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2025 Full Inspection Report

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

Governors and senior leaders are highly committed to widening participation and tackling social inequality through excellent education and training. They provide exceptional leadership to drive improvements across the group and create a culture of high ambition and success. Leaders offer a wide range of accessible, innovative and challenging learning opportunities for local communities in east London and Essex. Across all campuses, including the newly merged BSix campus, staff support and challenge learners and apprentices to achieve well, whatever their starting points. Most learners and apprentices make significant progress in their studies and achieve highly.

Since the previous inspection, leaders, managers and staff have worked relentlessly to improve the quality of education that learners and apprentices receive. They have successfully implemented rigorous quality assurance processes across campuses, including at their subcontractors, to ensure consistency in the quality of teaching and training for their learners and apprentices. Leaders have continued to make notable improvements across the provision. This has resulted in year-on-year improvements in learners’ experiences and outcomes.

Leaders and managers take a consistent and highly effective structured approach to curriculum planning across all campuses. This ensures that learners and apprentices experience a high-quality curriculum no matter where they study. For example, in GCSE English at Havering Sixth Form and BSix campuses, staff plan a comprehensive scheme of learning with excellent modelling of good practice that is shared across sites. This includes consistent marking of punctuation and grammar, live marking approaches and a commitment to equip learners with confidence through support and welcoming environments. As a result, learners across the college achieve exceptionally well.

Leaders ensure that curriculums are well sequenced so that learners expand their understanding and their ability to apply knowledge and skills well over time. For example, teachers in health and social care teach learners about the symptoms of and treatments for type 2 diabetes early on. Learners can then link this knowledge with different types of ailments to produce accurate care plans later in the course. In applied sciences, learners learn about the use of microscopes and the structure of different kinds of hair before they carry out forensic analyses of hair. This means learners conduct experiments with skill and readily understand the results they get.

Across the group, teachers make skilful use of a range of effective teaching methods, such as clear explanations, instruction, presentation and demonstrations. In functional skills mathematics at Hackney and Epping Forest campuses, for example, teachers provide learners with step-by-step instructions to complete mathematical calculations. In A-level science at Havering Sixth Form campus, teachers provide detailed explanations and conduct experiments to clarify theoretical concepts such as biodiversity in biology and electric and magnetic fields in physics.

In specialist provision for learners with high needs, teachers make expert use of visual learning aids, such as coloured lesson schedules, pictures and symbols to introduce new concepts and tasks. This makes it easier for learners to understand and follow tasks. On level 1 construction skills courses at Hackney campus, teachers demonstrate how to cut and set out bricks accurately. They provide learners with plentiful opportunities over time to practise these skills on different types of walls and with complex variations. Learners develop these skills securely and apply them confidently in different situations.

In most cases, staff complete thorough assessments of learners’ and apprentices’ prior knowledge and experience at the start of their course. Teachers use the results of their initial assessment effectively to make sure learners are on the right courses and adapt their teaching to bridge gaps in learners’ knowledge. They use strategies such as recapping, questioning, revision tasks, quizzes and mock examinations exceptionally well to help learners and apprentices commit their learning to their long-term memory. In business administration at Ardleigh Green, teachers set apprentices work-based projects and presentations throughout their course and plan mock professional discussions. Most learners and apprentices pass their assessments and examinations at the first attempt.

Most teachers provide learners and apprentices with particularly helpful feedback to improve their work. In ESOL and functional skills English, teachers use marking codes to indicate where learners have made mistakes in their spelling, punctuation and grammar. This helps learners to quickly correct their mistakes and produce work of a high standard. However, in electrical installation and plumbing apprenticeships, teachers do not provide apprentices with sufficiently helpful feedback on how to improve their work to achieve well. Consequently, these apprentices do not achieve as highly as they could.

Leaders set high expectations of learners’ attendance and punctuality, which are high in most lessons. Teachers consistently reinforce these expectations and provide rigorous challenge when they are not met. Consequently, learners and apprentices understand well the importance of attendance and punctuality as essential employability skills for their futures.

Learners and apprentices experience a comprehensive curriculum that extends considerably beyond the main subjects they study. They gain sound knowledge and understanding of a wide range of topics, such as fundamental British values, through a well-structured tutorial programme. For example, on uniformed services courses at Havering Sixth Form campus, young learners explore democracy and the reasonable use of police power in detail. Learners and apprentices understand well the importance of different values in their lives and work.

Leaders are highly committed to and passionate about the mental health and wellbeing of their learners and apprentices. Staff provide extensive support to learners and apprentices to support their mental and physical well-being. For example, business administration apprentices receive training in mental health awareness and managing anxiety before examinations to enable them to cope with stress. Young learners receive appropriate tutorials on consent, coercive control and benefit from teaching about toxic relationships.

Learners and apprentices take part in a broad range of exceptional enrichment activities. Across the group, they participate in activities from sports to chess, with a specialised medics group for those aiming to study medicine. In community outreach centres, adult learners join exercise classes and do gardening. Learners frequently attend talks from guest speakers on topics related to their course, which they find inspirational. For example, young learners on sports courses enjoy listening to professional coaches from Premier League football clubs. They broaden their experiences, widen their talents and interests and develop high aspirations for themselves.

Staff provide high-quality careers information, advice and guidance to learners and apprentices throughout their time at the college. They give extensive support for learners to create CVs, complete university applications and prepare for job interviews. Learners attend career fairs and presentations on different progression routes, such as apprenticeships and supported internships. They benefit greatly from careers talks from industry experts, such as drama school and musical theatre professionals, and higher education providers. A high proportion of learners and apprentices progress successfully to higher-level courses or university or gain employment.

Governance arrangements are highly effective. Governors are extremely committed to providing an outstanding education and learning experience for all learners and apprentices. They are highly involved in different activities across the college and have a thorough oversight of the strengths and areas of improvement of their provision. Governors provide rigorous challenge and support to leaders to take prompt action where necessary and hold them to account for achieving their targets.

2021 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Leaders should improve the quality of education for learners on supported learning courses, so that learners develop an array of new skills, and useful accredited qualifications.
• Leaders should ensure that all learners attend lessons at high rates.
• Leaders should improve the pass rates for learners that take mathematics qualifications.

2013 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Stretch and challenge A-level learners more, particularly those who come to the college with high prior attainment, so that more of them can achieve the high grades of which they are capable.
• Provide all teachers with the necessary skills and confidence to help learners improve their understanding of English and mathematics and to promote equality and diversity better through the use of naturally occurring opportunities in lessons.
• Improve the coordination of workplace learning that takes place both on employers’ premises and at the college. Involve employers more effectively in the process of reviewing and developing learners’ skills.
• Provide relevant curriculum managers with the necessary training, sharing of good practice and skills to become more self-critical and to grow further into the role.

2012 Full Inspection Report

What does Tower Hamlets College need to do to improve further?

• Increase the proportion of learners who pass their courses, and the number obtaining high-grade passes, by setting personal targets that are specific and measurable, with relevant actions to improve the standard of learners’ work, and monitor the progress of learners towards these targets more rigorously.
• Improve the quality of teaching and learning to enable learners to make better progress and achieve to their full potential by ensuring that staff:
  • share best practice in teaching and learning both within the college and with external colleagues
  • use ILT more innovatively [sic]
  • plan a wide variety of activities that invove [sic] learners more actively in their learning
  • set tasks in lessons that meet the full ability range of all learners.
• Ensure all areas improve at a similar rate by implementing consistent quality assurance arrangements and by further developing the monitoring and evaluation skills of curriculum managers in order to use accurate information for action plans and improvement.
• Enhance the rigour of self-assessment by ensuring the evidence gathered during lesson observations provides an accurate picture of the quality of teaching and learning and by comparing

2009 Full Inspection Report

Areas for improvement

The college should address:

• success rates for all groups of students
• the progress of students relative to their prior qualifications and experience
• the proportion of teaching and learning that is no better than satisfactory
• the rigour and the monitoring of students’ individual target-setting
• the level of consistency in the pace of improvement since the last inspection

2005 Full Inspection Report

What should be improved

• the quality and use of individual learning plans
• students' sport and leisure facilities.

2000 Full Inspection Report

n/a