College Websites

2024 Full Inspection Report

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

Leaders and governors have a very clear vision to provide high-quality training and education in the north east region. Senior leaders have dedicated time and effort to transform the college group. They have been on a relentless journey to improve all aspects of students’ and apprentices’ experience across all the college campuses. Through inspirational leadership, the culture of the organisation has become one of high aspiration and continuous improvement. Staff strive to achieve their best and are very proud to work for the organisation.

Leaders work productively with subcontractors to complement their education and training offer. For example, they subcontract a domestic appliance repair skills bootcamp to Zenith People because this organisation has highly skilled subject teachers to deliver training on employers’ premises. Leaders and managers closely monitor subcontracted provision to make sure that the quality of teaching is of the same high quality provided at the college.

Leaders recruit teachers who have relevant sector experience and, in many instances, highly sought after subject expertise. Teachers bring with them a wealth of knowledge of their sector and subject specialism and use examples from their own practice to illustrate topics and make learning highly relevant for students and apprentices. In performing arts, staff have significant production skills and performance experience that they use very well to help students to skilfully perform from very early in their studies.

Leaders and managers plan ambitious learning programmes which develop the specific skills and knowledge that employers need. The level 2 dementia care curriculum for adults has been specifically designed for a large care employer to equip their employees to work successfully with the growing number of clients with dementia. Students on the level 3 animal management course study a wide range of animals and develop their specialisms in exotics, aquatics, aviary and primates early in their programmes.

Teachers and assessors sequence the curriculum very successfully so that students and apprentices incrementally learn new knowledge and skills and transfer this to their long-term memory. For example, teachers on the level 2 bricklaying apprenticeship start by introducing apprentices to the basic skills that they need to lay and set half brick walls, before moving onto laying cavity walls to meet housing and building requirements. Apprentices develop and retain substantial new knowledge and skills that their employers require and that they need to complete their end-point assessment.

Teachers skilfully use a range of teaching methods and activities to check that students and apprentices have retained knowledge and developed their skills before moving on to teach new concepts and practical skills. This helps students and apprentices to make significant progress. Teachers on the level 2 performing arts course use probing questions to explore thoroughly students’ understanding of key words and phrases associated with skills and qualities. On white goods Skills Bootcamps, teachers introduce students to high voltage diode testing through theoretical presentations and expert demonstrations, before students practise testing on industrial equipment.

Teachers and assessors use assessment incisively to check the progress that students and apprentices are making. The use of assessment and personalised feedback helps students and apprentices to understand clearly what they are doing well and what they need to improve. Students and apprentices use the feedback that they receive to improve their practical and written work, which, for many, reaches a very high standard.

Leaders value their staff and are committed to providing high-quality training to improve their skills further. They have a very strong focus on improving the craft of teaching to develop teachers’ expertise. Leaders recognise the link between teachers’ professional practice and students’ and apprentices’ achievement. They involved staff in the development of the ‘principles of pedagogy’ initiative which was introduced in September 2023 and identifies best practice in teaching and assessment. Teachers engage in a college-wide community of practice to share and hone their teaching skills. Staff new to teaching who come directly from industry are supported to complete a teaching qualification.

Staff provide very effective support for students and apprentices who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Students who struggle to attend in person due to physical mobility or mental health issues receive high-quality resources to use remotely. Students who have a visual impairment use electronic devices that allow them to zoom in on resources. Teachers and learning support assistants use pen portraits to plan effective activities and support in lessons. Staff ensure that laptop computers for students with high needs are adjusted to meet their needs. Teachers upload teaching resources, including videos and bitesize tips, in advance of lessons. This ensures that students are fully prepared and able to participate in lessons.

Leaders and staff provide highly effective support for students who are care experienced, young carers and young parents, and those who are from areas of social economic deprivation. As a result, most of these students achieve their qualifications and progress to their intended next steps.

Leaders and managers have an exceptionally comprehensive overview of the quality of the education and training that they provide across all college campuses. Leaders use fortnightly quality and performance meetings with managers to challenge any matters causing concern. Where necessary, leaders put supportive interventions in place to implement rapidly the improvements required to bring curriculum areas back to the expected high level.

Governance is highly effective. Governors have the essential knowledge and experience that they need to carry out their roles proficiently. They have a clear oversight of the quality of the provision and hold leaders to account for the education and training that they provide. Governors carry out focused site visits to support and challenge staff about the training that they provide. GCSE English and mathematics have been subject to enhanced scrutiny, which has helped to improve retention and achievement.

2022 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Ensure that students in all curriculum areas have high attendance at college.
• Ensure that all tutors check the understanding of students before moving on to the next topic.
• Ensure that students with high needs have the opportunity to progress to employment where appropriate.
• Ensure that all students receive information on apprenticeships, including higher apprenticeships, when planning their next steps.

2016 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Increase the number of apprentices who achieve their qualifications within planned timescales by ensuring that assessors use reviews to set specific, timed and measurable targets, and that managers rigorously monitor progress against these targets.
• Maintain an unrelenting focus on the promotion to learners on study programmes of the value of English and mathematics to the success of their further education and future careers, and fully implement the recently introduced system for recording the progress of learners towards the achievement of high grades at GCSE.
• Ensure that teachers set challenging target grades for academic level 3 learners and that progress towards these grades is the focus of constant management review.

2010 Full Inspection Report

What does City of Sunderland College need to do to improve further?

• Continue to embed teaching and learning improvement strategies across the college to improve teachers’ use of questioning skills and planning activities to stretch learners who are more able.
• Analyse and evaluate the underlying causes of differences in the quality of provision provided on different college campuses to inform improvement actions.
• Continue to develop strategies to improve further the progress of learners in relation to their starting points on all qualifications.
• Improve the success rates on intermediate and advanced courses by monitoring and tracking the impact on progression between levels of courses following the high success rates on foundation programmes.

2006 Full Inspection Report

Areas for improvement

The college should address:

• insufficiently detailed progress reviews for some learners
• underperformance in a few areas of the curriculum
• lack of precision and detail in development plans

2004 Re-Inspection Report

n/a

2003 Full Inspection Report

What should be improved

• pass rates at the higher grades on GCSE courses
• assessment arrangements on some courses leading to National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs)
• performance as measured by value added measures
• retention rates on some courses
• provision of a pastoral curriculum which includes formal careers advice and guidance
• provision in mathematics and construction and the early years work-based learning provision.