Northampton College Ofsted Report

Full report

Information about the provider

• Northampton College is a large general further education college with two sites in Northampton and a third in Daventry. The college draws most of its learners from Northamptonshire, and has a growing apprenticeship provision that largely involves employers from the local area. The college offers provision in 13 of the 15 subject areas, from entry level through to higher education.
• Young people in Northamptonshire leave school with GCSE results that are slightly below the national average, having made less progress at secondary school than might be expected. Employment in the local area is higher than in the rest of Britain and the proportion of workless households is lower. However, fewer individuals work in managerial or professional roles than elsewhere and the proportion of the population qualified to level 3 or above is lower. Key employment sectors include manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, administration, and health and social work.

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Consider carefully the key performance indicators for each different provision type when completing the 2016/17 self-assessment report. In particular, leaders and managers should review measures of learner progress to inform improvement actions.
• Help teachers and assessors to understand better their learners’ potential so that their expectations of what learners can achieve are increased. Support teachers to plan and deliver lessons that enable all learners, including the most able, to develop quickly their knowledge and understanding.
• Apply clear and consistent approaches to evaluating and reporting on learners’ progress so that teachers and managers can readily identify emerging problems and take steps to resolve them.
• Improve the rate of timely achievements for advanced apprentices by helping staff to plan lessons that take their differing experiences and abilities into account, and that have sufficient pace and challenge for all apprentices. Ensure that staff provide clear and effective assessment feedback that helps apprentices identify what and how they need to improve.
• Ensure that learners and staff understand the importance of good attendance, both for successful learning and for future employability. Revisit approaches to raising learners’ attendance and prioritise improving this aspect of their personal development.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Senior managers have introduced new measures to improve the quality of learning programmes and to raise standards. However, their actions have not yet had sufficient impact on improving outcomes for learners on 16 to 19 study programmes, or for apprentices. The proportion of advanced apprentices who complete within the planned timescale has declined and is low.
• Managers do not monitor the progress of learners consistently well and, consequently, are unable to identify areas where their intervention is necessary. They are unclear about the proportion of learners who are on course to achieve their target grades because they have not provided teachers with a clear and unambiguous set of criteria that they can use to evaluate learners’ progress. However, they do monitor carefully learners who are at risk of dropping out, and their actions have resulted in an increase in the numbers who remain on course to complete their programmes.
• Leaders and managers have developed a detailed strategy for English and mathematics. The creation of a discrete school for English and mathematics is a well-considered initiative, but it has yet to show a consistent impact across all of the curriculum areas. During the inspection, attendance at English and mathematics lessons was low.
• The self-assessment report correctly identifies many of the college’s strengths and areas for improvement, particularly in relation to provision for learners who have high needs and for adult learners. However, the evaluation did not highlight all significant key development areas within study programmes and apprenticeships. Consequently, this has slowed improvement within these provision types.
• Managers have very good relationships with employers and have used these to develop a good understanding of their education and training needs. They have created a detailed strategic plan that sets out a clear vision for the curriculum. They have made changes to the range and type of provision on offer so that it reflects local and regional priorities well.
• Senior leaders responded swiftly to rectify the college’s poor financial position in 2013/14. Prudent management of the college’s finances has ensured that it is in robust financial health. Consequently, managers have been able to invest in good-quality resources for teaching, learning and assessment, including a new campus in Daventry.
• Managers have developed good arrangements for gaining feedback from learners and apprentices, and make effective use of the information this provides in appraisals of teachers’ performance. They use the results of observations of teaching and learning to help teachers improve. As a result, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good in programmes for adults and for learners who have high needs. However, the impact of quality improvement arrangements on study programmes and for apprentices is not yet sufficient.
• Leaders have taken strong action to improve the effectiveness of those staff who have consistently underperformed or, where appropriate, to replace them. Leaders have invested in good-quality professional development, particularly to help improve the skills of specialist staff working with learners who have high needs. Current managers and teachers are beginning to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, but their impact has so far been limited.

The governance of the provider

• Since the previous inspection, the governance arrangements are stronger. Governors have a diverse range of skills that equips them well to challenge and support college leaders.
• Governors have a clear vision for the future of the college and are strong advocates of further education and skills in the locations served by the college.
• Governors understand the college’s key priorities. They have access to a good range of accurate and accessible management reports that helps them to ask appropriate questions and to hold senior managers to account. However, they have not yet been able to resolve weaknesses in 16 to 19 study programmes or apprenticeships.
• Governors’ involvement in the development of the curriculum is good and their relationships with employers are very productive.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Learners feel safe and know what to do if they have concerns about their safety or that of others. Learners have a good understanding of how to stay safe online and how to protect themselves from radicalisation and extremism.
• Procedures to identify and support learners at risk of harm are rigorous. The safeguarding team assesses all referrals, and their actions are well considered and appropriate. Summary reports on safeguarding provide managers and governors with a wealth of information about all aspects of safeguarding across the college. Subsequent training for the safeguarding team and staff with responsibility for pastoral support reflects the key themes arising from the reports.
• Managers and teaching staff take the college’s responsibilities in relation to the ‘Prevent’ duty very seriously, and the college has particularly effective arrangements for ensuring learners’ safety from extremism.
• Strong relationships with local police and local authority social services enable managers to provide good safeguarding support for learners.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching, learning and assessment in 16 to 19 study programmes do not provide sufficient challenge to enable learners to make progress in line with their potential. Too few advanced level apprentices make appropriate progress towards achieving their qualifications within the planned timescale.
• Teaching, learning and assessment are good on adult provision and programmes for learners who have high needs. Learners on these programmes make good progress and often exceed their targets.
• The quality of mathematics provision, particularly on 16 to 19 study programmes, requires improvement. Too often, the activities that teachers use to develop learners’ skills in mathematics do not engage their interest, or motivate them to work hard. Teaching in functional skills lessons does not routinely develop learners’ understanding sufficiently and too many learners make only limited progress.
• Apprentices do not develop their English skills sufficiently. Too many teachers and assessors do not routinely check or develop apprentices’ understanding of technical vocabulary, or help them to improve the quality of their writing, for example by identifying spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes and explaining how to correct them.
• Staff make effective use of the information gathered about learners’ starting points to ensure that they are placed onto suitable programmes and quickly settle into college life. Initial assessments accurately identify learners’ levels of literacy and numeracy and, where necessary, their requirements for extra help. Teachers and support staff understand their learners’ additional needs.
• Too many teachers of 16 to 19 study programmes and apprenticeships do not make enough use of this information, and the results of their ongoing assessment of learners’ knowledge and understanding, to establish suitably high expectations, or to plan lessons that provide an appropriate level of challenge for all learners. As a result, individuals with differing abilities work on the same tasks; the most able learners finish early and often do not receive more demanding work that extends their learning and helps them to achieve higher grades. In a minority of lessons, teachers make only limited use of learners’ prior knowledge and experiences, including learning gained from work experience placements, to enliven lessons and further consolidate learning.
• On adult learning programmes and courses for learners with high needs, teachers monitor learners’ progress well and ensure that they know how to achieve their targets and qualifications. Staff support a minority of apprentices to go beyond meeting the minimum requirements of their programmes through the completion of qualification units at a higher level.
• In most lessons, learners and apprentices benefit from the specialist knowledge and expertise that teachers use well to create purposeful activities that support good progress.
• Most teachers’ oral and written feedback to learners, including those aged 16 to 19, is constructive, detailed and provides useful guidance to help them improve their work. However, written feedback to apprentices is often too general and does not contain enough information to help them identify what they have done well and what they need to improve upon.
• In practical lessons, learners develop their employability and vocational trade skills well. Most apprentices develop good technical skills and, as a result, their employers value them.
• Learners benefit from the recent investment in a range of thoughtfully considered equipment that replicates that found in industry. These resources enhance their learning experience, particularly in science, hairdressing, beauty therapy, catering, motor vehicle, and media. Staff use a wide range of learning resources and reference materials, including the college’s virtual learning environment (VLE), to help learners to consolidate their learning.
• Teachers work well with learning support assistants to provide highly effective support for learners and apprentices who have special educational needs. This support enables these learners to participate fully in learning and progress as well as their peers. Learners with complex needs receive particularly good individual support that builds upon their prior attainment; as a result, they make good progress. Personal tutors and learning support assistants also work well together in providing effective emotional and pastoral support to learners and apprentices, and this helps them to overcome any personal barriers to learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

• Attendance during the inspection was too low across much of the provision, and was lower than the year-to-date figure reported by the college. During the inspection, learners’ attendance in English and mathematics lessons was lower than that of the college overall. In a few instances, late-arriving learners disrupt lessons and teachers do not routinely challenge them or help them to understand the importance of good timekeeping to their future employment prospects.
• Most learners following 16 to 19 study programmes participate in appropriate work experience that helps them to explore career options and gain an insight into the skills and attributes expected by employers. A significant proportion of learners at level 1 participate in work related learning activities.
• Learners receive appropriate advice and guidance that help ensure that they enrol on courses that match their abilities and career aspirations. Ongoing advice and guidance help learners and apprentices to develop an understanding of their progression opportunities. Learners who wish to progress to university receive good support with their applications. A broad range of staff, including personal tutors, academic coaches and learning support assistants, supports most learners at risk of dropping out of college well, and the vast majority complete their studies.
• Learners fully understand and meet the college’s expectations regarding their behaviour. Teachers successfully promote an ethos of mutual respect and, as a result, learners work well together and value each other’s views and opinions. They demonstrate a high level of respect for their peers and teachers, both in class and in shared spaces within the college.
• Adult learners and those on 16 to 19 study programmes benefit from access to a wide range of enrichment activities that enhance their personal development and employability skills.
• Learners and apprentices feel safe in college and the workplace, and know whom to go to if they have a concern. Most have a detailed understanding about how to keep themselves safe in a wide range of contexts, including while online and when using social media. Specific cross-college, awareness-raising events develop effectively learners’ understanding of the dangers of extremism and the importance of fundamental British values. Assessors successfully develop apprentices’ understanding of how to stay safe at work. When learners raise concerns, managers investigate and deal with them appropriately and sensitively.

Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

• Too few 16 to 19 learners at level 3 gain the grades of which they are capable. Managers and staff are taking relevant improvement actions but it is too early to assess their impact on current learners’ progress.
• The proportion of advanced apprentices who successfully complete their qualifications within the agreed timescale has declined and is well below the rate of other providers. The overall achievement rate for this group has also declined steadily but remains in line with the national rate.
• The large majority of learners progress to positive destinations. However, the proportion of learners on level 3 programmes who progress to higher education is low. Most apprentices remain with their employers upon completion of their qualifications.
• Disadvantaged learners aged 16 to 19 make less progress than their peers do. Managers have not yet resolved this and current learners entitled to free school meals have low attendance, although most remain on their courses. However, children looked after are supported well, stay on their programme and achieve well.
• Too often, teachers do not challenge learners on 16 to 19 study programmes to produce work to the standard of which they are capable and, consequently, too much of their work meets only the minimum requirements of their qualifications.
• The proportion of learners on classroom-based courses who complete and achieve their qualifications increased in 2015/16 and is slightly above the national rates for both 16 to 19 study programmes and adult learning programmes. The proportion of intermediate apprentices who achieve their qualifications within agreed timescales has risen slowly and is higher than for other providers.
• Adult learners, particularly those taking English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and access to higher education programmes, make very good progress. They produce work of a high quality that often exceeds the requirements of their qualifications. This is particularly evident in access to higher education programmes where the enthusiasm both of teachers and of learners leads to the production of very good work.
• Apprentices produce work that meets the minimum requirements of their qualifications and the workplace. A minority undertake optional higher-level units of study, develop advanced skills and produce work that exceeds their framework requirements.
• Learners with high needs develop good skills for independent living and, over time, a proportion progress into employment, including into a developing programme of supported internships.

Types of provision

16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

• Study programmes constitute the large majority of the college’s provision. At the time of the inspection, there were 3,282 learners on these programmes. There were 1,591 studying at level 3, 1,153 at level 2 and 538 at level 1 or below. Of the level 3 learners, 125 were studying A levels. The subjects with the most significant numbers of learners are media, information and communication technology, business, health and social care, and art, design and photography.
• In each of the previous three academic years, the progress made by learners following level 3 programmes was well below expectations. Although most current learners know their target grades and are able to describe their current progress towards achieving them, too few make the expected progress and very few exceed expectations.
• In a minority of lessons, teachers do not do enough to check learning. As a result, they are not sure that all learners understand the lesson material, and they do not quickly identify and address misconceptions, or increase the pace and challenge for those learners who are finding the work easy.
• Teachers often fail to set helpful, short-term targets for learners. In a majority of cases, targets do not make specific reference to the skills and understanding learners need to develop. For example, learners who are aiming for higher grades have targets such as ‘continue to attend all lessons’ and ‘keep up the hard work’.
• Attendance observed during the inspection was lower than the college reported average for the year to date. Managers’ attempts to increase attendance rates have not yet secured the required improvements.
• Most learners participate in well-planned and appropriate external work experience. These learners regard highly the support provided by the Enterprise Hub in helping to secure work placements. They value the experience they gain in the workplace and recognise the importance of the employability skills they develop.
• Learners achieve English and mathematics qualifications at a higher rate than in other colleges. Managers have introduced a well considered English and mathematics strategy, but it is yet to have a consistent impact across the college.
• The majority of teachers plan lessons well so that they proceed at an appropriate pace. Tutors support and encourage learners, making frequent use of praise where appropriate. However, in a minority of lessons, teachers fail to take sufficient account of learners’ existing skills and abilities. As a result, they fail to plan teaching and learning so that they provide a suitable level of challenge for all learners. This hinders learners’ progress and their potential to achieve higher grades.
• Learners have high ambitions and receive useful careers advice and guidance from staff that help them plan for their future employment and education. Learners who intend to go into higher education receive good support from college staff with their applications.
• Managers have focused considerable attention on retaining learners on their programmes. As a result, most complete their courses and achieve their qualifications.
• In the majority of lessons, teachers make good links to employability skills and relate these well to the vocational subjects learners are studying. As a result, learners gain well-developed skills in teamworking, presentation and communication, for example.
• In most practical lessons, learners develop relevant, professional skills well. For example, learners in hairdressing are confident to share what they are doing with their peers, discuss the styles they are working on and adapt their work appropriately.

Adult learning programmes

• The college has approximately 2,740 adult learners, most of whom study part time. The large majority of these learners follow ESOL courses, functional skills and GCSE English, mathematics and science. A substantial number of learners take access to higher education studies, information and communication technology, accountancy and employability courses. Adult learners also participate in vocational courses in a number of subject areas, including health and social care, engineering, hospitality, and child development.
• The very large majority of learners successfully achieve their qualifications. Most make good progress from their starting points. Learners on ESOL courses and access to higher education programmes progress particularly well and there are no groups of learners who do significantly less well than others do.
• Teachers inspire and motivate learners very well. As a result, most enjoy their lessons and benefit from each other’s knowledge. In the large majority of lessons, learners make good progress. They are highly motivated, contribute eagerly, and many provide depth and colour to topics by sharing their own experiences. They produce work that meets and often exceeds the standard required.
• Teachers frequently check that learners understand topics. They accurately identify learners who need extra help and carefully plan lessons to meet their needs. They provide good support between sessions, giving extra time for individual help where learners require it. Learners benefit from good oral and written feedback that enable them to improve their subject-specific skills and the quality of their writing, and ensure that they are clear about the extent of their progress.
• Learners become a great deal more self-confident and believe in their potential to be successful. Teachers successfully develop learners’ higher-order thinking and independent learning skills, and this prepares them well for further study. Learners, particularly those who speak English as an additional language, take up a range of enrichment activities, including shopping and theatre trips. These help them to grow in confidence and appreciate a wider range of experiences.
• Learners understand the importance of having good English, mathematics, and information and communication technology skills and work hard to improve them. Learners on English and mathematics courses develop knowledge that helps them with other aspects of their lives, such as supporting their children with schoolwork.
• Adult learning programmes meet the needs of learners and the local community very well. Staff and managers work with higher education institutions, employers and Jobcentre Plus to make sure that learners can benefit from local employment opportunities and meet their career aspirations. They design programmes well to develop learners’ employability skills.
• In a small minority of lessons, teachers do not include activities that provide an appropriate level of challenge for all learners. As a result, some learners struggle to complete activities, whereas others finish them quickly and receive nothing more challenging to do.
• A small minority of teachers do not plan for the promotion of equality and diversity themes in lessons where it would be relevant and useful to do so. Nor do they use opportunities that arise spontaneously to explore these important topics.
• Too many learners arrive late to their lessons, and teachers do not challenge this effectively. Attendance in English and mathematics sessions is low. However, teachers send work to absent learners and they use this, and online resources, to catch up.

Apprenticeships Requires improvement

• Apprentice provision is growing. At the time of the inspection, there were 832 apprentices. Just over half are at intermediate level, with almost half on advanced level programmes and a very small number following higher apprenticeship programmes. Almost half the apprentices are in engineering disciplines; substantial numbers take programmes in business, accounting, customer services, hairdressing, hospitality, warehousing, health and social care, and childcare. Around 40% are aged 16 to 18, 30% are aged 19 to 23, and around 25% are aged 24 or older.
• The large majority of apprentices achieve their qualifications. However, the proportion who complete their apprenticeship within agreed timescales has declined steadily; at level 3, and for apprentices aged over 24, it is substantially lower than the national rate. Upon completion of their programmes, the large majority of apprentices progress to a positive destination, including further study.
• A minority of staff plan learning sessions in which the pace is too slow. As a result, apprentices become bored and do not make enough progress. In vocational sessions, trainers give little attention to the development of English, mathematics and information and communication technology skills.
• Staff assess apprentices’ existing skills and collect information about their prior qualification attainment. They use the information this provides to identify and meet apprentices’ additional support needs well. However, they do not use this information to set learning targets that are aspirational and challenge apprentices to make rapid progress from their starting points. They rarely plan group lessons that include a range of activities that provide suitable levels of challenge for apprentices with varying abilities. Managers have recognised this and have recently taken action to improve matters, but the impact of their actions is not yet clear.
• Assessors do not provide sufficiently detailed feedback on apprentices’ assessed work to enable them to make substantial progress. A minority of assessors do not provide enough feedback on apprentices’ writing skills, and apprentices repeat errors in subsequent work. However, within training sessions, the majority of assessors and tutors use effective questioning to make regular, targeted checks of individuals’ understanding, and they provide apprentices with clear and constructive oral feedback that aids their learning.
• In the majority of training sessions, assessors and tutors use their sound vocational knowledge and experience to make topics interesting and link learning to the workplace. This helps apprentices to understand the value of their studies.
• Links with employers are good, and employers value the responsiveness of college staff. Assessors regularly discuss individual apprentices’ requirements with employers and this helps them to support apprentices to consolidate and extend their skills and knowledge in the workplace. However, too many supervisors are not involved in progress reviews, so they are not sufficiently aware of the apprentices’ progress.
• Most apprentices produce work that meets or exceeds expectations. They contribute well to their employers’ businesses and are valued in the workplace. A minority of apprentices undertake relevant additional learning that allows them to enhance their work. For example, motor vehicle apprentices complete an advanced refrigeration unit.
• Staff plan programmes so that they meet the apprenticeship requirements. Apprentices develop a range of new skills and the large majority follow programmes that involve spending a day at college each week to complete off-the-job training. However, for the small number of apprentices that do not attend college, recording of off-the-job hours is not sufficiently systematic.

Provision for learners with high needs Good

• The college has 141 learners for whom it receives high-needs funding. Around half of these learners participate in mainstream, non-specialist courses, with the remainder joining specialist provision, known as ‘Supported Learning’.
• Staff provide good support for learners in mainstream programmes who have high needs. As a result, these learners make good progress, develop good skills for further study or employment, and achieve their learning goals. However, in a small minority of lessons, teachers are less proficient in managing learners with complex needs and this limits the progress of these learners.
• Staff use effective systems to establish learning objectives and monitor closely the progress made by learners who participate in ‘Supported Learning’; these learners also make good progress.
• Teachers of ‘Supported Learning’ programmes consider the individual needs and prior attainment of learners, and plan lessons carefully so that they provide an appropriate level of challenge for all learners. They make good use of topical themes; in one lesson, for example, work on St George’s Day was linked well with British values. However, in a minority of lessons, teachers provide insufficient challenge for those learners who might be able to progress more quickly to higher levels of study.
• Staff provide support for individuals that is proportionate to their needs and is effective in encouraging independence in the classroom. This enables a number to progress to, and participate fully in, mainstream learning.
• Teachers work with individual learners to develop clear and appropriate short-term learning targets that help learners make good progress. Learners know their personal targets and can demonstrate how they are working towards them. Teachers give praise and recognition when learners achieve their targets and this helps motivate them to progress further. Consequently, learners are confident and eager and this is matched by the staff team’s high levels of enthusiasm and dedication.
• Learners’ behaviour is good, and staff manage confidently situations where learners need additional reminders. Learners feel safe in the well-designed specialist facilities. They are punctual to lessons and attend well.
• Teachers help learners to develop a range of skills and abilities, such as problem solving, teamworking and communication, and this prepares them well for the workplace. Where appropriate, learners participate in work experience and managers are developing supported internships to develop this experience further.
• Staff provide a range of opportunities that helps learners to extend their learning in more informal settings. For example, the ‘Breakfast Club’ supports social interaction well.
• A small minority of learners in mainstream programmes who have high needs are insufficiently aware of the dangers posed by radicalisation and extremism, and have only a shallow understanding of British values.

Provider details

Unique reference number 130769 Type of provider General further education college Age range of learners Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year 16+ 8,071 Principal/CEO Mrs Pat Brennan-Barrett Telephone number 01604 734200 Website www.northamptoncollege.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 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 538 1,241 1,153 906 1,591 591 - - Intermediate Advanced Higher 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 259 168 88 300 - 17 16–19 - 19+ - Total - Number of traineeships Number of learners aged 14 to 16 - Number of learners for which the provider receives high-needs funding 141 Funding received from: Education and Skills Funding Agency At the time of inspection, the provider contracts with the following main subcontractors:

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the deputy principal 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 Jai Sharda Jenny Sims Peter Wood Andrew Kaye Jean Webb Bev Cross Victor Reid Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector