Setting

Myerscough College was inspected in January 2003. Inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) and the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) carried out the inspection under Section 62 of the Learning and Skills Act. The quality of provision was found to be satisfactory or better in all areas inspected, except in WBL areas of agriculture, horticulture, and landscape and creative design which were found to be unsatisfactory. Agriculture and horticulture WBL were upgraded in October 2004.

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Outcome of Re-Inspection Monitoring

The overall provision in the work-based learning (WBL) area of landscape and creative design is now satisfactory .

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Background

Ofsted and the ALI have particular duties in relation to colleges where their inspection report indicates that individual curriculum and/or work-based learning (WBL) areas are unsatisfactory or very weak or where leadership and management are unsatisfactory or very weak. Where a college has been judged to have less than satisfactory leadership and management, or less than satisfactory provision in solely WBL, inspectors from Ofsted or the ALI will visit the college to carry out monitoring inspections of the less than satisfactory areas. As a result of the re-inspection monitoring visits, inspectors may judge that previously less than satisfactory areas of provision, or leadership and management, are now satisfactory and that no further visits are required. Where leadership and management are satisfactory, but there is curriculum provision that is less than satisfactory, there will be no monitoring visits. All less than satisfactory provision will be re-inspected,

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Background

normally during one week, within two years of the original inspection.

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Background

If, after approximately 24 months, the college has not made sufficient progress to justify a judgement that the curriculum or WBL area or leadership and management are satisfactory, the original grade for the area that continues to be unsatisfactory will remain on the college's record until the next full inspection within the cycle. Ofsted will inform the local LSC that provision remains unsatisfactory and the reasons why.

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Date of the Re-Inspection Monitoring Visits

In accordance with the above procedures, re-inspection monitoring visits of landscape and creative design took place on 5-6 October 2004 and 20-21 April 2005.

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Landscape and creative design WBL

In the January 2003 inspection, the quality of overall provision in this area was judged to be unsatisfactory. The following weaknesses relating to work-based learning were identified in the inspection report:

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Weaknesses

• low achievement of modern apprenticeship frameworks

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Weaknesses

• some teaching staff receive insufficient support

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Weaknesses

• no clear short term targets in tutorials

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Weaknesses

• individual learning plans not followed up regularly.

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Weaknesses

Following the re-inspection monitoring visits, inspectors judged that progress has been made in addressing the above weaknesses. The overall provision in this area is now satisfactory .

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Weaknesses

Retention on both landscape and floristry programmes is now high. Achievement of apprenticeship frameworks, although remaining low, is improving. Ten full frameworks have been achieved in landscape and one in floristry. However, all of these achievements were outside the original target period. There has been improved progress towards achievement of NVQ units by all learners and a higher priority is given to integrating key skills and additional awards from the start of the programme. There have been considerable improvements in recording and use of data, but there is still no effective system to evaluate progress against interim learning plan targets.

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Weaknesses

Teaching staff and assessors are now well supported. Most teaching in both floristry and landscape now takes place in the workplace. There is good integration of vocational and key skills with theory, applied to the individual learner's work situation. Individual learning plans and review documentation have been redesigned and now show target dates for achievement of NVQ units, key kills and additional awards. Short-term targets are set systematically at each tutorial review. Some monitoring is of a high standard, but in some records there is no indication of whether targets have been achieved.

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Weaknesses

There will be no further monitoring visits to the college because there are no remaining unsatisfactory areas.

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Weaknesses

educational purposes, provided that the 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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