Treloar College Ofsted Report

Full report

Information about the provider

• Treloar College is an independent specialist college located in Holybourne, Hampshire, and offers residential and day provision for students who have complex physical and sensory disabilities and/or other learning difficulties. A high number of students have cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The college provides vocational and academic courses from pre-entry level to advanced level, including courses studied at a local partner sixth form college. A very small number of students follow a sensory, pre-entry curriculum. Most of the students are funded for very high levels of support. The vast majority of students are residential. A new principal was appointed in August 2016.

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that teachers in all lessons direct learning support staff effectively to make sure that every student makes the very best possible progress within the time allocated.
• Increase the rigour and evaluation in a very few areas of the college’s work, such as the monitoring of staff training and development, so that managers and governors can better scrutinise the impact of these, in order to continue to improve provision even further.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Governors, leaders and managers have been uncompromising in the pursuit and effective implementation of an ambitious strategic vision for students at the college.
• The rapid improvements reported at the previous inspection have continued over the past three years. Leaders’ and managers’ actions have successfully ensured significant improvements to the quality of provision, most notably in improving teachers’ assessment, students’ outcomes and students’ overall educational experience.
• The self-assessment report is mostly incisive and accurate. Managers monitor most of the provision continuously and in great detail in order to target further improvement. The monitoring of students’ progress and destinations is exemplary. A very few areas of the college’s work, however, are not reviewed with the same vigour. While the range of staff training is good, managers and governors do not assess the impact of staff development sufficiently to determine where it has had the greatest impact.
• Managers scrutinise thoroughly the achievement and progress of different groups of students to ensure that all achieve equally well. Where any differences are identified, the actions taken to remedy these are swift and successful.
• The curriculum is diverse and evolves constantly to best serve the needs of the students. Managers have effectively used the information from destination and leavers’ surveys to shape the curriculum further in order to prepare students as much as possible for their future career and life choices. For example, feedback from former students identified that they had difficulty employing their own personal care assistants. As a result, this is now an integrated part of students’ programme of study and includes developing students’ skills in interviewing others.
• Managers’ collaboration with employers is extensive and has significantly extended students’ access to bespoke external work experience. For example, managers have forged a link with a national aerospace organisation to be able to provide high-quality work placements for students who are following BTEC engineering programmes.
• Managers and staff promote diversity very well. Students benefit from a rich calendar of events to celebrate the wide, diverse world in which we live. As a result, they demonstrate an appreciation for different cultures, relationships and disabilities. Through topics such a disability history, they understand the importance of equal rights and being respectful to others.

The governance of the provider

• Governors have notably improved their oversight of the college’s educational provision since the previous inspection. They scrutinise the self-assessment and rigorously challenge managers and leaders on the progress being made against the college’s quality improvement plan. A few governors now undertake structured unannounced visits to further test the extent of improvement themselves and to confirm how safe students feel.
• Governors, along with leaders, are fervent and proactive in improving the life chances of students. For example, they have recently instigated an additional six- and 10-year review of students’ destinations so that they can accurately measure the impact of Treloar College and how they might even better support students’ preparation for progression.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• All students receive annual training on how to keep safe online and on sexual health awareness. As a result, students have a very good awareness of the potential dangers of social media and understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy.
• Leaders and managers have ensured that safeguarding arrangements, and arrangements for implementing the ‘Prevent’ duty, are fit for purpose and that action is taken to safeguard students. All staff and governors receive appropriate safeguarding training, including thorough coverage of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, which are particularly pertinent to the college’s cohort of students.
• The monitoring of the complex medical arrangements for students is very comprehensive.
• The college’s transition team work very effectively with employers to ensure that work placements are safe and that any reasonable adjustments are implemented where appropriate.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Students display excellent attitudes to learning. They are diligent and keen to develop their skills and understanding.
• Most staff have high expectations of what students can do. They set challenging activities in order to extend learning and subsequently most students make at least good progress in lessons towards their academic work and/or towards their personal targets. For those students on pre-entry programmes, teachers skilfully plan smaller steps of learning within lessons to reinforce themes such as choosing, turn-taking and following instructions.
• Most in-class support is very effective and encourages students to develop the skills to be able to work as independently as possible. In a few lessons, teachers do not direct all of the support staff effectively to ensure that every student makes the maximum progress they are capable of in the time available.
• College staff very effectively reinforce skills for independence in the student residences. For example, several students are now able to take full control of their day-to-day schedules and confidently make their own decisions about when and where they may need support, what they want to eat or want to wear.
• The use of assistive technology to improve students’ communication is very good and often innovative. For example, students with highly complex communication needs worked with a support assistant to read a GCSE English text on genetics. The assistive technology enabled students to communicate their answers clearly. Managers work with specialist support teams to devise bespoke technology for students, such as developing a simple adapted tool to enable students to send messages using social media for the first time independently.
• Staff develop students’ English and mathematics skills well. For example, students with limited communication abilities were supported in undertaking a small-group discussion with their peers using their communication aids. Staff used word and pictorial references very effectively to extend students’ vocabulary. In addition, students on an enterprise project were able to effectively calculate the productions costs of their wares and how much they would need to sell to make a profit.
• Teachers’ assessment and recording of students’ progress is timely and exceptionally comprehensive. Students’ targets are agreed and reviewed continuously with the college’s skilled specialist multidisciplinary team to ensure that they are sufficiently ambitious, for example, ensuring that students can transfer their skills across familiar and unfamiliar settings and demonstrate a skill consistently before a target is considered complete. The vast majority of students make very good progress against their short- and medium-term targets.
• Transition arrangements are highly comprehensive. Staff, including specialist support teams, work closely with others, including parents and carers, to ensure that students settle quickly at the start of their college programme. This wide-ranging support and guidance also ensures that students are very well prepared for life after Treloar College.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

• Students benefit from carefully selected, purposeful work placements. All students who are able to undertake an external work placement now do so. For example, students who are following a business programme are undertaking a substantial work placement at a health insurance company using industry-standard software alongside the company’s employees.
• The range and quality of enrichment is outstanding and significantly enhances students’ confidence, independence and long-term aspirations. Recently, former students who participated in the Rio Paralympics, including a gold medallist, visited to talk about the discipline needed to be an athlete. Students have been successful at national boccia competitions and swimming galas and two leavers in 2015/16 are in training with Team GB for Tokyo 2020.
• Students know how to keep themselves safe and are especially aware of the need for sound e-safety; this is particularly pertinent as they often depend on electronic devices in their personal and learning environments. Students also know what to do if they have concerns and who in the college to contact.
• Many students have a very good understanding of the values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect. Students were recently involved in a referendum debate, which also included a visit by a local MP. Students are currently applying a democratic vote to appoint new members to their dynamic student council.
• Students’ attendance is high. Their behaviour is very good. Many demonstrate an inspirational resilience and determination to reduce the barriers they face. Skilful support from staff empowers students to take greater control of their lives. For example, many students improve their wheelchair driving skills quickly so they can travel unaided and safely to and from social events or begin to shop more independently for the first time.

Outcomes for students Outstanding

• The vast majority of students make excellent progress over the duration of their college programme. Most make significant gains in developing their communication skills. As a result, students are able to make their own decisions and choices and participate more fully in social and academic activities, including those following the entry 1 and pre-entry programmes.
• A very high proportion of students who take accredited qualifications achieve them. For students following level 3 vocational and academic programmes, a good proportion gain high grades.
• College data shows that all groups of students achieved equally well in 2015/16. Children looked after also gain the same high levels of achievement as their peers.
• Students’ work is of a high standard and much is outstanding in photography and media. Several students are successful in winning national competitions for their artistic work.
• Most students are proficient in the use of information technology. Many develop good English and mathematics skills, which help to support their ability to live as independently as possible. For example, many residential students are now able to plan and budget effectively for their weekly meals and consider value for money when purchasing multi-buy products.
• On leaving the college, a high proportion of students move into employment, further or higher education, voluntary work or training. In addition, many of these students are able to live independently or in a supported living environment. Many students sustain these destinations over time.

Provider details

Unique reference number 132980 Type of provider Independent specialist provider Age range of students Approximate number of all students over the previous full contract year 16+ 71 Principal Martin Ingram Telephone number 01420 547400 Website www.treloar.org.uk

Provider information at the time of the inspection

Main course or learning programme level Level 1 or below Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 or above Total number of students (excluding apprenticeships) Number of apprentices by apprenticeship level and age 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 15 43 3 5 10 6 0 0 Intermediate Advanced Higher 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 0 0 0 0 0 0 16–19 0 19+ 0 Total 0 Number of traineeships Number of students aged 14 to 16 0 Number of students for which the provider receives high-needs funding 82 Funding received from: Education Funding Agency At the time of inspection, the provider contracts with the following main subcontractors: 0

Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the head of college, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the college’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of students and employers; these views are reflected within the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider.

Inspection team

Deborah Vaughan-Jenkins, lead inspector Alun Maddocks Philida Schellekens Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector