effective teachers.

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Leadership Expected standard

Leaders have integrated teacher training and wider professional development into a coherent strategy for improving teaching and learning across the college. They have aligned the programme closely with the college’s workforce priorities and use it to support vocational specialists to develop as effective teachers in curriculum areas that experience recruitment challenges. Leaders have successfully brought together teacher training and wider staff development within a single professional learning model. This provides trainees with access to a broad range of professional development opportunities and enables them to learn alongside experienced staff. Leaders also draw effectively on partnerships and external networks to enhance professional learning and ensure that training reflects current practice within the further education and skills sector.

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Leadership Expected standard

Leaders have strengthened the programme through ongoing evaluation and quality assurance. They review trainees’ progress through learning visits, reviewing mentoring records and progress reviews and holding apprenticeship tracking meetings. These arrangements help leaders identify where trainees require additional support and enable timely intervention where needed.

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Leadership Expected standard

Leaders invest in the development of mentors and teaching and learning coaches to support trainees’ professional growth. Mentors use a common-coaching approach, supported by training and guidance, to help trainees reflect on and improve their practice. Specialist teaching and learning coaches work with curriculum areas to support consistency, share effective practice and enhance the quality of teaching.

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Next steps

Leaders should continue to strengthen the consistency of subject specialist mentoring so that trainees across all curriculum areas benefit from well-structured developmental support.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that staff refine the developmental feedback they provide so that trainees receive consistently precise guidance on how to improve their theoretical work, teaching practice and professional behaviours.

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Next steps

Leaders should continue to strengthen their strategic oversight of how mentoring and professional development support trainees to translate their vocational expertise into high- quality teaching. Governance arrangements provide oversight of trainee development and programme performance and support leaders in their ongoing improvement of the provision.

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Next steps

Leaders recognise that there are opportunities to strengthen the consistency of subject specialist mentoring and further refine how developmental feedback supports trainees to improve their teaching. They are continuing to strengthen their oversight of how mentoring and professional development support trainees to translate vocational expertise into high- quality teaching.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders promote clear expectations for professional conduct through induction, mentoring and ongoing professional development. Trainees understand the behaviours expected of teachers and apply these appropriately in their work with learners and colleagues. They are committed to their learning and engage well with the programme. Attendance at taught sessions is high.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Trainees understand well the importance of maintaining professional boundaries and creating respectful learning environments. They treat learners and colleagues with respect and understand how to challenge bullying, harassment and discriminatory behaviour appropriately.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders provide trainees with protected time for professional development and planning. Trainees value this time and use it effectively to engage in training, coaching and reflective practice. Leaders provide appropriate pastoral and wellbeing support, including flexible arrangements and access to specialist support services where required. As a result, trainees feel well supported when personal circumstances create barriers to learning.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Trainees are ambitious for their future careers and understand the opportunities available to them for further professional development and progression within the further education and skills sector. As a result of the training they receive at the college, they appreciate the challenges and realities of teaching in the further education sector.

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

Many trainees join the programme as experienced industry specialists. Through coaching, mentoring and professional development, they develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to become effective teachers while maintaining the vocational expertise that underpins their teaching. Trainees benefit from a carefully planned programme that supports their transition into teaching and helps them develop within the further education and skills sector.

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

Trainees are part of a supportive professional community where teacher training, mentoring and wider professional development are closely aligned. They have regular opportunities to reflect on their teaching through observation feedback, learning visits, coaching discussions and mentoring meetings. Trainees value the feedback they receive and can explain how this has helped them improve aspects of their teaching, including increasing learner participation, adapting activities to meet learners' needs and making learning objectives more explicit.

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

Trainees benefit from opportunities to develop their teaching in industry-standard learning environments. For example, they teach in realistic vocational settings, including commercial kitchens, restaurants, hair and beauty salons, workshops and laboratories. These experiences help trainees understand how to prepare learners for employment and develop the professional behaviours expected within their industries. Trainees also benefit from opportunities to work alongside experienced practitioners through buddying arrangements, specialist coaching and external professional networks.

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

Leaders create a culture in which trainees feel comfortable seeking support when they encounter personal or professional challenges. Trainees value the flexibility and support available to them, including adapted submission arrangements, wellbeing support and breaks in learning where required. This helps trainees remain on programme and continue to make progress.

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

Trainees understand their responsibilities as teachers. They know how to keep learners safe, recognise safeguarding concerns and follow college procedures appropriately. They are ambitious for their future careers and understand the opportunities available to continue developing their expertise within further education. Leaders recognise that opportunities for subject specialist mentoring are not yet equally well developed across all curriculum areas.

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About this inspection

Brooklands Technical College is a general further education college in Surrey. It has 2 campuses. The initial teacher education trainees who were in scope for this inspection study the level 5 learning and skills teacher apprenticeship, which is taught at the Weybridge site. All trainees were employed by the college.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with a range of leaders, staff, and trainees as mentors as part of the inspection.

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Lead inspector:

Carolyn Brownsea, His Majesty's Inspector

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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. 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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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

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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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