Setting

Date of visit: 3 July 2007

This feedback contains brief findings from the annual assessment visit. It focuses on the themes explored during the visit and does not attempt to give a comprehensive overview of the college’s performance.

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improved?

 There have been some improvements in the overall success rates for 2005/06. For example, the further education (FE) success rate for long courses in 2005/06 was 59%, a three per cent improvement on the previous year. Students’ outcomes in some of the areas graded as satisfactory at the last inspection have improved, but this improvement has not been consistent across all the areas or across all courses within any curriculum area. There is good evidence to show that raising success rates in these areas is a high priority for the college. Success rates for adults at levels 1 and 2 are being addressed and show signs of improving. Much of the underperformance in these areas is ascribed to some poor success rates on a lot of ICT provision in the college’s Learning Shops. Some of this provision has been closed and there is an ongoing review of the remaining provision.

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strategies to improve retention been effective?

 There is good evidence to show that success rates are likely to improve in 2006/07. Strategies to improve retention rates have been effective. Pragmatic approaches in 2007, such as chasing down registrations on some courses, have paid dividends. The retention rate at the end of May 2007 was 81% which is 10% higher than the final outcome for 2005/06. Retention on level 1 provision has improved from 67% at the end of 2005/06 to 72% at the end of May 2007. A range of more systematic approaches to raising retention rates, focussed on improving the students’ experiences at college, are planned for 2007/08. The college also plans to introduce the use of value added measures to provide a more consistent approach to measuring learners’ progress.

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the expected time?

 There have been significant improvements to both overall and timely completion rates for work-based learning programmes. Overall completion rates have improved to 65% in the latest period for 2007 from 49% in 2005/06. Timely completions are 44% compared to 29% in 2005/06. The latest outcomes for both these measures are now above the national averages.

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qualifications, and what is the impact?

 There has been a great deal of energy and resource applied to improving the approaches used to lesson observation and its analysis. This work has been the result of widespread consultation. It is closely linked with a wide ranging development programme for middle managers who now have clear responsibility for assessing and improving the quality of teaching and learning in their curriculum area. The range of work observed has been extended to include tutorial sessions and lessons are now observed by specialists in the specific curriculum area. There is a clear and strong focus on improving satisfactory teaching and learning to at least a good standard. Lesson observation, appraisal and continuing professional development (CPD) are now well linked. There is an increased staff development budget and more sharing of good practice to support improvements in teaching and learning. Staff are strongly encouraged to

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qualifications, and what is the impact?

take up roles such as external verifiers with awarding bodies as part of their CPD.  Firm action has been taken to address the issue of staff who remain unqualified. Gaining a teaching qualification is seen as a top priority and systems are in place to ensure that action to support this aim is followed through. There are detailed plans to support this work and clear targets to be met.

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of information learning technology (ILT) in lessons?

 Advisory teachers are effectively deployed to support teachers in planning their lessons. They have run training sessions on lesson planning across the college. There is now a clear expectation that lessons will be supported by a lesson plan and this aspect forms part of the lesson observation system. Many areas of the college have operated drop in sessions each week for staff to develop their IT skills and to help them to use ILT more effectively in their teaching. There has been a good level of in-service education for teachers (INSET) to support both these areas for improvement and to support new teachers who do not hold a teaching qualification.

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and the quality of group tutorials?

 Learners are very clear that they receive good support from their tutors, including effective group tutorial work. They could describe clearly the range of activities they undertook during group tutorials and they felt that these activities helped them to develop their skills in several areas. All the learners had Individual Learning Plans and felt that they were setting themselves (after discussion with their tutors) clear targets.

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and the quality of group tutorials?

 There has been a lot of effective training for personal tutors to help them to set ‘Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timely’ (SMART) targets and to gain a qualification in tutoring. All new teachers are required to undertake the first module of this tutor training programme during their induction.

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and the quality of group tutorials?

 There are further developments in train. A new computer based system to record and track learners’ progress is being piloted over the next year. An electronic registration/attendance system has been piloted this year and will be introduced across the college over the next year.

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that was judged to be satisfactory at inspection?

 There is a clear commitment and focus from senior managers to raise standards in these areas and steady progress is being made. There have been a number of new senior and middle manager appointments made over the last year with a view to tackling these areas. Actions taken so far include revisions to the curriculum offered and additional staffing. There has been a review of how learners are recruited to courses in these areas which has led to improvements in the interview procedures, changes to entry criteria for courses and more stimulating and active induction programmes.

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consistency of reviews at team level?

 The format of the course review has been simplified. Course teams now meet each term to review the progress of the course. Course managers have a better understanding of the data regarding learners that they are supplied with from the centre. They feel more confident using this data to inform judgements about their courses. There is good evidence to show that there have been changes to programmes this year as a result of the course review process.

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improvement?

 Quality assurance and quality improvement are much more closely linked. Curriculum managers are now clearly responsible for both these aspects relating to courses within their span of control. They have had an extensive training and coaching programme to develop their skills of assessing the quality of teaching and learning. They are now responsible for addressing any issues identified from lesson observations through the performance management programme.  The college has a comprehensive Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) which includes plans to address all the issues identified at the last inspection. Some of the milestones in the QIP could be more specific.

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management?

 There are a series of new senior appointments being made which will allocate college wide accountability for a subject sector area of the college’s work to the post holder. Curriculum managers have benefited from an extensive development programme which has been produced in response to the outcomes of the last inspection. The college is investing a significant resource in increasing the capacity of its middle curriculum managers.

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with the Race relations Act?

 The college complies with the Race Relations Act. There is a new Equality and Diversity committee, chaired by the principal, which reports to the corporation. A detailed analysis of learners’ performance, by both gender and ethnicity, has been undertaken. There are plans to hold focus group meetings so that specific groups of learners can express any concerns and raise ideas for improvement.

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Any themes from the pre-visit analysis not explored during the visit:

information quoted is reproduced verbatim without adaptation, and the source and date of publication are stated. Inspection reports are available on the Ofsted website (www.ofsted.gov.uk).

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