Setting

Ms J Ellis Vice Principal Telford College of Arts and Technology Haybridge Road Wellington Telford Shropshire TF1 2NP

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Classroom (LOTC)

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during my visit on 12 November 2007 to look at the way that learning outside the classroom contributes to your college’s curriculum and to learners’ achievement and personal development.

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Classroom (LOTC)

Thank you for organising my day and the time you gave me during my visit to identify good practice and areas for improvement, as outlined below. I very much appreciated the discussions I had with yourself and the principal, senior staff, learners and the access you gave me to relevant documentation and teaching sessions.

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Classroom (LOTC)

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text. All feedback letters are published on the Ofsted website at the end of each half-term.

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Good practice identified included:

 Pupils from local schools in Years 9 to 11 are able to use the college’s facilities for learning outside the classroom. The college is catering for a growing number of 14-16 year old pupils through its Increased Flexibility Programme (IFP). A 14-16 taster programme, 14-16 brochure and a Young Apprenticeship programme are available.  Members of college staff have undertaken a relevant 14-19 teaching qualification.  The college has developed a number of conferences for schools including a Gifted and Talented summer school and the Children’s University. Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk  Learners following the Uniformed Public Services programme, as part of their Community Sports Leadership award, undertake 10 hours of worthwhile community service. They prepare and deliver sporting activities for local Year 7 pupils.  Learners on Childcare courses plan their work well and visit the locations

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Good practice identified included:

in advance to undertake risk assessments for trips they organise for children.  All heads of school have budgets for learning outside the classroom and in some courses this is included in fees.  The college supports fair trade in all its outlets.  All learners have access to an extensive and well planned enrichment programme that is referenced to Every Child Matters.  A learner management week is timetabled every five to six weeks to allow activities outside the classroom to take place more easily.  Curriculum activities are not timetabled for Wednesday afternoons to facilitate learner involvement in the enrichment programme.  All trips and visits are monitored by the health and safety officer who provides staff with risk assessment guidance. The risk assessment system is online and easy to complete. Staff are able to access relevant data via the college management information system. The college is confident that

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Good practice identified included:

it can manage any risk and senior staff take a positive and encouraging attitude to any proposed learning taking place outside the classroom.

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Areas for development, which we discussed, included:

 the more systematic collection of evidence to measure impact of learning outside the classroom on achievement and personal development and well-being.

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Areas for development, which we discussed, included:

A copy of this letter will be published on Ofsted’s website. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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