University of Lincoln

Audience Post-sixteen Published date May 2009 Provider reference 133836 Provider reference 133836

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Published date May 2009 University of Lincoln Inspection report

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Contents

Background information........................................................................................ 3 Summary of grades awarded ................................................................................ 5 Overall judgement................................................................................................ 6 Key strengths and areas for improvement………………………………………………………….. 7 Main findings ....................................................................................................... 9 Sector subject area reports ................................................................................. 13

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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 (SAR) 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  specialist provision in: horticulture; animal care; food technology; and literacy, numeracy and key skills.

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Description of the provider

1. Riseholme College is the University of Lincoln’s specialist college for the land- based and food manufacturing sectors. It is medium sized and delivers further education (FE) provision from two campuses, Riseholme in Lincoln and Holbeach, south of Boston. Riseholme campus specialises in land-based provision. It provides residential accommodation and its substantial estates include farms, animal centres and horticultural units. Holbeach campus was developed in partnership with the food manufacturing industry and provides specialist and generic training, including higher education, for that industry. The university has a centre of vocational excellence (CoVE) at each campus. 2. Following a period of turbulence, a new Dean was appointed in January 2008 and a new senior management team was appointed in September 2008.

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Description of the provider

3. The college’s main catchment areas are Lincolnshire and Rutland but its specialist provision recruits learners more widely from the East Midlands. Some national employers use the college for their training. The socio-economic environment around both campuses is favourable with low unemployment rates, although some pockets of deprivation exist. The local population is predominantly of White British heritage although increasingly the college is delivering Skills for Life provision to eastern European workers at the Holbeach campus. The number of pupils achieving five GCSE A* to C grades locally is slightly above the national average.

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Description of the provider

4. The college offers FE provision in eight sector subject areas, with most learners in land-based subjects, food manufacturing and preparation for life and work. The college provides work-based learning in land-based and food manufacturing subjects, which are Lincolnshire’s major employment sectors.

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Description of the provider

5. In 2007/08 the college enrolled 289 full-time learners, all at the Riseholme campus; the majority were aged 16 to 18. Most full-time learners study at level 3. A further 1,792 part-time learners were enrolled, these being mostly adults at the Holbeach campus. The number of work-based learners was 97. Around 60% of full- and part-time learners are male. Very few learners are from minority ethnic groups.

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Leadership and management Inadequate: Grade 4

Equality of opportunity Satisfactory: contributory grade 3

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Effectiveness of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

6. The overall effectiveness of FE provision is satisfactory in contrast to the college’s judgement of good. Achievement and standards are satisfactory. The overall college success rate in 2007/08 is close to the level of similar provision nationally. The long course success rate for learners of all ages has fallen to below the national average and retention rates are low. In 2008/09 retention of learners on full-time courses is improving. Success rates on short and very short courses are at the national average. Apprentice and key skill success rates at level 1 have improved and are good but advanced apprenticeship and key skill level 2 success rates are very low. Learners aged 14 to 16 achieve well at the college. The progress made by learners and the standards of their work are satisfactory.

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Effectiveness of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

7. The quality of provision is satisfactory. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Most lessons are at least satisfactory but few are outstanding. Teachers are well qualified and use their professional expertise well to motivate learners. However, individual needs are not fully met in a significant minority of lessons. The insufficient diagnosis of learners’ needs reduces the effectiveness of lesson planning and the monitoring of individual progress. Target setting lacks clarity and rigour. Procedures for diagnosing learners’ additional support needs are insufficiently developed. The curriculum meets the needs and interests of learners satisfactorily. The broad range of programmes in land-based and food industries is appropriate to the locality. Learners develop good skills to prepare them for employment. The resources for learning at the Holbeach campus were developed in partnership with industry and are outstanding. There is insufficient

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Effectiveness of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

broad-based entry and level 1 provision for full-time learners. The college’s response to educational and social inclusion is satisfactory. Support for learners is satisfactory. Pastoral support is good but academic guidance is underdeveloped.

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Effectiveness of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

8. Leadership and management are inadequate. Following a period of turbulence the college has recently appointed a new Dean and senior team who have set a clear and relevant strategic direction for the college. They have well considered plans to develop and improve provision and now monitor the performance of curriculum areas more carefully. However, it is too early to assess the impact of these new arrangements. The management of resources is good. Arrangements for quality improvement and self-assessment are comprehensive but ineffective. Management information prior to 2007/08 is unreliable and inaccessible. Managers do not analyse or evaluate learners’ performance sufficiently. Lesson observation procedures are insufficiently rigorous and provide an over-generous assessment of the quality of teaching and learning. Equality of opportunity is satisfactory.

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Capacity to improve Satisfactory: Grade 3

9. Capacity to improve is satisfactory. The new senior management team have substantial and well considered strategic plans to develop and improve provision. They acknowledge that the monitoring of performance in curriculum areas and lines of accountability throughout the college were ineffective and have reorganised the management of FE provision to focus more closely on improving standards. They have increased collaboration with other colleges to provide benchmarking against national standards. Senior managers now monitor the performance of all curriculum areas closely. Overall achievement and standards and quality of provision are satisfactory but quality assurance arrangements and the use of data are weak. Data systems have been improved since 2006/07 and this data is now accurate. The university is fully supportive of FE improvement plans.

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Capacity to improve Satisfactory: Grade 3

10. The self-assessment process involves all staff and takes account of the views of learners. However, inspectors found self-assessment processes lacked rigour and the resulting report overstated strengths, did not take sufficient account of areas for improvement and was too generous in its judgements.

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improvement since the last inspection

11. The college has made inadequate progress in addressing areas identified for improvement at the last inspection. The promotion of equality and diversity is now satisfactory. However, some issues remain with the range of courses, retention of learners aged 16 to 18 and analysis and use of data; teaching and learning remains satisfactory. Although new key strengths have been developed, some previous strengths are now judged satisfactory.

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Key strengths

 clear and relevant strategic direction  very good links with employers  outstanding resources for industry at the Holbeach campus  pastoral support at Riseholme  development of learners’ workplace skills  good success rates of learners aged 14 to 16.

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The college should address:

 slow progress in improving the quality of provision since the last inspection  the insufficient diagnosis of learners’ needs to plan individualised learning so that all learners achieve their potential  ineffective use of targets and individual learning plans (ILPs) to monitor learners’ progress  underdeveloped diagnosis for, and provision of, additional learning support  insufficient mapping of access routes at entry and level 1 for land-based industries  rigour and reliability of procedures for assessing the quality of teaching and learning  accuracy and accessibility of management information  insufficient analysis and evaluation of learners’ performance  inaccurate self-assessment.

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Contributory grade:

12. Achievement and standards are satisfactory. This grading is lower than the college’s judgement. In 2007 the college introduced a new data management system. While data for 2007/08 are judged to be accurate, data for previous periods cannot be obtained without manual adjustment. Trend analysis on long programmes is unreliable. The overall college success rate in 2007/08 is close to that of similar provision nationally. The long course success rate for learners of all ages has fallen to below the national average. Retention rates are low while pass rates are usually high. The success rate of learners aged 16 to 18 on level 3 courses continues to be below national average. In 2008/09 there are early indications of improvement in retention on full-time courses.

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Contributory grade:

13. Significant numbers of short and very short qualifications are studied, especially at the Holbeach campus. The success rate on short courses rose in 2007/08; for adults to the national average and for learners aged 16 to 18 to above the national average. The success rate of learners of all ages on very short courses has fallen and is close to the national average.

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Contributory grade:

14. Success rates on key skills level 1 programmes improved significantly in 2007/08 to above the national average. Success rates on key skills level 2 programmes remain well below the national average. Learners aged 14 to 16 achieve well at the college and many progress onto related programmes. The framework success of apprentices has improved to above the national average and a high proportion achieve their qualification within the planned timescale. The framework success rate of the few advanced apprentices is low. The college is at an early stage in identifying success rates of different groups of learners and it has not yet evaluated this data. The standard of learners’ work and the progress made by learners are satisfactory.

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Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

15. The quality of provision is satisfactory which is lower than the college’s self- assessment. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. The college’s new teaching and learning strategy provides an appropriate framework for improving teaching and learning but has yet to be reflected fully in college and subject area planning. Lesson observation procedures are insufficiently rigorous and provide an over-generous assessment of the quality of teaching and learning.

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Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

16. Most lessons are at least satisfactory but few are outstanding. Teachers are well qualified and learners respect and value their professional experience. Tasks to be covered in lessons are mostly well planned but teachers do not give sufficient emphasis to how learners of different abilities are to complete these tasks successfully. Learning objectives, where stated, often fail to reflect the prior knowledge of individual learners. Practical lessons are more successful than theory lessons and learners benefit from specialist facilities which are used well to support their learning. Learners develop good skills to help them to progress to higher level courses or prepare them for employment. They enjoy their studies. Teachers are beginning to make better use of information and learning technology (ILT) in lessons. The college’s virtual learning environment (VLE) is being used more effectively in some areas than others; where it is used

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Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

well it provides good support for teaching, the consolidation of work and research.

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Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

17. The college recognises that target setting at individual and course levels requires improvement. Long-term targets are not routinely set; short term targets are vague and related more to improving study habits than effective learning. Learners have insufficient diagnostic assessment of their needs to inform their individual targets for improvement. ILPs are not valued by learners and provide insufficient detail to monitor progress effectively. Learners who are identified as needing additional learning support receive appropriate help in lessons and ‘drop-in’ workshops. However, the procedures for diagnosing additional learning support needs of learners are insufficiently developed and not all learners requiring additional support receive it.

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Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

18. Assessment is satisfactory. For work-based learners, ‘off-the-job’ training and learning are satisfactory and complement the increasingly effective training undertaken in the workplace. Comprehensive arrangements keep parents and employers informed of learners’ progress.

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Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

19. The college meets the needs and interests of learners satisfactorily. The broad range of programmes in land-based and food industries is appropriate to learners in Lincolnshire. However, the college has no entry level full-time course and has a limited level 1 offer. Numerous short courses for full- and part-time learners enhance their employment skills. Curriculum enrichment activities increase learners’ motivation and interest, and learners’ success is regularly celebrated. Learners’ contribution to the community is satisfactory. Productive links with 18 schools enable 130 learners aged 14 to 16 to gain land-based qualifications and progress successfully, many of them to Riseholme.

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Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

20. The college maintains fruitful relationships with a wide range of local employers. At Holbeach much of the curriculum is designed in partnership with employers and matches their specific needs. Similar links are being developed at Riseholme, especially in land-based engineering, an identified local need.

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Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

21. The college’s response to educational and social inclusion is satisfactory. It supplies effective training to learners with language needs who are employed locally. Progression rates from one level of study to the next are satisfactory and success rates of learners with identified disabilities broadly match those of other learners. At Riseholme learners’ views are well represented internally, although no FE learners are represented on the students’ union or the governing body. 22. Guidance and support for learners are satisfactory. Learners are well aware of the wide range of good specialist support which is easily accessible. This includes advice on finance and accommodation and support from a nurse, a counsellor and a pastoral tutor. Learners feel safe at college and understand about healthy lifestyles.

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Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

23. Weekly absence monitoring is effective on full-time courses. In-year retention on full-time courses has risen this year and is high. In regular group and individual tutorials teachers support learners to complete work and achieve but are less effective at building learners’ skills so they develop and reach their potential.

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Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

24. At Holbeach, good advice and guidance by very knowledgeable assessors help learners understand progression opportunities. At Riseholme, all learners receive a careers interview at induction. A visiting careers advisor gives regular group and individual support, mainly for level 1 and 2 learners. Level 3 learners have group support in applying for higher education and jobs but have insufficient specific advice on progression.

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Contributory grade:

Equality of opportunity Satisfactory: grade 3

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Contributory grade:

25. Leadership and management, which the college had assessed as satisfactory, are inadequate. Following a period of turbulence a new senior management team was established in September 2008 to manage FE provision. Senior FE managers have substantial and well considered plans to develop and improve provision. Having recognised that monitoring of curriculum area performance and lines of accountability were ineffective they have reorganised the management structure to focus more closely on improving standards. They now monitor more carefully the performance of curriculum areas with subject managers. At the time of the inspection, it was too early to assess the impact of these new arrangements.

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Contributory grade:

26. Senior managers, supported by staff, have set a clear and relevant strategic direction for the college. It is particularly responsive to the needs of Lincolnshire’s major employment sectors. There has been substantial joint investment in state of the art facilities for industry at the Holbeach campus. The strategic direction is supported by the university’s strategic plan and the operating plan for FE. Senior managers thoroughly assess the potential impact of the themes and priorities in the operating plan. However, the plan lacks detail on target dates, responsibilities and monitoring arrangements.

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Contributory grade:

27. Arrangements for quality improvement and self-assessment are comprehensive but ineffective. The overall framework success rates for the very small number of work-based learners increased and retention rates for full-time learners in 2008/09 are starting to increase. However, long course retention and success rates declined between 2006/07 and 2007/08 to below that for similar provision nationally, the teaching and learning observation system is unreliable and self- assessment is weak. Although managers have taken action to improve the accuracy of learner performance data for 2007/08, its analysis and use, as at the last inspection, is underdeveloped and ineffective. College targets for overall success, retention and achievement for FE provision do not differentiate between age, long and short courses and different groups of learners. Minutes from FE executive team meetings show senior managers do not routinely

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Contributory grade:

review and discuss achievement and standards, teaching and learning and guidance and support. Curriculum management is satisfactory.

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Contributory grade:

28. The management of resources is good. Effective financial management provides resources for learners which range from satisfactory to outstanding. Given the college’s success rates, quality of teaching and learning, responsiveness to learners and employers and support and guidance for learners, the college provides satisfactory value for money.

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Contributory grade:

29. Equality of opportunity is satisfactory. The university as a whole places a strong emphasis on equality of opportunity through clear and relevant values. Its well established equality and diversity committee meets regularly to monitor and promote equality and diversity. Procedures are in place for the elimination of oppressive behaviour. The university does not have a single equality and diversity policy but managers are working towards one. Managers regularly collect and thoroughly analyse data on the recruitment of staff from different groups and the roles they hold at the university. Staff receive training on equality of opportunity. A substantial programme of courses in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) is available at the Holbeach campus and in the workplace for learners whose first language is not English. The university has appropriate arrangements for safeguarding young people and vulnerable

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Contributory grade:

adults and meets the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005 and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Effective arrangements for race equality impact assessments are in place. Managers collect data on the performance of different groups of FE learners but do not analyse this information to assess its impact. Inspectors found little discussion of equality of opportunity in the majority of lessons.

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Context

30. The college offers full- and part-time courses at levels 2 and 3. There are 33 full-time and 35 part-time learners, 22 are aged 16 to 18 and 46 are over 19. There are 33 work-based learners following apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships. A part-time evening course primarily for adults is also offered.

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Strengths

 high success rate on the national certificate in horticulture  improved and good framework completions  good standards of written work on the advanced national certificate in horticulture  effective use of facilities and equipment to develop practical skills.

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Areas for improvement

 low success rate on the advanced national certificate in horticulture  insufficient planning for the individual needs of learners in lessons  underdeveloped use of targets and action planning to support individualised learning  ineffective review and monitoring of areas for improvement in self-assessment  slow progress in improving teaching and learning.

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Achievement and standards

31. Achievement is satisfactory. Success rates are high on the full-time national certificate in horticulture and a small part-time advanced national certificate in horticulture. Success rates are low on the full-time advanced national certificate in horticulture and the part-time Royal Horticultural Society general certificate in horticulture. Apprenticeship framework completions have improved and are good. Standards of written work on advanced national certificate in horticulture courses are good. Standards of practical work are satisfactory. Most learners make satisfactory progress in lessons and attendance is satisfactory.

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Quality of provision

32. The quality of provision is satisfactory. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. In the best lessons teachers are enthusiastic, give good encouragement and link theory to practice well. Lesson planning is not responsive to the individual needs of learners. The range of activities to promote learning and check progress is narrow. The teaching of theory is often uninspiring and fails to capture learners’ interest. Effective use is made of facilities and equipment to develop practical skills. Much assessment feedback on assignments does not explain how learners can improve their work. 33. The range of provision is small. A new national certificate in arboriculture at level 2 has broadened the range. A level 1 course for school pupils has not recruited in the current year. Good opportunities are available for learners to extend their skills by taking additional industrial qualifications. Teachers make

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Quality of provision

good use of external visits and additional resources provided by commercial organisations carrying out growing trials. Most learners progress from the national certificate to the advanced national certificate in horticulture.

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Quality of provision

34. Support for learners is satisfactory. A wide range of informal support is readily available. Full-time learners have regular tutorials to review progress. The use of targets and action planning to support individualised learning is poor. ILPs are not always fully completed. Advice and guidance for learners on progression beyond level 3 are insufficient.

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Leadership and management

35. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Equality and diversity are promoted satisfactorily. In the 2007/08 SAR some strengths are overstated. The review and monitoring of areas identified for improvement have been ineffective. The team cannot monitor trends in performance or take necessary actions effectively as data are too unreliable. Progress on improving teaching and learning is slow. Insufficient use is made of the area’s teaching and learning strategy. No analysis of the current year’s lesson observations has taken place, although peer observations are useful in identifying good practice. Assessment and verification arrangements are satisfactory. Some teachers are working towards qualified teacher status.

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Context

36. The college offers full-time courses at levels 1, 2 and 3. There are 13 learners on level 1 courses, 32 learners at level 2 and 69 learners at level 3. Of these, about 90% are aged 16 to 18. A small number of learners follow part-time accredited and non-accredited courses. Some 47 learners aged 14 to 16 take accredited programmes at levels 1 and 2.

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Strengths

 high achievement rates  good attendance and punctuality  good focus on the development of employment skills  good progression routes for 14 to 19 year-olds  good pastoral support.

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Areas for improvement

 low retention rates on some courses  low proportion of learners achieving higher grades  underdeveloped planning of teaching and learning to meet the individual needs of learners  insufficient work-based learning provision  insufficient use of targets and action planning to support individualised learning.

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Achievement and standards

37. Achievement and standards are satisfactory. Success rates are satisfactory overall. Retention rates on some courses are low. The vast majority of learners who complete their course achieve the qualification. The proportion of learners achieving higher grades is low.

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Achievement and standards

38. Progression rates are satisfactory. Attendance and punctuality are good. Standards of learners’ work are satisfactory. Learners enjoy their learning and develop good levels of confidence.

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Quality of provision

39. The quality of provision is satisfactory. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Teachers use their experience well to ensure learners focus on developing their employment skills. Safe work practices are effectively reinforced. Experience gained from the wide range of curriculum related enrichment activities and the well managed animal unit is used effectively to reinforce and consolidate learning. 40. Planning of teaching and learning to meet learners’ individual needs is underdeveloped. In some lessons, learning outcomes are insufficiently demanding to stretch more able learners and teaching is insufficiently differentiated to meet the needs of both more and less able learners. Tutors do not use targets and action planning to support individualised learning sufficiently. Targets and actions agreed with learners do not provide effective plans of what they need to do or challenge them to achieve their potential.

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Quality of provision

Learners are monitored and supported to achieve their qualification. However, teachers provide insufficient support to improve their literacy and numeracy skills or to help them develop the specific skills they need to evaluate and improve their progress further. Opportunities for parental involvement are good.

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Quality of provision

41. The range of provision to meet the needs and interests of learners is satisfactory. Progression routes for learners aged 14 to 19 are good. There is insufficient work-based provision.

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Quality of provision

42. Guidance and support for learners are satisfactory. Learners receive good pastoral support. Academic and support staff are friendly and welcoming. Learners have prompt access to good specialist support services.

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Leadership and management

43. Curriculum management is satisfactory. Accommodation and resources are satisfactory overall. Communication between teaching, support staff and the curriculum manager is effective. Teachers access staff development to improve their teaching and learning but have insufficient structured support to effectively consolidate new initiatives into their own practice.

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Leadership and management

44. Equality and diversity are promoted satisfactorily. Staff use a number of curriculum related opportunities to promote aspects of equality of opportunity but progress to address the under-representation of males has been slow.

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Leadership and management

45. The self-assessment process is inclusive but the SAR for 2007/08 is insufficiently rigorous and evaluative. Performance is compared against benchmark data and targets have been set to monitor progress. Arrangements to share good practice and agree joint standards across the team are underdeveloped. Assessments and internal verification are satisfactory.

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Context

46. The college offers part-time courses from entry to degree level. Students work towards national vocational qualifications (NVQs), vocationally related qualifications, national certificates and awards, foundation degrees, and GCSE food manufacturing. There are 359 learners, of whom 272 are adults, 216 are male and all are in full-time employment. The number of learners aged 14 to 16 is 23.

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Strengths

 high success rates on GCSE food manufacturing  good apprentice framework completion  outstanding responsiveness to employers  outstanding resources.

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Areas for improvement

 poor success rate on NVQ level 2 food manufacturing in 2007/08  inadequate target setting to support learning  unsatisfactory diagnostic assessment  insufficiently rigorous self-assessment and poor use of data to plan and deliver improvements to the curriculum.

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Achievement and standards

47. Achievement and standards are satisfactory. Success rates vary for long courses. They are high in GCSE food manufacturing but low on the NVQ level 2 food and drink manufacturing. Apprenticeship frameworks have increased to well above national average in both completion and timely completion; however, overall completion is below national average for advanced apprentices. The standard of learners’ work ranges from satisfactory on the BTEC national programmes to good on NVQ courses and outstanding on GCSE. Assignments are well presented and show sound knowledge of industry standards and practice. Good use is made of research. The proportion of high grades is low on BTEC national programmes. Attendance and punctuality are good; employers and schools receive immediate feedback.

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Quality of provision

48. The quality of provision is satisfactory. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. In the best lessons, learners are actively engaged and contribute well. Teachers effectively reinforce links between theory and industry-related experience. The range of teaching and learning strategies used in many lessons is insufficient to meet the needs of all learners. Assessment plans do not reflect the seasonal nature of food manufacturing. Learners are not encouraged to use their initiative to gather work-related evidence of their achievement during busy periods when assessors have limited access to their workplace. No use is made of witness testimonies.

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Quality of provision

49. Responsiveness to the needs of employers is outstanding. The very good range of provision includes courses tailored to the specific needs of employers. Assessors work within individual learners’ shift patterns, including early morning and night shifts. Local industry links are extremely strong.

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Quality of provision

50. Guidance and support are satisfactory. Tutorials include valuable one-to-one support for course-related issues. However, target setting is insufficiently reliable to support learning. No use is made of prior qualifications to set learning targets and the setting and recording of incremental targets is limited. Diagnostic assessment is insufficient. Although lesson planning is detailed, the results of initial assessment are not used properly to inform learning activities, assessment planning and ILPs.

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Leadership and management

51. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Resources are outstanding. Communication within and between course teams is good. Staff in all roles are appropriately qualified and have current industry experience. Equality and diversity are generally promoted satisfactorily but there is insufficient promotion of employment rights and employer responsibilities. The use of data to support improvement is weak; for example, the quality of lessons is over-graded and lesson observations are insufficiently targeted to lead to improvement. The SAR neglects to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning and to identify the actions designed to improve performance. Its judgements are insufficiently rigorous.

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Context

52. Key skills are delivered to 360 full-time learners, most of whom study communication and information and communication technology (ICT), although application of number is also studied in horticulture and agriculture. Basic skills courses, currently with 265 learners enrolled, are offered to employees to raise the skills of large numbers of foreign nationals and some English workers in the food industry. Programmes are customised to fit working patterns and aim to upskill the workforce to improve production and health and safety. There have been 36 programmes run across 18 companies in this academic year.

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Strengths

 high key skills level 1 success rates  high success rates on entry level literacy  effective engagement with employers to develop workplace programmes and raise achievement  very effective operational management of the Skills for Life provision at Holbeach.

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Areas for improvement

 low success rates for key skills at level 2  unimaginative teaching in the majority of lessons  underdeveloped systems for diagnostic and formative assessment especially in key skills  weak strategic leadership of Skills for Life across campuses.

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Achievement and standards

53. Achievement and standards are satisfactory. Key skills success rates at level 1 improved significantly in 2007/08, largely due to improvements in retention, and are high. Success rates at level 2 remain well below the national average. The success rates for entry level literacy in the workplace are well above average although retention is low as many of the learners are transitory and face conflicting employment demands.

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Quality of provision

54. The quality of provision is satisfactory. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. The careful planning for individual needs in a key skills workshop in horticulture ensured that learners made good progress in developing a range of key skills. In a lively ESOL session learners were developing speaking and grammar skills using the context of food likes and dislikes and were learning quickly. However, many lessons do not meet this high standard and learners are not given the opportunity to work at their own pace. The majority of lesson plans lack detail on individual learner needs. Opportunities are often missed to embed activities into the relevant vocational context to better engage learners. Opportunities for assessment of key skills are missed and portfolio building starts too late in the year.

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Quality of provision

55. The range of provision satisfactorily meets the needs and interests of learners. Employers’ needs are met well. The method of developing specific programmes catering for the diverse needs of employees on-site is innovative. Course design and timing are carefully planned to reduce barriers to learning. There is insufficient attention to the development of full-time learners’ numeracy skills.

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Quality of provision

56. Guidance and support are satisfactory. Initial assessments in the workplace are relevant to the industry. Initial assessment of full-time learners is accurate. Diagnostic assessment systems are insufficiently detailed and the monitoring of learners’ progress is underdeveloped. There is insufficient use of diagnostic information to create an ILP for each learner in ESOL sessions.

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Leadership and management

57. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Equality and diversity are promoted satisfactorily. Strategic leadership of Skills for Life across both campuses is weak. Operational management and employer links are good at Holbeach. Self-assessment of basic skills and ESOL provision is very detailed; however, some areas for improvement are not identified. Self-assessment of key skills is insufficient. The use of data and target setting against benchmarks, especially in relation to key skills, is underdeveloped. Key skills teachers, all non-specialists, have not been adequately trained for this role, although the recently created key skills monitoring team is starting to have a positive impact through the sharing of materials and good practice and monitoring of data.

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Table 1

Success rates on mainstream level 1 qualifications, by qualification type, expected end year and age, 2006 to 2008, compared with 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 05/06** 06/07 54 87 82 5 8 75 76 -1 1 Long

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Table 1

07/08* 15 73 N/A 28 43 N/A 05/06** 06/07 GNVQs and precursors 07/08* 05/06** 06/07 1 100 N/A NVQs

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Table 1

07/08* 10 60 N/A 05/06** 06/07 54 87 82 5 7 71 76 -5 Other

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Table 1

* college data ** 2005/06 college data unreliable

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Table 2

Success rates on mainstream level 2 qualifications, by qualification type, expected end year and age, 2006 to 2008, compared with the national rates for colleges of a similar type.

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Table 2

* college data ** 2005/06 college data unreliable 16-18 19+ Notional Level Exp End Year Starts – Transfers College Rate National Rate Diff Starts – Transfers College Rate National Rate Diff 05/06** 06/07 68 82 78 4 56 57 71 -14 2 Long

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Table 2

07/08* 84 81 N/A 109 67 N/A 05/06** 06/07 GCSEs

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Table 2

07/08* 05/06** 06/07 22 82 N/A 9 100 N/A GNVQs and precursors 07/08* 38 84 N/A 9 100 N/A 05/06** 06/07 13 69 73 -4 NVQs

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Table 2

07/08* 72 69 N/A 05/06** 06/07 46 83 78 5 34 41 70 -29 Other

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Table 3

Success rates on mainstream level 3 qualifications, by qualification type, expected end year and age, 2006 to 2008, compared with 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 05/06** 06/07 122 71 77 -6 301 82 65 17 3 Long

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Table 3

07/08* 101 66 N/A 143 72 N/A 05/06** 06/07 A/A2 Levels 07/08* 05/06** 06/07 AS Levels

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Table 3

07/08* 05/06** 06/07 GNVQs and precursors 07/08* 05/06** 06/07 7 86 N/A 247 85 58 27 NVQs

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Table 3

07/08* 1 100 N/A 78 76 N/A 05/06** 06/07 115 70 76 -6 54 69 66 3 Other

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Table 3

* college data ** 2005/06 college data unreliable

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Table 4

Success rates on work-based learning apprenticeship programmes managed by the college 2006 to 2008

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Table 4

Programme End Year Success rate No. of learners* Provider/college NVQ rate ** National NVQ rate** Provider/college framework rate** National framework rate**

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Table 4

overall 15 47% 52% 33% 43% 05/06 timely 14 21% 34% 21% 27% overall 28 64% 63% 61% 56% 06/07 timely 22 55% 43% 55% 38% overall 7 14% 68% 14% 63% Advanced Apprenticeships

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Table 4

overall 44 75% 57% 57% 51% 05/06 timely 40 38% 37% 33% 33% overall 25 48% 64% 48% 60% 06/07 timely 20 40% 47% 40% 45% Overall 33 85% 67% 85% 64% Apprenticeships

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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/provider and national qualification success rates are calculated using LSC published data derived from the Individual Learning Record (ILR) # college data

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Table 4

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Table 4

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