Livability Nash College Ofsted Report

Full report

Information about the provider

• Nash College is one of two educational establishments run by Livability, a Christian charity for people with disabilities. The college, established in 1980, is located in Hayes on the outskirts of the London Borough of Bromley. The college provides education and training for young people who have complex learning needs, including physical, communication and sensory disabilities, medical conditions or autism spectrum disorder, in addition to a severe to profound learning disability. Residential provision is available, but this has reduced significantly over time. The college now provides accommodation for only five students and plans further reductions.
• Since the previous inspection, significant changes have taken place at the college. There have been wholesale changes in the senior leadership team. In the past year, a new leadership team has been appointed, including a new head of college. Earlier this year, Livability appointed a new chief executive officer. Livability Nash College also appointed 31 new staff in the last six months. Livability is currently establishing new governance arrangements.

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Governors should provide effective oversight of the quality of provision by closely scrutinising and monitoring the implementation of their recently established plans to improve the provision.
• Governors, senior leaders and staff should monitor how well students make progress during their time at college to ensure that more students achieve their learning goals.
• Leaders and managers should ensure that staff assess students’ learning needs fully before they begin college and that the individual needs of students inform their learning programmes.
• Improve teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that:
  • lecturers take account of the different cognitive needs of students and provide tasks and activities that enable students to develop their skills and knowledge lecturers and support staff implement any identified adjustments for individual students and use appropriate ways to communicate with students lecturers plan learning programmes and sessions that address students’ individual social, communication, vocational and learning needs
  • lecturers deploy support staff in ways that best help students to make progress.
• Ensure that work experience opportunities are available for all eligible students, so that they improve their skills, aspirations and chances of employment.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

• Since the previous inspection, the quality of the provision has declined significantly in all areas. Leaders and managers have failed to maintain good-quality provision. They do not ensure that students experience good-quality teaching, learning and assessment that help them develop the skills and knowledge they need to progress to the next stage in their lives. In the past year, a new leadership team has been appointed, including a new principal. They have set out a suitable plan for raising standards, but this has not yet had sufficient impact.
• Leaders and managers have not made sufficient progress in addressing the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. For example, the provision of careers education to help students move on to voluntary work or supported employment is insufficient. Over the last two years, no students have progressed into supported employment.
• Leaders’ and managers’ use of management information is insufficient. They do not have an overview of the progress of current students, or of how well different groups of students are progressing.
• Leaders and managers have identified the areas where they need to act so that the quality of education is of a good standard. These are included in the self-assessment report. However, leaders and managers are in the early stages of developing and implementing plans to address weaknesses, such as ensuring that students develop the English and mathematical skills they need.
• There is a strong culture of care at the college. Students benefit from a caring environment in which staff meet many of their therapeutic and welfare needs. However, senior leaders have not ensured sufficient emphasis on students’ development of the skills they need to progress well in their learning and to gain greater independence.
• Leaders have redesigned the curriculum into three pathways aimed at developing students’ employability, communication and life skills. However, staff do not ensure that they assess accurately the skills and knowledge students have when they join the college. As a result, learning programmes do not meet the individual learning needs of students, and students do not make the progress of which they are capable.
• A few lecturers have specialist qualifications in, for example, working with people with a visual impairment. Managers encourage support staff to take teaching assistant qualifications. The use of Makaton and other sign systems in order to communicate better with their students is promoted by managers. However, the training of staff has yet to lead to a good quality of education for students.
• Leaders and managers have implemented improvements that provide a platform for developments. For example, they have improved levels of staff attendance at work and ensure that new lecturers have appropriate qualifications or receive training to qualify as teachers. Regular training and development opportunities are now available for staff. However, these changes represent some of the basic requirements that underpin the improvements needed and they have not yet had an impact on the quality of education.
• Staff morale is good, despite much change taking place. Staff are proud to work for the college and appreciate the professional development opportunities that support them in their work.

The governance of the provider

• Since the previous inspection, governors have overseen a significant decline in the quality of the provision. Over the last four years, there have been four different heads of the college and only recently have governors secured sufficient leadership and management capacity to begin to make the improvements needed.
• Governors have agreed the priorities and strategic direction of the college and have begun to ensure that leaders and managers are accountable for the performance of the college. However, the new governance arrangements, intended to accelerate changes, are as yet untested.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Senior leaders and managers provide effective oversight of safeguarding arrangements. A senior leader from the new governing body has effective oversight of safeguarding practice.
• Leaders and managers have created a positive safeguarding culture in which staff and managers take effective action to identify and respond to safeguarding concerns. Managers record safeguarding incidents well and liaise effectively with families, the police, social workers and the local authority where necessary. Leaders and managers deal with allegations against staff appropriately. Managers ensure that safe recruitment and selection processes for new staff are in place. Staff have received training in the ‘Prevent’ duty, but they are not confident in helping students understand the dangers of extremism and radicalisation.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

• Consideration of the specific support and educational needs of students when planning and delivering sessions is insufficient. Lecturers fail to differentiate their teaching to match students’ individual needs and abilities. This means that some students do not get enough support, whereas others receive insufficient challenge during sessions.
• Lecturers do not use a wide enough range of ways to communicate with students. As a result, students do not always understand what lecturers are asking of them. Although a few lecturers use Makaton, sign systems and communication aids well, their implementation across the college is insufficient. Too few students use assistive technologies in the classroom to enable them to communicate in sessions.
• In sessions, support staff are not deployed well enough by lecturers to help students make progress. Support staff do not always help students engage fully in sessions by encouraging them to complete tasks themselves.
• For students with the highest level of need, lecturers do not ensure that the content of sessions matches students’ knowledge and abilities. As a result, these students do not make sufficient progress in lessons.
• Lecturers and support staff do not help students become more independent in their learning. Lecturers praise students frequently, but do not check what students have learned. Lecturers’ understanding of how far students are becoming more independent and the extent to which they are achieving their learning goals is insufficient.
• English and mathematics are not sufficiently integrated into learning programmes by lecturers. In schemes of work and in sessions, lecturers make scant reference to meaningful aspects of English and mathematics. Staff lack confidence in supporting students to develop their English and mathematical skills. This inhibits students’ progress in these areas.
• Lecturers and support staff know the students well and manage their behaviour skilfully. As a result, students who have previously spent little time in learning can participate and engage in lessons. In performing arts sessions, support staff often inject a level of energy into the group that is infectious and enlivens sessions.
• The transition and therapy teams prepare students well for their transition into college. They visit students to make sure that the college can meet the support needs of the many students who require medical and therapeutic interventions.
• Students benefit from the opportunity to spend time outdoors in a small forest area at the edge of the site. Here they observe at first hand the changing seasons, dig the earth, handle worms and spiders, and learn through all their senses.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

• Staff do not use technology to support learning and communication consistently well. As a result, students do not develop technology skills well enough to help prepare them for their next steps in work and life.
• Too few students take part in a meaningful work experience programme. Work experience placements are not available for all students who would benefit from this opportunity to develop employment-related skills.
• Students do not develop their skills in communication and independent living well enough. Too many do not have regular access to specific communication aids and too few take part in programmes such as in independent travel training. As a result, too few students develop the necessary skills to gain paid or voluntary employment.
• Too few students receive careers advice and guidance that help them to make the right choices in relation to their independent living skills or work-related learning. As a result, too few receive support to develop challenging and realistic plans for their future.
• Students feel safe and the large majority understand how to keep themselves safe in college and in the community. However, students do not recall receiving information about internet safety or how to use social media safely. They do not have a secure understanding of the dangers of radicalisation.
• Most students enjoy their time at college and learn to show respect for each other. They confidently follow the college rules. They learn about similarities and differences between themselves and those within the wider community. They learn to listen to each other’s views and demonstrate positive attitudes.
• Students demonstrate good standards of behaviour in lessons, during breaktimes and when moving around the college campus. They are tolerant, polite and friendly towards each other and staff. Students demonstrate increased confidence and ability to manage their own behaviour.
• The large majority of students attend regularly and are on time for sessions. When students do not attend frequently, the inclusion team considers the individual circumstances of students in planning their return to college.
• Staff ensure that robust risk assessments and support plans are in place for those students on work placements and for those at college. For those students with complex needs, staff implement creative strategies to keep them safe and minimise risks.
• Students who take part in work experience enjoy a range of tasks and activities at their placement. These students take great pride in developing their skills in the workplace.
• In the best sessions, staff promote British values such as respect and tolerance well. In one session, students celebrated different cultures through music and learned to take turns when choosing their favourite songs.
• Most students know how to keep themselves fit and healthy. They enjoy completing exercise routines in the morning and engage in them fully.

Outcomes for learners Inadequate

• Students do not make enough progress from their starting points. They do not develop well enough the skills and knowledge they need to become more independent in their day-to-day lives.
• Students receive insufficient preparation for the next stage in their lives. Over the last two years, no students have moved into voluntary work or supported employment and a small number remain in education when they complete their programme.
• A declining and low proportion of students achieve their personal targets.
• Too many students do not produce standards of work that are appropriate to their level of study. Staff focus too much on completing tasks and activities and not on the quality of work that students produce.
• Leaders and managers do not monitor the progress of different groups of students. As a result, they do not have enough information about how well different groups of students make progress and achieve.
• A small number of students take qualifications in English and mathematics. The most recent data shows poor performance in this area, and the progress of current students in developing their English and mathematical knowledge and skills is insufficient.

Provider details

Unique reference number 131924 Type of provider Independent specialist college Age range of learners Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year 19+ 68 Principal Simon Cartwright Telephone number 0208 315 4800 Website www.nashcollege.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 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+ 0 65 0 0 0 0 0 0 Intermediate Advanced Higher 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 0 0 0 0 0 0 16–19 0 19+ 0 Total 0 Number of traineeships Number of learners aged 14 to 16 Number of learners for which the provider receives high-needs funding 0 0 At the time of inspection, the provider contracts with the following main subcontractors:

N/A

Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the head of college, 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 students and employers; these views are reflected within the report. They observed learning sessions and took into account all relevant provision at the provider.

Inspection team

Jon Bowman, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Joyce Deere Ben Walsh

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector