Leeds City College Ofsted Report

Full report

Information about the provider

• Leeds City College is a very large general further education college with over 20,000 students and apprentices drawn from across the Leeds City Region. The provider is made up of a group of constituent organisations which include Leeds City College itself, Leeds College of Music and Keighley College. Each of these organisations has its own board of directors, which are accountable to a Leeds City College Group parent board. The college has seven campuses through which it delivers a wide range of academic and vocational qualifications, from entry level to level 4 in most sector subject areas.
• Leeds City Region is the largest city region in the country, with three million residents and 120,000 businesses. A lower proportion of the population in the region are qualified to level 4 and above than in the rest of England. Forty per cent of students attending Leeds City College come from wards that are among the most deprived in the country. A high proportion of students enrolling on study programmes at the college have no GCSEs in English and mathematics.

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that students and apprentices are challenged consistently to make the progress of which they are capable, by:
  • teachers and assessors identifying accurately the starting points of students and apprentices, and planning programmes of learning that meet the full range of different abilities in the classroom and workshop
  • teachers and assessors developing their questioning techniques so that they are better able to assess the level of understanding and progress of students and apprentices in lessons and at reviews
  • teachers and assessors designing activities that enable students to strive for higher grades and apprentices to develop higher-level skills
  • managers carrying out more rigorous checks on information about the progress of students and apprentices so that they can assure themselves of its accuracy and set more realistic progress targets.
• Ensure that students attending Keighley College do as well as those attending other colleges in the group by improving achievement rates, particularly in functional skills English and mathematics.
• Accelerate the implementation of the English and mathematics strategy so that students taking GCSE mathematics make the same rate of progress as they do in English.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The chief executive officer and senior leaders have a very clear vision and ambition for the Leeds City College group of colleges, and are determined to ensure that they are realised. They are relentless in demanding excellence from all those employed in the organisation. As a result, the outcomes for students and apprentices, and the quality of the teaching, learning and assessment, have improved significantly since the previous inspection.
• Senior leaders have skilfully managed the group’s finances. They have taken the group from a position where there was a reduction in income and cash generation to one where gradually increasing surpluses are being invested in excellent teaching resources and in new high-quality buildings that motivate and inspire students.
• The chief executive officer has devolved responsibility for performance within the group of colleges to the heads of each department. This new culture of management accountability has driven the recent improvement in the quality of the provision.
• The management of staff performance has become stronger since the previous inspection, with the result that less effective teachers have left the college group. Managers evaluate the quality of teaching, learning and assessment accurately. Actions following lesson observations, supported by well-targeted professional development, have improved the craft of teaching and assessment.
• Senior managers are fully engaged with the local enterprise partnership for Leeds City Region, and are already planning to meet the emerging skills priorities of the new combined authority for the region. This engagement enables managers to respond quickly and flexibly to employer demands, such as the growth in qualifications for the food and drinks industry at the Printworks campus.
• Managers have been bold in developing and investing in a strategy in response to the large number of students, particularly on study programmes, who arrive at the college with no or very low grades in GCSE English and mathematics. The great majority of students, including adults, now work towards an English and mathematics GCSE qualification. In the second full year of this approach, students are progressing well in English, but less well in mathematics.
• Managers have been effective in reducing their reliance on subcontractors to deliver their provision since the previous inspection, particularly apprenticeship programmes, where the quality was poor. Arrangements for managing the existing subcontractors are effective, with the result that the quality of the provision and the outcomes of apprentices are now good.
• Senior leaders, managers and staff promote a highly inclusive and supportive culture across all parts of the college group. Students are tolerant of each other and behave responsibly, and are encouraged to enjoy their education.
• Senior leaders and managers have overestimated the overall quality of the provision. They have not identified in their most recent update to the self-assessment process a number of areas for improvement identified by inspectors, including the gap in achievement between students at Keighley College and those in the wider college group, and the lack of sufficient challenge in teaching, learning and assessment for some students and apprentices. Current quality improvement plans concentrate too much on the completion of actions rather than their impact.

The governance of the provider

• Governors have the appropriate skills and expertise to support the ambition and drive of the senior leadership team. They have recently reorganised the lines of accountability and reporting between the different boards within the group structure. This has enabled governors on the parent board to have greater oversight of, and provide more challenge to, the performance of the component parts of the group.
• Governors have a strong understanding of the strengths and most of the weaknesses across the college group’s wide provision.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Senior leaders and managers meet statutory requirements. As a result, students are safe. The central record of checks made during recruitment is accurate and up to date. However, a few of the staff files are not well maintained, with a small number of checks on references not being thorough enough.
• Designated safeguarding officers are trained to the appropriate level, and leaders ensure that all staff have completed their introductory training and refresher updates, including those on the ‘Prevent’ duty.
• Full-time ‘stay safe’ officers’ records of incidents document thoroughly the actions taken to ensure that students are safe and remain engaged in learning. However, the records kept by designated safeguarding officers in departments are less comprehensive and, in a few cases, the gap between incidents being reported and follow-up actions is too long.
• The majority of students and apprentices understand the risks of extremism, and how to identify the signs of radicalisation.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The large majority of teachers and assessors are highly qualified and use their vocational experience well to develop students’ and apprentices’ skills for work. They combine their subject knowledge with their teaching craft to devise activities to motivate their students. For example, in a class for teaching assistants the teacher used her knowledge of current special educational needs and disability reforms, mathematics and educational management to plan and use effective activities to prepare students for their school placements.
• Staff use a wide range of resources to engage their students, extend their knowledge and enable them to develop good independent study skills. Teachers use innovative digitally enhanced learning to enable students to make good progress in and out of the classroom. Students frequently access online learning platforms from home and in the college’s network of independent learning zones.
• The large majority of teachers establish accurately the starting points of students and use the results of these assessments well to set targets and plan learning sessions that meet the needs of different students. Regular reviews ensure that students are aware of the progress they are making and what they need to do to improve, and teachers reinforce this frequently in tutorials and lessons.
• Most teachers and assessors provide very helpful feedback on marked work that enables students and apprentices to understand what they need to do to improve their skills and standards of work. Feedback is developmental and constructive, helping the great majority of students to make good progress.
• The large majority of staff promote the development of English, mathematical and digital skills in their lessons effectively. They design activities to address students’ very specific areas for development in these key skills. For example, students on catering courses consolidate their knowledge of ratios by learning about quantities used in recipes. In pre-employment classes, adult students improve their digital skills through job searches and applications.
• Well-deployed learning support enables students with learning disabilities and high needs to make progress comparable to that of their peers. For example, signers ensure that students with hearing impairments are able to engage fully in all their lessons, and digital resources are adapted by changing the colour of the screen to enable students to read texts.
• Students and apprentices benefit from working with industry-standard resources and equipment that prepare them well for their work placements and transition into employment. Students at Keighley College experiment with digital fabrication equipment in the state-of-the-art Star Centre, while engineering apprentices use advanced technologies in the Industrial Centre for Excellence.
• The large majority of teachers use strong classroom management skills to instil in their students a purposeful and positive approach to their learning. As a result, behaviour is good in classrooms and there is little disruption to distract students from their studies.
• In a minority of taught sessions, students and apprentices are not challenged to make the progress of which they are capable. In these sessions, all students have the same objectives and targets regardless of their starting points. Activities are too easy for the most able students. Teachers give verbal praise too readily, so some students gain the impression that they are making better progress than they are, and therefore do not strive to produce work to a better standard. A minority of assessors do not push apprentices to develop higher-level skills beyond the requirements of their qualifications.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

• Students and apprentices have high aspirations and are ambitious for the future. They develop confidence, take pride in their work and know that hard work is essential as a step towards rewarding careers. The great majority of students and apprentices develop very good skills that prepare them well for work.
• The large majority of students and apprentices behave extremely well and are respectful and polite. They treat each other with consideration. They are courteous and helpful to visitors to the college. They develop appropriate professional behaviour for future employment.
• Students take part in a wide and exciting range of enrichment activities. These help them to develop social skills, confidence and independence, and provide useful experience to take into their future careers. Activities such as the vibrant debating society enable students to explore social and ethical issues. Many students take part in sport, in charitable activities, including supporting local food banks, and in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.
• All students for whom it is relevant take part in high-quality work experience with a wide range of employers in the private and public sector, where they develop good skills for employment. This includes students with high needs, some of whom have internships with internationally renowned companies.
• Initial advice and guidance are extremely effective in ensuring that students enrol on appropriate courses to meet their individual ambitions, as testified by the high and increasing proportion who complete their qualifications. Staff have strong links with local schools, running pre-enrolment guidance and taster sessions to help students to make the right choices. Children looked after are invited to summer activities prior to enrolment to ease their transition into the college.
• Once at college, students make very good use of the impartial careers advice and guidance available to make decisions about their next steps. Staff use up-to-date labour market intelligence to inform students about employment opportunities and local skills shortages. Students take advantage of sound advice about applications to universities, including very clear advice about aiming for the highest grades possible even when they receive unconditional offers from universities. As a result, progression into employment and further and higher education is high.
• Students benefit from a highly inclusive environment where all are welcome and diverse lifestyles and cultures are celebrated. College staff are committed to increasing social mobility for their students. They are determined that barriers to success, such as poverty or racism, are addressed robustly. For example, staff and students collaborated on a campaign to combat ‘period poverty’, so that no women should find it difficult to attend college due to a lack of sanitary protection.
• Students’ awareness of British values is particularly advanced. An active commitment to liberal democracy exists among the student body. For example, students organised a debate about whether young people should be allowed to vote at 16 and drew links between this campaign and the centenary of women’s suffrage.
• Students and apprentices feel safe and know how to keep themselves and others safe. They know how to stay safe online, including how to operate privacy settings, and they understand how to report any concerns that they may have. Students, including the youngest and the most vulnerable, know how to keep themselves safe from the risks of radicalisation and extremism.

Outcomes for learners Good

• Since the previous inspection, the proportion of students and apprentices achieving their qualifications has increased significantly, taking achievement rates to above those of similar providers. This improvement has occurred across all types of provision, for most qualifications and at most levels.
• The great majority of current students and apprentices make good progress and are on target to achieve their qualifications. However, too many of them are not being challenged sufficiently to achieve high grades or to develop their skills and knowledge fully.
• Students on study programmes at levels 1 and 2, who represent just over half of the total number of students on these programmes, make better than expected progress from their starting points, with the great majority progressing onto higher levels of study.
• Students on vocational study programmes at level 3, who make up the large majority of students at this level, are now making better progress from their starting points than did those at the same level in 2016/17. The small number of A-level and AS-level students have improved their progress from their starting points in the current year after a decline in 2016/17.
• The great majority of adult students achieve their qualifications and progress well. Since the previous inspection, the proportions of adults achieving functional skills English and mathematics qualifications, qualifications in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), and access to higher education qualifications have increased significantly.
• Starting from a very low base three years ago, the proportion of apprentices successfully completing their qualifications has risen significantly, as has the proportion who do so within their planned timescales. Apprentices at subcontractors, which deliver nearly half of the apprenticeship provision, do as well as those on programmes delivered directly by the college. The small, but growing, number of apprentices on the new standards-based programmes progress well.
• Full-time 14- to 16-year-old students, who have a record of low prior attainment and poor attendance, make excellent progress from their starting points. All of them progress onto further education and training, many of them at the college.
• Students with high needs make very good progress, consistently achieving their target grades. On mainstream vocational programmes, they achieve at least as well as or better than their peers. Many acquire the skills to take them into employment, further training or independent living, in line with their aspirations.
• The majority of students are making appropriate progress towards achieving a high grade in their English GCSE qualification. However, too many students are not making sufficient progress in mathematics.
• Although the proportion of students achieving their qualifications at Keighley College has increased since the previous inspection, the gap in achievement rates compared with the students in the wider college group, particularly in functional skills English and mathematics, remains too wide.
• The proportion of students and apprentices progressing into further and higher education and into employment has increased since the previous inspection, and is now high.

Types of provision

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• The college has over 5,500 students on study programmes. Just under half are on level 1 and 2 programmes. The great majority of level 3 students are on vocational programmes, with a small number on A- and AS-level courses.
• Most teachers are highly skilled and knowledgeable specialists who use their skills well to plan and use practical activities that excite and motivate students. As a result, students develop practical, vocational and wider work-related skills that prepare them well for the world of work.
• The great majority of teachers plan and deliver programmes that develop the skills of their students to a good level so that they produce high standards of work. For example, in the make-up and media programme at level 3 students are able to recreate an ageing male using prosthetics and a bald cap. In catering, students create luxury products, such as chocolate truffles and bonbons, after mastering how to melt the chocolate through specific heat controls.
• Teachers use industry-standard learning environments well to stimulate the creativity and develop the skills of their students. Highly skilled musicians within the conservatoire at Leeds College of Music encourage students to aspire to play to the standards demanded in professional performances.
• Teachers make effective use of technology to stimulate and support learning both inside and outside the classroom. Many teachers plan lessons using innovative software packages, so students become confident in how to use these e-learning environments to develop their independent study skills. Many students use these resources to assess their own progress. For example, level 3 creative media students make good use of short video clips to self-assess and further develop their three-point perspective diagrams.
• Teachers and managers identify a wide range of work placements and work experience opportunities for students to enable them to develop their work-related skills. Teachers support students well to relate what they learn in the workplace to their qualifications, and how to apply the knowledge and skills they learn at college when on their work placements. For example, motor vehicle students can identify the interpersonal and technical skills they have developed on their courses and how they need to develop them further on their work placements.
• Although the great majority of students on study programmes make progress to achieve their qualifications, too many are not sufficiently challenged to reach their full potential. The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is not of a consistently high standard so students in a few subjects, such as information and communication technology and games development, complete low-level and uninspiring tasks. In subjects such as these, teachers place too much focus on the completion of activities rather than on developing understanding.
• In a minority of lessons, teachers do not monitor and assess students’ progress well enough, with the result that classroom activity does not consistently meet the needs of the most and least able students. In these lessons, teachers do not check effectively what students understand before moving on to the next topic. Questioning techniques are too superficial, requiring only yes or no responses from the whole class. When students do not respond, teachers often provide the answers themselves. As a result, teachers in these lessons do not know whether effective learning has taken place.

Adult learning programmes Good

• The college has 6,365 adult students. The majority are part-time students on entry level, level 1 and level 2 courses, many of them on ESOL and pre-employment courses. Almost half of students are studying functional skills English and mathematics. A third of students study at level 3, including on an access to higher education programme.
• Students benefit from a wide range of support to enable them to make good progress. Teachers provide individual support in lessons and work closely with teaching assistants to provide effective support to students at risk of not completing their courses. As a result, these students make progress at the same pace as their peers.
• Most teachers have high expectations of students and plan and use a range of activities that inspire students to participate in learning. They use their skills and expertise well to coach and encourage less confident students to engage fully in lessons. As a result, the great majority of students make good progress.
• Teachers on non-accredited courses establish the starting points of their students accurately, taking into account their prior qualifications and current experience, including their English and mathematical skills. Teachers use these starting points to create plans for each individual student that contain challenging personal development targets alongside their learning aims.
• Students develop good practical skills on pre-employment courses that prepare them well for the labour market. Students on pre-employment textile courses acquire a range of new skills, such as how to use industrial sewing machines to produce garments to a commercial standard within a specified timescale. As a result, a high proportion of these students progress into employment.
• The great majority of teachers provide effective feedback on activities designed to assess students’ progress. Feedback on marked work provides constructive guidance on what students need to improve.
• Managers have developed a wide range of effective partnerships to ensure that what is offered through the curriculum responds to local and regional skills priorities. Managers work closely with the local authority to target adults from areas with entrenched pockets of deprivation. As a result, those furthest away from the job market can access training that increases their chances of securing sustainable employment.
• Teachers in a minority of functional mathematical skills courses do not plan and execute their lessons effectively. On these courses, activities are too generic and not based on the needs of individual students. Consequently, too many students struggle to complete the tasks set them and the most able students are not challenged sufficiently to make the progress expected of them. Attendance in functional skills mathematics classes is too low.

Apprenticeships Good

• The college has 1,468 apprentices enrolled on frameworks in 12 subject areas. A further 121 apprentices are studying an apprenticeship based on the new standards. Just over half of framework apprenticeships are at the advanced level, with the majority of the rest at intermediate level, with a few higher level apprenticeships. Three subcontractors provide nearly half of the apprenticeships.
• Apprentices attend good-quality workplaces where assessors and employers provide training that enables them to develop valuable skills. As a result, the great majority of apprentices make good progress, and an increasing proportion achieve their qualifications within their planned timescales.
• Assessors and teachers are highly experienced and have good industry knowledge. Most make effective use of apprentices’ own work experiences to enliven classes and engage apprentices in discussion and debate. Most assessors and teachers ensure that apprentices can apply the theory that they learn in the classroom to practical exercises in the workshop and in their job roles with employers.
• Assessors’ frequent and constructive feedback helps apprentices to improve their skills to a good standard. For example, butchery apprentices progress from basic meat preparation to being able to recognise and extract specific joints and cuts from a range of carcasses to a standard that allows them to be sold to the public.
• Apprentices benefit from good support and guidance through progress reviews and in classes, where assessors use a range of innovative strategies to assess the progress of apprentices. For example, assessors in sports studies film their apprentices undertaking coaching sessions, and then encourage them to use the same technique to self-assess their own performances.
• The great majority of employers support their apprentices well and are keen to develop and keep them within their organisations. They provide apprentices with interesting work and the opportunities to develop their skills further in the workplace. For example, an employer has trained his apprentices to use computer numerically controlled plasma cutting equipment in his engineering works to broaden their knowledge and enhance their value to the company.
• Most apprentices develop their mathematical skills well at the college and in the workplace. Logistics apprentices effectively calculate economic order quantities and simple moving averages for warehousing and storage facilities.
• All apprentices work safely, feel safe and are safe. Assessors and employers ensure that apprentices understand that their progress and development depend upon their understanding of the regulations and laws designed to keep them, their co-workers and members of the public safe.
• A minority of assessors set targets that focus on the completion of qualifications rather than the development of higher-level skills. As a result, too many apprentices are not challenged sufficiently to develop their personal and work skills further and make quicker progress.
• The large majority of apprentices develop their technical language well. However, in too many cases, assessors do not help their apprentices to improve their use of English, so they continue to repeat errors in their written work.

Provision for learners with high needs Outstanding

• The college has 441 students with high needs. Students follow a range of work-related, personal development and vocational courses. The majority of students are in discrete provision, with the remainder following vocational courses alongside other students at the college.
• Leaders and managers have very high aspirations and expectations of students with high needs. These expectations are shared by teachers, learning support assistants and partner organisations. They ensure that resources are used highly effectively to provide specialist support to students with high needs so that they make very good progress.
• Students develop their life skills and confidence extremely well. Staff remind and challenge students consistently about their choices and standards of work to make sure that they make good decisions and take personal responsibility. For example, students on work placement in a company post room altered their working hours so that they could better support colleagues during the busiest periods.
• Staff design tailored programmes very effectively to support students to meet and often exceed their targets. They monitor and record students’ progress carefully. Students undertake self-assessments of their own performance and set their own targets alongside those agreed with staff. As a result, students with high needs progress as well as, and in some cases better than, their peers in the college.
• Staff review students’ work regularly and provide students with supportive and developmental feedback on what and how they need to improve. The standard of students’ work is excellent.
• Teachers develop students’ English and mathematics skills very effectively through activities linked to their interests. For example, students on an employment skills course analysed statistics for a survey that they had carried out on mental health. Dance students wrote a letter about employment opportunities that they sent to professional dance companies.
• Managers and teachers are adept at planning work placements and internships so that students’ specific skills can be matched to job roles. Job coaches work with employers to identify jobs that can be completed independently and challenge students to develop their work-related and independent living skills.
• Teachers prepare students well for their transition into adulthood by ensuring that they understand life in Britain today. Students recognise the need for respect and tolerance, and practise these values through lively debates on voting rights, homelessness and dignity for those who have disabilities.
• Students know how to stay safe, including online, and how and to whom they should report their concerns. They recognise that they may be at risk of being radicalised, and can explain how they would use the report button on the college’s website if this was to happen.

Full-time provision for 14- to 16-year-olds Outstanding

• The college has 172 full-time 14- to 16-year-old students in its 14+ Apprenticeship Academy, including 13 students studying a full-time ESOL programme.
• Students follow an engaging curriculum that meets the statutory requirements for key stage 4, combining the study of core GCSE subjects alongside vocational qualifications. This curriculum prepares students exceptionally well for progression to further education and training. The effective allocation of pupil premium funding ensures that disadvantaged students make outstanding progress.
• Teachers plan and deliver lessons very well, meeting the needs of students of all abilities with a variety of challenging activities that promote independence. For example, science students worked in groups to design a portable light switch which they then produced and sold in the college.
• Students know their current progress, their target grades and what they need to do to achieve their targets. Teachers’ feedback on marked work is clear and constructive, enabling students to improve their work to a higher standard.
• Staff are highly qualified and experienced to deliver the range of qualifications they offer. They provide intensive and effective levels of pastoral support to students, some of whom are from very challenging backgrounds that are characterised by an episodic experience of education.
• The vast majority of students display extremely positive behaviour at all times. They are eager to learn and are respectful towards the staff and to each other. Students are punctual to all lessons.
• Students are enthusiastic about their experience in the academy and enjoy attending. Their attendance has significantly improved compared to what it was at their previous schools, and is now very high.
• Students receive highly effective support at the academy to help them to achieve their potential. Parents and carers are kept well informed about the performance and welfare of their children. They give very positive feedback about the progress that their children are making, and the transformation in their attitudes and behaviours.
• The development of students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is excellent. Students develop a sound understanding of British values through a variety of interesting activities and assemblies. For example, they participated in a debate on the risks of extremism following a theatrical performance delivered by performing arts students at the college.
• Students receive excellent impartial careers advice from staff at the academy and from external agencies to help prepare them for their next steps. Students make regular visits to local universities and attend talks at the Leeds Apprenticeship Hub. As a result, all students progress onto further education or training.
• All students undertake annual work experience to develop their work-related skills and to help them to decide their next step. The vast majority of placements are with external employers, including national hotel chains, schools and small businesses.
• Safeguarding is highly effective. The academy has its own dedicated secure area specifically for its students. Students feel safe and valued at the academy. They are confident to approach staff if they have any concerns.
• The achievements of all students have improved significantly since the establishment of the academy three years ago. Although the proportion of male students achieving their qualifications has risen, it has not done so at the same rate as that of female students.

Provider details

Unique reference number 135771 Type of provider General further education college Age range of learners 14+ Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year 20,000 Principal/CEO Colin Booth Telephone number 0113 3861997 Website www.leedscitycollege.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+ 294 2,932 2,519 2,356 2,481 1,012 - 65 Intermediate Advanced Higher 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 239 447 198 642 1 62 Number of traineeships 16–19 19+ Total - - - Number of learners aged 14 to 16 Number of learners for which the provider receives high-needs funding At the time of inspection, the provider contracts with the following main subcontractors:

172 441 The Fire Brigades Union NEUPC Limited Northumberland County Council Norton Webb Limited People Matters (West Yorkshire) The Prince’s Trust The Skills Network Limited

Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the deputy chief executive curriculum and quality, 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

Charles Searle, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ken Merry Her Majesty’s Inspector Rebecca Clare Her Majesty’s Inspector Julie Gibson Ofsted Inspector Tracey Baron Ofsted Inspector Ruth Szolkowska Ofsted Inspector Heather Cadman-Marks Ofsted Inspector Debra Gray Ofsted Inspector Philippa Firth Ofsted Inspector Joanna Stokes Ofsted Inspector John Oley Ofsted Inspector Ralph Brompton Ofsted Inspector