Woodhouse College
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Woodhouse College REPORT FROM THE INSPECTORATE 1997-98 THE FURTHER EDUCATION FUNDING COUNCIL THE FURTHER EDUCATION FUNDING COUNCIL The Further Education Funding Council has a legal duty to make sure further education in England is properly assessed. The FEFC’s inspectorate inspects and reports on each college of further education according to a four-year cycle. It also assesses and reports nationally on the curriculum, disseminates good practice and advises the FEFC’s quality assessment committee. College inspections are carried out in accordance with the framework and guidelines described in Council Circulars 97/12, 97/13 and 97/22. Inspections seek to validate the data and judgements provided by colleges in self-assessment reports. They involve full-time inspectors and registered part-time inspectors who have knowledge of, and experience in the work they inspect. A member of the Council’s audit service works with inspectors in assessing aspects of governance and management. All colleges are invited to nominate a senior member of their staff to participate in the inspection as a team member. Cheylesmore House Quinton Road Coventry CV1 2WT Telephone 01203 863000 Fax 01203 863100 © FEFC 1998 You may photocopy this report. A college may use its report in promotional material provided quotes are accurate, and the findings of the inspection are not misrepresented. Contents Paragraph Summary Context The college and its mission 1 The inspection 5 Curriculum areas Computing 7 Science 13 Business 19 Modern languages 25 Cross-college provision Support for students 31 General resources 39 Quality assurance 45 Governance 53 Management 59 Conclusions 67 College statistics Woodhouse College Grade Descriptors Retention and Pass Rates Inspectors assess the strengths and weaknesses Where data on students’ achievements appear of each aspect of provision they inspect. Their in tables, levels of achievement are shown in assessments are set out in the report. They use two ways: a five-point scale to summarise the balance • as a retention rate, which is the proportion between strengths and weaknesses. of students who completed a course in The descriptors for the grades are: relation to the number enrolled on 1 November in the first year of the course • grade 1 – outstanding provision which has • as a pass rate, which is the proportion of many strengths and few weaknesses students which passed examinations in • grade 2 – good provision in which the relation to the number entered. Pass rates strengths clearly outweigh the weaknesses for GCE A level are quoted for grades A to • grade 3 – satisfactory provision with E unless otherwise specified. Pass rates strengths but also some weaknesses for GCSE courses are quoted for grade C or • grade 4 – less than satisfactory provision above unless otherwise specified. Pass in which the weaknesses clearly outweigh rates for vocational and professional the strengths awards are for successful completion of the full award. • grade 5 – poor provision which has few strengths and many weaknesses. Aggregated grades for aspects of cross-college provision, curriculum areas and lesson observations, for colleges inspected during 1996-97, are shown in the following table. Grade 12345 %%%%% Curriculum areas 9 59 30 2 – Cross-college provision 18 51 27 4 – Lesson observations 19 42 31 7 1 Source: Quality and Standards in Further Education in England 1996-97: Chief inspector’s annual report. Grades were awarded using the guidelines in Council Circular 93/28, Assessing Achievement. Sample size: 122 college inspections Summary Woodhouse College maintain high standards in spite of an increase in student numbers. Teaching is usually good, Greater London Region often excellent. The quality of the modern languages provision is outstanding. Retention Inspected April 1998 rates are high and progression to higher education is good. Support for students is Woodhouse College is a sixth form college in the excellent. Students benefit from an extensive north London borough of Barnet. The college’s programme of enrichment studies and work self-assessment process was thorough and experience in their first year. Teachers are well involved all staff and governors. The process qualified and, especially in business studies and followed for self-assessment of the curriculum biology, have productive links with employers. has evolved from a well-established system of The college is well managed. Governors bring a course review. The self-assessment report wide range of useful expertise to support the produced for the inspection was comprehensive, college. If it is to continue to improve the and judgements were supported by sound quality of its provision, the college should: evidence. It included action plans to address develop more opportunities to share good weaknesses, which, in some cases, were already practice in teaching, course and lesson planning being addressed by the time of the inspection. and assessment; strengthen and co-ordinate the Inspectors generally agreed with the report’s quality assurance arrangements; refine and judgements but identified a few additional extend staff appraisal, and induction for new weaknesses. staff; review and update college policies; and The college caters mainly for full-time students better define the role and function of governors aged 16 to 19 whose primary aim is to progress to focus on the strategic direction of the college to higher education. Ninety-four per cent of the and the quality of its performance. students take GCE A level and GCE AS subjects The grades awarded as a result of the inspection in science, mathematics and computing, are given below. business, art and design, and humanities. A small number of students take GNVQ intermediate and advanced courses in business. Provision in three programme areas was inspected together with aspects of cross-college provision. The college has made considerable improvements in its quality assurance processes since the last inspection. These have enabled it to increase by 16 per cent the proportion of lessons graded 1 and 2 by inspectors and to Curriculum area Grade Cross-college provision Grade Computing 2 Support for students 1 Science 2 General resources 3 Business 2 Quality assurance 2 Modern languages 1 Governance 3 Management 2 Woodhouse College 1 Context The College and its Mission 3 There are few large employers in the North London TEC area. Over 90 per cent of 1 Woodhouse College is a sixth form college companies employ fewer than 25 people. The based on one site in North Finchley in the north majority of residents work outside the area, London borough of Barnet. A former grammar mainly in central London. The level of school, it was established as a sixth form college unemployment in the area is about 16 per cent, in 1978. At the time of the inspection, there compared with a national figure of 7.5 per cent. were 829 full-time students, an increase of 4 The senior management team comprises 35 per cent since incorporation. Thirty-four per the principal, the vice-principal and four cent of the students come from three partner directors responsible for curriculum and schools for which the college acts as the official personnel, finance, student services and student sixth form. Most other schools in the borough admissions. There are four faculties led by have their own sixth forms. About half the faculty heads who oversee the work of the 20 college’s students live in the borough of Barnet. subject departments. At the time of the Most of the others come from the neighbouring inspection, the vice-principal had been acting boroughs of Enfield and Haringey, which principal for six months, following the death of together with Barnet form the North London the former principal who had been in post for Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) area. In only a short time when he was taken ill. addition to the college, there are five general further education colleges in the North London TEC area. 2 The mission of the college is to ‘maintain and strengthen its excellent reputation by continuing to provide high-quality full-time education for students aged 16 to 19 who seek a structured and supportive, mixed sixth form college environment and intend primarily to progress to higher education or where appropriate to further education and employment’. Ninety-four per cent of students are taking general certificate of education advanced/advanced supplementary level (GCE A/AS level) subjects. These students are required at entry to have five passes in general certificate of secondary education (GCSE), generally two at grade B and three at grade C. Fifty-four students are taking general national vocational qualifications (GNVQs) in business at advanced and intermediate levels. All GCE A level students take an enrichment studies course in the first year which includes key skills and a range of additional activities. In 1996-97, 54 per cent of students were female and 46 per cent were male; 35 per cent came from minority ethnic groups. Woodhouse College 2 Context The Inspection significantly better than the average of 84 per cent for sixth form colleges in 1996-97, recorded 5 The college was inspected during the week in the chief inspector’s annual report. The beginning 27 April 1998. Before the inspection, following table shows the grades awarded to inspectors considered the college’s self- lessons inspected. assessment report and reviewed information from other divisions of the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC). The college submitted data on students’ achievements for three years from 1995 to 1997, and these were checked against class registers and pass lists issued by the examining bodies. The college was given about two months’ notice of the sample of provision to be inspected. The inspection was carried out by a team comprising eight inspectors working in the college for a total of 32 days and an auditor working for four days. Inspectors observed a total of 48 lessons, including a sample of tutorials, and examined students’ work and college documentation about the college and its courses.