Sense College Ofsted Report

Inspection report: Sense College, 16–18 June 2014 2 of 11

Full report What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of classroom-based teaching even further so all learners are sufficiently challenged and make at least good or better progress by:

• making sure all new teachers are well trained in multi-sensory impairment and in working with learners with very complex learning difficulties and/or disabilities
• ensuring all teachers promote exceptionally high expectations, including for the very small number of more able learners at the college
• ensuring managers review the quality of teaching, learning and assessment frequently so they can respond quickly to any issues that arise
• checking that managers follow up swiftly any areas for development from teachers’ actions plans following observations in order to review the impact of staff training.  Strengthen the capacity to improve the good provision by increasing the accountability of managers and staff. Implement the new performance management system robustly. Ensure the objectives set by senior and middle managers are time-bound, measurable and promote high expectations for all staff.  Ensure all resource centre managers formally and frequently monitor and report in detail on the quality of their provision, including timely completion of care plans, and follow up quickly any actions taken to improve. Make sure senior managers scrutinise these reports and hold managers to account where performance or completion of key documentation is below expectations.  Increase governors’ monitoring and oversight of teaching, learning and assessment, resource centre performance and learners’ outcomes throughout the academic year. To achieve this, ensure reports to the governing body are sufficiently detailed, contain pertinent information and are in an easily interpreted format so they are able to ask challenging questions of senior managers about these aspects. Ensure managers continue to advertise and put in place a full governor cohort for the next academic year.  Strengthen the self-assessment and strategic planning processes. Make sure managers are more self-critical and rigorous in their analysis of what action needs to be prioritised, improved and consolidated and by when. Ensure all action plans have timescales that are sufficiently ambitious and have appropriate targets/key performance indicators to measure progress.

Inspection judgements

Outcomes for learners Good  Learners make good progress relative to their starting points and against their individual targets. Individual learner targets and accredited programmes are appropriately challenging and link closely to the life skills learners need to develop in order to support their future independence. In a few cases, particularly for the small number more able learners, targets are not always as challenging as they could be. As a result, while these learners’ make progress, their progress is not always as good as it could be.  College data shows a consistently high proportion of learners achieve their long-term targets. However, in 2012/13, only two thirds of learners gained their accredited achievements, a fall from previous years. This was predominantly owing to low achievement at the Dereham Centre as a result of some poor management practice. Current learners at the centre are expected to achieve better this academic year.

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 Learners who have highly complex learning difficulties and/or disabilities make significant progress in their ability to make choices, develop peer support and build their communication skills. Learners with challenging behaviour are able to identify and develop strategies to manage difficult situations, such as coping better with changes in daily routines and meeting new people, more effectively. Given the complex health needs of most learners, attendance rates are good.  Managers routinely collect and analyse the achievement of learners in relation to gender, ethnicity, sensory loss, learning difficulty and mobility. The resulting information shows most groups of learners perform equally well.  Most learners develop a good range of functional skills, which is evident through their understanding of the spoken word, good listening skills, effective facial responses, unique sounds, gestures, signing and where appropriate, good development of reading skills. Learners develop their mathematical knowledge through activities such as money handling and through practical activities such as shopping and cooking sessions where they practise counting and weighing.  Learners’ progression into further learning and social care is good. The majority of learners progress to appropriate destinations, either to fully supported living or to live in the family home. Feedback from parents identify that learners have sustained skills after leaving college, including improved communication skills and personal hygiene, management of their own time and more engagement in family activities.  The small number of more able learners access work experience placements and develop good social interaction and organisation skills to prepare them for future supported employment and/or voluntary work. Managers recognise that they need to strengthen the monitoring of learners’ destinations to ascertain if all learners continue to maintain their skills into their future lives.

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good  Teaching learning and assessment are good and reflect the good progress made by the large majority of learners towards their long-term goals.  Most staff have high expectations of what learners can do, particularly those learners with very complex learning difficulties and/or disabilities. A few teachers do not always have high enough expectations of what the very small number of more able learners can achieve.  Teachers use questioning and reinforcing techniques well to help learners think about what they are learning and why they are learning it. In a home-skills session, the teacher skilfully used directed questioning to help learners explore how to work safely in a kitchen. Later, the teacher challenged the learners to work with their peers to annotate a health and safety poster. Learners completed this accurately, confidently identifying common hazards within the home. This enabled learners to develop their problem-solving and English language skills very well.  In many lessons, learning support staff are highly effective in ensuring that learners’ interest is sustained and are able to gauge when to provide more intensive support and when to allow learners to work on their own and learn for themselves.  In one effective lesson, learners with minimal body movement were learning how to improve their communication skills and be more aware of their hands, arms and fingers. The teacher alerted one learner whose arm is weak and tends to hang down the side of his wheelchair that he needs to be aware of this if he is to move safely through doorways. After careful reinforcement by the teacher, the learner was able to show his awareness by moving his own arm into a safer position.  The majority of teachers and support staff use a range of techniques including finger spelling, signing and audio cues to reinforce how learners can use facial gestures or eye movement to

Inspection report: Sense College, 16–18 June 2014 4 of 11

communicate their wishes. This effectively increases the ability of learners to make their own choices.  In a small minority of sessions where teaching is less effective, a few teachers do not always have the necessary skills or specialist expertise required to ensure that learners with multi-sensory impairment (MSI) or very complex learning needs all make the maximum progress they are capable of in lessons.  Learning outside of the classroom is good. Learners benefit significantly from a wide range of college and community-based projects to enrich their experience. Recently learners from across resource centres were involved in a creative ‘pom-pom’ challenge, producing spheres of different sizes from a range of materials including bubble wrap, wool and paper. These were then put together to create a large tactile sculpture, which is currently being displayed around the country as part of a ‘tapestry of touch’ tour set up by the Sense organisation.  Staff manage the behaviour of learners very well. Most staff apply a wide range of strategies to deal with behavioural incidents quickly so any negative impact on learning is minimised. In most cases, teachers and learning support staff display good continuity in their approach, which results in minimal physical intervention when dealing with any sudden behavioural outbursts.  The support provided for health care needs is good. However, a number of resource centre managers did not ensure staff completed learners care plans quickly enough. As a result, some learners have only just had their plans formally completed in the spring term.  Specialist therapeutic support is good. A wide range of assistive technologies is in place to help learners participate more fully in sessions. For example, teachers use standing frames to enable learners to make better eye contact and improve their facial responses to help them have more control in making their own decisions.  Staff assess learners’ individual support needs thoroughly at the start of their programmes. The comprehensive information gathered enables staff to set appropriate long-term targets. Teachers track learners’ achievements accurately and record the progress they make, including any smaller steps in learning. Where appropriate, teachers reinforce learners’ skills in language, mathematics and working with computers.  A number of planned activities promote learners’ awareness and appreciation of individual differences well. For example, teachers use sensory stories to explore different parts of the world with learners. In one lesson, the teacher recreated the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of India producing a session that learners clearly enjoyed. The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement  Managers have continued to ensure good teaching and learning and good outcomes for the majority of learners, particularly those with complex learning difficulties and/or disabilities. However, processes to enable managers and governors to review and improve the quality of provision further, particularly across the wide geographical spread of the college’s resource centres, are insufficiently rigorous. As a result, the college does not yet have a strong enough quality infrastructure to support its intended increase in learner numbers.  Governors and senior managers have a vision for the college to be an outstanding provider of education and learning with deafblind and sensory impaired learners, but strategic plans and key performance indicators do not yet provide a firm framework on how and when they intend to reach this ambitious goal.  The governing body have an appropriate range of expertise, including in multi-sensory impairment, and use this well in their role. Governors frequently ask questions about the college’s performance. However, they do not give enough priority to, or get enough in-year information on the quality of teaching, learners’ progress and on resource centre performance.

Inspection report: Sense College, 16–18 June 2014 5 of 11

This often hinders their ability to ask more probing questions of senior managers. Despite managers’ best efforts, they have been unable to recruit a full cohort of governors.  Leaders and managers are very successful in using strategic partnerships to bring about a range of benefits for learners and these help to raise their aspirations. For example, links with a local gallery has led to learners exhibiting a range of their artwork. Other collaboration allows some learners to partake in music festivals or take over a local shop for Deafblind Awareness week, enabling them to set up and sell their pottery, woodcraft and textile work. The wide range of community projects effectively raises local and national awareness about what MSI learners can achieve.  All accommodation across resource centres is well maintained and fit for purpose. A good range of specialist equipment, including assistive technology is available at all centres.  The day-to-day operational management of the college’s resource centres is mostly good. Nevertheless, the frequency and quality of formal reporting by centre managers varies too much and this leads to instances of weak quality assurance, such as unnecessary delays in the completion of care plans for some learners. Until recently, management of the Dereham Resource Centre had been poor and affected some learners’ outcomes in 2012/13 and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in the first two terms of 2013/14.  Processes for improving the quality of teaching and learning lack rigour. Most observers are accurate in identifying key areas for development. However, while many learning sessions are good, managers and observers do not review the quality of teaching, learning and assessment frequently enough. Consequently, this prevents staff being clear about what they can do to improve their practice further throughout the year. This additionally impedes managers from responding quickly when any issues arise, such as those at Dereham.  Senior managers have very recently revised the performance management process to strengthen it and better hold staff to account. Mentoring support for teachers who underperform is particularly successful for some staff, who have significantly improved their teaching as a result.  Staff development is mostly good and includes specialist training in areas such dysphagia, so staff have a better awareness of how to support learners with such specific needs. However, staff development and support for the few, but increasing, number of staff appointed with limited experience in working with profound learning difficulties and/or disabilities, is insufficient. As a result, this prevents staff from gaining these skills as quickly as they might.  Self-assessment is insufficiently self-critical to enable managers to plan clear steps for improvement across all areas of its provision and move towards its overarching mission. A recently revised action plan, brought about by work with an external consultant, provides a sharper focus on areas in need of development but the full impact of these management actions has yet to be seen.  Learners have a strong voice in the college. Staff and managers frequently seek the views of all groups of learners’ and use this feedback very effectively to improve learners’ experiences. For example, learners requested an increase in off-site activities, which led to collaboration with a local country park and access to activities such as archery and adapted bicycle riding.  Learners work to an appropriately tailored programme of study. Where applicable, more able learners undertake work experience. Managers are rightly seeking a wider choice of external work experience opportunities for these learners.  Staff promote a culture of respect. Learners interact well together and show appreciation of each other’s differences. For example, a learner with little sight and no clear speech used a switch to ask a group of peers for news to put on the news board. He was aware that a learner in the group was deaf and used a picture card in order to include that learner in the discussion.

Inspection report: Sense College, 16–18 June 2014 6 of 11

 The college meets its statutory requirements for the safeguarding of learners. Staff receive appropriate training regarding the protection of children and vulnerable adults although training for some governors is out of date but is due to be completed by the end of this term. Safer recruitment processes are adequate. In a minority of instances, the recording of routine health and safety matters by some resource centre managers’ is not sufficiently detailed. Behaviour management remains a key strength of the college and contributes to learners feeling safe.

Inspection report: Sense College, 16–18 June 2014 7 of 11

Record of Main Findings (RMF)

Sense College

Inspection grades are based on a provider’s performance:

1: Outstanding 2: Good 3: Requires improvement 4: Inadequate semmargorp yduts 91-61 semmargorp gnnrael i+91

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Overall effectiveness 2 2 2 Outcomes for learners 2 2 2 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment The effectiveness of leadership and management

2 2 2 3 3 3

Subject areas graded for the quality of teaching, learning and assessment Grade

Independent living and leisure skills 2

Inspection report: Sense College, 16–18 June 2014 8 of 11

Provider details

Type of provider Independent specialist college Age range of learners 16+

Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year

18 Principal/CEO Pat Dyson Date of previous inspection 7 June 2011 Website address www.sense.org.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 and 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+ 1 24 0 0 0 0 0 0

Intermediate Advanced Higher

16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Number of traineeships 16-19 19+ Total

N/A N/A N/A

Number of learners aged 14-16 N/A Full-time N/A Part-time N/A Number of community learners N/A Number of employability learners N/A

Funding received from Education Funding Agency

At the time of inspection the provider contracts with the following main subcontractors:

N/A

Inspection report: Sense College, 16–18 June 2014 9 of 11

Contextual information

Sense College is an independent specialist college (ISC) and is part of the national ‘Sense’ parent organisation, a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, for deafblind people. The college operates from eight resource centre sites across the east Midlands and the east of England. Five of these centres currently have learners funded by the Education Funding Agency (EFA), these are Dereham, Spalding, Kettering, Luton and Peterborough. All the learners are deafblind, hearing impaired or visually impaired. A high and increasing proportion of learners have profound learning difficulties and/or disabilities affecting their communication, emotional and behavioural development. Most learners also have physical disabilities and require mobility support. Two thirds of learners are male and a small number of learners are of minority ethnic heritage.

Information about this inspection

Lead inspector Deborah Vaughan-Jenkins HMI

One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and two additional inspectors, assisted by the vice principal, quality as nominee, carried out the inspection with short notice. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors also used data on learners’ achievements over the last three years to help them make judgements. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners and parents/carers; these views are reflected throughout the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant EFA funded provision at the provider.

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What inspection judgements mean

Grade Judgement

Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Requires improvement Grade 4 Inadequate Detailed grade characteristics can be viewed in the Handbook for the inspection of further education and skills 2012, Part 2: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/handbook-for-inspection-of-further-education-and-skills-september-2012

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www.ofsted.gov.uk If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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