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Boston College

2014 Full Inspection Report
What does the provider need to do to improve?
  • Ensure more teaching, learning and assessment are outstanding by making all teachers use information on learners’ prior attainment better to plan lessons effectively, in order to deepen knowledge and to speed up the progress of all learners. In addition, improve teachers’ skills in the use of information learning technologies to extend learning and assessment both in and outside of lessons.
  • Strengthen the setting and reviewing of learners’ subject and wider-skills development targets, including in English and mathematics, so that all make at least good or better progress and continue to attain higher grades. Ensure that targets are challenging and achievable with ambitious timescales, and set high expectations for all groups of learners.
  • Increase all teachers’ development of learners’ English and mathematical skills in lessons. Ensure teachers check learners’ spelling, punctuation, grammar and the presentation of portfolios and provide clear feedback and encouragement to learners on how they can strengthen these skills.
  • On the minority of courses where achievements are weak, urgently identify and remedy the barriers to learners’ success.
  • Reinforce further managers’ use of all relevant data to monitor the impact of actions to improve all aspects of the college’s work and identify actions for further improvement.
  • Ensure that all the actions of managers and staff to improve teaching, learning and assessment are strengthened to include the use of information learning technology and the reinforcement and development of learners’ skills in mathematics and English in all lessons

2013 Full Inspection Report
What does the provider need to do to improve further?
  • Provide more training and support to ensure that observers evaluate the quality of lessons more accurately and, as a priority, ensure the focus of lesson observations is on the quality of learning and the progress learners make.
  • Develop the performance review process so that the outcomes contain rigorous and detailed evaluations of the skills or competencies of teachers and managers in order to accelerate improvements in teaching and learning and learners’ outcomes.
  • Ensure that teaching staff make use of high quality staff development, including the sharing of the good practice that exists in the college, to enable them to improve, and monitor its impact rigorously.
  • Ensure that activities and assessments within lessons challenge the most able learners effectively.
  • Provide learners with challenging goals to achieve and personalised targets so they know what they need to do to improve.
  • Develop learners’ spelling, grammar, language and numeracy skills routinely in lessons.
  • Promote learners’ awareness and understanding of other cultures and diversity more consistently during lessons and assessments.
  • Ensure that entry requirements are at an appropriate level and that learners are prepared well for the demands of advanced-level courses, especially at AS-level, so that learners are more able to meet the challenges of these courses.

2008 Full Inspection Report
Areas for improvement

The college should address:

  • the low success rates for adult level 1 learners
  • the underdeveloped virtual learning environment
  • the insufficient curriculum enrichment activities.

2005 Re-Inspection Report
Areas for improvement
  • insufficient recording of individual learner’s starting points
  • insufficient target setting for individuals in lessons

2003 Full Inspection Report
What should be improved
  • unsatisfactory provision for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and the art and design provision in the art, design and performing arts curriculum area
  • the quality of teaching and learning in some curriculum areas
  • the underdeveloped use of individual learning plans and targets to inform teaching and learning
  • careers education and guidance
  • the rigour of the quality assurance systems
  • the promotion of equal opportunities issues within lessons.

Report Recommendations