Truro and Penwith College Corporation
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TRURO AND PENWITH COLLEGE CORPORATION TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE Minutes of a meeting of the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee held at Truro College, College Road, Truro on Wednesday 9 March 2016. Present: Mrs L Batchelor, Mr R Crossland, Mr S Jose, Mrs S Sanderson, Dr E Sheridan (Chair) and Mrs E Winser Also Present: Mr M Arnold (Director of Quality), Mrs C Mewton (Director of Studies), Mr M Rabey (Richard Lander School), Mr N Wilkinson-McKie (Roseland Community College), Mr M Tucker (Director of Penwith College) and Mrs A Winter (Clerk to the Corporation) Apologies: Professor D Bristow, Mr J Smith, Mrs J Woodhouse and Mr D Walrond Also Ms J Cashmore (Director of Operations), Mrs S Dickinson (Director of Finance), Mr A Martin (Hayle Community School), Mr W Marshall (Humphry Davy School), Mr S Merrick (Penair School) and Mr M Wardle (Director of Curriculum). T16/01 Minutes The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 October 2015 were approved and signed as a correct record. T16/02 Matters Arising 02.1 Cornwall SCITT Ofsted Visit (Minute C15/30.01) The Committee was very pleased to note that the Cornwall School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) scheme had been recognised by Ofsted as an ‘Outstanding’ provider of secondary teacher training, achieving the highest grades in all aspects of the recent inspection. 02.2 Apprenticeship Data (Minute C15/31) Members noted that apprenticeship performance data would be reviewed by the Employment and Business Policy Committee at its next meeting. T16/03 Ofsted Feedback The Director of Quality provided brief feedback on the recent Ofsted Inspection of the College. A team of eleven inspectors had spent four days (from 23–26 February 2016) visiting the College. A copy of the draft report was awaited and the final outcome of the inspection and confirmation of the grades awarded were expected by the end of March. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ AW/LJ/CurrStand160309mins Page 1/7 Approved 17 March 2016 Members noted that the conduct of students throughout the visit had been exemplary, lecturers and support staff had shown extraordinary commitment and the whole process had been very positive. Preliminary feedback from inspectors was gratifying. T16/04 DfE Post-16 Performance Tables for 2014/15 The Committee received the DfE post-16 performance measures for schools and colleges in Cornwall together with a detailed commentary. Members noted the tables were based on level 3 qualifications which included A levels, International Baccalaureate and Extended Diplomas. A total of 1743 students (compared to 1671 in 2013/14) had completed level 3 qualifications at the College in 2014/15. The Director of Quality highlighted a number of very significant achievements this year: the College performance exceeded national averages on every measure Truro and Penwith College was once again the top performing state provider in Cornwall on all measures for academic courses the College remained one of the highest performing colleges, especially in terms of value added with students on academic programmes (A levels and IB) making greater progress than that achieved at 98% of colleges nationally the average points score per student for A levels of 819.4 was almost 50 points above the national average and almost 100 points above the Cornish school sixth form average the average points score per student for vocational qualifications of 661.4 had risen 30 points since the previous year and was 85 points above the national average and 50 points above the Local Authority average a high percentage of students left the College with a very sound qualification base for progression – for academic qualifications 90% achieved three A levels (compared to 77% nationally and 64% for Cornish school sixth forms) and for vocational qualifications 76% achieved three substantial qualifications (compared to 48% nationally and 55% within Cornwall) the proportion of A level students achieving grades AAB in ‘facilitating subjects’ (a restricted range of subjects deemed important for entry to Russell Group universities) was 18%, well above the national average of 12%. The Committee scrutinised the performance tables and asked about some specific changes in data this year. The Director of Quality explained the variations and provided assurance that small fluctuations in performance were to be expected from year to year and raised no particular concerns. Members NOTED the analysis of the DfE Performance Tables with interest and was very pleased to note the outstanding performance in 2014/15. T16/05 DfE Post-16 Performance Tables for 2015/16 The Director explained the new measures and categories to be introduced to performance tables from next year. He described each of the five headline performance measures and the revised methodology for calculating value added. Shadow data based on 2014/15 outcomes would be produced in June 2015 but, until then, there would be no national data to benchmark performance and by that stage the first cohort to appear in the new tables would have already completed their qualifications. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ AW/LJ/CurrStand160309mins Page 2/7 Approved 17 March 2016 The Director also explained the changes to the Minimum Standards of Performance for 16-19 year olds and the proposed response to adjust to the changes. The situation remained uncertain without national data on which to base target grades. Members noted that changes to vocational and technical qualifications would be introduced from 2015/16 and would be reported in the 2017 performance tables. The extensive range of accredited vocational qualifications that will count in the league tables was being dramatically reduced and an externally examined component would be included in all awards. New qualification specifications and exemplar assessment materials had not yet been published and the College had therefore opted to remain with current BTEC qualifications (accredited in the Qualifications and Credit Framework) for another year. These will not be reported on in the league tables published in 2018. During discussion the Committee explored the impact of the changes, the numbers of students affected (around 1,000) and the difficulty advising prospective students given the ongoing uncertainty. Many other institutions, including South West Benchmarking group members, had also decided to continue to deliver QCF BTEC awards for the time being. T16/06 Update on FE Choices The Committee noted the closure of the FE Choices website which enabled prospective students, parents and employers to make comparisons between post-16 providers on the basis of Learner Views, Employers’ Views, Learner Destinations and Success Rates. Data was collected via an online survey of students by the DfE – this year’s sample included responses from around 700 students. Although the FE Choices website had been closed, underlying data for 2013/14 remained available online (without comparison facilities) and three headline measures were published on the National Careers Service website for each course. The Committee considered the performance indicators and discussed the possible reasons for variations. Overall respondents had indicated a good level of satisfaction and the proportion who would recommend the College (88%) remained high, well above the national average. The feedback obtained by the DfE online survey had been compared to information from the College’s own learner voice and internal feedback mechanisms which were more recent and comprehensive. T16/07 Schools Updates The headteachers summarised the significant curriculum changes that were being introduced in schools including new Progress 8 and Attainment 8 measures, new subject specifications as well as significant changes to assessment processes. The phased introduction of a new GCSE grading system, moving from A*–G grades to a numerical scale, had begun this year. The first wave of subjects would be graded 9-1 from 2017. The grade threshold for determining whether students would be required to continue studying English and mathematics post-16 would initially be 4 in the first year but would subsequently be raised to grade 5. This would inevitably cause some confusion. New school performance measures based on the EBacc meant that a higher number of students would be likely to study Modern Foreign Languages at school in future. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ AW/LJ/CurrStand160309mins Page 3/7 Approved 17 March 2016 The Committee NOTED the challenges for schools and potential implications for the College. T16/08 Spring Review of SAR Action Plans The Director of Quality presented the Spring review of the 2014/15 SAR Action Plans and summary of the progress that had been made. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the actions would be made in the final review at the end of the year although some areas were already beginning to show an improvement. Some areas however, such as Apprenticeship success rates, although showing improvement are unlikely to meet the high targets set in the action plan. In response to questions about Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) the Director explained the additional focus managers have taken re the support given in English and mathematics lessons. This has resulted in further training in for LSAs and these actions were helping to improve