Ofsted round-up – This week: Hull College is among four ‘outstanding’ colleges

Hull College, Kingston upon Hull

Summary of grades awarded:

Effectiveness of provision Outstanding:Grade 1

Capacity to improve Outstanding:Grade 1

Achievement and standards Outstanding:Grade 1

Quality of provision Outstanding:Grade 1

Leadership and management Outstanding:Grade 1

Equality of opportunity Outstanding:Contributory Grade 1

HullCollege, one of the largest in the country, operates from four sites in thecity centre and over 30 venues across Hull and East Riding. The college is aCentre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE), was awarded an Association of Colleges(AoC) Beacon Award for lifelong learning in 2005 and won a National Training Award in 2006. Hull College offers courses inall 15 sector subject areas. In 2006/07, the college enrolled about 26,000 learners;around 5,100 were aged 16 to 18 and some 17,000 adult learners were takingpart-time courses.

Ofsted said that, “Hull College is an outstanding organisation,”where, “learners make exceptional progress during their time at the college.” Thesuccess rate on a minority of courses was the only area suggested forimprovement. Despite this, achievement and standards were still graded asoutstanding with the overall success rate on long courses, “[improving]consistently since the last inspection,” and standing, “significantly above theprevious year’s national average for similar colleges.”

Inspectors agreed with the self-assessment that the qualityof provision is outstanding.

Assessment,the range of provision, enrichment activities and the support and guidanceavailable were all noted as being outstanding and meeting learners’ needs verywell. The “robust” arrangements for lesson observation meant they were mostlyaccurate at identifying strengths and areas for improvement. The facilities tosupport learners with sensory impairment, dyslexia and other learningdifficulties were listed as a strength.

Ofsteddescribed leadership as “inspirational” and noted the college had a positiveimpact on the community. Good communication, team work and sharing of goodpractice all helped to improve provision. Governance, quality assurancearrangements and equality and diversity were all found to be outstanding.

Uxbridge College, Uxbridge

Summary of grades awarded:

Effectiveness of provision Outstanding:Grade 1

Capacity to improve Outstanding:Grade 1

Achievement and standards Outstanding:Grade 1

Quality of provision Good:Grade 2

Leadership and management Outstanding:Grade 1

Equality of opportunity Outstanding:Contributory Grade 1

Sector subject areas:

Science and mathematics Good:Grade 2

Engineering Good:Grade 2

Information and communication technology Outstanding:Grade 1

Arts, media and publishing Good:Grade 2

Literacy and numeracy Good:Grade 2

English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) Outstanding:Grade 1

Uxbridge College is a large FE college located inHillingdon, West London with campuses in Uxbridge and Hayes. The college offerscourses in all sector subject areas apart from land-based programmes. Mostlearners, out of the 4,153 full-time students, undertake A levels or GCSEs,though there are also a range of vocational courses, some available to schoolpupils aged 14 to 16.

Ofstedgraded the effectiveness of provision, capacity to improve and achievement andstandards of Uxbridge as outstanding. The report stated: “Success rates on longqualifications have risen substantially since the last inspection… and are highfor students of all ages and at all levels.” Only key skills had shown adecline in success rates and was thus noted as an area for improvement.Students undertaking work-based learning were seen to acquire good practicaland workplace skills.

Thequality of provision received a good grade. Inspectors said that in mostlessons, “teachers plan and manage learning skilfully,” but that weakerlessons, “[failed] to provide effectively for students’ individual needs.”Lesson observations were described as “rigorous” and assessment was good, buttarget-setting was sometimes inconsistent and could be improved. The supportfor learners with specific needs was a key strength, and ESOL and ICT werehighlighted for outstanding provision.

Leadershipand management were outstanding with no particular criticisms made by Ofsted.Equality of opportunity and the promotion of educational and social inclusionwere listed as strengths. Accommodation and resources were also good.

Runshaw College, Leyland, Lancashire

Summary of grades awarded:

Effectiveness of provision Outstanding:Grade 1

Capacity to improve Outstanding:Grade 1

Achievement and standards Outstanding:Grade 1

Quality of provision Outstanding:Grade 1

Leadership and management Outstanding:Grade 1

Equality of opportunity Outstanding:Contributory Grade 1

Runshaw College, which serves the South Ribble and Chorleyarea, operates from three main sites: a sixth form centre, an adult college andbusiness centre, and a town centre site. A number of outreach centres alsodeliver community-based provision. In 2006/07, there were 7,400 students, ofwhom 4,200 were full-time and mainly aged 16 to 18. About 490 students wereenrolled on higher education (HE) courses and over 200 on apprenticeshipprogrammes. The college has CoVEs in leadership and management and informationtechnology for business.

Ofstedsaid the overall effectiveness at Runshaw was, “outstanding as a result of highexpectations for staff and students.” They listed no significant areas forimprovement. Achievement and standards were outstanding with success rates forstudents aged 16 to 18, “well above national benchmarking data for courses atall levels.” Results for students on vocational courses and the majority ofadult learners were equally outstanding, and achievement by work-based traineeswas good.

Inspectors agreed with the college’s judgement that qualityof provision was outstanding. They stated that: “Lessons are exceptionally wellplanned with a wide range of activities, professionally produced handouts andexcellent use of information learning technology (ILT).” The range ofprovision, “creative” lessons, and guidance and support were all highlighted askey strengths.

Ofsted described leadership as “inspirational” at all levelsand felt the college had a, “a very clear sense of direction and purpose.” Theypraised the staff for being well qualified and highly motivated and noted thataccommodation, specialist equipment and resources were all of a high quality.Monitoring, quality improvement, self-assessment and promotion of equality wereall considered excellent.

Godalming College, Godalming

Summary of grades awarded:

Effectiveness of provision Outstanding:Grade 1

Capacity to improve Outstanding:Grade 1

Achievement and standards Outstanding:Grade 1

Quality of provision Outstanding:Grade 1

Leadership and management Outstanding:Grade 1

Equality of opportunity Outstanding:Contributory Grade 1

Godalming College is a sixth form college in south westSurrey that offers provision in 13 sector subject areas. The majority ofstudents (over 1,500) are aged 16 to 18 and undertake AS and A level courses. Thereare some 1,350 adult enrolments each year, mainly on part-time courses, as wellas work-based learning and part-time vocational programmes for school pupils. In2005 the college was awarded a CoVE in social care and in 2006 was awardedBeacon status.

Ofsted awarded outstanding grades to all areas ofGodalming’s inspection. They reported that overall success rates for 16 to 18year olds at levels 2 and 3 had been above the national average for the pastthree years, while AS and A level pass rates had been outstanding for the pastfour years. Success rates for adult learners at levels 2 and 3 had improved andwere also above the national average in 2006/07, though success rates foradults taking level 1 programmes declined in the same year.

Teaching and learning were outstanding. Inspectors saidlessons were, “very well planned with clear outcomes and an excellent balanceof theory and practical activities.” The college’s system for devoting time tosupporting individuals and small groups was listed as a strength. Assessmentand lesson observations were found to be good. Further development of thecollege’s virtual learning environment and encouraging students to make betteruse of group tutorials were two suggested areas for improvement.

Leadership and management were outstanding. Key strengthsfor this area were good staff development and very productive partnerships withlocal employers. Ofsted said that self-assessment was well developed and thecollege could accurately identify strengths and areas to improve. Qualityassurance, financial management and equality of opportunity were all worthy ofgood or outstanding grades.