2016 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Continue promoting the recently introduced strategies to track attendance and follow up on nonattendance, reinforcing the evolving culture of zero tolerance towards unauthorised absences.
• Identify those areas of the 16 to 19 study programme where learners’ progress is too slow and too few learners successfully achieve their qualification. Share best practice with those areas, particularly around the use of target setting, progress monitoring and providing feedback to learners, to help increase the proportion of learners who successfully achieve their qualifications.
• Continue promoting and developing the recently introduced strategies for raising the quality of teaching, learning and assessment on functional skills and GCSE English and mathematics, reinforcing to learners the importance of these subjects to their longer-term success.

2013 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching and learning by:
  • sharing good practice in teaching styles and resources across departments and the college
  • improving written feedback to learners to ensure that they know what to do to develop their skills and knowledge further
  • making more effective use of additional learning support in classes to support learners with identified learning needs
  • improving the use of interactive whiteboards and information and learning technology (ILT) in lessons to involve learners more effectively
  • setting high expectations from the outset for assignment grades to raise learners’ aspirations for the achievement of high grades, and enable them to become independent learners.
• Improve information, advice and guidance to ensure that learners are placed on the right courses, in order to reduce the number of early leavers and course transfers.
• Improve the provision in health, social care and childcare by:
  • supporting and encouraging innovation in teaching and learning and the sharing of good practice, to challenge learners better and improve success rates
  • ensuring that leaders and managers rigorously monitor provision, to bring about sustained improvement.

2009 Full Inspection Report

Areas for improvement

The college should address:

• success rates for adult students, particularly on level 2 courses
• significant variations in success rates both between and within curriculum areas
• arrangements to improve further the quality of teaching and learning so that a higher proportion of lessons are good or better
• the effectiveness of target-setting to help students to know what they need to do to improve
• the inconsistent implementation and impact of quality assurance procedures
• the slow progress in identifying and remedying pockets of poor performance.

2006 Re-Inspection Report

n/a

2005 Full Inspection Report

What should be improved

• retention rates, particularly at levels 2 and 3
• the range of curriculum provision in some areas
• the effective use of individual learning plans and target setting
• assessment and progress reviews in work-based learning
• the consistency of implementation of quality assurance arrangements
• the use of management information in curriculum areas
• arrangements for portable appliance testing
• the development of effective appraisal and performance management
• the promotion of equality and diversity through the curriculum
• students' access to the college nursery.

1999 Full Inspection Report

n/a