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2023 Full Inspection Report

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

Leaders plan a highly ambitious curriculum that develops students and prepares them for aspirational destinations. They work closely with other GM providers to provide a Manchester-wide curriculum offer that meets the needs of their diverse and growing post-16 community of students. Leaders, managers and teachers provide a consistently high-quality education. They understand the important role they play in responding to social disadvantage and meeting the needs of students who aspire to progress to university.

Leaders ensure that teachers are qualified and experienced subject experts. Teachers benefit from a highly effective continuous professional development (CPD) programme that focuses relentlessly on improvement in the quality of teaching and learning. Leaders personalise CPD to improve the learning experience for students. Many teachers are examiners in their subjects. They use their expertise very well to teach inspirational lessons that motivate students to work hard and do well. Leaders promote an approach of ‘trial, reflect and adapt’, using the teaching and learning toolkits that underpin the CPD programme. As a result, students benefit from consistently high-quality teaching and learning.

Teachers plan the curriculum very effectively. In psychology, teachers are mindful of increasing numbers of the local population with mental health needs. In response to this, they include topics such as schizophrenia so that students have a better awareness of the impact on people in their local area. In religious studies, teachers include a focus on ethics, as many students require this underpinning knowledge to progress on to law degrees.

Teachers ensure that the curriculum provides students with the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need for their next steps into university or employment. They spend the first few weeks of term finding out about what students know and can do. In business, teachers provide students with a ‘crash course’ so that they quickly understand key concepts that are included in the course. Students first learn about enterprise, how to set up a business and then how to grow a business. In mathematics, teachers’ planning and teaching help students to move on from GCSE. Students study familiar topics, such as linear functions and quadratics, to embed and enhance their knowledge before progressing to new and complex subject matter.

Teaching is well planned to help students understand and remember key concepts. Lessons are appropriately paced and full of challenge. In mathematics, teachers design progressively more challenging levels of practice questions so that students access a topic, move through the different levels of challenge and secure knowledge and understanding over time. Teachers use innovative approaches to help students remember key concepts. For example, they use animated film characters to illustrate different leadership styles, such as ‘Peter Pan’ as laissez-faire, ‘Mufasa’ from ‘The Lion King’ as paternalistic, ‘Elsa’ from ‘Frozen’ as autocratic, and ‘Woody’ and ‘Buzz’ from ‘Toy Story’ as democratic. This makes learning and content memorable and enjoyable.

Teaching and learning support for students with high needs and special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are highly effective. Teachers benefit from useful, specific training on topics including autism spectrum disorder, mental health training or working with students with visual impairments. They are well prepared to help all students thrive and achieve. Teachers know their students well. Students with high needs and SEND make excellent progress and excel in line with their peers.

Teachers take a methodical approach to assessing students during lessons, through peer assessment, through weekly homework and through mock examinations. They provide precise feedback that helps students to understand what they have done well and what they need to do to improve. Teachers help students to identify common mistakes and to learn how to avoid them. They reinforce the importance of learning from mistakes as well as successes. Students consider teachers’ feedback very carefully to improve the quality of their work. This builds students’ confidence and resilience as they progress through the course and tackle more complex topics. Students routinely produce work of a very high standard.

Students enhance their understanding of fundamental British values, inclusivity and diversity, and healthy relationships through their tutorial and religious education programmes. They develop a sense of citizenship and community, strong values, tolerance and respect, which permeate the college.

Leaders and teachers take effective action to improve and monitor the quality of education across the college. They carry out lesson observations, listen to the student voice, and analyse assessment results, high-grades and value-added information to identify the many strengths and the small number of areas for improvement in the provision. Leaders help subject staff secure swift improvements and share best practice.

Leaders are considerate of staff’s welfare and workload. Leaders care for and value their staff. Staff are extremely positive about working at the college. They feel well supported and talk enthusiastically about how their well-being is a priority for leaders. Staff say that the college is well led and managed. They feel part of the college family and are proud to work at Xaverian.

Governors are highly ambitious and committed to the college vision and mission to provide high-quality education for students in an inclusive, aspirational environment. They demonstrate a clear understanding of the college’s strengths and the few areas that could be improved further. Governors have extensive knowledge and expertise that they use incisively to hold senior leaders to account for the quality of provision. They support leaders in future planning, including development of the accommodation strategy to increase capacity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics provision for the Manchester area.

2008 Full Inspection Report

Areas for improvement

The college should address:

• retention on level 2 courses
• identification of the strengths and weaknesses in teaching and learning to inform individual and cross-college staff development.

2002 Full Inspection Report

What should be improved

• many students late arrival at lessons
• range of courses below level 3
• retention rates on some courses
• group tutorial provision
• quality assurance for cross-college areas
• promotion and monitoring of equal opportunities.