South Quay College Ofsted Report

Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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

 Ensure tutors use the results of diagnostic assessments to inform their lesson planning further, with a particular focus on how they develop learners’ mathematics skills.  Improve the consistency of the standards of presentation of learners’ work in books and portfolios so that, as a course progresses, all students’ work becomes tidier and better presented.  Improve the evaluation of the quality of its provision to ensure it is fully evaluative and includes an assessment of the impact of governance.

Inspection judgements

Outcomes for learners

Outstanding  Staff at City Gateway 14-19 Provision aim to help young people who are NEET (not in employment, education or training), or are at risk of being NEET, into apprenticeships or further training that leads to employment. They successfully achieve this aim for most of their learners.  Of the 14- to 16-year-old learners, almost all of those completing their courses in 2012/13 were in employment, education or training six months after leaving. An exceptionally high proportion of 16- to 19-year-old learners progress into further education, training or employment, with a large majority progressing into City Gateway’s outstanding apprenticeship programme. Most of these progress into advanced level apprenticeships. Staff monitor the destinations of their learners closely in the six months following completion of their courses and take very effective action to help those who do not immediately progress into further training or employment, back into education at City Gateway 14-19 Provision.  Learners’ opportunities to progress into employment are significantly enhanced by the extremely prestigious work placements and involvement of employers, such as the House of Commons, Ernst and Young and Credit Suisse. Employees from companies work with tutors to deliver training, accompany learners on trips and provide mock interviews. As a result, many learners have high aspirations and successfully gain employment or apprenticeships with these employers.  Learners develop a very positive attitude to learning, are respectful and behave well. They quickly develop the attitudes and skills they need in order to learn. Learners improve their confidence through careful nurturing and demonstrate this through engaging with employers. For example, they make a presentation to employers in offices in nearby Docklands or further afield in London. City Gateway 14-19 Provision makes a significant contribution to the reduction in the number of young people not in education, employment or training in Tower Hamlets.  Learners develop personal and social skills through skilful support and guidance from staff. For example, staff ensure learners who lack confidence when working with others take part in activities with different learners during lessons. A learner who has difficulty controlling anger is given the right to go to a room alone and write down his or her concerns, thus reducing the incidents of conflict in which he or she is involved.  Attendance of learners aged 16 to 19 is very low when they start at City Gateway 14-19 Provision. By the time they reach the final stage of their course, a very high proportion of learners has good attendance. Learners aged 14 to 16 have low, but improving attendance; staff use an excellent range of interventions to ensure attendance is as high as possible and meets the expectations of the local authority and schools. Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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 A high proportion of 14- to 16-year-old learners have English and mathematics skills that are well below expected levels and have improved little whilst in secondary education. When attending City Gateway 14-19 Provision, most make progress that is at least good. Employers work closely with staff to support improvements in English. For example, a large law firm provided guidance on the phrases that employers expect to see in a CV (curriculum vitae) and learners are now given a lexicon of these to guide them. Most 14- to 16-year-old learners achieve a vocational qualification that helps them to progress into further education.  Learners aged 16 to 19 make an appropriate level of progress in vocational qualifications and English, but a small proportion does not make such good progress in mathematics. Most successfully achieve their qualification and, of those that do not, most progress into apprenticeships at City Gateway, during which they achieve their English and mathematics qualifications. A small number also returns to City Gateway 14-19 Provision at a later date to make further attempts to complete a course.  Standards of learners’ work vary. Learners on employability courses and business administration produce portfolios of well-presented work. Practical work in sport is of a high standard. However, a small amount of learners’ written work in English, sport and mathematics is not presented with sufficient care.

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Outstanding  Teaching, learning and assessment are outstanding and lead to the excellent development of learners’ personal, social and vocational skills, and the high levels of progression into apprenticeships, further education and employment.  Staff have very high expectations of learners and encourage, challenge and motivate them extremely effectively to have high, but realistic, career aims. Most learners who attend City Gateway 14-19 Provision arrive with many barriers to learning and require high levels of support. Staff are excellent at awakening learners’ interest in learning; they build excellent relationships with learners and provide them with an exceptional level of care and support. As a result, learners become much more aware of the positive future that is available for them. Most work hard to overcome difficulties and to take advantage of the opportunities offered to them.  Learners receive excellent information, advice and guidance throughout their programmes. At the start of their programme, staff carefully capture all relevant information about the learner and assiduously assess their levels of skills and knowledge. Staff use this information very effectively to plan a programme to meet their individual needs. Staff regularly review progress with each learner to ensure the programme and support arrangements are continuing to offer the best opportunities for the learner to succeed.  Support staff provide very effective one-to-one support, to groups containing learners with a wide range of abilities, that ensures the least able learners do not fall behind. Additional one-to-one support outside lessons effectively helps learners and most make good or very good progress in improving their skills and knowledge. However, tutors do not consistently use initial information about a learner’s skills to plan the most appropriate activities for every learner.  Staff have developed an excellent system for assessing and recording the personal skills, such as confidence, leadership, teamwork, and communication, that learners will need to in order to secure employment. They use this extremely well throughout the learner’s programme and learners have a clear understanding of what personal skills they possess and which they need to improve.  Tutors plan and deliver learning very well and the teaching strategies they use lead to stimulating, interesting and satisfying lessons. Tutors are creative in developing practical activities that enthuse and motivate learners very well. Tutors make good use of interactive learning technologies, and pair and small group work, to ensure learners develop Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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communication and team-work skills well. Tutors frequently check that learners understand the subject, and carefully choose questions to challenge learners of differing abilities.  Tutors manage classroom behaviour very effectively by having a very good understanding of the individual learners and how best to motivate each one. Tutors skilfully judge when to challenge a learner’s behaviour and expertly neutralise low level disruption to ensure it does not prevent others from learning. Support staff, who are present in each lesson, are very effective in supporting tutors and keeping learners working productively.  Learners improve their English, mathematics and information technology skills well. Recent staff development has helped tutors to promote English and mathematics better in lessons. Tutors now frequently ask learners to read out statements from the large classroom screens so that they practise their reading and communication skills. Tutors use a good range of resources to promote mathematics, such as the ‘million pound drop’ activity in which learners practise division and subtraction. However, tutors sometimes miss opportunities to develop learners’ mathematics skills and to correct spelling and grammatical errors in learners’ work appropriately.  Staff celebrate learners’ success very effectively through, for example, graduation events and posters telling the story of individual learners’ successful progression. Staff use incentives judiciously to reward improvements in behaviour and attendance. Incentives include trips to museums, restaurants and employers. Many of these also help the development of learners’ personal and social skills, broaden their interests and introduce them to the world of work.

Foundation English

14-16 part-time provision 14-16 full-time provision 16-19 study programmes

Good  Teaching, learning and assessment are good, enabling learners who have previously made little progress in developing their English skills to improve. This helps them to make good progress into further learning and employment.  Support staff work very skilfully with learners to overcome the barriers which prevent their regular attendance and ability to learn. In lessons, well-trained support staff provide effective support to learners as they develop their confidence by practising and improving their spoken and written English skills. Behavioural coaches help younger learners very effectively to overcome their frustrations and lack of confidence in taking part in education.  Tutors motivate learners well by setting high expectations and successfully encouraging them to believe they can meet these expectations. Tutors use coaching, individual discussions and feedback to learners to help them develop their belief in their own abilities and raise their aspirations. Tutors provide very effective additional learning support outside classes so that all learners are able to work to the best of their ability towards formal English qualifications.  Learners receive clear advice and guidance on the importance of communication skills to their progress and employment. They quickly become motivated to develop these skills once they start a course, and most make good progress. Staff identify the gaps in learners’ skills and knowledge well and most learners understand the topics they need to study in order to gain a qualification.  Tutors are enthusiastic and know their learners well. They provide interesting, relevant topics and activities through which learners practise their English skills well and also broaden their understanding of diversity and the world of work. For example, one group of learners improved their skills in identifying bias, fact and opinion in written work through an interesting activity based on video clips of whales in captivity.  In most lessons, experienced tutors make detailed plans for individual learners and skilfully use questioning techniques to make each learner reflect on what they have learnt. Learners improve Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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the standard of their work well by carefully proof reading their own work, confidently asking questions for clarification and helping each other in small group activities. However, in a small number of lessons, some tutors do not provide activities that allow all learners to practise sufficiently the skills they need to acquire.  Tutors of vocational courses plan lessons well to incorporate regular opportunities for learners to develop English skills. Most tutors mark written work well and provide positive feedback with clear areas for development. However, some tutors provide too little information to learners about how they can improve their work. Consequently, standards and presentation of written work are not consistently high.  Resources are good. Classrooms are well equipped with information and learning technology, which tutors use confidently to involve learners in understanding new concepts and ideas. Tutors prepare an interesting range of activities, tasks and games and reinforce learning through well-designed displays of learners’ work and information about the topic. Tutors frequently encourage learners to use this information displayed on the walls to extend their learning. For example, when revising creative writing, learners displayed information on ten techniques which would enhance their written work. As a result, they saw how their peers analyse a piece of written work, which reinforced their learning and confidence in producing their own writing.

Business administration

14-16 part-time provision 14-16 full-time provision 16-19 study programmes

Outstanding  As a result of outstanding teaching, learning and assessment, learners make outstanding progress from unusually low starting points. The progression of learners to apprenticeships and employment when they leave is excellent.  Staff have designed an innovative curriculum that quickly interests learners, develops their study skills and provides them with excellent opportunities for progression. During the early weeks, staff focus sharply on learners establishing good attitudes to learning, behaviour, attendance and punctuality. The development of these important skills continues throughout their time with City Gateway 14-19 Provision. By the time they progress to an apprenticeship programme or employment, learners’ study skills and employability skills have improved dramatically.  Teaching and learning are outstanding. Lessons are characterised by a wide range of activities and support that keep learners well focused and ensure rapid progress. In one lesson, for example, where learners used group work effectively to complete a task, the support worker arranged the groups based on her detailed knowledge about the group-work skills each learner needed to develop. This allowed the tutor to focus on supporting learners to work well together and to produce individual written work. Tutors ensure they ask learners questions that make them work hard to think of the answers. However, in a small number of lessons, tutors do not provide sufficiently difficult tasks for the most able learners. Classrooms are well resourced and displays of learners’ work and posters are used well to improve learning and motivate learners.  Guidance and support for learners are outstanding. Support workers, who stay with a group throughout their programme and provide tutorial and learning support in all lessons, coordinate and provide excellent personalised support. Staff monitor attendance and punctuality closely and take swift action to help learners improve. For example, a support worker assists learners who are late to a lesson so that the tutor and other learners are not disrupted. Specialists provide additional support for those with learning disabilities and ensure that learners are safe  The standard of learners’ work is excellent. Folders are neat and presented with care. Tutors ensure learners develop their English skills well by asking them regularly to read aloud and write Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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on whiteboards. Tutors frequently check spelling, punctuation and grammar in learners' written assignments.  Tutors assess learners’ work rigorously. Assignments are broken down into short pieces of work that are marked and returned promptly so that learners can quickly see the progress they are making. Written feedback is constructive and helps learners know what they need to do to improve. As a result, learners make rapid improvements in the independent learning skills they need to evaluate their own progress and produce excellent written work.  All staff promote respect between learners and staff very well. They ensure learners understand diversity well by helping them to work successfully with a wide range of people from different backgrounds and communities. For example, employees and senior staff from international companies based in the Docklands area of London take learners to their company headquarters to meet senior staff and gain experience of being in a global company.

The effectiveness of leadership and management

Outstanding  Outstanding leadership and management have led to the creation of a nurturing, ambitious environment where high expectations permeate the organisation at all levels. Staff feel valued and learners develop confidence and the good personal and employability skills that enable them to make excellent progress. Staff are ambitious for their learners and their organisation and are able to articulate the vision, mission and values with enthusiasm. They speak with passion and reason about how City Gateway 14-19 Provision improves opportunities for its learners.  In the relentless pursuit of its vision and values, managers work extremely successfully with a wide range of external partners to ensure support for learners keeps them in education until they are ready to progress into employment. Strong links with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, schools and external agencies have led to well-managed provision for learners. For example, work with the ‘Think Forward’ project has provided additional coaching and support for learners who are joining from schools. Through this, coaches work closely with support staff to provide a stable relationship with a supportive adult as learners move from school to City Gateway 14-19 Provision.  The provider meets its statutory requirements for safeguarding learners. Staff have put in place comprehensive support for vulnerable learners, of which there are many, by working extensively with multiple agencies. As a result, a high proportion of vulnerable learners remain in education. Managers complete comprehensive risk assessments and reviews to analyse the safeguarding issues faced by their learners. For example, their analysis of the influence of poor family relationships on learners’ progress has resulted in actions that have improved retention. Managers have introduced an effective network for girls to provide peer support for matters relating to safeguarding as a response to the increased number of girls deemed to be vulnerable. Tutors work very closely with staff from the provider’s excellent safeguarding team to provide appropriate support and learning opportunities for the many learners with safeguarding concerns.  Equality and diversity permeate the provider’s vision and practice well. Managers systematically collect and use data on a range of equality and diversity indicators, analysing and using it to make changes. For example, data indicated a low number of female Bengali learners attended mathematics lessons. Managers improved attendance by recruiting a female Bengali support worker to help learners who were struggling.  Excellent and effective arrangements are in place to ensure high quality and positive engagement by learners with employers. For example, learners take part in innovative activities, such as treasure hunts around London with potential employers, which help learners to work with the type of adults they would not usually encounter. The impact of outstanding links with Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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corporate organisations has resulted in innovative initiatives, such as ‘Adopt a Course’, in which business professionals collaborate with staff to develop and deliver the curriculum.  Managers have developed a superb employability skills programme, which includes English and mathematics, by responding to feedback from employers about the content of the programme. For example, the programme now includes the development of learners’ expertise in the formal use of the telephone and in writing and sending email. Social enterprises that are run by City Gateway also provide excellent opportunities for learners to gain experience of the workplace and to practise the skills they have learnt during their course.  Managers take the necessary steps to improve the skills of the people working for City Gateway 14-19 Provision to ensure their staff have appropriate skills to meet strategic goals. Performance management of staff is good and reflects the supportive and nurturing ethos of the organisation. Staff are set improvement targets that are firmly centred on how they can provide better support for learners. Staff value the way managers nurture them as they improve. Good training and development have led to improved quality of teaching, learning and assessment. The monthly development programmes, led by outstanding teachers, are used well to share good practice.  Managers evaluate the quality of provision well and use the views of learners and employers to inform the changes they make. They regularly monitor and update the effective quality improvement plans. However, the provider’s self-assessment report is not always sufficiently evaluative and actions to improve are not always explicit.  An excellent Young Leaders Programme develops learners’ leadership skills well and ensures learners’ views are considered by managers. Learners participate in providing feedback on the quality of the learner experience and changes have been made, for example the introduction of a care course in response to learners’ views.  Governors are clear about their role in securing positive outcomes for learners and hold the executive team to account for ensuring this happens. In meetings they focus well on the progress learners are making, as well as the overall performance of the organisation. However, governors do not yet assess their own effectiveness sufficiently.

Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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Record of Main Findings (RMF) City Gateway 14-19 Provision

Inspection grades are based on a provider’s performance:

1: Outstanding 2: Good 3: Requires improvement 4: Inadequate

Overall effectiveness

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

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

Foundation English Administration 2 1

Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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Provider details Type of provider

16-19 academy

Age range of learners Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year

14+ 479

Executive Principal/CEO Principal/CEO

Eddie Stride Mr Joe Lowther

Date of previous inspection

Not previously inspected

Website address

www.citygateway.org.uk

Provider information at the time of the inspection Main course or learning programme level

Level 1 or Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 below and above

Total number of learners (excluding apprenticeships) Number of apprentices by Apprenticeship level and age Number of traineeships

16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 30 - 128 - 13 - - -

Intermediate Advanced Higher

16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ - - - - - -

16-19 - 19+ - Total -

Number of learners aged 14-16

Full-time 49 Part-time 19

Number of community learners

N/A Number of employability learners N/A

Funding received from

Education Funding Agency (EFA)

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

N/A

Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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Contextual information

City Gateway 14-19 Provision is a 16-19 Academy Free School offering alternative provision to mainstream education for learners aged 14 to 19. Eighteen schools and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets refer learners aged 14 to 16, who are disengaged from, or at risk of disengaging from, mainstream education, for full-time or part-time education. A very high proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds attending City Gateway 14-19 Provision have complex or significant personal, social or learning difficulties and most have few formal qualifications. City Gateway 14-19 Provision was established by City Gateway: a charity that provides apprenticeships, social enterprises and women’s projects designed to help the people in Tower Hamlets into employment. City Gateway is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets where levels of unemployment are high, but attainment of five GCSEs grades A* to C, including English and mathematics at the age of 16, is slightly above the national average.

Information about this inspection

Lead inspector

Steven Tucker HMI One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and four additional inspectors, assisted by the Director of Youth Services as nominee, carried out the inspection with short notice. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans. Inspectors also used data on learners’ achievements over the last two years to help them make judgements. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners and employers; these views are reflected throughout the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider. Inspectors looked at the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across all of the provision and graded the sector subject areas listed in the report above. Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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What inspection judgements mean

Grade

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4

Judgement

Outstanding Good Requires improvement 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

Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website:

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.

Learner View is a website where learners can tell Ofsted what they think about their college or provider. They can also see what other learners think about them too. To find out more go to www.learnerview.ofsted.gov.uk

Employer View is a new website where employers can tell Ofsted what they think about their employees’ college or provider. They can also see what other employers think about them too. To find out more go to www.employerview.ofsted.gov.uk

Inspection report: City Gateway 14-19 Provision, 6−9 May 2014

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The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and provider inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’. Piccadilly Gate Store St Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk © Crown copyright 2014