Setting

Date of visit: 22 May 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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Are the current learners making good progress?

 The current learners are making good progress. The college now collates data on the achievement of individual learning targets each term. This enables the staff to monitor how well each learner is doing and the data shows that all learners are making good progress. The on-line system enables all staff to have access to all learner records. Monitoring of progress takes place through the tutorial system. Care and education staff can access the tutorial records and there is good integration between the hotel, house and vocational tutorials.

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Are the current learners making good progress?

 There are sixteen learners due to leave the college in July and all are making excellent progress. Ten of the sixteen have already secured employment, which is an improvement for the college when measured at the same point last year.

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enrichment activities this year?

 The college has extended the very good and extensive range of work experience and enrichment activities. They have three new placements this year including a large national organisation. The learner on work experience with this organisation has secured employment with them in his home area.

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of external specialist support?

 The college has made good progress in this area. Specialist support is extensive and all details are held centrally in a support handbook which is available to all staff. All appointments by learners with outside support agencies are logged on the new IT system so staff can identify exactly what support each learner has received. Specialist support is identified at the initial assessment stage and then put in place promptly. Assessment and monitoring of learners’ needs is on-going throughout the year and as individual needs change the support is changed to match learner requirements. Each August all staff have training in order to meet the support needs of the learners they will be working with. The training involves contributions from specialist support staff. Training planned for this year covers areas such as visual awareness, epilepsy, speech and language and dyslexia. The college currently have no gaps in specialist

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careers independently?

 The college has made very good progress in helping learners to explore careers independently. Learners focus clearly on the steps involved in making appropriate choices in their individual programmes. The new ‘Moving On’ scheme includes an element on careers search and guidance. Job search is embedded in Life Skills training. Parents, Connexions, and social workers attend a review meeting and a thorough and appropriate action plan is agreed. Learners are highly confident and are highly participative in searching for employment and housing. New resources including a careers library and a growing resource bank is well-used by learners.

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strands of the programme been strengthened?

 The links between the transition programme and main strands of the programme been strengthened since the previous inspection. Learners are fully involved in forming their personal, independent living and employment targets and in evaluating their progress in gaining the skills they need. They can describe their performance in each session on a five point scale with ‘independence’ as their aspiration. The college has plans to broaden the range of occupations learners can explore and experience in work placements. Success is celebrated and learners are highly motivated. The college is developing the abilities of support workers in learners’ houses to help learners practice their skills and to assess their progress.

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support assistants?

 Management of learning support assistants has improved. At the last inspection in October 2006 inspectors identified that in a minority of lessons learning support staff were over-directive and did not allow the learners to benefit from making mistakes. The college plan to routinely observe the learning support assistants in the same way they observe teaching staff from September this year. When teaching staff are observed their management of the learning support assistants is judged as part of the observation. Records of observations this year have shown the management of the learning support assistants to be good.

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analysis:

 At the last inspection an area for improvement identified was the opportunity for learners to have a corporate voice. The college has now put in place a learner committee which meets regularly and actions are taken in response to issues raised.

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analysis:

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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