Changes not enough to lift college grade

Photo: Darren Robinson

REQUIRES improvement . . . Oldham College

OLDHAM College has been told it "requires improvement" across the board, according to its latest Ofsted inspection.

Following a four-day visit, all inspection categories including effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching learning and assessment, and outcomes for learners received the second to lowest rating.

Inspectors found while the quality of teaching, learning and assessment had improved, it was not consistently good across all areas, with learners not challenged enough and too few students getting the grades they were capable of.

They said: "Too many learners across all provision types are not making sufficiently timely progress towards achieving their qualifications or apprenticeships.

Challenge

"Too many lessons are characterised by teachers not providing sufficient challenge for their learners and encouraging them to be more ambitious in what they can achieve.

"Learners make slow progress in lessons because teachers set work that is too easy, particularly for the most able learners."

The report said that feedback from teachers to students was not consistently effective, sometimes without specific and clear targets to ensure rapid progress. Inspectors felt not enough 16 to 19-year-olds developed their English or maths skills well enough.

The report stated: "Teachers do not ensure that learners correct mistakes in their written English.

"Learners' written work is not routinely presented well. A few teachers make mistakes in their own work, which does not help the development of learners' skills in English."

Attendance was not high enough, particularly in English and maths, and not enough apprentices or adult learners achieved their qualification.

College governors also needed more clarity on student progress to challenge leaders effectively.

However, the report did say that college leaders, governors and managers worked well with employers and other partners to develop the curriculum, and they had worked well to develop an inclusive college environment based on respect and tolerance.

Inspectors also highlighted that decisive action taken by the college had led to improved achievement rates for students aged 16 to 19, adult programmes, apprentices and students with high need, and that student behaviour was good.

When Oldham College was previously inspected in May 2015, it was given the same "requires improvement" rating.

In a statement, Oldham College said different criteria had been introduced in September 2015 which re-organised the way inspections were carried out.

Improving

It said: "Results are improving in every area of provision. In some areas, such as apprenticeships, the college is already above the national average and continuing to improve rapidly.

"A big pressure on our results over the last few years comes from the number of students who are resitting English and maths GCSEs."

Alun Francis, principal and chief executive of Oldham College, said: "Overall, the inspection was a positive experience.

"The inspectors enjoyed being here and liked a lot of what they saw, and left with the view that we are on an upward trajectory.

"We are disappointed that this volume of good work and improving results has not led to a change of grade, but the inspection framework has changed recently and the grading system is difficult. It is also true to say that we still have some improvements to make."

"Some areas, such as the English and maths challenge, do not have easy answers despite the tremendous hard work of our staff and students.

"However, despite these and many other fairly weighty challenges, we are very committed to meeting Ofsted's criteria for a 'good' college."