College Websites

2024 Full Inspection Report

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

Leaders and managers have high expectations of learners and apprentices. They are ambitious for them to do well. They are determined and committed to ensure that learners and apprentices reach their potential and progress seamlessly to their next steps. Their relentless focus on quality improvement permeates through all levels of staff. Teachers and staff share this ambition and determination. They fully engage in and implement the rigorous quality standards set by leaders to ensure there is a consistent approach to high-quality teaching and assessment. This leads to consistently high achievement rates for young learners, adult learners and learners with high needs. Most learners and apprentices move on to the next level of course, higher education or employment.

Leaders and managers have created an ambitious curriculum for young and adult learners. They have designed most courses with a high degree of challenge and extra content. In GCSE mathematics, learners attend over and above the required teaching time to help them develop their knowledge quickly and prepare them for their examinations. In plumbing, teachers extend learners’ practical skills in topics such as how to build scaffolding. In the ESOL curriculum for learners aged 14 to 16, leaders include science, technology and engineering to help learners gain skills to move on to vocational courses. Consequently, learners make substantial progress in developing the skills they need.

Curriculum managers and teachers plan and sequence courses and lessons skilfully. Teachers include the development of highly relevant digital, English and mathematics skills in their teaching. Learners and apprentices develop key and technical vocabulary in their chosen subject. In aviation, teachers focus on geography early in the course and within that make sure learners have an understanding of meteorology and its relevance to the industry. Learners with high needs benefit from well-structured lessons in which they build their skills incrementally. For example, in cookery lessons they work in teams to design menus, prepare meals and apply their numeracy skills accurately when they calculate ingredients and sell their food.

Teachers and assessors have expert subject knowledge and excellent teaching skills. They use a range of particularly effective techniques to introduce new topics. They give clear explanations about complex information and use probing questions to challenge learners and apprentices to deepen their thinking. Teachers on adult ESOL and English courses use repetition and demonstration frequently to help learners consolidate their learning. Learners and apprentices remember and recall their learning accurately and with fluency.

Teachers and assessors use a wide range of assessment methods effectively. This includes the assessment of learners’ and apprentices’ strengths and weaknesses at the start and throughout the course. They use this information proficiently to track learners’ and apprentices’ progress, identify gaps in learning and challenge learners and apprentices to do more. Most teachers and assessors use questioning skilfully to check understanding. They give learners and apprentices highly effective feedback on their work. Feedback is directive and clear, and it challenges learners and apprentices to aim high in their written and practical work. Learners’ and apprentices’ work is at least of a good standard and often higher.

Leaders and managers work collaboratively with local authorities to use the funding for learners with high needs particularly well. For example, leaders have created an inclusive independent hub at the college for learners with complex needs. They have designed high-quality supported internship courses at reputable workplaces, such as with the local rugby stadium and theme park. Teachers and support staff use learners’ education, health and care plans diligently to allocate the appropriate support and teaching for learners. Learners develop their independence and selfefficacy extremely well.

Assessors use their constructive relationships with employers to enable apprentices to practise and apply their learning and skills at work. They set meaningful targets at progress reviews so that apprentices and employers understand what they need to do at work. This aligns well with apprentices’ off-the-job training. Assessors give apprentices helpful and early support in preparation for their final assessments. Most current apprentices are on track to achieve and make timely progress. However, although the overall achievement rate for apprentices had improved in 2023/24, it was not high enough. This was due to a cohort of apprentices leaving their apprenticeship earlier due to redundancy.

Learners and apprentices enjoy a varied and interesting personal development curriculum. This includes highly effective careers advice and guidance. Employers frequently visit the college to give learners information about their industry and the opportunities available in their sector. Through the well-planned tutorial programme, teachers inform learners and apprentices about a range of useful topics to help them broaden their knowledge and skills. For example, learners know about the dangers associated with radicalisation and extremism, the importance of a healthy lifestyle and how to identify and report inappropriate behaviour. Young learners benefit from good opportunities to complete work experience.

Leaders, managers and those responsible for governance pay close attention to the development, well-being and support for staff. They have in place comprehensive professional development and training opportunities for staff. This includes specific training and support through their ‘teacher triangle’ initiative to encourage staff to share best practice and learn from each other. Staff have access to a comfortable well-being room, well-being days, which includes health and beauty treatments, yoga and an employee assistance programme. Most staff appreciate this support and are proud to work at the college.

Governors share leaders’ and managers’ ambition and determination for continuous improvement. They know the college well and have extensive experience in education and business. They use this effectively in order to give leaders support and challenge when needed. They scrutinise the detailed information that they receive from leaders to prioritise their activities with curriculum areas. Leaders and staff appreciate the input from governors.

2021 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Leaders should ensure that the quality of education in the small proportion of subjects where it requires improving meets the high standard of other subject areas across the college.
• Managers and teachers should consistently provide learners with high-quality feedback on marked work, so that all learners know what they have done well and how to improve.
• Leaders should ensure that managers and teachers on apprenticeship courses plan and teach an effective personal development curriculum, including access to suitable careers advice and guidance.

2017 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Leaders and managers need to:
  • ensure that learners on 16 to 19 study programmes benefit from relevant work experience to enable them to practise the skills and knowledge they have gained at college
  • improve rapidly the management of apprenticeship learning to ensure that apprentices make good progress and achieve their qualifications in the time planned
  • monitor and track learners’ and apprentices’ next steps in education, training and/or employment to ensure that they relate well to their studies.
• Leaders and managers need to strengthen existing quality assurance arrangements by:
  • focusing closely on the skills and knowledge learners and apprentices are developing and the progress that they make
  • ensuring that self-assessment of performance focuses sharply on long-standing weaknesses, and that subsequent actions rapidly improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.
• Teachers and assessors need to make effective use of the information available to them regarding learners’ and apprentices’ starting points and their ongoing progress, to ensure that learning is demanding and appropriate to their learning requirements.
• On 16 to 19 study programmes, teachers need to ensure that learners:
  • attend frequently and remain focused on their learning as a result of inspiring teaching, learning and assessment
  • apply their mathematics skills frequently and well in their vocational lessons.

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. Build on the existing best practice of teachers, always to plan to meet the needs of all students, paying particular attention to providing sufficient challenge for more able students.
• Ensure that the review of students’ progress and the setting of challenging and measurable targets are consistently rigorous for all students. Help all students to improve by always including short-term development targets in learning plans, including the recently-introduced electronic learning plans.
• As part of the college’s drive to continue to improve students’ success, pay particular attention to raising success rates on level 1 courses and for all apprentices. Also, improve students’ achievement of high grades, and increase the extent to which all students reach a higher level of attainment than might be expected from their starting points when they join the college.
• Improve students’ attendance and punctuality, initially to the level of the college’s targets for improvement.

2010 Full Inspection Report

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

• Raise success rates on adult programmes in language, literacy and numeracy, especially at entry level, by urgently implementing the recommendations within the subject report.
• Raise learners’ success rates so they are consistently high in all areas by improving the quality of teaching and learning, assessing learners’ progress more sharply and by monitoring outcomes and progress more accurately through quality assurance processes.
• Develop teachers’ skills so that teachers plan for the individual needs of all learners, and make better use of a range of teaching methods, in order to improve students’ progress and outcomes and increase the proportion of good or better lessons.
• Develop the programme of observation of teaching and learning to evaluate the progress that students make during lessons so that the college’s assessment of its teaching and learning is more accurate.
• Set and monitor more specific targets with students, based on a full range of information including prior attainment and initial and diagnostic assessments, in order to improve their progress and maximise their potential for achievement.
• Ensure that all students receive sufficiently detailed feedback on their assessments so they know how to improve.
• Strengthen links with employers to further develop vocational provision, such as apprenticeships, to extend the opportunities for learners.
• Improve the accuracy and use of data in self-assessment procedures to ensure judgements are accurate, all areas for improvement are highlighted and actions for improvement are put into place.

2007 Full Inspection Report

Areas for improvement

The college should address:

• the significant proportion of teaching that remains only satisfactory
• the inconsistent quality of key skills provision across curriculum areas
• the uneven use of management information across curriculum areas to sharpen focus on quality improvement.

2004 Re-Inspection Report

n/a

2003 Full Inspection Report

What should be improved

• management in some curriculum areas
• proportion of good teaching through better sharing of good practice
• use of information and learning technology (ILT) in teaching and learning
• management of work-based learning
• development of students' key skills
• co-ordination and management of tutorials
• provision of learning support for level 2 and level 3 students
• students' attendance and punctuality
• links with employers.