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2024 Full Inspection Report

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

Leaders design an inclusive, broad and highly ambitious curriculum that affords students, including those with high needs, the opportunity to maximise their potential and to support their progression to aspirational destinations. They make sure that the curriculum offer widens participation and promotes social mobility for students without compromising on their high expectations.

Leaders ensure that teachers are well qualified and experienced subject experts. Teachers have subject related degrees, master’s degrees and doctorates as well as teaching qualifications. Most A-level teachers are examiners. Curriculum leaders are highly skilled in ensuring that expertise within the team is shared to improve teaching for the benefit of all students.

Teachers on education programmes for young people teach skilfully crafted lessons, which ensure that students, including those with high needs, rapidly acquire substantial new knowledge and skills. They collect and expertly analyse what students already know and can do. Teachers use this information to identify gaps in students’ knowledge, plan highly effective teaching and ensure that students make exceptional progress. In geography, teachers start with tectonics, as most learners have studied this at school, before progressing to complex topics, such as future uncertainties in climate change and regeneration. In mathematics, teachers teach the fundamental elements of pure mathematics, the key algebraic functions, such as linear equations and inequalities, prior to moving on to differentiation and integration.

Teachers plan and teach the foundation learning curriculum coherently and sequentially so that students with high needs learn and master skills, which they can recall and use to support new learning. Leaders and teachers know students on the foundation learning programme well. They use this knowledge to support, engage and challenge students effectively. However, they do not routinely provide timely learning opportunities for real life experience of work. This slows a few students’ development in transferring the soft skills, such as effective listening taught in the classroom, to the working environment.

The quality of teaching is consistently very high. Teachers give clear explanations and accurately model correct solutions. They select interesting and challenging learning resources and produce comprehensive booklets to support learning. Teachers develop students’ fluency in technical language swiftly. They expertly link topics and provide students with opportunities to revisit and recall their learning. The consistency in the quality of education within and across subjects means that students remember and understand what they have been taught. Students in psychology can recall prior knowledge on psychological theories and compare them to recently learned theories. In criminology, teachers ensure that students quickly develop the vocabulary expected of a criminologist, while sports students swiftly and accurately use correct terminology, such as ‘secrete’ rather than ‘release’ when discussing body systems.

Teachers use of assessment to check students’ understanding is exceptional. They are methodical and thorough in choosing appropriate types of assessment, from verbal questioning to formal tests. Teachers frequently check on students understanding in lessons, using peer assessment, through homework and in formal assessments. Teachers provide prompt, precise and developmental feedback to students on their performance and are swift to identify key areas for improvement. Students use teachers’ feedback carefully to continuously improve the standard of their work. They grow in confidence and competence across subjects. Students are exceptionally well prepared for assignments, assessments and examinations.

Leaders provide students with high-quality careers advice and guidance. This helps them to gain access to higher education, apprenticeships and employment. Leaders work with stakeholders and employers to provide a comprehensive range of workshops and guest lectures as part of the ‘Inspire Me’ programme. Students gain invaluable insight into their potential next steps. They are well informed about their options and very well prepared for progression to university, training and work.

Leaders use a range of information to ensure an accurate oversight of the quality of education that students receive. They use highly effective practices including information from lesson visits to identify the many strengths and very few areas of underperformance. Leaders focus staff training and development on key college priorities as part of their approach to continuous improvement. Teachers benefit from a structured training programme that focuses relentlessly on improving the quality of teaching and learning.

Leaders are considerate of staff workload, welfare and well-being. They plan workload carefully so that staff focus on their areas of expertise. Teachers do not have pastoral commitments. They use their time to focus on their subject expertise and providing high-quality teaching and learning. Specialist tutors (PATs) provide the pastoral support that students need. Leaders plan training into the timetable to ensure that teachers and PATs have time to focus on improving teaching, learning and pastoral support. Staff feel a valued part of the Carmel community. They are proud to work at the college.

Governors have extensive expertise in educational and industry settings. They use this knowledge incisively to hold senior leaders to account for the quality of provision. Leaders and governors are highly ambitious for all students. They are relentless in their pursuit of the college mission and values to provide a centre of educational excellence, opportunity, challenge and support within a caring Christian environment. Leaders and governors demonstrate a clear understanding of the college’s strengths and the few areas that would benefit from further improvement.

2019 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Improve teaching and learning in the few subjects that are underperforming to ensure that students reach their potential.
• Improve the quality of the setting and recording of targets for students with high needs on courses at level 1 or below so that they make the progress expected of them.

2007 Full Inspection Report

Areas for improvement

The college should address:

• restrictions on the curriculum imposed by much of the existing accommodation

2002 Full Inspection Report

What should be improved

• volume and organisation of level 2 and adult provision
• arrangements for the promotion and evaluation of Catholic ethos
• group tutorials including religious education