Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College Ofsted Report

Full report

Information about the provider

• Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College operates from two main campuses in the borough of Stockport: the Cheadle College and the Marple Sixth Form College. The college provides 16 to 19 study programmes through a wide range of vocational programmes and an A-level programme. It also provides an apprenticeship programme and a small adult learning programme. Currently, 1,860 learners are enrolled at the college. Of these, 1,486 are on 16 to 19 study programmes, 141 are on adult learning programmes and 233 are apprentices.
• Stockport is a metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester with a population of 288,700. The unemployment rate in the borough is below that of the north-west region. The proportion of the population with a qualification above level 2 is higher than the regional and national rates. The proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) is slightly higher than the regional average. Service industries provide the main source of employment in the borough, including retail, finance and business services, public administration, education and health.

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in the minority of A-level subjects where learners make insufficiently rapid progress, so that learners in these subjects achieve or exceed their expected grades.
• Ensure that teachers provide sufficient challenge to all the most able learners so that they make rapid progress and achieve their full potential.
• Rigorously monitor learners’ progress and the quality of training on the apprenticeship provision that is delivered in partnership with another provider. Identify and tackle weaker aspects of the provision to ensure that apprentices make good progress.
• Ensure that records of the outcomes of performance reviews with teachers provide leaders and managers with sufficient information to hold teachers to account for the quality of their teaching.
• Improve teachers’ skills in developing the written English skills of learners on study programmes. Closely monitor how well teachers focus on improving learners’ written English skills and take action quickly to improve weaker practice.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Since the previous inspection in March 2014, the principal and senior leadership team have pursued their ambition to promote in the college a culture of high expectations and high standards of teaching, learning and assessment. This has resulted in improvements in outcomes for learners which are now good across most of the provision.
• Leaders and managers work successfully with a wide range of partners, including high schools and another sixth form college in the borough, to plan local provision and ensure that it meets the needs of young people. Staff from the college provide helpful information, advice and guidance in local schools, including those with sixth forms, on progression opportunities at the college for school-leavers. The college provides a broad vocational curriculum at all levels and, in response to demand from school-leavers, has introduced new courses recently such as A-level computer science.
• Leaders and managers have pursued a clear strategy to modernise the college estate and secure the financial future of the college. Plans to ensure the future sustainability and success of the college through a close partnership with other local providers are well advanced.
• Leaders and managers promote inclusion and equality successfully, and have created a strong ethos of tolerance and respect in the college. They ensure that learners who need extra help benefit from good support that enables them to achieve well. Leaders and managers identify accurately gaps in achievement between different groups of learners, and take appropriate action to remove them. They identified that learners from disadvantaged groups achieved less well than other learners in 2015/16 and this is a priority for improvement in the current year.
• Learners on study programmes and the adult learning programme benefit from very good impartial careers guidance from specialist staff and teachers, and through visits to the college by external speakers representing employers and higher education institutions. Learners’ aspirations about what they can achieve when they complete their programme are high, and most have clear and realistic career plans. A high proportion of learners progress successfully to higher education, employment or an apprenticeship.
• Leaders and managers’ evaluation of the quality of provision is thorough and largely accurate. They identify accurately most areas of the curriculum where they need to make improvements and have implemented successfully actions to improve the quality of provision. This work has resulted in improvements in 2015/16 in learners’ progress and achievement across vocational programmes and on many A-level courses. In a few underperforming A- and AS-level courses, actions to improve outcomes have had insufficient impact, and the progress of a significant minority of learners on these courses has been too slow. The production of key reports on performance, including reports on learners’ achievements, is occasionally too slow, and, as a result, managers do not always identify actions for improvement quickly enough.
• Across most areas of the college, arrangements for managing the performance of teachers have resulted in improvements in the quality of provision. Leaders and managers have acted swiftly to challenge and support underperforming teachers to improve the quality of their teaching. A number of teachers whose performance has not improved have chosen to leave the college. Teachers benefit from training and development that helps them to improve weaker aspects of their practice identified through lesson observations. In a few instances, managers’ records of the reviews of teachers’ performance do not include sufficient information about targets for improvement and the progress that teachers are making in improving their practice. This means that leaders and managers do not always have the information they need to hold teachers to account for the quality of their teaching.
• The management of apprenticeships that are delivered in partnership with another provider is insufficiently rigorous. Leaders and managers have reduced recently the volume of apprenticeships that the college provides directly and have improved achievement rates for apprentices on this strand of the provision. At the same time, they have expanded the programme through a partnership with another provider. Leaders and managers do not have sufficiently detailed information to monitor the quality of this strand of provision or the progress that apprentices are making.

The governance of the provider

• Governors have an appropriate range of skills, knowledge and experience. They are highly committed to ensuring that the college meets the educational needs of the community that it serves. They use their skills well to support the principal and leadership team in developing and implementing plans to ensure the college’s financial viability and future success.
• Governors receive a wide range of relevant reports that they use well to challenge senior leaders on aspects of the college’s performance that need to improve. They recognise that many of the reports that they received last year were not evaluative enough, and have taken appropriate steps to improve their quality.
• Until recently, records of governors’ meetings did not provide sufficient information on agreed actions or on the progress that leaders and managers were making in implementing improvements. Governors have now improved the recording of their meetings to enable them to monitor the impact of agreed actions.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Learners at the college feel safe. They have a good understanding of all potential risks and how to protect themselves and others. Staff receive appropriate training on safeguarding including the risks of radicalisation and extremism. Managers quickly refer any concerns about learners’ safety to other relevant agencies where appropriate. The college carries out appropriate checks to ensure safe recruitment of staff.
• The college places a high priority on internet safety, and has robust arrangements in place to ensure that online learning is carried out safely. Learners demonstrate a good understanding of how to stay safe using the internet.
• Managers and staff work closely with a wide range of external agencies to provide coherent and effective support to ensure that learners are safe. They provide good support for vulnerable learners to ensure that they stay safe, attend college regularly and make good progress.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Most teachers have high expectations for their learners. They use challenging activities in their lessons that are matched appropriately to meet the needs and abilities of most learners. As a result, most learners make good progress in improving their skills and understanding.
• Learners benefit from good pastoral support to help them overcome personal barriers to their learning. Teachers work closely with individual learners to ensure that they attend regularly and have positive attitudes to their learning. Teachers successfully encourage learners to work collaboratively, and peer support and assessment are particularly effective in supporting learners’ progress, especially for learners who lack self-confidence.
• Teachers identify learners’ starting points accurately and comprehensively. Learners receive good support and guidance prior to joining the college, and this ensures that they follow a programme that meets their needs and aspirations. At the beginning of courses, teachers assess accurately learners’ current level of attainment, and most teachers use this information well to plan their teaching.
• Specialist support and resources enable learners with high needs, for whom the college receives additional funding, to make good progress. Support is very responsive to learners’ specific needs, and challenges learners to achieve their full potential. Other learners who need extra help benefit from good additional learning support that ensures that they achieve in line with their peers.
• Learners participate in a wide range of activities to improve the skills that they need for work. Learners on vocational study programmes benefit from relevant work experience placements that give them useful insights into the world of work and provide them with opportunities to apply their skills and knowledge in real work settings. Many learners on A-level programmes carry out relevant placements and internships related to their career aspirations. For example, one learner spent the summer break on a placement in the finance department of the local council. Learners on A-level courses take part in a wide range of other employment-related activities such as visiting high-profile employers and trade shows, and listening to visiting industrialists. Learners with high heeds carry out supported work placements that are matched carefully to their individual needs and their progression plans.
• Teachers carefully plan frequent assessment activities, and prepare learners well for assessment. As a result, most learners gain a broad understanding of their progress and what they need to do to improve. In a few instances, however, the targets that teachers set for learners following assessment are not specific enough, which means that learners are not always sufficiently aware of what specific aspects of their work they need to improve.
• Learners on study programmes who have not succeeded in gaining grades A* to C in GCSE English and mathematics at school follow courses that help them to improve their skills quickly. As a result, the majority of learners make good progress and many achieve their target grade. Too often, however, teachers on vocational study programmes do not give enough attention to developing the literacy skills that learners need for work. Adult learners receive good support to improve the written skills they need for higher education.
• In a few instances across all provision types, teachers provide insufficient challenge to the most able learners. As a result, these learners do not always make the progress that they should.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Good

• Learners demonstrate a high level of respect for each other and for their teachers. They gain a good understanding of fundamental values such as equality and tolerance, and demonstrate these values in their behaviour and attitudes while at college. Learners enjoy being at college, and most demonstrate a high level of commitment to their studies. They speak confidently and enthusiastically about the progress that they make. Standards of behaviour across the college are very high.
• Learners gain a good understanding of possible career routes and further training and education opportunities. They make good use of effective careers guidance to make informed choices about their next steps, and a high proportion progress to positive destinations.
• Learners feel safe at college and have a thorough understanding of risks including those relating to radicalisation and extremism. They demonstrate a particularly good awareness of how to stay safe when using the internet.
• Learners attend their lessons punctually and arrive at lessons ready to learn. They understand the importance of attending lessons regularly, and levels of attendance across all areas of the college are high.
• Learners make good progress in gaining the personal, social and work-related skills that they need in their future careers. They quickly improve their confidence and develop the communication skills that they need for employment. They successfully develop the independent learning skills that they need on their courses and when they progress to employment or higher education. Learners on vocational study programmes improve their understanding of the demands of the workplace through useful work experience placements. A minority of learners on vocational study programmes make insufficient progress in developing their English skills and in understanding the importance of written English in the workplace.

Outcomes for learners Good

• The majority of learners on 16 to 19 study programmes make at least the progress expected of them and achieve well. On vocational courses, which make up over two thirds of study programmes, a high proportion of learners make good progress from their starting points, and the rate of achievement on these programmes is significantly above that for similar providers.
• Actions that leaders and managers have taken to improve the progress that learners make on A- and AS-level courses resulted in improvements in 2015/16. Learners’ progress in many subjects improved and is now good, but remains stubbornly low in a few others including sciences, history, geography, information technology and mathematics. As a result, a significant minority of learners studying these subjects do not achieve the grades of which they are capable.
• Learners for whom the college receives additional funding to meet high needs make good progress, and a high proportion achieve their targets and qualifications. Most learners become more independent in their learning, and develop the skills that they need to increase their independence in their personal lives. Learners who need extra help benefit from good support and, as a result, achieve in line with their peers.
• Adult learners on the access to higher education programme make good progress and a high proportion achieve their qualifications. On completion of their programme, the majority of learners progress to a higher education course and, among those who do not, most secure relevant employment.
• The proportion of apprentices who achieved their qualification on provision delivered directly by the college improved significantly in 2015/16 and is now well above the rate for similar providers. As a result of insufficiently rigorous management of apprenticeship provision delivered through a partner organisation, leaders and managers lack sufficient information about apprentices’ progress on this strand of provision.
• Most learners on level 3 programmes progress to positive destinations. A high proportion of learners on A-level programmes progress successfully into higher education, and most learners on vocational programmes progress to higher education, employment or an apprenticeship.
• Most learners in the first year of a vocational course progress successfully into the second year. Although the proportion of learners who progress from the first to the second year of an A-level programme fell slightly in 2015/16, it remains high. However, the proportion of learners who progress from level 2 to level 3 programmes is low.
• No significant differences exist in the outcomes for male and female learners or between the various ethnic groups in the college. However, learners on study programmes who are from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve less well than their peers.

Types of provision

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• Study programmes make up over three quarters of the college’s provision, with almost 1,500 learners currently enrolled. Vocational programmes in a wide range of subjects account for around two thirds of the provision, with the large majority of learners enrolled on level 3 programmes. A-level courses account for the remaining third of study programmes.
• Leaders and managers plan and manage study programmes that build successfully on learners’ prior attainments and prepare them well for higher education or future employment. Study programmes meet most learners’ individual needs and aspirations well, and have a strong focus on improving learners’ personal and social development.
• Learners develop good personal, social and work-related skills. They extend their skills and understanding through a wide range of activities that they carry out in addition to their main courses. These include work placements where learners successfully apply their new skills and understanding of a real working environment. They also include sporting activities to improve their team-working skills and fitness, and educational visits to increase their understanding of fundamental British values, such as visits to the House of Commons and the law courts.
• Learners gain a good understanding of career routes linked to their chosen area of study. They benefit from good impartial careers guidance that enables them to make informed plans about their futures. Learners on vocational courses develop their understanding of different job roles in their occupational area through useful work placements. Learners on A-level programmes gain a thorough understanding of the range of higher education courses available and know which courses are most suitable for their planned careers.
• Learners feel safe. They demonstrate a high level of respect for each other and their teachers. Learners work successfully together on collaborative activities and projects, and provide good peer support. Behaviour, attendance and punctuality are very good. Staff liaise closely with parents and carers to support learners and provide parents and carers with detailed and helpful information about learners’ progress.
• Most teachers challenge and support learners well, and enable them to progress as quickly as possible. Learners have very positive attitudes to their studies. On most courses, learners benefit from well-planned and enthusiastically taught lessons that maintain their interest and motivation. Learning resources, including the college’s virtual learning environment, are good and learners make full use of them. Occasionally, the most able learners are not challenged sufficiently and this limits their progress. In a few instances, teachers do not use questions well enough in lessons to check and extend learning.
• The majority of learners of GCSE English and mathematics courses make good progress and many achieve a grade C when they resit their examinations. However, in many vocational lessons, learners do not have sufficient opportunities for improving their writing skills. Written feedback on learners’ work often does not provide enough guidance for learners on how they can improve the quality of their writing.

Adult learning programmes

Good

• Adult learning programmes make up a small proportion of the college’s provision. Currently, 141 adults are enrolled on college programmes. Most learners follow access to higher education courses in health professions, humanities and science. A few other adult learners follow vocational courses alongside learners on study programmes and part-time adult courses.
• Senior leaders have made significant improvements to the management and structure of the access to higher education programme, and to the quality of teaching and learning. Learners’ attendance, progress and achievement improved significantly in 2015/16, and the achievement rate on the programme is now high. Teachers’ expectations of learners on access to higher education programmes are high, and most current learners are making good progress. Learners on part-time practical horticulture courses achieve well.
• Teachers are well qualified and have good subject knowledge. They prepare lessons well and use a wide variety of appropriate resources and activities to develop learners’ knowledge and skills. As a result, learners find their lessons interesting and challenging, and participate fully.
• Learners quickly develop new skills and knowledge. For example, learners on access to health professions courses accurately identify the features of the digestive and lymphatic systems and how human cells function. Learners on psychology courses critically analyse how social factors impact on individuals’ levels of obedience. Teachers make good links between theory and practice.
• Teachers develop learners’ English and mathematical skills well in vocational lessons. Learners participate actively in group discussions with their peers, using technical language confidently. In art and design lessons, learners apply their mathematical skills through drawing objects to scale.
• Information, advice and guidance are good and most learners are clear about their plans when they complete their programme. Teachers provide good support to help learners to develop study and research skills. Last year, most learners on access programmes progressed to university or employment, or gained promotion at work.
• Standards of behaviour are good, and adult learners demonstrate respect for their teachers and their peers. Learners feel safe and have a good awareness of the dangers associated with radicalisation and extremism.
• The standard of learners’ work is good. Teachers provide learners with helpful verbal encouragement and feedback, and this enables learners to make good progress in lessons. In a few cases, teachers’ written feedback on marked work does not identify precisely enough what learners have done well and what they need to do to improve.
• Although the initial assessment of learners’ skills is thorough, in a few instances teachers do not use information about their prior attainment and backgrounds well enough to plan learning. As a result, learners occasionally do not have sufficient time to complete tasks, and the most able learners are not always challenged well enough in lessons.
• Assessment of learners’ work is good. Teachers use a wide range of appropriate assessment methods, such as peer assessment, interesting group discussions and quizzes. In a few cases, after the teaching of new concepts, teachers move on without checking that all learners have understood and without sufficient reinforcement of learning.

Apprenticeships Requires improvement

• The college currently has 233 apprentices, the majority of whom are on intermediate-level programmes. Around three quarters of apprentices are on programmes that the college provides directly. The remainder are on programmes offered in partnership with another provider.
• The college has worked with a partner provider since January 2016 to offer part of its apprenticeship programme, first through a subcontracting arrangement and, since August 2016, through a partnership arrangement. This change was made to maintain the volume of provision following a reduction in the volume of apprenticeships provided directly by the college locally. The partner provider offers apprenticeships on behalf of the college in a number of locations throughout the country. None of the apprentices on this strand of provision have completed their programme yet.
• Leaders and managers do not gather sufficiently detailed information to monitor the quality of teaching and learning and the progress that apprentices make on the provision delivered with its partner provider. They receive reports that provide an overview of the training, assessment and progress of apprentices but carry out few checks to verify the information and assure themselves that the provision is of high quality. The assessment of apprentices’ progress in this provision is not thorough enough. Too many records of the reviews of apprentices’ progress contain insufficient information on how well apprentices are progressing and what they need to do to improve.
• Managers and assessors on the provision delivered directly by the college plan programmes well to ensure that apprentices improve their skills quickly. They identify accurately the training activities that apprentices need to improve their skills and knowledge, and ensure that apprentices benefit from appropriate training both at work and at the college. In a few instances, however, planning of training does not take sufficient account of apprentices’ starting points and, as a result, a few apprentices, including some of the most able, are not challenged sufficiently.
• Assessors on college-based provision use their occupational skills and experience well to motivate apprentices and to help them to develop the skills that they need in their job roles. Most of these apprentices make good progress in improving their work-related skills and their skills in English and mathematics. The proportion of apprentices who completed their programmes successfully increased in 2015/16 and is now above the rate for all providers.
• Apprentices following college-based programmes benefit from regular and detailed reviews of their progress. The majority of progress reviews include clear and specific targets which focus well on the activities that apprentices need to carry out in the workplace to improve their skills, including the use of English and mathematics. Assessors provide helpful feedback on the quality of apprentices’ work. As a result, apprentices are very clear about what they need to do to improve their skills.
• Managers and assessors at the college maintain good links with local employers. This ensures that young people and adults living locally have good opportunities to follow an apprenticeship that meets their needs and the business needs of local employers. Assessors work closely with workplace supervisors who ensure that apprentices benefit from good support in the workplace.

Provision for learners with high needs

Good

• The college currently has 39 learners in receipt of high-needs funding from four local authorities. Of these, 23 learners are on courses at entry level and level 1 that are designed to improve their independent living and work-related skills. The remaining learners follow mainstream study programmes.
• Learners on entry level and level 1 courses make good progress and achieve well. Teachers prepare them well for progression to the next level of course or for progression into work. On completion of their programmes, most learners progress to higher-level courses, to a supported internship or to employment.
• Managers work well with parents and local authorities to prepare learners for transition from school to college. Consequently, learners quickly settle into the college. Initial assessment of learners’ starting points is thorough, and most teachers, particularly on entry level and level 1 programmes, use this information well to plan appropriately challenging individual programmes.
• On entry level and level 1 programmes, enthusiastic teachers have a very good understanding of each learner’s needs. They use a range of carefully designed activities that enable learners to improve their independent living and work skills. Teachers assess learners’ progress closely and provide helpful feedback to learners on how well they are improving their skills. As a result, learners’ confidence and self-esteem improve quickly.
• Learners carry out high-quality work experience placements that are tailored to their interests and progression plans. A successful supported internship scheme provides learners with the opportunity to carry out an extended period of supported work experience.
• Learners understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy. They respect each other, work effectively in teams and feel safe at college. Attendance for learners with high needs is high.
• Learners benefit from good specialist additional support that is tailored to their individual needs. Staff implement care plans well, and ensure that personal and behavioural support are arranged quickly to the benefit of learners. In lessons, staff provide support which usually encourages and challenges learners to develop their independence.
• Most learners with high needs on mainstream study programmes progress in line with their peers. In a few instances, teachers do not set targets that are challenging enough for learners, and do not monitor learners’ progress rigorously enough. Consequently, a minority of learners on mainstream programmes, including the most able, do not make rapid enough progress from their starting points.

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Provider details

Unique reference number 130515 Type of provider Sixth form college Age range of learners Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year 16+ 1,598 Principal/CEO Jenny Singleton Telephone number 0161 486 4600 Website www.camsfc.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+ 76 22 267 21 1,143 98 - - Intermediate Advanced Higher 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 85 79 30 39 0 0 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 39 Funding received from: Education Funding Agency 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 assistant principal: quality, teaching, learning and assessment, 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

Steve Hailstone, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Kathy Passant Ken Fisher Peter Wood Julia Gray Malcolm Fraser Maggie Fobister

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