University College Birmingham - Good

2023 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Leaders should ensure that all learners and apprentices systematically develop their English and mathematics skills throughout their programmes.
• Leaders should ensure that all learners and apprentices receive timely and useful feedback on their work, which allows them to understand where they need to improve.
• Leaders should ensure that learners with high needs who are moving away from the university are supported with effective transition arrangements to move on to their next steps.

Scarborough Sixth Form College - Good

2023 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Improve student attendance to ensure greater consistency across curriculum areas and reduce the need to implement catch-up interventions.
• Ensure that employers and relevant stakeholders are involved in the planning and delivery of the curriculum across all subject areas to broaden the understanding that students gain about the world of work and future career options.
• Further analyse the impact of the curriculum in supporting students to realise their aspirations, by making better use of student destination information across all subjects.
• Ensure that when students make slower progress from their starting points, teachers are supported to identify how they can improve their skills to help students reach their potential.

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai

2024 Full Inspection Report

Recommendations

We have made three recommendations to help the college continue to improve:

1. Improve the impact of teaching on the quality of learning, with a focus on questioning, formative assessment and stretch and challenge
2. Improve high grade attainment on graded provision, including vocational and AS/A level qualifications
3. Address issues of poor learner attendance and punctuality consistently across campuses

Saint Brendan's Sixth Form College - Good

2023 Full Inspection Report

What does the college need to do to improve?

• Increase the involvement of stakeholders in the design and implementation of the curriculums.
• Ensure that more students, including those with high needs, benefit from work experience or meaningful, work-related activities.
• Provide an effective and timely careers programme for students with high needs and improve communication between teams to ensure that all can achieve their goals.
• Improve students’ understanding of the dangers of radicalisation and the threats from extremism locally.

North Hertfordshire College - Good

2023 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Ensure that the teaching of English and mathematics across the college is of a high quality and prepares students effectively for their examinations.
• Ensure that apprentices can access a broad range of high-quality enrichment activities to complement their studies.

New College Lanarkshire - Improving

2024 Full Inspection Report

The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with senior managers:

• The overall rate of successful completion for learners on FE level programmes is below the sector norm and has been low for the last four years.
• The overall successful completion rate for learners on part-time FE programmes is below the sector norm.
• The overall successful completion rate for learners on HE level programmes is below the sector norm.
• Overall rates of learner withdrawal for FE and HE programmes are above the sector norm for both full-time and part-time provision.
• Successful completion rates are low for learners from disadvantaged groups. These include ethnic minorities, disabled learners, care experienced learners and learners from deprived backgrounds.
• Learners on part-time programmes are not yet fully engaged in class representative arrangements. As a result, they do not have sufficient opportunity to provide feedback on their learning experience.

Main points for action

• College staff should continue to work to address high rates of learner withdrawal and improve attainment rates across all modes of study. This should include a focus on those curriculum areas where attainment rates have been low for some time.
• Senior staff should ensure that planned changes are implemented in a way that is sustainable for staff.

Luton Adult Learning Service - Good

2023 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Leaders must ensure that apprentices achieve within the planned time frame.
• Leaders must ensure that apprentices understand the range of career opportunities available to them in the wider employment market.
• Leaders must ensure that learners on community learning courses receive good quality developmental feedback so that learners are clear on what they have done well and what they need to improve.

King Edward VI College, Nuneaton - Good

2015 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Continue the improvement in teaching, learning and assessment so that more is outstanding by ensuring all staff have high aspirations for students, they set challenging tasks and provide feedback consistently on marked work so that more students achieve or exceed their target grades.
• Maintain the improvements made in the teaching of English and mathematics so that a higher proportion of students achieve A* to C grades in GCSEs in these subjects.
• Increase the use of work placements and visits to employers to give students a better understanding of the workplace. Increase the availability of activities outside the classroom to broaden students’ interest in, and understanding of their subjects.
• Strengthen further the skills and capacity of all managers in order to raise standards in the few remaining areas of underperformance.

West College Scotland

2024 Full Inspection Report

The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the senior managers:

• There are several subject areas where learner retention and success rates are low and require improvement
• Teaching staff are overly reliant on prompting from curriculum and quality leaders (CQLs) regarding learner personal learning support plans (PLSP) information. In a few cases this has resulted in staff being unaware of individual learner needs and therefore not able to make the necessary adjustments.
• Arrangements for the systematic review of learning and teaching are not sufficiently consistent. It is unclear how the college wide development of learning and teaching is progressing.
• College managers and the SA have been unable to recruit and retain an appropriate number of sabbatical officers. This has impacted on opportunities for social activities, campaigns, and the sharing of responsibilities across a wider group of officers.
• Learner participation in the Student Satisfaction and Engagement Survey is very low, at 26.9% for FE and 18.9% for HE.
• Most learners are not aware of the role and purpose of the SA

Main points for action

• The college should continue to address low rates of learner attainment in part-time FE and full-time HE provision.
• Senior managers should ensure the plans for the improved support for the Students Association are delivered and monitored.

Solihull Sixth Form College - Good

2024 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Ensure that learners with high needs are supported to develop the specific skills identified in their educational and health care plans, so that they develop the skills they need when they complete their studies.
• Ensure that all learners are supported to achieve the level of which they are capable.
• Continue to develop the use of learners starting points when planning learning so that all learners make sustained progress.
• Ensure all learners receive detailed careers, education, information, advice and guidance about the range of progression opportunities available to them including apprenticeships and employment.

National College Creative Industries - Good

2024 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Ensure that students benefit from high-quality English and mathematics teaching so that they can pass their GCSE examinations.
• Ensure that apprentices develop a good understanding of personal development topics beyond the vocational curriculum.
• Ensure that students on supported internships know what they need to do to further develop their skills and knowledge.
• Ensure that students understand the benefits and participate in an enrichment curriculum that supports the development of their wider skills and interests.

London College of Beauty Therapy - Good

2025 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Improve the attendance of learners.
• Continue to improve further the proportion of learners who achieve their qualifications.
• Improve learners’ knowledge on how to recognise extremist behaviours and the signs of radicalisation.

Hartlepool College of Further Education - Good

2023 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Continue to improve attendance so that it is in line with college expectations.
• Ensure that teachers develop learners’ written English skills effectively.
• Identify and quickly implement all actions that are needed to support quality improvements across the college.

Fife College

2024 Annual Engagement Visit Report

The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the senior managers:

• Despite improvement over the last three years, rates of learner attainment for full-time FE programmes remain below the sector the norm.
• Rates of learner attainment for full-time HE programmes have declined over the last three years and are below the sector norm.
• Successful completion rates for key groups of learners (from the most deprived postcode areas; who have declared a disability; who are care experienced or from an ethnic minority background) have declined and are all below sector norms.
• There is no college wide strategy in place to systematically evaluate learning and teaching approaches to ensure standards of delivery are consistent across the college.
• There are no college-wide arrangements for identifying and sharing effective practice in improving outcomes for learners.
• Staff in most departments are not making effective use of the PI dashboard to interrogate data to support evaluation and plan for improvement.
• There is no college-wide strategy for the development of learners’ wider skills, including meta-skills.

Main points for action

• The college should put in place systematic, college-wide arrangements to evaluate learning and teaching to support improvement and ensure that the quality of delivery is consistent across the college.

Coleg y Cymoedd

2017 Full Inspection Report

Recommendations

1. Improve standards and outcomes achieved by learners on AS and A level courses
2. Improve the rate at which learners successfully complete vocational qualifications across all learning areas
3. Increase the use of the Welsh language by learners and staff
4. Make sure that teaching strategies engage and challenge all learners
5. Make sure that all teachers support learners to develop their literacy, numeracy and digital literacy skills
6. Make sure that quality assurance arrangements are robust and effective across all areas of provision

Bexley Learning & Enterprise College - Good

2020 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Managers should ensure that all staff have access to the information about what learners know and can do at the start and during the course. Staff should use this information effectively to identify appropriate support for their learners.
• Leaders should ensure that learners on all programmes receive detailed and timely advice and guidance on higher education and employment.

Wilberforce College - Good

2024 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Ensure that all teachers check that students have fully understood content and provide consistently helpful feedback.
• Improve attendance in subjects where it remains too low.
• Maintain the strong emphasis on improving achievement outcomes for students studying GCSE mathematics.

MidKent College - Good

2024 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve ?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning in GCSE mathematics so that learners learn and remember more and make the progress of which they are capable.
• Ensure that opportunities to allow learners to explore their interests and talents closely reflect learners’ preferences so that more learners take part.

Leicester College - Good

2023 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Improve attendance for students on education programmes for young people.
• Ensure all learners with high needs have appropriately challenging targets.
• Support the few teachers who need help to improve their curriculum planning, use of activities in class and assessment approaches.
• Improve achievement rates on functional skills mathematics and retention rates on the few courses where it is too low.

Harlow College - Good

2024 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Ensure that all apprenticeship teachers have the necessary skills and knowledge to teach high-quality theory lessons.
• Ensure teachers use effective strategies to consistently check and consolidate students’ and apprentices’ knowledge before moving onto more complex topics.
• Ensure leaders have access to detailed information on the progress apprentices make, enabling them to set precise and targeted actions for improvement.

Fashion Retail Academy - Good

2025 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Improve the proportion of young learners who achieve their mathematics GCSE qualifications at grade 4 and above.
• Take appropriate action to manage the expectations and improve the experience of the small minority of young learners whose courses do not meet their expectations.

Sutton College - Good

2009 Full Inspection Report

What does SCOLA need to do to improve further?

• Develop and strengthen measures to encourage learners to attend and to take the final examination to help raise their achievement.
• Improve planning of individual learning, including effective initial assessment, to ensure learners understand and achieve their goals.
• Build on good practice to develop staff expertise in recognising and recording learners’ progress and achievement across all provision.
• Introduce measures to ensure that quality improvement processes are implemented effectively to develop the quality of provision across every area.

Stockton Sixth Form College - Good

2019 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Leaders and managers should use data more effectively to analyse the progress, performance and achievement of all students so that they can quickly identify any areas of concern and take rapid action to bring about improvements.
• Leaders should take steps to close the gaps in the achievements of different groups of students who do not follow study programmes at level 3. In particular, they should ensure that:
  • students on study programmes at levels 1 and 2 and adults who have a recognised learning difficulty and/or disability receive the support that they need so that they achieve as well as their peers
  • the proportion of male students who achieve improves.
• Governors and leaders should take effective action to resolve the remaining differences in the quality of provision and the outcomes for students at the two campuses by ensuring that good practice is shared effectively and areas of underperformance are dealt with swiftly. In particular, they should ensure that the proportion of students who remain on their courses at the Stockton campus continues to improve.

Southern Regional College

2014 Full Inspection Report

What does the Southern Regional College need to do to improve further?

The College needs to:

• take a more strategic approach to the longer term planning for the curriculum, to ensure that it continues to fully meet the needs of learners, industry and the wider community;
• improve the use of technology to support and enhance the quality of teaching, training and learning across the College;
• further improve the quality of teaching and learning in the provision for the essential skills; and
• address the satisfactory quality of the provision in transportation operations and maintenance (motor vehicle).

South West College

2014 Full Inspection Report

What does South West College need to do to improve further?

The College needs to:

• continue to implement the strategy to enhance the quality of teaching, training and learning and to provide the lecturers, including part-time lecturers, with appropriate professional support to develop further their pedagogic skills.

South Gloucestershire & Stroud College - Good

2014 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Ensure the continued improvement of teaching, learning and assessment, so that most is outstanding, and little requires improvement. Do this by building on the existing best practice of teachers, especially in outstanding areas of performance, in meeting the needs of all learners in lessons, and paying particular attention to providing sufficient challenge for more able learners. Help teachers to become fully accomplished in the use of information technology, to support learning as well as possible in lessons.
• Ensure college-wide improvement in teaching, learning and assessment in foundation English and mathematics, and increase learners’ successful completion of qualifications in these subjects, by providing all teachers with the necessary skills and confidence to help learners improve. In particular, make sure that teachers improve learners’ understanding of the relevance of English and mathematical skills by integrating them into vocational studies, and by emphasising their importance in achieving qualifications, employment and places in higher education. Further ensure that teachers fully exploit naturally occurring opportunities in lessons to reinforce the relevance of English and mathematics, and that they always provide constructive feedback to learners on these aspects of their written work.
• Ensure the continued and consistent improvement of learners’ successful completion by rigorous application of existing detailed quality improvement plans, both for level 2 courses for adults and for those AS-level subjects where success rates are low. In particular, build on the college’s best practice, in relation to initial advice and guidance for learners, and to personalised action plans for learners, after their probationary period.