Wakefield College Ofsted Report

Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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

 Improve success rates further by: - making sure all students make better progress in relation to their starting points so that - - more achieve higher grades implementing fully the A-level recovery plan so that A-level students make better than expected progress improving the quality of target setting in a minority of subjects so that students and apprentices make faster progress - ensuring that students aged 16 to 18 on intermediate-level courses receive the right levels of support to help them succeed - ensuring all students remain in learning, attend lessons on time and reduce their levels of absence.  Raise the quality of teaching, learning and assessment further by: - ensuring all teachers use information about students’ starting points to plan learning in accordance with their levels of ability - making sure all teachers include a range of assessment activities in their planning so that - students’ learning and progress are checked in a variety of ways, enabling all to participate including the development of English and mathematics skills in the minority of areas where this is not yet sufficiently integrated - ensuring all full-time vocational students benefit from work placements so that they develop the relevant work-related skills required for their subject area improving the quality and frequency of assessment planning on apprenticeships. -  Apply management improvement actions at all levels by: - managing carefully recovery plans to raise the quality of teaching and learning in underperforming areas - applying rigorous improvement planning with well-defined measurable outcomes across all - action plans collecting and analysing students’ progression and destination data to influence course and strategic planning.

Inspection judgements

Outcomes for learners

Requires improvement  Outcomes for students require improvement. Following a significant one-year fall in previously high, but declining, success rates, the proportion of students now completing their courses successfully has improved. In 2012/13, success rates were almost in line with national rates, showing a six percentage point increase on the previous year.  As a result of highly effective, far-reaching and persistent management actions, the very large majority of students aged 16 to 18 on foundation- and advanced-level courses, excluding A levels, now complete their courses successfully, in line with the national rate. However, students on intermediate-level courses perform less well. The large majority of adult students on foundation-level courses now complete their courses successfully. At intermediate- and advanced-level, the success rates are slightly lower than the national rates. Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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 Success rates for the small proportion of students completing A-level courses fell in 2012/13 but remain close to the high national rate. For AS level, success rates improved slightly but they are still significantly below the national rate. Students on A level and other advanced courses make progress as expected from their starting points. Higher grade achievement is low on the large majority of courses.  Since 2010/11, overall and timely success rates on intermediate- and advanced-level apprenticeships have been substantially higher than the national rates; however, in 2012/13, they fell significantly below the national rates as a result of many apprentices not completing their full qualification within the planned timescale. The college has identified the reasons for this decline and has successfully implemented a recovery plan that has already improved success rates for apprentices completing functional skills. Success rates for students taking National Vocational Qualifications at intermediate and advanced level in the work place are higher than the high national averages, with the vast majority completing within the predicted time.  The standard of students’ work is good. As a result of the college’s productive partnerships, in most subjects students develop good work-related skills that are relevant to the area in which they study, preparing them for employment. In sport, students benefit from regular placements that enable them to practise their coaching skills and in information and communication technology (ICT) students provide working software solutions to business requirements. In early years, students make good use of their work-placement experience to deepen and enrich their learning. Apprentices demonstrate good understanding of their job roles and work well with others in their teams. Study programmes now include group tutorials that contribute to the development of students’ personal and social skills  The college has ensured that gaps in the performance of specific groups of students have reduced, although a few gaps remain. The success rates of men and women are similar to the college’s own rate, slightly below the national rate. However, for adults on intermediate-level courses the gap widened in 2012/13. Students from minority ethnic backgrounds perform at the same level as other students in the college. For students with identified learning difficulties and/or disabilities, success rates are generally in line with national rates. Success rates for students who have left care settings are at the same level as other students in the college.  Students’ attendance and punctuality are satisfactory. As a result of improvements to the monitoring of attendance, current students have fewer absences than those in the previous year. As a result almost all students now remain on their course until the end of their studies.  The development of students’ English and mathematical skills in lessons is good. Success rates for functional skills at foundation level for the vast majority of students aged 16 to 18 are higher than the national rates. For adult students, they are now in line with the national rate. Success rates in functional skills for apprentices are now high with almost all gaining the qualification at the required level. The proportion of students gaining higher grades in GCSE English in 2012/13 improved significantly to the national rate. In GCSE mathematics, the proportion gaining higher grades improved but it is still below the national rate.  Progression to further and higher study is good. Two thirds of students aged 14 to 16 who took courses in 2011/12 are now studying full-time at the college. The majority of students on foundation- and intermediate-level courses continue to study at the next level. Advanced-level students’ progression to higher education is good with the large majority of students gaining a place at university. The college acknowledges that it needs to improve the collection and analysis of destination data.

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Good  Teaching, learning and assessment are good. The proportion of students completing their courses successfully has increased substantially and current students make good progress. This is the result of the high priority managers have placed on raising the quality of teaching and learning. The comprehensive provision of continuous professional development has sharply Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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focused on providing teachers with the skills and expertise to plan lessons that are good or better.  Teachers have high expectations of their students, many of whom have relatively low starting points. Skilful teaching ensures that students make good progress by using a range of techniques and activities which stimulate learning. Teachers are well qualified and most draw very effectively upon their relevant occupational experience to enliven lessons and ensure that students acquire the relevant skills. For example, in an outstanding chemistry lesson, students made very good use of animated graphs to study the effects of temperature on chemical reactions.  In the minority of lessons which require improvement, students make slow progress. Insufficient planning for learning and assessment leads to a lack of challenge for the more able students, occasional low-level disruption and ineffective checking of learning.  Good resources and accommodation in most subject areas complement the good teaching to ensure that students enjoy their lessons and make good progress. Increasingly, students make good and regular use of the virtual learning environment (VLE) to gain access to many learning resources from home in order to catch up on work missed or to extend their learning. Similarly, hairdressing students regularly use internet-enabled devices containing industry-specific applications to enable them to conduct product-related research during lessons.  Students are set challenging targets that teachers monitor regularly. The college recognises the need to improve the electronic monitoring system in current use. Tutors have developed a good range of resources to enrich the tutorial programme for full-time students. However, attendance at tutorials is low in a minority of subject areas.  Students benefit from good support. Good assessment of students’ starting points ensures that most are on the right course and that those who need to develop further their English or mathematics skills receive good support. However, the extent to which teachers use the results of this assessment to plan for learning is not yet consistently good across the college.  Support for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is excellent. Particularly good support for vulnerable students enables those who do not easily participate in lessons to gain enough confidence to do so. Well coordinated actions to support students identified as being at risk of not completing their studies have led to improvements in the proportion of students who stay in learning.  Assessment of students’ progress is good. Most students benefit from clear judgements about their achievements and helpful advice about how to make further progress. Assessment of learning through the skilful questioning of individual students is a feature of many lessons. In a practical cookery lesson, the teacher’s carefully structured questions challenged students to reflect on previous learning and practise their skills. Assessment planning for a minority of apprentices in the workplace is not always sufficiently well structured and this slows their progress.  As a result of its own evaluation of teaching, learning and assessment, the college has successfully prioritised the development of English and mathematics in lessons. Initiatives to support teachers now include ‘themed weeks’ that concentrate on particular topics such as estimation or the use of the apostrophe. These provide teachers with useful ideas and resources that they use with confidence in their teaching. As a result students’ English and mathematics skills are improving.  The quality of information, advice and guidance that students receive before starting their courses is now good. Good links with schools and well-received taster days enable prospective students to make well-informed choices. Students receive clear and helpful advice about their next steps. Careers guidance is well-planned. Students speak highly of the advice and guidance they receive about university applications. Students interested in starting their own enterprises when they leave college receive good support and encouragement.  The promotion of equality and diversity in lessons is good. Teachers and students work well together in a college which successfully meets the needs of a diverse range of students. Teachers include equality and diversity topics in assignments in most subject areas. They ask Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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questions which are designed to test knowledge or generate debate. For example, in an early years lesson on the use of information technology (IT) to develop young children’s learning, students expressed strong views about economic disadvantage limiting access to technology and the role of the nursery school in ensuring all young children have access to IT, especially if it was not readily available at home. However, in a small minority of lessons, teachers do not have the confidence to encourage such discussion.

Science and mathematics

16-19 study programmes 19+ Learning programmes

Requires improvement  Teaching, learning and assessment in science and mathematics require improvement. This is reflected in the low proportion of students who successfully completed their qualifications between 2010/11 and 2012/13. As a result of significant changes in staffing and the appointment of new curriculum managers, current students are making good progress. Students’ punctuality and attendance have improved significantly and are now good. The vast majority of students on most courses now produce well-presented work of a high standard.  The new teaching team combines a range of skills and techniques that now make learning lively, effective and enjoyable. For example, one teacher makes very good use of memory aids that leads to students gaining a better understanding and recollection of the key learning points in lessons. Other teachers make very good use of technology that results in students making good progress. Work booklets and learning materials across science and mathematics are of a high standard and provide a good basis for learning.  In most lessons and in all subjects, students work hard and apply themselves well. Much of the learning takes place through well-conceived and carefully planned activities in which students are often required to work together in small groups. Most lessons are characterised by well-timed changes of activity that help the students focus and learn more effectively. Students are enthusiastic participants in a range of interesting and enjoyable activities such as group presentations following collaborative learning exercises, matching-card activities and finding questions to given answers.  In biology lessons, teachers challenge students to think about how science impacts on people's lives. For example, in a lesson exploring glucose and blood sugar, students gained a very good understanding of negative feedback in biological terms. They went on to consider the potential cell damage that can occur from unregulated blood sugar levels and began to understand the nature and impact of diabetes. In a physics lesson, students developed their IT skills by using a spreadsheet to calculate binding energy in preparation for studying nuclear fission, fusion and reactors. Experimental work is good and is a strong feature in A-level chemistry.  Students develop good skills in English and mathematics. Teachers ensure that students develop relevant knowledge and understanding of mathematics to support science subjects. As a result all students studying physics must now also study mathematics. Teachers pay particular attention to developing students’ language skills, spelling and vocabulary. For example, in biology, teachers break down technical words such as ‘glycogenolysis’ to their Latin components so that students can derive meaning from their structure and understand new technical vocabulary as a result. Most teachers are careful to ensure correct use of scientific language and encourage good scientific report writing.  Assessment is fair, accurate and reliable. Teachers provide good written feedback to students on their marked work. Assessment planning, marking and feedback to students are particularly good on BTEC Diploma courses. Teachers set homework regularly and mark it promptly. Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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 Teachers assess students’ starting points thoroughly and carefully monitor their performance against target grades. However, the responsibility for monitoring other aspects of students’ performance is unclear. The attendance monitoring team does not automatically receive information on student absences and the different monitoring systems do not share data effectively.  Managers identified poor information, advice and guidance as one of the reasons for low success rates in previous years as many students left their courses early. As a result the college now ensures that managers and teachers provide students with well-informed advice and guidance on subject combinations, course requirements and demands. Consequently, almost all have remained on their courses this year, many more than at the same time in the previous year.  Students demonstrate a good understanding of equality and diversity in lessons. They respect each other’s views and differences and work well together.

Engineering and motor vehicle

16-19 study programmes Apprenticeships

Good  Teaching, learning and assessment are good. Success rates have improved on full-time courses in engineering to be just below the national rate and in motor vehicle they are now in line with the national rate. As a result of successful actions to ensure more students stay on courses until they have completed their studies, almost all students this year have remained in learning. The proportion of students who progress to the next level or into employment is high.  Teachers use their good subject knowledge and experience well to develop students’ practical skills. They use good demonstrations and very effective coaching to enable students to make good progress. Teachers make good use of current engineering and motor vehicle industry practices to ensure that learning motivates students and provides relevant knowledge.  In practical lessons, students work productively and safely in the well-resourced engineering and motor vehicle workshops. They develop confidence and good work-related skills. In these lessons, students make good progress and produce industry standard work. In one lesson, engineering students used lathes and milling machines skilfully and manufactured a variety of good engineering components such as a square thread and nut in a combination of mild steel, aluminium and brass. In a motor vehicle lesson, students used tracking gauges ably and carried out accurately steering geometry checks on vehicles.  Apprentices develop good personal, social and work-related skills at the college and in the workplace. Employers take strong interest in the importance and relevance of off-the-job training and use apprentices’ new skills well.  In the better theory lessons, students make good progress and develop good knowledge of their specialist subjects and apply this well to their practical tasks. In other lessons, a minority of students lose interest because teachers make insufficient use of questions that make students think carefully before answering them in order to check their knowledge and understanding. When planning their lessons, teachers do not always take into account individual students’ needs and, as a consequence, they are unable to support the weaker students sufficiently or to provide additional more demanding tasks to maintain the interest of the more able.  The use of learning technology is good. Engineering and motor vehicle teachers and students use specialist computer software, the VLE and interactive white boards well to support and enrich learning. As a result students have made good progress in developing their research skills to produce their assignments. Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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 Support for students is good. Teachers, learning support assistants and workshop technicians support students well with their tasks and ensure they make good progress. Teachers monitor students’ progress regularly. The college’s electronic monitoring system, although a useful tool to monitor students’ progress, lacks specific target setting for students. A small minority of students have no targets and where targets exist they are not always time limited. Targets for improvement that are set in work-place reviews are not specific enough to be useful in guiding apprentices and employers.  Assessment of students’ work is timely and accurate. Students are aware of the criteria on which their work is marked. Students’ assignment and written work are good. Written feedback enables students to improve the quality of their work. For apprentices, work-place assessment is insufficient and assessors do not use assessment plans to inform apprentices about the frequency and the criteria for work-place assessment. As a result apprentices do not gather sufficient work-based evidence for their portfolios.  Students develop good functional English and mathematics skills, particularly in mathematics. In a lesson on fabrication and welding, students interpreted engineering drawings accurately. They used precision measuring instruments such as digital verniers and micrometers well and recorded the required dimensions correctly. They carried out basic calculations in order to cut, form, join and weld mild-steel plates. Teachers reinforce the use of technical vocabulary in lessons to develop students’ English skills. The majority of teachers correct students’ grammatical and spelling mistakes.  Information, advice and guidance are good. Students benefit from the good support of attendance mentors, student-experience managers and the course team. This support identifies students at risk of leaving and develops appropriate action plans to deal with their concerns. Students value the good information they receive on progression routes and career opportunities.  The promotion of equality and diversity is good. Where appropriate and relevant, teachers include aspects of equality and diversity in their lessons. In one lesson on mechanical engineering principles, the teacher made students aware of the importance of using both the imperial and metric units and that different countries use different systems of units.

ICT for practitioners and ICT for users

16-19 study programmes 19+ Learning programmes

Good  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good, as reflected in the success rates for the majority of students on full-time courses. Students demonstrate a good standard of work in lessons and marked work, make good progress through their studies and gain valuable technically advanced work-related skills, especially on the advanced-level courses.  Good teaching is characterised by confident, technically competent teachers who use a good range of techniques to engage and motivate students, including good use of the VLE to stretch the more able. Teachers strongly encourage students to achieve high standards in their project and assignment work and to progress to the next level. Students on part-time employability programmes who leave early to gain employment are encouraged and supported to gain as many units as possible before they leave.  Many teachers adopt a good variety of questioning techniques to assess students’ learning and progress. For example, in one lesson, the teacher posed the first question to a student and then invited that student to nominate the next person and so on. In another lesson, students were nominated in turn to read the displayed text from a digital animation project and mark it in a lively and excellent exercise which successfully emphasised the need for and use of correct Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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punctuation. Teachers mostly provide clear and detailed written feedback to students on work they produce in lessons as well as submitted assignment work.  The college has recently identified the lack of examination experience as a barrier to success for students and one teacher is now working intensively to help students develop a better understanding of what makes a good answer. In one lesson, for example, the difference between appropriately recommending an IT system and simply describing one was very well explained so that students could see where they might lose marks.  Teachers assess students’ starting points thoroughly, which ensures they start on the right level of course. Teachers use the outcomes of this assessment well to develop students’ individual learning plans and to identify extra support. As a result some students have additional English or mathematics lessons incorporated into their study programmes.  Students’ attendance is satisfactory. Teachers and course managers monitor students’ attendance and progress continuously through weekly reports from the college recording systems and refer any concerns through the student tutorial support system. Despite this rigorous process, attendance and punctuality remain unsatisfactory in a few lessons.  The development of students’ skills in English is good. Teachers help students to develop their understanding and familiarity with highly technical computing terms, phrases and acronyms and, as a result, students are able to use the terminology appropriately in discussions. Errors in spelling and grammar are identified in most marked work, although few teachers correct more than a small proportion of the mistakes. Mathematics are a feature of specific units on most courses, for example, where students calculate the projected costs of IT installations or solutions.  Information, advice and guidance are effective at helping students to select the most appropriate course to meet their needs. Learning support in lessons and through the central support services is effective. Students recognise the much greater attention teachers now pay to their English skills and the importance of proof-reading their submitted work to improve their grades.  Students and teachers are mutually respectful and a purposeful and supportive atmosphere permeates most lessons. Teachers promote equality well in assignment briefs. For example, one teacher used the reference to the word ‘accessibility’ in an assignment to remind students about designing web pages that can be read by people with a visual impairment. Safeguarding in terms of using computers and the internet is good.

Sport

16-19 study programmes 19+ Learning programmes

Requires improvement  Teaching, learning and assessment require improvement. This is reflected in the full-time course success rates which, although improving rapidly, still remain below national rates. Managers have taken successful action to improve courses where students did not stay until the end in previous years. As a result current students make better progress and almost all have remained in learning.  As a result of good work-experience placements, which form part of the sports study programme, students demonstrate good work-related skills, including confidence in dealing with those they coach, good levels of communication and a willingness to share their experiences in lessons.  In the better lessons, students make good progress because teachers use their good subject knowledge and work-related experience together with a range of effective teaching and assessment methods that encourage learning. For example, the use of fitness testing equipment to understand fitness protocols and the importance of correct technique to prevent injury. In Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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one lesson, students made good use of mobile technology to route plan for an expedition. Students benefit from the good subject specialist resources on the VLE to develop their research skills. In a minority of lessons, students lose interest because the pace is too slow.  Assessment of students’ work is thorough. Teachers mark written work promptly and accurately. They provide positive and constructive feedback highlighting what students need to do to correct or improve their work. Teachers rely heavily on questioning techniques to check students’ understanding in lessons and often only the more confident students respond.  Teachers make insufficient use of the information collected about students’ starting points to plan learning to meet individual students’ needs. As a result students do not always make sufficient progress, particularly the more able who find some tasks too easy. In the majority of lessons, teachers do not include more difficult tasks to extend the ability and knowledge of the most able students.  The development of students’ functional skills in English and mathematics is insufficient. Activities to improve English and mathematics are not sufficiently integrated into students’ work-related learning activities. Teachers do not always inform students on how they can improve punctuation and grammar. They do not plan for English and mathematics or consistently take advantage of relevant opportunities to develop students’ skills in this area.  As a result of the new electronic tracking system the monitoring of students’ performance has improved. This helps to ensure they remain on course to succeed and complete their assignments on time. Students at risk of underperforming are now identified early, and teachers put in place appropriate support to keep them on target to achieve. However, teachers do not always challenge students sufficiently to achieve at the higher levels to reach their full potential.  Information, advice and guidance for individual students are good. Teachers’ increased attention to ensuring that students fully understand the demands of courses has ensured that more students remain at the college. Teachers provide timely advice, resulting in students moving on to study at the next level at the college.  The promotion of equality and diversity is insufficient. Teachers do not always take advantage of naturally occurring examples to introduce wider aspects of equality and diversity in lessons. However, positive relationships are established, with students and teachers working together harmoniously in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Foundation English

16-19 study programmes 19+ Learning programmes

Good  Teaching, learning and assessment are good. Students up to intermediate level, including GCSE, make good progress in their lessons and develop their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills well. Almost all apprentices achieve the required level of functional English after an intensive short course. Achievement rates are good for adult students, including for those on employability programmes. Attendance has improved, but a small minority of students have too many absences.  Teachers and support staff are enthusiastic and work well together to motivate the students, many of whom are initially reluctant to study English. Teachers plan and deliver lessons very well and take into account the needs of each student. They maintain students’ interest through well-chosen topics and well-presented materials and, as a result, students make good progress. In the best lessons, teachers check and develop students’ understanding very effectively through careful questioning, ensuring that all students get the opportunity to respond, irrespective of their ability. This helps students make good progress in each lesson.  In many lessons, and in speaking and listening practice assignments, teachers ensure that the English topic reflects the students’ subject area and career aspiration. This ensures that students Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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remain focused on the lesson and helps them make progress in their subject area as well as in English. Many of the functional English teachers also teach mathematics and, where appropriate, use materials which help to reinforce students’ mathematics skills, as well as developing their English.  Support is good and has led to a very high proportion of students remaining in learning. They benefit from the new Achievement Resource Centres where they receive good additional support for English and mathematics and with assignment work. The vast majority of students are very clear as to the specific aspects of English that they need to improve and they make good progress under the guidance of teachers and support staff.  Assessment is thorough. Teachers assess students’ English skills well when they enrol and, as a result, allocate them to a suitably challenging course. Teachers are particularly good at monitoring students’ progress and helping them to assess their strengths and weaknesses in functional English. This helps students to set their own learning goals and enables teachers and support staff to set appropriately challenging tasks. In the best marking, teachers point out detailed and relevant aspects of English for students to improve.  Teachers are adept at advising students about the most suitable course to progress to, when they have nearly completed their current course, ensuring that students make further progress in English.  Students aged 16 to 18, including those with learning difficulties or challenging behaviour, develop good personal and social skills, and are polite and generally well behaved in lessons. When developing students’ speaking and listening skills, teachers often select topics to help students’ understanding of equality and diversity. For example, teachers produced some excellent materials on the topic of male care workers for health and social care students, which helped them improve their English as well as gain a better understanding of the benefits of diversity.

The effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leadership and management are good. All staff and governors have high aspirations for students and provide a positive environment for learning. As a result of implementing a robust and successful improvement strategy, success rates in 2012/13 improved significantly along with the quality of teaching and learning. Students now make good progress with almost all of them remaining in learning.  The new Principalship team provides strong leadership with clear direction. The team has not been afraid to take bold decisions that have improved the quality of provision for almost all students. Staff and the vast majority of students are enthusiastic and motivated to do well. Managers respond well to change and the requirements of, for example, the new study programme. Students’ mathematics and English skills, including functional skills, have improved considerably. However, the development of more work-experience placements for students remains a challenge.  The governing body knows the college well. It provides good support and challenge to senior managers, making good use of comprehensive reports which provide clear analysis of performance and identify areas of concern. Governors are becoming increasingly involved in key areas such as the improvement of teaching and learning. The board of governors represents a good cross-section of the community.  Managers have introduced significant changes to the way in which the college operates that have resulted in a much clearer focus on the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Lesson observations provide an accurate assessment of the quality of teaching and learning and contribute to the performance management of each teacher.  The college has devised its own teaching and learning strategy that sets out clear criteria for all teachers to plan and teach high quality lessons. Lesson observations are now unannounced. The college no longer grades the quality of lessons, preferring reflective and developmental dialogue Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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with teachers, the setting of improvement targets and prompt additional observation where necessary. As a result the very large majority of teaching and learning is good or better. Mentoring and coaching support for teachers who need to improve the quality of their teaching is good. Teachers who do not improve are subject to the college’s capability procedures.  Self-assessment is thorough and accurate. Quality assurance is strong and leads to improvement. Managers have tackled most of the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. Managers review courses regularly and assess frequently the impact of actions to improve those that cause concern. The college has improved its management-information systems and managers now use accurate data confidently to evaluate performance and set improvement targets in their programme areas. However, improvement plans in some programme area reports lack clear measurable outcomes for some of the actions identified, resulting in slower rates of improvement. The college recognises that data about students’ destinations have not been collected systematically. Suitable plans are now in place to remedy this.  The arrangements to seek students’ views are good. Students have a strong voice and the college has made improvements to aspects of the study programme, for example, arranging more sporting activities and more study trips. The student voice forum and student representation on the governing body are both effective in representing students’ views.  Partnership working is outstanding. The college has led the way in setting up a Children’s University, which successfully provides, in partnership with other organisations, a rich set of learning experiences across the community for children aged five to fourteen. This is part of a long-term strategy to raise aspirations in the community and to increase participation in learning.  The college contributes well to local enterprise strategies and plays an influential role along with partners in shaping and steering post-16 provision to meet the needs of employers and individuals. The college’s close working with employment agencies in meeting the needs of those seeking work is particularly good and successful in enabling people to gain skills and jobs. The college has played a key role in reducing substantially the numbers of young people not engaged in education, employment or training in the Wakefield area. The college makes good use of labour market and economic analysis together with good analysis of students’ needs and local and national priorities to develop its programmes of learning.  The college promotes equality and diversity very well and enables students of all abilities and backgrounds to engage in college life and flourish. The college has been particularly successful in recruiting students from areas of higher-than-average deprivation. As a result of close monitoring, managers have taken successful action to reduce gaps in achievement between different groups of students, with few groups now performing below the college’s own rate.  Managers and governors place a strong emphasis on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students. The college meets fully its statutory requirements for safeguarding students. All staff have undertaken relevant training with regular updating. Behaviour is good. Almost all students report feeling safe and students who met inspectors spoke highly of the presence of security staff and their visibility at all times. Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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Record of Main Findings (RMF) Wakefield 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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Subject areas graded for the quality of teaching, learning and assessment Grade

Science Mathematics and statistics

Engineering Motor vehicle ICT for practitioners ICT for users Sport Foundation English 3 3 2 2 2 2 3 2

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Provider details Type of provider

General further education college

Age range of learners

14+

Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year

Full-time: 3,697 Part-time: 7,402

Principal/CEO

Ms Sam Wright

Date of previous inspection

May 2010

Website address

www.wakefield.ac.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+ 44 15 162 375

Total N/A

Full-time

609 27 950 47 1,639 283

Part-time

267 1,043 118 948 400 749

Number of traineeships Number of apprentices by Apprenticeship level and age

16-19 N/A 19+ N/A

Intermediate Advanced Higher

16-18 143 19+ 154 16-18 74 19+ 301 16-18 19+ 1 8

Number of learners aged 14-16

Full-time N/A Part-time 285

Number of community learners

52 Number of employability learners 462

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

Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency

    

Aspire Training Barnardos BTCV Partnership Chevin Partnership Elite Training Services

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Contextual information

Wakefield College is the only general further education college located in and serving the Wakefield Metropolitan District. According to the 2011 census data, the minority ethnic population of Wakefield is 7%, lower than the Yorkshire and Humber average. Just over 6% of students are from a minority ethnic background. The proportion of pupils in Wakefield schools attaining five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and mathematics is close to the England average. The unemployment rate in Wakefield is higher than the national rate and just above the Yorkshire and Humber rate. Wakefield is ranked 67th on the 2010 Index of Multiple Deprivation, making it one of the most deprived local authorities in the region. Compared to Yorkshire and the Humber, Wakefield has a lower proportion of residents in senior and professional jobs and a higher proportion employed in care, sales and non-skilled and semi-skilled jobs. The proportion of residents in Wakefield with a qualification at intermediate or advanced level is lower than the regional rate.

Information about this inspection

Lead inspector

Paul Fletcher HMI

Two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and six additional inspectors, assisted by the Assistant Principal Quality and Performance 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 students’ achievements over the last three years to help them make judgements. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of students and employers; these views are reflected throughout the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider. Inspectors looked at the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across all of the provision and graded the sector subject areas listed in the report above. Inspection report: Wakefield College, 3 – 7 February 2014

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What inspection judgements mean

Grade

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4

Judgement

Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate Detailed grade characteristics can be viewed in the Handbook for the inspection of further education and skills 2012, Part 2: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/handbook-for-inspection-of-further-education-and-skills-september-2012

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

www.ofsted.gov.uk If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

Learner View is a 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