Exeter College

Audience

Published date May 2008 Provider reference 130645 Provider reference 130645

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Audience

Published date May 2008 Exeter College Inspection report

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Contents

Key strengths and areas for improvement 7

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Grading

Inspectors use a four-point scale to summarise their judgements about achievement and standards, the quality of provision, and leadership and management, which includes a grade for equality of opportunity.

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Grading

The descriptors for the four grades are: • grade 1 – outstanding • grade 2 – good • grade 3 – satisfactory • grade 4 – inadequate

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Grading

Further information can be found on how inspection judgements are made at www.ofsted.gov.uk .

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Scope of the inspection

In deciding the scope of this inspection, inspectors took account of: the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans; comments from the local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) or other funding body; and where appropriate the previous inspection report ( www.ofsted.gov.uk ); reports from the inspectorate annual assessment visits or quality monitoring inspection; and data on learners and their achievement over the period since the last inspection. This inspection focused on the following aspects:

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Scope of the inspection

 overall effectiveness of the organisation and its capacity to improve further  achievement and standards  quality of provision  leadership and management.

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Description of the provider

1. Exeter College was established in 1970 as the first tertiary college in England. The college was designed to provide all post-16 education and training provision for the city, bringing together the sixth forms from the former grammar schools and the Exeter Technical College. Each of the secondary schools outside the city boundary has a sixth form, providing young people and their parents with a choice of post-16 opportunities. The college has two major campuses in the city centre, at Hele Road and Queen Street, and two specialist training centres on the outskirts of the city.

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Description of the provider

2. In the past two years, full-time numbers for learners aged 16-18 have risen rapidly, increasing by almost 500 since 2005. In 2007/08, the college enrolled 4,000 full-time learners and expects to enrol around 7,000 part-time learners. The college is a major provider of work-based learning and Train to Gain with around 1,700 learners in 2006/07. It also provides vocational courses for more than 500 learners aged 14-16, mainly drawn from the city’s secondary schools. Higher education is also growing at the college, with 500 learners, mainly on foundation degrees, studying in 2007/08.

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Description of the provider

3. Exeter College offers a wide curriculum, from entry level to level 4 in all sector subject areas except land-based industries. The vast majority of learners aged 16-18 follow level 3 programmes. In recent years, the college has expanded its provision for learners aged 16-18 at entry level and levels 1 and 2. The number of learners aged 19 and over has dropped significantly during the past two years. In 2006/07 the college achieved Investors in People status and achieved the Positive about Disabled Standard.

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Description of the provider

4. The City of Exeter has a population of about 119,000 and is growing rapidly with significant new investment from major employers. Unemployment levels are low, at 2% in 2007. The staying on rate for learners aged over 16 was very low at 59% in 2004 but has risen to 73% in 2007/08. The percentage of pupils gaining at least five GCSE passes at A* to C, including mathematics and English, is below the national average across the city’s five secondary schools.

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Leadership and management Good: Grade 2

Equality of opportunity Good: contributory grade 2

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Effectiveness of provision Good: Grade 2

5. The effectiveness of provision is good. Achievement and standards are good overall. The vast majority of learners study at level 3 and long course success rates at level 3 have been consistently above the national rate for several years. Success rates for adults on courses at level 1 have improved but remain below the national rate. For adults on level 2 courses they declined significantly in 2006/07, largely due to one poorly performing information technology (IT) course. The college has put in place effective measures to improve this provision. Success rates are good on adult and community learning and Train to Gain programmes and are satisfactory for work-based learning provision.

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Effectiveness of provision Good: Grade 2

6. Teaching and learning are good. Learners are motivated, attentive, and participate well in lessons which enable them to make good progress and achieve well. The use of information and learning technology (ILT) in some lessons is good. Specialist facilities are particularly good in health and care, construction, motor vehicle engineering, engineering and art and design. Assessment practice is good. In some lessons, poor planning, a lack of challenge in tasks that learners are set or unclear lesson outcomes inhibit learners’ progress.

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Effectiveness of provision Good: Grade 2

7. The college’s response to meeting the needs and interest of learners and to educational and social inclusion is good. The curriculum is broad and increasingly inclusive. Good progress is being made in developing successful links with employers. Most learners benefit from a good range of activities, in addition to their formal curriculum, that contribute to their knowledge, enjoyment or well-being. Partnership work with local schools to develop a coherent city-wide curriculum with clear progression routes has made slow progress.

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Effectiveness of provision Good: Grade 2

8. Guidance and support are good. Arrangements for ensuring that full-time learners are on the right course are very good and for part-time learners they are improving. Learners benefit from good tutorial support. Group tutorials are used well to inform learners about a wide range of issues outside the formal curriculum. Learners in need of additional help with their studies are well provided for and an impressive range of support services is available to all learners.

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Effectiveness of provision Good: Grade 2

9. Leadership and management are good. Over the last few years the senior leadership team has successfully overseen an extensive property development project, enrolled more young learners, expanded provision and improved success rates for most learners. Systems to assure the quality of provision have improved and are now good, supported by readily available and reliable data. The lesson observation system provides the college with a broadly accurate assessment of the quality of teaching. Links with employers and community organisations are productive. Equality of opportunity is good. The college complies with race and disability legislation and meets its responsibilities to protect children and vulnerable adults. Governors are supportive, financial management is good and the college provides good value for money.

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Capacity to improve Good: Grade 2

10. The college’s capacity to improve is good. Quality assurance is good. Self- assessment is broadly accurate and development plans set a clear agenda for improvement. The ambitious strategic aim to become an outstanding institution is underpinned by good leadership and management.

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improvement since the last inspection

11. The college has made good progress in addressing weaknesses identified at the last inspection. For example, construction provision and accommodation have improved significantly. Success rates for work-based learning and key skills have risen, although these remain areas for further development.

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Key strengths

 high success rates on level 3 advanced courses for learners aged 16-18  good teaching and learning particularly on foundation courses  broad range of provision with good progression routes  very good pastoral and welfare support for learners  good use of trained volunteers to support learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities on adult and community learning programmes  successful management of the complex property project providing learners with high quality learning environments.

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The college should address:

 success rates for learners aged 19 and over  target setting for learners to raise both aspirations and achievement  strategic development of the curriculum with schools.

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Contributory grades:

Adult and community learning Good: grade 2 Work based learning Satisfactory: grade 3 Train to Gain Good: grade 2 Learners aged 14 to 16 Good: grade 2

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Contributory grades:

12. Achievement and standards are good overall. This agrees with the judgement in the college’s self-assessment report. In 2006/07 approximately 70% of full-time equivalent (FTE) learners were aged 16-18 and the vast majority studied at level 3. The overall success rates for long level 3 courses are high and have been consistently above the national rate for the last three years. The success rate for general certificate of education (GCE) AS level has been above, or around, the national rate for the last three years and learners make good progress when measured against their starting points. Success rates for long courses at levels 2 and 3 have significantly improved over the last three years and are now around the national rate. Key skills success rates have also improved to around the sector average.

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Contributory grades:

13. Long course success rates for learners aged over 19 are low at levels 1 and 2. At level 1 the rate has improved over the three year period but remains below the national rate. At level 2, the success rate declined significantly in 2006/07 due to poor achievement on one information technology course with an outside contractor. The college has terminated this contract and put in place a detailed and effective improvement plan. Data for the current year show that 91% of learners are still in learning. At level 3, for adults, the success rate has steadily increased each year and is around the national rate.

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Contributory grades:

14. There are approximately 500 young people aged 14-16 studying at the college. The success rates for this group have varied but remain good. Success rates for adult and community learning and Train to Gain programmes are high and in work-based learning are satisfactory.

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Contributory grades:

15. The standard of learners’ work is generally good. Learners make good use of IT skills and work is well presented, particularly on level 1 courses. Learners on work-based learning and Train to Gain programmes develop a wide range of skills which effectively contribute to their future economic well-being and work performance. Progress onto other courses or employment is good. The attendance of learners is good.

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Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

16. The quality of provision is good. Teaching and learning are good and particularly so on foundation programmes. In the better lessons, teachers are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and well prepared. As a result, learners are motivated, attentive and participate well in lessons which enable them to make good progress and achieve well. In some lessons, poor planning, a lack of challenge in tasks that learners are set or unclear lesson outcomes inhibit learners’ progress. Inspectors noted that the college’s lesson observation records focus on the quality of teaching rather than on what learners achieve or the progress they make in lessons.

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Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

17. The use of ILT in some lessons is good. Specialist facilities are particularly good in health and care, construction, motor vehicle engineering, engineering and art and design. There are some good resources to support learners on the college’s Train to Gain programmes.

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Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

18. A team of 12 advanced practitioners motivate staff to focus on improving teaching and learning. As well as providing individual support, they also deliver well attended staff development activities in areas such as theory teaching and active learning. There is effective mentoring support for new teachers and those who have assumed new teaching responsibilities.

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Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

19. Good arrangements are in place for the initial assessment of learners’ literacy and numeracy needs, especially for full-time learners. Effective and appropriate in class support is provided, but the planning of activities by teachers to support individual learners’ needs in lessons is not consistently well developed. The college makes good use of trained volunteers to support adult learners with difficulties and/or disabilities on adult and community courses.

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Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

20. Assessment practice is good and is a particular strength on Train to Gain programmes. In a few subjects, work marked by teachers lacks precise comments to enable learners to improve their work. Learners’ progress is well managed on work-based learning programmes and is carefully checked by assessors. As noted in the college’s self-assessment report, arrangements for internal verification are effective, notably on national vocational qualification (NVQ) programmes.

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Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

21. The college provides a good range of programmes to meet the needs and interest of learners. The curriculum has broadened and there is now a wide range of courses from entry level upwards offering good progression routes in most sector subject areas. The college’s approach to educational and social inclusion is good. Efforts to attract more learners, including adults, from groups who are under-represented in further education are increasingly successful. The college works well with other community partners to achieve this. The comprehensive curriculum includes a very broad foundation programme and a good mix of academic and vocational programmes at levels 2 and 3, including an increasingly popular International Baccalaureate programme. However, progress in developing a coherent city-wide curriculum in partnership with local schools has been slow.

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Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

22. Engagement with employers has much improved in both scope and scale. The profile of the college with employers has recently been raised with the acquisition of significant training contracts with major companies. The full benefit of the improvement in employer links is yet to be felt by many learners on courses at the college.

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Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

23. Learners benefit from a good variety of enrichment programmes accessible through their courses, in tutorials and in a cross-college programme. Very good use is made of visiting speakers and many learners enjoy participating in sporting and cultural activities.

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Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

24. Inspectors agreed with the college’s judgement that guidance and support for learners are good. Full-time learners value highly the very good advice and guidance they receive prior to starting at the college. Arrangements to provide appropriate advice and guidance to part-time adult learners have been reviewed and are improving. Learners on full-time courses benefit from good support from personal tutors. Group tutorials are very good and have a strong focus on the Every Child Matters themes and on the promotion of equality and diversity. Tutors are thorough in monitoring learners’ progress and attendance but many do not set sufficiently challenging targets for their learners.

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Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

25. Learners have good access to welfare, counselling, health and other support services. Learners identified as needing additional learning support benefit from high quality support and college data show that learners in receipt of such support achieve better than other learners.

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Contributory grade:

26. Leadership and management are good. The ambitious aim, to become an outstanding institution by 2010, is understood by staff and supported by governors. Staff are aware of the college’s strategic priorities. Governors and college staff are clear about the need to become ever more flexible to respond to a wide range of changing local and national requirements. However, there is a lack of clarity about the extent to which the drive towards excellence, as outlined in the college’s mission, will involve working collaboratively with local schools.

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Contributory grade:

27. Whilst successfully managing a complex property project over the last few years, the senior leadership team has led the college well. The number of learners aged 16-18 has increased, provision at levels 1 and 2 has expanded and success rates on courses at all levels have further improved for learners aged 16-18. New accommodation is of a high quality, with particularly well equipped learning resource centres. 28. Systems to monitor the quality of provision are good. However, until recently, quality improvement arrangements were insufficiently refined to detect under-performing courses early enough to make a difference. This contributed to a significant decline in success rates for adult learners at level 2. Managers have since taken action to improve this provision and in-year retention on level 2 programmes is much improved.

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Contributory grade:

29. The well designed management information system provides teachers and managers with the information they need to do their job. Accurate data underpin the self-assessment process and evaluative course reviews feed in, through faculty self-assessment reports, to the overall college self- assessment report. Inspectors broadly agree with the judgements in the self-assessment report although some are overly generous.

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Contributory grade:

30. A small group of advanced practitioners plays a pivotal role in improving the quality of teaching and learning. Inspectors agree with the college’s own assessment that teaching and learning are good. Effective appraisals and good continuing professional development activities are well targeted to link to college objectives. The college is on track to ensure that all teachers have appropriate qualifications in line with recent workforce reforms.

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Contributory grade:

31. Equality of opportunity is good. An enthusiastic equality and diversity group has helped to raise the profile of the college’s race, gender and disability schemes and associated action plans and this has begun to impact on curriculum practice. The college meets statutory requirements in relation to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2002 and Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Appropriate procedures are in place for the protection of children and vulnerable adults and college staff and governors have had relevant training on the leglislation and their responsibilities.

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Contributory grade:

32. Governance is satisfactory. Governors are supportive of the college and, in many cases, provide a valuable commercial perspective. Financial management is good and the college provides good value for money.

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Contributory grade:

33. Relationships with partner organisations are generally good. College staff have productive links with employers within vocational areas and through work-based learning and Train to Gain and, more recently, as the preferred training partner for a locally based airline. The college’s adult and community learning provision builds on very good working relationships with community organisations. The strategic development of the curriculum with schools is an area the college needs to further develop.

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Table 1

Success rates on mainstream level 1 qualifications, by qualification type, expected end year and age, 2005 to 2007, compared to the national rates for colleges of a similar type.

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Table 1

16-18 19+ Notional Level Exp End Year Starts – Transfers College Rate National Rate Diff Starts – Transfers College Rate National Rate Diff 1 Long 04/05 1157 53 65 -12 2377 46 62 -16 05/06 1302 65 69 -4 1530 51 65 -14 06/07 1449 70 439 52 04/05 59 88 68 20 2 100 69 31 GNVQs and precursors 05/06 75 76 72 4 2 50 06/07 66 76 3 67 NVQs 04/05 197 62 68 -6 45 60 66 -6 05/06 163 74 72 2 21 43 74 -31 06/07 173 77 12 83 Other 04/05 901 49 64 -15 2330 46 62 -16 05/06 1064 63 69 -6 1507 51 65 -14 06/07 1210 68 424 51

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Table 2

Success rates on mainstream level 2 qualifications, by qualification type, expected end year and age, 2005 to 2007, compared to the national rates for colleges of a similar type.

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Table 2

16-18 19+ Notional Level Exp End Year Starts – Transfers College Rate National Rate Diff Starts – Transfers College Rate National Rate Diff 2 Long 04/05 1498 58 61 -3 920 57 60 -3 05/06 1444 59 66 -7 972 56 66 -10 06/07 1554 69 1240 38 04/05 563 63 64 -1 180 62 62 0 GCSE 05/06 520 60 68 -8 192 61 67 -6 06/07 636 69 178 56 04/05 286 72 67 5 6 83 75 8 05/06 267 72 69 3 7 43 68 -25 GNVQs and precursors 06/07 236 69 8 75 04/05 144 59 57 2 203 70 60 10 NVQs 05/06 230 61 65 -4 126 67 67 0 06/07 220 64 740 25 Other 04/05 505 45 60 -15 531 49 59 -10 05/06 427 48 66 -18 647 53 65 -12 06/07 462 70 314 59

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Table 3

Success rates on mainstream level 3 qualifications, by qualification type, expected end year and age, 2005 to 2007, compared to the national rates for colleges of a similar type.

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Table 3

16-18 19+ Notional Level Exp End Year Starts – Transfers College Rate National Rate Diff Starts – Transfers College Rate National Rate Diff 3 Long 04/05 5968 75 68 7 1005 60 58 2 05/06 5581 73 70 3 973 61 63 -2 06/07 5262 75 770 63 04/05 1575 90 87 3 247 70 71 -1 A/A2 Levels 05/06 1719 89 88 1 233 63 74 -11 06/07 1353 88 174 66 AS Levels 04/05 3401 72 66 6 186 45 52 -7 05/06 2879 66 67 -1 138 60 55 5 06/07 2986 71 114 56 04/05 590 65 61 4 70 54 54 0 GNVQs and precursors 05/06 607 65 66 -1 75 56 56 0 06/07 533 62 77 58 NVQs 04/05 46 83 62 21 109 42 56 -14 05/06 53 75 71 4 150 54 63 -9 06/07 61 95 77 62 Other 04/05 356 63 60 3 393 66 59 7 05/06 323 74 65 9 377 64 64 0 06/07 329 80 328 65

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Table 4

Success rates on work-based learning programmes managed by the college 2005 to 2007.

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Table 4

Programme End Year Success Rate No, of learners * College NVQ rate ** National NVQ rate ** College framework rate ** National framework rate ** overall 141 47% 48% 27% 34% 04/05 timely 100 27% 31% 22% 22% overall 147 61% 53% 46% 44% 05/06 timely 167 31% 34% 26% 27% overall 111 59% 64% 53% 58% Advanced Apprenticeships

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Table 4

06/07 timely 90 41% 43% 36% 37% overall 348 59% 51% 46% 39% 04/05 timely 329 19% 29% 15% 22% overall 207 56% 58% 47% 52% 05/06 timely 193 29% 38% 24% 34% overall 363 61% 65% 59% 61% Apprenticeships

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Table 4

06/07 timely 324 48% 47% 47% 44% overall 04/05 timely overall 05/06 timely overall 203 leavers 76% No national benchmark on LSC website Adult training (long courses) ***

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Table 4

* Learners who leave later than originally planned are counted in the year they actually leave. This group of learners are then added to the learners who planned to complete in a given year and did so or left earlier than planned ** College and national qualification success rates are calculated using LSC published data derived from the ‘Individual Learning Record’ *** Adult training (long courses) includes ‘Train to Gain’ provision, but not ‘Skills for Life’

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Table 5

Outcomes on Entry to Employment (E2E) programmes managed by the college 2005 to 2007.

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Table 5

* These are key objectives identified for each learner following an E2E programme ** Progression is measured in terms learners’ movement to further education, education and employment, during or at the end of their training period

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Table 5

Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. Year Number of starts in year Achieved Objectives vol (%) * Progression % ** Still in learning

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Table 5

04/05 101 58 (42%) 50% 0 05/06 76 51 (58%) 51% 0 06/07 70 42 (61%) 33% 5

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