University of Derby Ofsted Report

Full report

Information about the provider

• The University of Derby offers further education programmes through Buxton and Leek College, and apprenticeships through its apprenticeship hub. The university’s 16 to 19 study programmes are taught at its premises in Buxton and in Leek, as are some of its adult learning programmes. A significant number of adults also study at the university’s main campus in Derby. Apprenticeship classes are held at all three sites. The university’s classroom-based learners study courses in health and social care, early years education, public services, engineering, motor vehicle, carpentry and joinery, information technology, hairdressing and beauty therapy, catering, sport, travel, art, design and media, and business. Apprentices follow programmes in health and social care, manufacturing, construction, warehousing, hairdressing and beauty therapy, hospitality and catering, administration, and business management.
• In Derbyshire and Staffordshire, unemployment is lower than in Great Britain as a whole, although youth unemployment is slightly higher in Derbyshire. Young people in the area leave school with GCSE results that are similar to the rest of Britain. However, young people perform a little less well in GCSE English and mathematics at key stage 4 than elsewhere.

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that all staff in all subject areas adopt initiatives to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that the quality of lessons becomes more consistent.
• Place renewed focus on attendance at English and mathematics lessons for learners in all provision types. In particular, managers should review the timetabling of these subjects for study programmes, so that students are more likely to attend.
• Develop mechanisms for reporting data in aggregated and summarised formats so that managers are able to quickly identify patterns and trends and intervene more effectively when problems arise.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders and managers have made progress in addressing most of the weaknesses noted at the previous inspection and, as a result, provision for students aged 16 to 19, adult students and students with high needs is now good. Managers and staff have maintained the good standard of apprenticeship provision.
• Senior leaders in the university have a clear vision to create a progressive education institute of the highest quality that will provide opportunities to study from entry level to level 8. While they accept that the quality of further education is not yet as good as they would like, leaders have high expectations of both staff and learners.
• College leaders have effectively tackled areas for improvement. They have helped teachers to develop their skills, made beneficial changes to English and mathematics programmes, introduced progress coaches to support students, and improved monitoring of, and responses to, low attendance by some groups of students. As a result, most students and apprentices now make the progress expected of them, and most teachers plan and deliver effective lessons. Managers’ strategies to improve attendance have been effective overall, but have yet to sufficiently improve learners’ attendance at English and mathematics lessons. Managers have reduced the number of subcontractors and monitor and review the performance of the remaining partners well. As a result, this provision performs well.
• Leaders and managers have an accurate understanding of the college’s strengths and areas for improvement. Self-assessment is mostly accurate and informed well by the views of employers, learners, staff and stakeholders. Most departmental improvement plans are of a good quality with clear, measurable and often challenging targets for improvement, leading to good progress. A minority of improvement plans, by contrast, are weak, with overly generic targets and no clear success measures, so that it is more difficult to see what progress has been achieved.
• Managers assess the quality of teaching, learning and assessment accurately and they use the results of lesson observations well to develop plans for teachers’ professional development. Teachers have clear improvement targets and undertake useful training through departmental and college-wide events.
• Managers evaluate and improve the work of staff well. Staff agree useful and pertinent targets with their managers, who monitor progress well. Staff who do not hit targets receive appropriate support to help them to improve. A small number of underperforming staff have left the college. The management of staff performance enables progress towards the college’s overall improvement targets, and is supported by data arising from teaching observations and learners’ outcomes.
• The majority of curriculum leaders now use student progress data well to set targets and monitor the quality of provision, but a minority still do not. Although the use of management information to inform managers’ understanding and actions has improved since the previous inspection, managers still do not have sufficient information to help them to understand the progress of specific groups of students. For example, managers of students with high needs cannot easily monitor their progress on higher-level vocational programmes. Managers of students on 16 to 19 study programmes find it difficult to monitor their progress on their English and mathematics courses. Managers do not routinely access aggregated performance information for apprentices.
• Leaders have yet to complete their ongoing comprehensive review of the curriculum and as a result do not yet have detailed plans for the college’s further development. This is despite good engagement with local employers that curriculum managers use to inform their planning and to provide a curriculum that supports local needs.

The governance of the provider

• Governors have a good understanding of the college and use their knowledge and experience in education, industry and the local community well to support and challenge senior leaders. They participate well in college events where they meet staff, students and students’ parents.
• Governors receive comprehensive reports on the activities and performance of the college. However, the reports they receive do not sufficiently place the college’s outcomes in the context of other colleges nationally, and this limits governors’ ability to judge the full extent of the progress being made.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Managers undertake appropriate checks on staff before employing them and keep a central record that is complete and up to date. Staff complete training on safeguarding, the dangers of radicalisation and extremism, and the ‘Prevent’ duty. Training includes regular updates on relevant themes such as female genital mutilation.
• Managers’ concern for the safety and well-being of their learners is clearly evident through their continual monitoring of attendance and behaviour, and their effective response to concerns raised. Managers have good links with the police and local authority safeguarding teams. However, records of the outcomes from actions taken are not always sufficiently detailed, and because of the use of multiple lists and places to record interventions, staff occasionally do not share concerns quickly enough with relevant colleagues.
• Learners know how to keep themselves safe, including while online, and they know whom to speak to if they feel unsafe or vulnerable. They can describe British values, but are less secure in their understanding of how these apply in their daily lives and at work.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Most teachers plan and teach lessons effectively. They provide a varied range of activities that help students and apprentices to maintain their interest. They give clear explanations of topics and appropriate demonstrations of practical skills. For example, level 2 hairdressing students learn how to colour and lighten hair through watching the teacher expertly model how to dye hair in an ombré style.
• Teachers and assessors are appropriately qualified and experienced and use their knowledge and skills to provide training that reflects current industry and business practice. As a result, students and apprentices are well prepared for progression to the workplace.
• Where students need extra help with their studies, staff provide this very well. As soon as students apply to study at the university, staff follow appropriate procedures to identify what extra support students will need. As a result, staff provide this support as soon as students and apprentices commence their programmes. Teachers work highly effectively with learning support assistants (LSAs) to ensure that those students who need it have access to good in-class support. A clear aim of this support is to help students to develop their ability to work independently, and this helps to prepare them for future work and study.
• Since the previous inspection, managers have appointed a number of progress coaches who provide good pastoral and academic support for students. Their support helps students to overcome barriers to learning and focus on their studies. Students value this support highly, and several of those spoken with described in glowing terms how staff had helped them overcome personal difficulties with their studies.
• Many teachers of programmes for adults and for apprentices inspire and challenge learners well, although this is not consistently the case. In study programme theory lessons, teachers’ expectations of what their students can achieve are often too low, and as a result they do not provide activities that are difficult enough for the most able students.
• Most teachers mark work thoroughly and frequently and many provide feedback that is helpful, including on the quality of learners’ writing. Learners often use this feedback well to improve their work. However, a small minority of teachers provide feedback that is unhelpful and a few pay little or no attention to the quality of students’ writing.
• Most English and mathematics teachers provide lessons that help students to develop their skills well, and improving examination results reflect this. However, in a small minority of lessons, English teaching is less effective on adult programmes. Teachers of vocational subjects often incorporate elements of English and mathematics effectively into their lessons, where this is appropriate. Teachers help apprentices to improve their English skills, but they rarely include mathematics topics in their lessons.
• Teachers do not always check learners’ understanding of topics thoroughly enough in lessons. They make extensive use of oral questioning to check learners’ understanding, but they often do not do this well, particularly in adult programmes. Teachers of adult learning programmes often answer their own questions or provide hints that are tantamount to revealing the answer. Teachers of 16 to 19 study programmes use questioning more effectively and, in a few cases, these members of staff use a wider range of techniques to assess understanding, such as interactive quizzes or scrutiny of students’ notes and written work. However, they do not always check the understanding of all students in a group and move on without being clear that students have grasped topics sufficiently. Teachers of students with high needs use questioning well.
• Teachers rarely introduce topics related to diversity or equality of opportunity into their lessons, limiting students’ and apprentices’ opportunities to develop their understanding of life in modern Britain. However, the college provides an open and tolerant environment, and students behave with respect and understanding towards one another.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

• Learners grow in confidence as they progress through their studies. For example, assistant practitioner (health and social care) apprentices described how their growing knowledge gives them confidence to contribute more effectively to team activities and to challenge established but less effective practices in their workplaces. Study programme students describe how staff help them to recognise their achievements, and this increases their self-esteem.
• A broad programme of additional activities helps to develop students’ understanding of the world about them and helps prepare them for work and adult life. This programme includes activities to support health, well-being and mental health, faith-related sessions, and broader learning activities, such as sessions on cooking or preparing for the driving theory test. Students participate well in these activities. Staff also encourage students to participate in schemes such as the National Citizenship Service and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
• Learners are safe and feel safe when on college premises and in the workplace. They know how to raise concerns, and those who do so receive effective responses from staff. Staff help students and apprentices to develop their understanding of safeguarding themes, such as those related to online safety, grooming and radicalisation. As a consequence, learners demonstrate a clear understanding of these topics.
• Appropriately qualified careers professionals and newly appointed progress coaches support students to develop their understanding of their next steps into further study or employment. The college’s tutorial programme, tailored to the needs of students at different stages of their learning, includes frequent topics about choosing an appropriate career and preparing for work and higher education. Staff in most subject areas ensure that students have access to employers through trips, visits and guest speakers. Students can have individual interviews with careers advisers and have helpful discussions about their futures. However, not all students take advantage of this provision.
• The vast majority of study programme students participate in meaningful work experience that is closely related to the subjects they study. They develop a clear understanding of the expectations of employers and the attitudes and behaviours required to be successful employees. However, although almost all participate in work experience, a few students find their placements unhelpful. This is either because the placement provider does not provide a suitable range of activities or because university staff do not ensure that students have a clear understanding of the objectives of their placement.
• Staff do not do enough to develop learners’ understanding of British values. Although they provide some links to these topics, such as introducing democracy through voting for student representatives, they do not make links between these activities and broader themes that would help learners make better sense of, and participate more effectively in, modern British life. However, staff work well with students with high needs to ensure that they understand these themes.
• Attendance at English and mathematics lessons is too low. The poorly thought-out timetabling of these lessons contributes to the lower attendance. Attendance at vocational lessons is satisfactory. The college’s remote location and exposure to frequently inclement weather affects attendance to some degree, but staff work hard to mitigate these effects, ensuring that most students attend well.
• Behaviour in lessons and in communal areas is good. Students and apprentices are respectful towards each other, towards staff and towards the fabric of the university.

Outcomes for learners Good

• Most students and apprentices make at least the progress expected of them from their prior achievements. A high proportion of apprentices successfully complete their apprenticeships within the planned time. The majority of students on 16 to 19 study programmes do as well as or better than might be expected from their previous achievements, and a good proportion achieve high grades in their examinations. Students with high needs consistently make better progress than the education, health and care plans that they bring with them would suggest.
• The proportion of students who achieve their qualifications is broadly in line with those in similar providers. For apprentices, this proportion is higher. The vast majority of students who complete their programmes successfully pass their qualifications, although the proportion who drop out before the end of their studies has been higher than in other similar providers. However, retention in the current year has improved and is high.
• The proportion of adult students who achieve English and mathematics qualifications, including GCSEs, is about average, while students on 16 to 19 study programmes do better than their counterparts nationally. A high proportion of study programme students improve their GCSE grades, and the progress they make from their starting points is greater than in other providers. A high proportion of apprentices who take functional skills qualifications pass them at the first attempt.
• Students produce work that at least meets the requirements of their qualifications and, for a minority of adults, exceeds them. Apprentices produce work that matches the expectations of the industries in which they are employed.
• Students and apprentices enjoy their studies and speak highly of the university and of the quality of teaching they receive. They are often highly motivated. For example, following an access to higher education lesson, two students remained behind to discuss animatedly the topics they had covered in the lesson.
• The large majority of students progress to positive destinations that include further study, apprenticeships and employment. A growing proportion progress to higher education, and an increasing number undertake programmes at prestigious universities. Almost all apprentices remain in employment at the end of their programmes, but managers lack data about whether they gain promotion or take on greater responsibility as a result of their studies. A high proportion of adults who take employability programmes with a subcontractor secure relevant employment at the end of their programmes.
• Students on higher-level vocational programmes who have complex or severe special educational needs make better progress than their peers because of the highly effective support they receive.

Types of provision

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• The college currently has 652 students following 16 to 19 study programmes in health and social care, early years education, public services, engineering, motor vehicle, carpentry and joinery, information technology, hairdressing and beauty therapy, catering, sport, travel, art, design and media, and business. Around half of all students study level 3 programmes, just under a third study at level 2, and the remainder study at level 1 and below.
• In practical lessons, teachers give clear demonstrations and explanations that help students to develop their practical skills and knowledge well. Teachers provide engaging and varied activities that help stimulate and maintain students’ interest. For example, in collaboration with the emergency services, staff invest considerable time and resources into a simulation of a road traffic accident that enables public service students to participate in a team activity with public service professionals.
• Teachers of vocational subjects help students to develop their English skills well, particularly in the use of specialist vocabulary. For example, beauty therapy students learn the term ‘chloasma’ when studying how this condition can develop when perfume is sprayed on the skin prior to exposure to the sun. Although the quality of teaching in English and mathematics lessons is good, attendance at these lessons is too low, limiting the progress of students.
• Careers advice is good at all levels and for all pathways, including apprenticeships, higher education and employment. Students talk positively about the careers advice they receive and how they use it to plan their next steps. The majority of students progress to employment, including apprenticeships or self-employment. Others progress to further study. Very few students find themselves unemployed at the end of their programmes.
• Managers work hard to secure relevant and purposeful work-experience placements for the very large majority of students. Students undertake a pre- and post-work experience skills audit to ensure that they are able to complete appropriate activities in their placements. Many complete a work-experience journal while participating in their placement. As a result, most students enjoy a rewarding experience and develop their understanding of the workplace well. However, a few work placements have little relevance to the student’s study programme and a small number of students report being unclear about what they should gain from their placement.
• Students feel safe in the college and know whom to contact if they do not. Staff help them to develop a clear understanding of a number of topics, such as online safety and radicalisation.
• Most students on study programmes make good progress. They are aware of their target grades and the progress they make towards achieving or exceeding them. Teachers monitor their students’ progress carefully and intervene appropriately when students begin to fall behind. However, in a few cases, teachers’ comments on marked work are insufficient to help students to improve their performance.
• In a minority of theory lessons, teachers do not have high enough expectations of what students can achieve and consequently set work that is not demanding enough, especially for the most able students. In a few cases, teachers pay insufficient attention to what students already know so that students gain little new knowledge in their lessons.
• Students’ understanding of British values is limited. Although staff make reference to these themes in lessons and tutorials, and students recognise how certain values apply at the college, they often do not understand how these themes affect life in modern Britain.

Adult learning programmes Good

• Currently, 524 adults are enrolled on a range of daytime and evening programmes. Most are on employability or access to higher education courses, and a smaller proportion study alongside 16 to 19 study programme students.
• Teachers are well qualified and appropriately experienced. They use their expertise well to help students to develop the skills and knowledge they need to progress within their chosen subjects. As a result, most students make at least the progress expected of them and develop their skills well. For example, one art and design student created a distinctive ceramic bowl with an attractive sgraffito flower scratched into the surface, having never attempted any form of ceramic manufacture prior to starting the course. In almost all subjects, portfolios of students’ work demonstrate a growing understanding of their subjects and a move towards independent thought and inquisitiveness.
• Managers have designed adult learning courses to meet local learning needs effectively; they are responsive to local employment skills gaps and opportunities. Staff have strong relationships with subcontracting partners. These extend the range and locations of courses available and provide more opportunities for adults to participate and progress to employment or further learning.
• Staff have developed the access to higher education curriculum to ensure that programmes have a clear focus on specific subjects, to meet the needs of students and the universities that they aspire to attend. For example, a general healthcare qualification has been adapted and now provides preparation for those students who wish to pursue a degree in social work. As a result of these developments, progression to higher education is good.
• Most students benefit from good careers advice and guidance and understand what they need to do to progress to the next stage of their education or employment. Access to higher education students receive beneficial financial guidance as they prepare to progress to higher education.
• University staff and subcontractors work closely with Jobcentre Plus to ensure that employability courses develop the vocational skills that students require to progress successfully into employment, for example in welding. Staff also help students to develop a range of personal and interpersonal skills. For example, students taking employability classes worked enthusiastically in small groups to identify the key features of successful teamwork. Students develop positive thinking and assertiveness skills and learn how to overcome stressful situations. Teachers both at the university and at subcontractors help students to complete job applications and meet employers. A very high proportion of these students secure employment as a result of their studies.
• Students benefit from good support from teachers and support assistants. This support enables them to deal with problems that would otherwise be a distraction to them in lessons. As a result, those students who receive extra help do as well as their peers.
• Most students develop the mathematical skills they need to be successful in their chosen subjects. For example, students studying social work looked at proportions of male and female adults who live longer if they live in a wealthy district.
• Students benefit from the helpful oral feedback given in classes that enables them to improve their understanding of topics. The assessment of students’ work is timely and accurate. However, the quality and effectiveness of teachers’ written feedback varies considerably and does not always challenge students to achieve higher standards. Too often, teachers do not challenge students’ poor use of English sufficiently. As a result, students continue to use poor grammar and punctuation throughout their work.
• Too often, teachers’ use of questioning to assess learning or to develop understanding is ineffective. For example, teachers answer their own questions or fail to ensure that students have a clear understanding of the current topic before they move on to the next theme.
• In a minority of classes, teachers do not require students to work hard enough. In these lessons, students spend too much time on simple subjects, when they are capable of progressing more quickly. In other lessons, teachers do not explain tasks well enough and time is lost repeating and explaining what students should do.
• Students feel safe, and most understand what they should do if a safeguarding issue arises. Most have a suitable understanding of how to stay safe online. They behave well and are respectful and courteous. However, too few have a sound understanding of British values and the importance of these themes.

Apprenticeships Good

• Currently, 401 apprentices, both levy and non-levy funded, follow frameworks and standards in health and social care, early years education, manufacturing, construction, warehousing, hairdressing and beauty therapy, hospitality and catering, administration, and business management.
• The provision meets the requirements of apprenticeships. All apprentices develop substantive new skills through a combination of appropriate on- and off-the-job training during working hours. Staff support those who need to gain English and mathematics qualifications to do so.
• Apprentices enjoy their programmes and grow in confidence as a result of the knowledge and skills they gain. Staff ensure that off-the-job training is well matched to the specific needs of individual apprentices’ workplaces, and as a result apprentices are able to make valuable contributions to their employers’ businesses. Assessors meet frequently with apprentices and employers to coordinate on- and off-the-job training so that apprentices can develop their skills in a logical and coherent way.
• The vast majority of apprentices who complete their programmes remain in sustained employment. Although managers do not systematically collect information about their progression at work, a high proportion of those who take the level 4 apprenticeship in mineral products technology progress to associate professional or managerial roles.
• Managers and staff work well with employers to help apprentices to develop their understanding of employment opportunities in their chosen sector. For example, one large national employer hosted an event to help apprentices explore careers in the minerals industry.
• Apprentices on standards programmes have a clear understanding of the nature of their end-point assessments. Staff monitor their progress well and ensure that they are suitably prepared for these assessments.
• Apprentices feel safe and are safe, both at the university and in the workplace. Staff help them to develop a sound understanding of safeguarding themes, including those related to radicalisation. Staff also help apprentices to develop an understanding of British values. However, although apprentices can recall having discussed these topics, they can only recount basic details.
• Apprentices who need to gain functional skills qualifications receive appropriate support from staff, and the large majority pass them at the first attempt. Apprentices develop their English skills because of support in lessons and through feedback on their marked work, which is clear and helpful. However, although most apprentices already have the required qualifications in mathematics, staff do not do enough to help them to develop their mathematical skills further in the context of their work roles.

Provision for learners with high needs Good

• The university currently has 46 students for whom it receives high-needs funding. The majority of students study vocational programmes alongside other 16 to 19 study programme students, with the remainder following specialist courses.
• Managers have high expectations of students that they share with staff. As a result, staff challenge students to work hard, and most students develop their subject knowledge, confidence and independent living skills well. For example, they learn how to prepare food, keep a home clean and tidy, and catch the bus, as well as how to use slot drills, laser cutters and sewing machines.
• LSAs and teachers coordinate their activities very well. LSAs know what they must do to support students within lessons and why. LSAs and teachers offer tailored support and give clear instructions and guidance to students. They offer supportive challenge that helps ensure that students work hard. As a result, students are well motivated.
• Teachers provide effective oral and written feedback, which helps students to understand what they need to do to improve their work. As a result, students make good progress and develop their confidence and independence.
• Managers and staff make appropriate use of funds to access specialist resources that help students with a range of needs, such as for speech and language therapy and support for mobility difficulties. Teachers and LSAs adapt learning resources effectively to meet the specific needs of students, and this ensures that all students benefit from an appropriate level of challenge.
• As students approach the end of their studies, staff make effective arrangements to help them to make sensible choices and progress successfully to the next stage of their education or employment. Careers advice is impartial and thorough. Staff manage work-experience placements very well, and these help students to develop clear and sensible career goals. The vast majority of students with high needs progress to higher-level qualifications, training or employment.
• Staff monitor students’ progress appropriately to ensure that they achieve their qualifications and the targets in their education, health and care plans. This close monitoring allows staff to adjust the support they provide as students become more independent.
• Students conduct themselves very well. They are respectful of each other, their teachers and support workers. They understand the values, morals and demands of life in modern Britain.
• Students are safe and know how to keep themselves safe in a variety of circumstances. For example, they understand the risks of sharing information online and can recognise signs that someone is trying to radicalise them. Students know what to do should an incident occur.
• Students on foundation programmes develop their English and mathematical skills appropriately through meaningful activities that are linked to their interests. For example, they produce professional emails, time plans and personal budgets.
• Transition arrangements from school are good. Staff use a broad range of activities to ensure that students join the right programme with the right support. However, the education, health and care plans students bring with them often lack detail and are insufficiently individualised, and leaders do not do enough to challenge this with the external professionals responsible for them. The low quality of these incoming plans creates significant extra work for staff in the high-needs team, who must develop plans with suitable targets.
• Information systems do not allow managers to gather and analyse quickly data about the progress of students with high needs who are studying 16 to 19 study programmes.

Provider details

Unique reference number 133811 Type of provider Higher education institution Age range of learners Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year 16+ 2,732 Principal/CEO Mr Len Tildsley Telephone number 01332 622222 Website www.derby.ac.uk/

Provider information at the time of the inspection

Main course or learning programme level Level 1 or below Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 or above Total number of learners (excluding apprenticeships) Number of apprentices by apprenticeship level and age Number of traineeships Number of learners aged 14 to 16 Number of learners for which the provider receives high-needs funding At the time of inspection, the provider contracts with the following main subcontractors:

16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 120 46 208 120 324 342 0 16 Intermediate Advanced Higher 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 55 14 35 50 0 19+ 247 16–19 2 19+ - Total 2 - 46 Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group Mineral Products Qualifications Council North Staffordshire Engineering Group Training Association Limited Momentum Recruitment Limited

Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the Assistant Principal – Quality and Performance Management, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners and employers; these views are reflected within the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider.

Inspection team

Russ Henry, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Phil Romain Julie Gibson Ralph Brompton Barry Dolan Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Tracey Greenaway-Jones Ofsted Inspector