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2025 Full Inspection Report

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

Leaders, managers and staff are deeply committed and ambitious for the success of their students and apprentices. Staff take into account students’ specific needs when planning and designing curriculums. Staff are empowered and encouraged by supportive managers to improve their work continually through rigorous collaborative quality processes. This ensures a culture of high standards in teaching and high aspirations for student outcomes. Staff celebrate the exceptional achievements of their students and apprentices.

Leaders have designed highly ambitious curriculums that go beyond the requirements of the qualifications to ensure students and apprentices develop the specific skills needed for their next steps. Level 3 engineering technician apprentices learn to use a wide range of testing equipment in bespoke testing bays and experience robot welders and the use of 3-D printing to enhance their knowledge and skills. A-level psychology students develop the research methods and complex statistical analysis skills needed for their future study at university.

Leaders and teachers ensure that curriculums are planned and sequenced well so students and apprentices develop their skills and knowledge. A-level students start their learning over the summer prior to enrolment, so they are well prepared for their courses. Adult students studying trade union courses learn the foundations of law before exploring barriers that deter employees from making personal injury claims to ensure employers implement appropriate measures in the workplace. This enables students to be useful in their union roles rapidly.

Leaders ensure that students and apprentices are taught by highly skilled industry experts and experienced qualified academic staff. Teachers work hard to ensure their students receive the best possible education. They demonstrate a passion for their subject areas, which inspires learning. Teachers of A-level English literature bring to life the narratives they are teaching with personality and drama and encourage students to think beyond the examination. T-level health teachers continue to work as midwives and adult nurse practitioners and bring their knowledge of current practice and workplace behaviours into the classroom.

Teachers expertly use classroom activities that mirror the professional environment for students. In level 4 counselling, students practise their discussions in small groups to provide a safe space to explore new techniques and skills before using them in the therapy room. Level 3 uniformed protective services teachers model the directive communication skills needed for leading practical tasks so that students learn how to direct personal training sessions efficiently.

Teachers support students in developing their analytical, critical and independent thinking skills at a rapid pace. A-level psychology teachers incorporate psychological debates into taught topics. Students confidently discuss and debate the relative merits of systematic desensitisation as a technique for treating phobias. Students learn the skills needed to achieve the highest grades in their final examinations.

Teachers and leaders support students extremely well to help them stay on track to achieve. Teachers use a range of well-planned written assessments to evaluate and track students’ progress and prepare them for their exams. When students are absent or identified as needing additional support, they are directed to additional biweekly support sessions. A-level business teachers lead support sessions that help students identify and fill gaps in their knowledge and understanding and practise examination questions to build their confidence. Students improve their assessment grades and final examination grades because of this support.

Teachers and assessors ensure apprentices develop high-quality, industry-specific skills that they apply to the workplace. They work well with employers to ensure that the skills apprentices develop are relevant for the future workplace, as well as current employer and industry needs. However, in level 3 plumbing and domestic heating technician and level 2 bricklayer, leaders have not ensured that apprentices and employers had a clear understanding of the requirements of the apprenticeship at enrolment. Too many apprentices left their studies early. Leaders have now improved the enrolment and advice process to ensure apprentices study the right apprenticeship. More apprentices now remain on their apprenticeship, but it is too soon to see the impact on achievement rates.

Leaders make highly effective use of high-needs funding to provide individualised support for students with high needs. They work with local authorities to plan and design curriculums that accurately meet students’ needs. Leaders have recruited a well-coordinated and highly skilled team of learning support assistants. These staff use supportive and assistive technologies with skill to ensure that students participate fully in lessons. Students with high needs on vocational and academic programmes achieve extremely well.

Students and apprentices experience a curriculum that extends substantially beyond the academic, technical and vocational. They benefit from a comprehensive tutorial programme that readies them for adult life and for progression into higher studies and employment. Students take part in a wide range of trips, visits, clubs and activities to support their studies and extend their experience. For example, construction students attend trade shows and masterclasses taught by trade experts to understand the use of new and emerging products in their work.

Leaders and managers provide a careers programme that offers effective advice and guidance to students and apprentices. Students attend practical careers experiences, including mock interviews, careers fairs and CV writing workshops. Staff give students who are moving on to higher education comprehensive support in completing their applications and attending interviews. As a result, students are well prepared for future success in education and employment, and many move on to competitive higher education institutions.

Leaders and governors are committed to the support, well-being and development of staff. Leaders ensure that the workload of staff is manageable. They provide wellbeing support and training and celebrate the success of individuals so that staff understand that they are valued. Leaders invest in training for teachers to improve their practice such as courses in metacognition and coaching and mentoring. Teachers work enthusiastically with teaching enhancement practitioners to develop their teaching skills. As a result, students experience extremely high-quality teaching.

Leaders have clear oversight of their subcontractors and ensure they meet their high expectations. They meet frequently with subcontractors and take part in quality assurance activities such as lesson visits and student feedback groups. Students on subcontracted courses achieve extremely well.

Governors have a thorough understanding of strengths and areas for development. They know the college well through their frequent involvement in learning walks, learner voice forums and college celebration events. Governors work with senior leaders to develop strategic priorities that continue to improve the opportunities for students to achieve the best outcomes, both in their qualifications and in their careers.

2021 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Use all available information about previous learning for students on college-ready programmes, and for adults and apprentices, to develop specific, individual knowledge and skills. Monitor closely the progress that students and apprentices make in developing these knowledge and skills.
• Develop the assessment of students’ and apprentices’ knowledge and skills to ensure that young people, including those with education, health and care plans on college-ready programmes, and apprentices, know what progress they have made and what they still need to master.
• Improve the usefulness of the feedback that teachers provide to young people and apprentices on their work, so they know what they need to do better.
• Develop additional appropriate enrichment opportunities and careers advice and guidance for adults and apprentices, so that they have an improved understanding of their chosen sectors and opportunities for employment and further and higher education in these sectors, or more widely in their communities.

2019 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Leaders must develop as a matter of urgency a sufficiently detailed and effective safeguarding risk assessment to cover the college’s estates; they should review these risks regularly to ensure that effective controls are in place and vulnerable students feel safer.
• Leaders and managers must ensure that communication between themselves, pastoral and teaching teams is effective. They must identify quickly those students who have poor attendance and who are at risk of not achieving or are vulnerable, and be sure to put the appropriate support mechanisms place.
• Leaders should ensure that all students on study programmes know about their entitlement to work experience and so can take up this opportunity.
• Leaders and managers should ensure that apprentices and employers understand the process of end-point assessment and how to achieve pass, merit or distinction grades to enable apprentices to achieve their potential.
• Leaders and managers should develop target setting in apprenticeships to ensure that all apprentices are supported to develop in all areas of the apprenticeship, including their behaviours.
• Leaders and managers need to speed up improvements to make sure that a greater proportion of apprentices’ achievement is constantly high.
• Governors should make sure that senior leaders are making identified quality improvements quickly enough.

2013 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Build upon the good teaching, learning and assessment to increase the proportion of outstanding lessons and reduce the proportion that require improvement. Ensure all lessons have sufficient challenge to meet the needs of all students, including the most able, so they can accelerate their progress. Ensure teachers always check learning frequently and effectively in lessons so that students develop well the consistent ability to analyse topics critically. Make sure teachers use information learning technology (ILT) imaginatively in more lessons to stimulate and improve students’ learning.
• Ensure planning for lessons is robust so that strategies for learning meet the needs of each student fully and at a good pace which engages and motivates students. Teachers to avoid over long explanations and ensure that students are fully involved in lessons by using a range of strategies to stimulate their thinking, involvement and contribution. Promote the development of students’ mathematical skills in non-mathematics related lessons.
• Review and improve the system for tracking students’ progress to ensure it is always clear, robust and drives students’ progress.
• Ensure managers analyse rigorously the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and plans to improve these area are clear and robust at subject area level, and that managers monitor the implementation of actions for improvement more effectively at subject area and college level.
• Actively promote diversity sensitively in lessons particularly by using naturally occurring opportunities to develop students’ wider understanding of issues.
• Review and improve staff appraisal by ensuring objectives are measureable and clearly link to the subject areas’ improvement plans and, where appropriate, to college targets. Make sure teachers understand their responsibility for improvement and they clearly understand their role in providing students with outstanding provision at all times.
• Ensure subject self-assessment reports have the same standards so reports are more evaluative and focus clearly on areas for improving all aspects of teaching, learning and assessment.
• Make sure lesson observations are effective in raising the standard of teaching, learning and assessment by focusing on the actions a teacher needs to take through providing targeted training and support to meet individual needs and by the frequent monitoring of the impact of actions for improvement.

2008 Full Inspection Report

Areas for improvement

The college should address:

• reversing the decline in success rates in 2006/07
• improving attendance and punctuality
• insufficient use of initial assessment
• shortcomings in the curriculum for key skills and personal, social and health education
• unsatisfactory aspects of accommodation and social space
• insufficient rigour in self-assessment and in the lesson observation process.

2003 Full Inspection Report

What should be improved

• the effectiveness of quality assurance arrangements
• enrichment and key skills
• social facilities for students
• the sharing of good practice between subject areas.