Havering Sixth Form College Ofsted Report

Full report

Information about the provider

• Havering Sixth Form College is a large college based on a single site in Hornchurch, in the London Borough of Havering. The college’s provision is uniquely for 16 to 19 study programmes, mostly at level 3, including a growing proportion of vocational diplomas and certificates, in a wide range of subjects. There is also a smaller amount of provision at level 2. The college has a long-standing relationship with the secondary schools in Havering, many of which do not have sixth forms, and provides guaranteed progression places for their pupils. In addition, a significant number of students travel to the college from other London boroughs. The proportion of Black and minority ethnic students at the college is higher than that of the local population, where it is relatively low compared with the rest of London.

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Governors, leaders and managers must ensure that the recent modest recovery in overall achievement rates, and improvements in the progress that students make, are accelerated and that performance on all courses is consistently good, or better.
• To best promote this improvement, leaders and managers need to ensure that judgements within the college’s self-assessment reports are based on all evidence and are sufficiently self-critical, providing a sound basis to move forward.
• Leaders and managers need to ensure that the college’s current approach to sharing good practice between teachers is strengthened, to help remove the significant inconsistencies in the quality of provision and students’ achievements.
• To play their full part in bringing about improvement, governors need to develop a better understanding of the essential relationship between the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and students’ achievement and progress in lessons.
• Continue to raise the standards of teaching, learning and assessment, and improve students’ progress, by ensuring that teachers:
  • have high expectations of what students can learn, both in and out of lessons
  • set work in lessons and for homework that is suitably demanding and complex, in particular for students on A-level and second year vocational programmes
  • develop further the range and effectiveness of strategies they use in lessons to check students’ learning and deepen their understanding of topics taught.
• On vocational programmes, further improve teachers’ skills to ensure that students learn their subjects, and are assessed, with reference to possible employment scenarios.
• Continue to improve students’ achievement of high grades in GCSE mathematics and English, by the relentless use of the best practice of teachers of these subjects.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Since the previous inspection, governors, leaders and managers have not secured the expected improvements in achievement rates or students’ progress; nor have they achieved sufficiently improved students’ progress in lessons.
• During the academic year 2014/15 senior leaders and managers did not identify the deterioration in students’ progress and, therefore, did not implement the management actions necessary to avoid a significant fall in achievement rates. The significantly poorer outcomes were a surprise to managers and governors.
• Since September 2015, governors and senior leaders have made positive and important changes to the leadership and management of the college. These seek to address the decline in performance, but improvements in overall achievement rates, the rate of students’ progress and in the quality of teaching and learning are not yet significant enough or sufficiently sustained.
• The quality of teaching and learning continues to vary too much and the college’s quality processes pay insufficient attention to individual students’ progress. Managers do not capture their evidence on the quality of teaching and learning in a form that allows them to monitor improvements over time. Where managers identify examples of good practice they do not sufficiently ensure that this is shared and implemented across all courses.
• Managers also need to further improve their assurance of the quality of students’ assessment, given the remaining inconsistencies in how effectively key assessments are produced, marked and moderated.
• While senior managers and governors have reviewed the college’s courses positively, and introduced a wider range of vocational courses to complement academic programmes, they have paid too little attention overall to the quality of this new provision, some of which requires improvement. In the minority of better courses, such as vocational engineering, there are successful outcomes and better advice and guidance for students.
• Within the whole-college self-assessment report and faculty reports some of the college’s judgements for achievement, progress and teaching and learning are more positive than the evidence allows. The weight of all evidence is insufficiently considered and sometimes insufficient links are made between teaching, learning and assessment and students’ outcomes. Faculty quality improvement plans lack sufficient emphasis on how teaching skills can be improved.
• Governors, leaders and managers have confirmed their ambitions for all students through a revised and refreshed strategic plan, which is developed with key stakeholders in an inclusive manner.
• The college’s strategic objectives are clear and succinct; focused on providing a high-quality education for all students. The objectives are linked to key improvement actions and key performance targets which governors and senior leaders monitor on a regular basis. Performance targets are challenging and accurately reviewed. The same objectives helpfully shape the improvement plans at all levels.
• Governors and senior leaders have ensured sound finances for the college, having improved financial health, while establishing a management structure focused on improving outcomes and the quality of provision in a coherent way. They have recruited senior staff with relevant skills, leading to more accurate, timely and reliable management information and more coherent and effective management of staff performance. New posts have also been skilfully created to meet particular needs or to promote improvement, such as for work experience and support for learners with mental health issues.
• The college’s very good partnerships serve the needs of its local communities well. The principal provides leadership within the local area education partnership, and has close and productive working relationships with the local further education college, schools and the local authority. As a result, for example, the post-16 curriculum in the borough is planned in a collaborative manner and provides students with a comprehensive choice of courses and high-quality advice and guidance, much reducing the number of learners who are not in education or training.
• Managers have designed enriched study programmes, fully meeting all requirements for core qualifications, English and mathematics as appropriate, complementary additional qualifications and enrichment, including work experience or work-related activities for a very high proportion of the students on vocational courses.
• Teachers and managers ensure that learners have a good understanding of the importance of equality and have positive attitudes to diversity through good integration of these themes into lessons and whole-college events.

The governance of the provider

• Governors have a clear vision for the future of the college, and its place in the local and regional community. They work closely with the principal and senior managers to further its partnerships.
• During 2014/15, governors did not identify the deterioration in students’ performance. They are now in a better position to hold the principal, senior leaders and managers to account and have a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the college and of the necessary actions for improvement.
• Through a combination of significant changes to membership, improved reporting, and governor training, governors are now more able to identify how well students are progressing, but they do not yet fully consider and investigate the relationship between the quality of teaching and learning and students’ progress and achievements.
• Governors, well supported by their clerk, have a clear improvement plan for themselves and are ambitious for the staff and students of the college. They offer an excellent range of expertise and knowledge to support and monitor the work of the college.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Safeguarding procedures are comprehensive and well managed within the new college staffing structure. Senior leaders, the safeguarding team, faculty leaders, coaching teams and the mental health officer work together effectively and coherently. Staff are trained appropriately for their roles, with annual updating. Safer recruitment practices are established and disclosure and barring checks completed and recorded appropriately. Risks assessments are completed.
• Students have a good awareness of safeguarding and readily share a wide range of safeguarding concerns while at college. Effective support from learner development coaches enables students to continue on their courses and progress. Records of incidents and concerns are kept to ensure that students are best supported.
• All staff promote the ‘Prevent’ duty effectively. Good use is made of partnerships with the police and referral agencies, and staff receive appropriate training. Staff promote British values well and embed the values into lessons, helping students understand principles, such as the rule of law, democracy and fairness, and this was seen in lessons during the inspection.
• Students are able to talk about the particular risks of radicalisation and extremism as it relates to the locality and their daily lives.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• In the past year, teachers and managers have worked effectively to understand the reasons for the drop in students’ performance in 2015 and have focused well on improving their skills, in particular in their assessment of students. This resulted in improved outcomes for students in 2016, but as yet the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is not consistently good.
• The quality of teachers’ planning for, and teaching of, lessons is too variable across both A-level and vocational provision, and within subjects. In the best teaching, including in philosophy, modern history, science and arts subjects, teachers give very careful consideration to what students need to learn, how they will learn it and how they will be assessed. In too many other subjects this is not the case, resulting in poorer progress by students.
• In second year A-level and level 3 vocational programmes, too often teachers set work that is insufficiently complex for this level. This applies to work given to all students regardless of their starting points. As a result, on average across all ranges of ability, not enough students achieved the grades expected of them given their prior attainment.
• Not enough teachers have sufficiently high expectations of their students’ learning outside of lessons. Too often, they do not set homework to help students prepare for their next lesson and extend their learning. Teachers’ and students’ use of online resources is improving, but not well enough to help extend learning or to ensure that students complete work in preparation for lessons. In a minority of subjects, teachers set tasks in class that could be set as homework, contributing to students’ slower progress.
• In expanding vocational provision, managers have not ensured that teachers are sufficiently skilled in adapting to the teaching and assessment required for these courses. Teachers’ assessment of students is not planned and executed well enough. For example, students complete an excessive number of assignments in order to achieve high grades. Too few teachers fully understand the need to place vocational learning and assessment within the context of the employment scenarios for which students are being prepared.
• In a significant minority of lessons, teachers do not use strategies effectively to check on students’ learning or to encourage students to deepen their knowledge of topics set. In these lessons, students are reticent about taking part in question and answer sessions and classroom debates, limiting their further inquiry into topics taught.
• Managers and teachers have worked effectively to improve the rigour and accuracy of their assessment of students’ progress, which was over-generous in 2014/15, helping them to achieve, or exceed, their target grades. Teachers ensure that students understand the assessment criteria for their examinations and in the majority of cases provide effective guidance on how they can achieve them. Teachers make good use of the online mark books and systems for recording students’ progress. Students use these well to receive feedback from their teachers and to find out if they are on track to achieve their target grades.
• Students pay good attention in lessons and teachers ensure good study habits, such as note-making in lessons. In the majority of subjects, teachers instil in students an enthusiasm for their subjects and help them make links between their learning and aspects of life in contemporary society. For example, photography students demonstrate a keen understanding of social issues, such as mental health, identity and abandonment as they research work for their projects.
• Teachers ensure that students have the necessary mathematical skills that are relevant to their subjects. For example, engineering students are able to calculate successfully the forces and pressures brought to bear on objects suspended in water.
• Students’ written work is often of a good standard and they present their ideas with clarity and conviction in their essays and assignments. Teachers pay good attention to ensuring students are familiar with, know how to spell, and understand, technical terminology associated with their subjects. However, they need to do more to raise students’ confidence to take part in discussions in class, and to express themselves orally with greater self-assurance.
• Staff identify quickly students who need extra help to achieve their qualifications. They carefully assess all students to ensure they have the English skills necessary for their planned level of learning. Students receive appropriate guidance and support, carefully tailored to meet their needs and help them succeed. Staff quickly put in place improvement actions for students who fall behind, and keep them on track.
• Teachers successfully help students to see the relevance of what they are learning to future employment; for example, the role scientists play in testing precious metals for fakes. In a very well-planned project in partnership with a major London theatre, drama and performing arts students work to professional standards and raise their aspirations as they are directed by a theatre professional for a performance on stage in central London.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

• Students’ behaviour at college is good. They are well behaved and courteous, respecting staff and other students, responding well to the college’s clear and high expectations.
• Students often develop good personal, social and employability skills. They often produce work of a good standard and in a large majority of cases they model behaviours that will serve them well in future employment. Their development of English, mathematics and information technology (IT) skills is sound overall.
• Students work well together and support each other, taking some pride in their work. They comply quickly with instructions and requests from staff. Their attendance is good. Teachers and managers promptly follow up any absences and parents are advised speedily.
• Students participate in a wide and varied range of enrichment activities, through which they develop their team skills and their health. There are 22 clubs, covering jazz to gender understanding, seven sports clubs, a free access gym and an outside gym. Ten per cent of students are enrolled on competitive sports, but many others participate in sports enrichment and there is good use of the college’s gym.
• Managers have implemented a good coaching programme for students, with small groups of seven to ten students meeting with their coach for an hour each week. Coaches get to know their students particularly well, through one-to-one coaching and tracking of students’ targets. They also facilitate referral to expert agencies and lead discussions around wider issues. A very large majority of students value their work with coaches highly. A mental health officer has recently been appointed and awareness of mental health issues by staff and students has improved significantly.
• Managers and teachers ensure that students participate in a good, and varied, range of work experience activities. A ‘World of Work’ officer has been employed to strengthen these opportunities, which give students a greater insight into career options. Students’ timetables have been adjusted to support their absence from college for work experience placements. Employability days, with representatives from external organisations, provide opportunities for advice, the review of students’ CVs and the opportunity for students to take part in mock interviews.
• A good range of external speakers are regularly and frequently at the college. For example, the organiser of the Brentwood Festival speaks to travel and tourism students to discuss event management. Previous students are also a link into work, whether through visiting the college or arranging visits to their place of work. For example, a former student organised a visit for economics students to the Bank of England.
• High-quality, and impartial, careers guidance supports students well in making informed choices. The college’s CUBE (Careers, University, Business Links and Enterprise) centre has become a good focus for careers and progression advice. The appointment of an independent adviser has further strengthened the value of the CUBE, including a much-enhanced focus on the progression of students to apprenticeships. Students use its services well and plan wide-ranging career paths. An artist in residence provides students with specific insights into this particular area of work.
• Students have a good understanding of how they can keep safe, together with the risks of radicalisation and extremism, and of health and safety and equality and diversity. They know how to follow up on any related issue. They find the college a friendly and safe place to be. They understand who to contact regarding any incident or concern, including their coaches.
• In a minority of provision, students are not sufficiently challenged to produce work of the highest standard. Not all teachers ensure that students have sufficiently high aspirations, or set appropriately challenging targets, including for homework.
• In lessons, a minority of students are less confident than their peers in contributing, especially when taking part in discussions and making presentations. On level 3 courses, especially for A-level, the development of higher-level wider skills is sometimes poorer than would be expected, including students’ understanding of the world of work.
• Students do not always make sufficient progress with the development of their skills in their lessons for GCSE English and mathematics.

Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

• Outcomes for learners required improvement at the previous inspection. Over the last three academic years, the overall proportion of students successfully completing their courses has not consistently improved, and remains too low. Overall achievements fell significantly in 2014/15, and recovered in 2015/16, but only to just below the level of 2013/14.
• Students’ retention on their courses is good, and has increased significantly over the last three years, and lower achievement is largely caused by poor pass rates. Students’ retention during the current academic year, at the time of inspection, was high, at 96%.
• Overall achievement requires improvement for AS level, A level and for vocational certificates and diplomas at levels 2 and 3.
• Across these courses, students’ achievements still vary too much, in spite of improvement. For example, in 2015/16, compared with 2013/14, overall achievement declined in health and social care, mathematics and statistics, information and communication technology (ICT) for users, media and communication, sociology and social policy, and foundations for learning and life, and in some cases declined over three years. In contrast, for example, achievement is high overall in ICT for practitioners, travel and tourism, crafts, creative arts and design, history, geography, economics, and English and showed significant improvement in 2015/16.
• Students’ achievement of high grades for their GCSE English and mathematics requires improvement, although the college has made good progress in ensuring that many more students are successful. In 2015/16, students’ achievement of high-grade passes continued to improve, and was well above the poor national rates. Students also do well in improving their results by one grade, especially from grade E to D.
• As at the previous inspection, value added measures show that too many students do not make the progress expected of them, based upon their prior attainment. On this measure, AS students overall now make the progress expected of them, with some that do better, but at A level and vocational level 3, students’ progress is poor overall. A minority of A-level subjects perform better and on a significant majority of vocational level 3 courses students make expected progress.
• Students across the five vocational extended diploma programmes achieve particularly well, and on the IT and travel and tourism programmes achievement is 100%.
• Students on the relatively new vocational engineering programme achieve well.
• Students’ progression to a second year at the college is good, either to the second year of a course, largely at level 3, or with students on level 2 courses progressing to a higher-level course.
• Students’ progression to higher education and employment, following their studies, is particularly good. The college is the best-performing college in east London for student progression to positive destinations, and is in the top 10% of all schools, sixth forms and colleges in the UK. Sixty-seven per cent of 2015/16 leavers successfully progressed to higher education and 22% obtained full-time employment. The college maintains excellent links with its past students. The percentage of the college’s past students obtaining good honours degrees has been increasing year on year, and in 2015 76% of the college’s past students completing their degrees achieved first and upper second class honours.

Provider details

Unique reference number 130445 Type of provider Sixth form college Age range of learners Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year 16+ 2,708 Principal/CEO Mr Paul Wakeling Telephone number 01708 514400 Website www.havering-sfc.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+ - - 269 - 2318 5 - - Intermediate Advanced Higher 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ - - - - - - 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 - - Funding received from: Education Funding Agency At the time of inspection, the provider contracts with the following main subcontractors:

None

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

David Martin, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Rieks Drijver Martin Ward Heather Barrett-Mold Ranjit Singh

Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector