Leaders and managers should bring about rapid improvements in the quality of apprenticeships so that apprentices achieve by their planned end date by:
ensuring that the off-the-job training for apprentices is planned with employers and recorded accurately, taking into account the knowledge and skills that apprentices already have
ensuring that teachers and assessors improve the progress apprentices make by planning their lessons and reviews so that activities are ambitious, interesting and relevant.
Teachers should ensure that they set suitably demanding work for learners. In particular, teachers should ensure that they challenge the most-able learners to achieve the grades of which they are capable.
Leaders, managers and staff should continue to focus their improvement strategies on underperforming courses. They should continue to increase the proportion of learners achieving their qualifications, including GCSEs at grades A* to C or grades 9 to 4 in English and mathematics.
What does the provider need to do to improve further?
Rapidly increase the proportion of learners and apprentices who make or exceed the expected progress and achieve their qualifications and targets by:
ensuring that the college’s strategy to improve quality leads to an increase in the pace of improvement and secures high-quality provision in all areas
increasing the rigour and accuracy of the evaluation of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and taking action quickly to improve practice that is less than good
ensuring that teaching and training is challenging and stimulating, and motivates learners and apprentices to achieve well
rigorously monitoring apprentices’ progress so that trainers can take action quickly to support apprentices who are at risk of not achieving.
Set specific and challenging targets and actions for teaching staff to improve the quality of their teaching and raise the achievement of their learners and apprentices; monitor closely the performance of teaching staff and take action quickly to improve performance when it is not good enough.
Increase the proportion of younger learners who gain English and mathematics qualifications by improving the quality of teaching on functional skills and GCSE courses.
Improve the rate of attendance and punctuality.
Increase the proportion of learners who progress to a higher level of study by improving the support and guidance that learners receive at the end of their course.
Ensure that managers and staff promote a culture where the highest standards of health and safety are the expectations throughout the college, replicating the best practice from industry, so that learners and apprentices are kept safe and prepared well for the work environment.
What does the provider need to do to improve further?
Rapidly improve the quality of learning by ensuring that all teachers:
clearly communicate, reinforce and monitor the importance of students attending all lessons, arriving on time and being ready to learn
have high expectations of what their students can achieve and drive success throughout the college
plan lessons that include a range of activities that engage and motivate all students to learn new knowledge and skills
set regular and meaningful assessments that are marked promptly and provide sufficiently detailed and useful feedback to help students improve the quality of their work
ensure that students develop independent working and research skills by setting activities that involve work outside lessons, including the use of information and learning technology.
Improve success rates on most courses by:
ensuring that all students have aspirational, clear and measurable targets so that progress towards achieving their full potential can be monitored
using data across the organisation to identify and take swift purposeful action to improve underperformance quickly and consistently.
Ensure that management information is up-to-date, understood and used by managers at all levels to drive improvements.
Develop quality assurance systems to monitor improvement actions and ensure they are having a positive impact.
Implement robust performance management so that actions to improve standards are followed consistently by all staff and standards rise rapidly.