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2023 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders provide an ambitious, focused and high-quality curriculum offer. They provide a range of mostly level 3 courses to meet the needs of a diverse range of young people in the local area. This includes a broad variety of A level and vocational programmes to provide progression to university, apprenticeships or employment. Leaders provide a highly effective foundation learning programme for young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) that helps them to achieve in line with their peers and prepares them for their next steps in independence, further training or employment.

Teachers plan students’ learning meticulously so that they gain a deep knowledge of the content but also develop high levels of transferable skills such as criticalthinking, problem-solving and data analysis. A-level sociology students learn about education to develop their evaluative skills before moving on to more complex topics such as beliefs and, crime and deviance. Level 2 business students learn about finance and marketing before completing a start-up business project. Students confidently move on to more complex tasks as they progress through their courses.

Leaders have a culture of high expectations where students are at the heart of their curriculum. They adopt a highly supportive and flexible approach to help students to gain a deeper understanding and to achieve the grades required for future study. Students who have gaps in their knowledge attend additional classes to recap key topics and to rectify misconceptions. Students benefit from the opportunity to restart their courses if they have not made the expected progress. As a result, most students achieve high grades.

Staff are appropriately qualified to teach their subjects and are all subject experts. They are knowledgeable and exceptionally passionate which in turn enthuses the students they work with. Many staff work as standards verifiers or examiners for awarding organisations. They use this experience to better prepare students for examinations and assessments. For example, A-level biology teachers share key tips to gain extra marks such as identifying the random fusion of gametes as a cause for phenotypic variation.

Vocational teachers have relevant industry experience that they use exceptionally well to bring real-life examples into their teaching. For example, health and social care teachers discuss the impact of cardiovascular disease on adults in Preston when compared to people living in the south of England. This helps students to put theory into practice and prepares them well for future study and employment.

Teachers skilfully plan their lessons so that students learn new knowledge that builds on their prior learning. In A-level mathematics, students recall learning on the use of Venn diagrams to establish conditional probability. They use this learning to swiftly move on to carrying out conditional probability calculations. In A-level sociology, students discuss previous learning on gender to link this to the difference gender makes to religions and beliefs.

Teachers expertly tailor a highly individualised programme for students with high needs. They successfully combine relevant qualifications and non-accredited learning to plan the most appropriate learning programme for their students. The majority of students make exceptional progress.

Teachers provide thorough feedback to students that supports them effectively to improve the quality and accuracy of their work. A-level biology students are advised to use key scientific terminology, read questions carefully and highlight key words. A-level sociology students confidently structure essay questions and include evaluative comments, and theorists in their written work. This supports students to make rapid improvements and avoid repetition of errors. However, in level 2 business, teachers do not sufficiently develop students’ English skills. As a result, a few students continue to make the same mistakes in spelling and punctuation as they progress through their course.

Support for students with SEND and students with high needs is highly effective. Students with hearing impairments use speech to text software, students with dyslexia use the appropriate tools for their need such as coloured paper, students with anxiety sit in the position in class that suits them most. Teachers of students with high needs are highly skilled and know their students very well. They understand what motivates them and how their barriers to learning present in an educational setting. Students with SEND and students with high needs make excellent progress and achieve in line with their peers.

Leaders monitor the quality of education effectively. They use a range of quality processes and procedures such as the student voice, assessment outcomes, learning observations and value-added data to identify the small number of subject areas that could be improved further. They put in place effective support strategies to help subject staff focus on actions to make rapid improvement.

Leaders are highly considerate of staff well-being and workload. Staff morale is exceptionally high. Staff feel the college is well led and managed and that they are trusted and valued by leaders. They describe a strong ethos and culture to support students to achieve their aspirations. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the high-quality education and the support that children in their care receive at the college. The vast majority of parents/carers would recommend the college to others.

Governors are suitably experienced to carry out their roles. They are passionate about the college, and many are alumni. Governors are aware of the strengths and areas that could be further improved. They are committed to supporting and challenging senior leaders. Governors support leaders in future planning with projects such as the mathematics school and further work on embedding sustainability into the curriculum.

2009 Full Inspection Report

Areas for improvement

• there are no significant areas for improvement.

2005 Inspection Report

What should be improved

• the use of information and learning technology (ILT) in the classroom
• some outdated and cramped accommodation o arrangements for the management of key skills provision
• low pass and retention rates on a minority of courses.