Treloar College Ofsted Report

Inspection report: Treloar College, 13–15 February 2013

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

 Increase the proportion of good and better teaching and increase the number of outstanding lessons, by ensuring all teachers set challenging subject objectives to maximise learners’ progress. Ensure that all learning support assistants provide effective support that enhances learners’ independence. Additionally, increase the imaginative use of information technology to support learning and ensure targets for learners of lower cognitive ability are not overly complicated.  Develop learners’ English and particularly their mathematical skills further, by making sure all teachers set objectives that integrate these skills meaningfully into lessons, so they clearly build on learners’ prior literacy and numeracy abilities. Ensure all staff take responsibility for checking and reinforcing learners’ spelling and grammar.  Implement the college’s revised curriculum plans fully, which include extending the number of suitable internal and external work experience opportunities, so that all learners can develop an array of work-related skills and knowledge across a wider range of realistic work settings.  Make better use of equalities data and information so that managers and the governing body can identify trends over time and judge more comprehensively the impact of actions they have taken.  Consolidate further the recent improvements made to governance. Ensure all reports to the governing body are in a format that provides them with the pertinent, salient and trend information they require. This way, governors can more easily oversee the full effectiveness of all the college’s work.

Inspection judgements

Outcomes for learners

Good  Learners make considerable progress in developing their communication skills. They show confidence and maturity, alongside an appropriate assertiveness, when socialising with friends or meeting visitors to the college. Learners spoke with some authority about how their communication skills have enabled them to promote and defend their points of view. For example, at Future Fest, a college event to help learners decide on their next steps after Treloar, learners played a prominent role in quizzing exhibitors about exactly what services were on offer for them.  The proportion of learners who achieve externally accredited qualifications at advanced level remains high. In 2011/12, nearly all learners following advanced level courses at Alton College achieved or exceeded their target grades and just under half achieved high grades at AS or A2 level.  Programmes for learners on foundation programmes are now appropriately challenging and, where relevant, learners successfully achieve qualifications in life and living skills. The college captures non-accredited learning much more effectively. College data, confirmed by inspectors’ observations, show learners make at least the progress expected of them and the majority make good progress in developing personal, independence and academic skills.  The development of learners’ functional skills is adequate. Many learners are confident and proficient in using information technology and many develop reasonable levels of literacy. Most learners who take functional skills qualifications achieve them, but not all learners develop their mathematical skills well enough to enable them to apply these routinely on a day-to-day basis, for example in making small purchases. Learners like demonstrating the functional skills they have acquired. For example, one learner chose to read stories to her peers in the evening. Inspection report: Treloar College, 13–15 February 2013

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 College data indicate no significant variations in achievement between different groups of learners in relation to gender, age, disability or ethnicity. The achievements of looked after children are good but are not routinely reported through the college’s self-assessment.  Learners enjoy their study and their attendance is good. Learners are steadily improving their work-related skills appropriately through an increasing range of internal and external work experience. The college is aware that, in order to extend learners’ vocational skills further, a more varied choice of work placements is required. Some internal work experience provides a realistic work setting and supports the development of transferable skills. For example, learners play an active role in the success of the college’s internal design and print business enterprise by completing challenging tasks to a good quality and on time.  The college has strengthened its focus on supporting sustainable and appropriate destinations for learners. In 2011/12, the vast majority of learners progressed into their chosen destination goals. Around half of all leavers moved into an independent living setting, some 20% progressed into higher education and over 20% of learners, who had supported employment or training as a long-term goal, progressed successfully into this area, including one learner gaining an apprenticeship.

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Good  Teaching, learning and assessment are good and are reflected in good accredited and non-accredited outcomes for learners. Staff have high expectations for their learners. Most help learners set challenging but realistic goals, which range from learners becoming able to instruct care staff themselves to learners preparing to apply to university.  Most teachers plan lessons carefully, setting distinct personalised targets that meet each learner’s interests, as well as focusing on the skills learners need to acquire. Most staff ensure learners develop independence very effectively through a good use of specialist technological aids to help their communication. Teachers link effectively with the college’s multi-disciplinary team of physiotherapists, occupational and speech and language therapists to plan clear learning and support for each individual learner.  In a small minority of lessons, teaching is less effective and learning is not always maximised. In these lessons, teachers set less ambitious targets to help develop learners’ subject skills and knowledge, particularly for those learners who are more able. In a few cases, learning support assistants are too passive in the support they give or very occasionally over direct learners.  Teachers are well qualified and experienced at working with learners with complex needs. The large majority of teachers and support staff have achieved, or are working towards, specialist qualifications. Teachers use specialist equipment well to develop learners’ physical, intellectual and creative skills. Staff do not yet, however, use the wide range of available information and learning technologies imaginatively to enhance learning.  The systems for establishing learners’ starting points and assessing their progress are now good. Teachers review the appropriateness of learners’ short- and medium-term goals regularly and record any learning directly into an interactive database, which provides timely and comprehensive information to staff about the extent of learners’ progress. While the majority of learners’ targets are clear and challenging, targets for some learners of lower cognitive ability are sometimes unnecessarily detailed and overcomplicated.  Staff’s verbal feedback to learners on their progress is frequent, encouraging and very motivating. Learners show great pleasure in developing their own skills and in rejoicing in the skills development of their peers. The college celebrates learners’ achievements regularly through photographs and displays of work throughout the building. Learners are particularly happy with the development of their independence in cooking, self-directed care, laundry and wheelchair driving. Inspectors agree that learners make notable gains in these areas.  The college self-assessment correctly identifies that the quality of teachers’ planning to develop learners’ English and mathematics skills, while much improved, is currently too variable. For Inspection report: Treloar College, 13–15 February 2013

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example, teachers and support staff do not always highlight spelling and grammar mistakes in learners’ written work. The teaching of numeracy is often restricted to counting or measuring, skills that some learners already possess. The teaching of other functional skills, such as information technology, language and communication is effective and enables learners to develop confidence and skills in these areas.  Information, advice and guidance are good. Pre-entry information to learners and their parents and/or carers is clear and communication between homes and college is frequent. The college has made substantial improvements to the planning for learners’ next steps on leaving Treloar, with an increased focus on meaningful destinations from the outset of each learner’s programme of study. As a result, the majority of learners met their planned progression route in 2011/12.  Teachers’ promotion of equality and diversity through learners’ personal, social and health education lessons and through tutorials is good. Weekly themed assemblies, including topics such as relationships, diverse cultures and being respectful, also contribute to extending learners’ awareness and understanding. In a few subject-specific lessons, teachers miss opportunities to reinforce learners’ knowledge of wider equality themes.

The effectiveness of leadership and management

Good

 Strong leadership from the new principal, along with a revised and highly competent senior management team, has ensured a sustained momentum of improvement since the college’s last inspection. Carefully prioritised action plans, combined with a relentless focus on promoting high expectations across departments, have contributed to greatly improved outcomes for learners. The college recognises that a few areas still require further improvement and/or need to be better established.  The Principal, trustees and governing body promote a clear and ambitious vision for the college. Challenging targets are now set throughout the organisation and monitored rigorously. A remodelled vision for the next three to five years is underway and includes full staff consultation. Given the turbulent changes since the last inspection, including a period of redundancy, staff morale is positive.  The supervisory role of the governing body has improved notably since the last inspection, although a few areas of governance require further improvement. Governors are experienced and highly supportive of the college’s work. A recent and complete restructure of governance arrangements has led to clearer lines of reporting. Governors’ scrutiny and challenge of the college’s overall educational performance are now appropriate. Their monitoring of equalities has improved, but equalities reports are piecemeal and insufficiently detailed.  College systems to monitor and improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment are thorough and highly effective. Managers have intensified the focus on learning through their lesson observations and scrutinise the impact of learning support closely. Staff receive good individual mentoring support in addition to targeted staff training and development to improve their teaching practice. Performance management is used well to hold staff to account where they do not meet the required standard.  The college’s self-assessment process is rigorous and comprehensive and is mostly accurate in identifying strengths and targeting priorities for improvement. Senior leaders scrutinise and moderate departmental self-assessment reports each term to ensure that they represent an accurate picture. Quality improvement plans are detailed and managers review these often to check actions and review their impact.  Managers capture and use learners’ feedback very effectively to improve provision. The student council meets regularly and managers are responsive to learners’ views and requests. For example, in response to learners’ feedback, extra swimming sessions were timetabled in the evening; college bus routes were altered so learners could travel further afield to Basingstoke, Inspection report: Treloar College, 13–15 February 2013

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and facilities were made available to support the production of a student magazine, produced and edited by learners. The college does not yet maximise the views of employers.  The curriculum requires improving further so it aligns more closely to learners’ future destinations. A partnership with a nearby sixth form college continues to provide good access to an increasing range of vocational and academic programmes. The development of learners’ functional skills and employability skills through the curriculum, although improved, is still in the process of implementation. Whilst opportunities for work experience have gradually increased, the number of work placements is insufficient and a few internal work placements do not always enable learners to develop a broad range of vocational skills.  Managers have successfully raised the profile of equality and diversity across the college. Learners have a much improved awareness of diversity themes through a range of related activities. For example, the college’s weekly Friday Live event provides a good opportunity for learners to find out about and discuss a range of themes, from the importance of respecting people’s sexual orientation to how dogs are used to assist different disabilities.  Managers’ use and reporting of equalities data are underdeveloped. Managers review data relating to equalities, such as achievement between different groups of learners, and report this through self-assessment. However, they do not consider or report these data in enough detail and insufficient use is made of trend data to report on any patterns over time. The college does not always produce reports in an easy to read format that enables managers or governors to drill down to salient information.  The college meets its statutory requirements for the safeguarding of learners. The college has notably strengthened its management of health and safety and safeguarding arrangements. All learners receive a tailored, comprehensive risk assessment and managers audit the quality of these often to ensure they are fit for purpose and applied appropriately by staff. Staff and governors have received relevant training in safeguarding and all learners receive training in e-safety. Inspection report: Treloar College, 13–15 February 2013

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Record of Main Findings (RMF) Treloar College

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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2 2 2 Inspection report: Treloar College, 13–15 February 2013

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Provider details

Treloar College

Type of provider

Independent specialist college

Age range of learners

16+

Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year Principal

Full-time: 123 Part-time: 0 Mr John Stone

Date of previous inspection

November 2011

Website address

www.treloar.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)

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

Full-time

13

Part-time

0 34 0 4 0 8 0 12 0 9 0 0 0 0 0

Number of apprentices by Apprenticeship level and age

Intermediate Advanced Higher

16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 0 0 0 0 0 0

Number of learners aged 14-16 Number of community learners

N/A N/A Number of employability learners N/A

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

Education Funding Agency (EFA)



Alton College Inspection report: Treloar College, 13–15 February 2013

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Additional socio-economic information

Treloar College is an independent specialist college located in Holybourne, Hampshire, and offers residential and day provision for learners with physical and sensory disabilities and/or other learning difficulties. The trust is a registered charity that owns the college and Treloar School. The college provides vocational and academic courses from pre-entry level to advanced level, including courses studied at a local partner sixth form college. Around half of learners study at entry or pre-entry level. Most of the learners are funded for very high levels of support. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) funds 80 of the 84 learners at Treloar College and, of these, 53% are male and 14% are of minority ethnic heritage. The vast majority of learners are residential.

Information about this inspection

Lead inspector

Deborah Vaughan-Jenkins HMI

One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and two additional inspectors, assisted by the head of college as nominee, carried out the inspection with short notice. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors also used data on learners’ achievements over the last three years to help them make judgements. Inspectors used group and individual interviews and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners and employers; these views are reflected throughout the report. Inspectors looked at the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across all of the EFA funded provision. Inspection report: Treloar College, 13–15 February 2013

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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 'Complaining about inspections', 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 new 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 or if you have any questions about Learner View please email Ofsted at:

learnerview@ofsted.gov.uk