Highbury College, Portsmouth 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 9 Curriculum areas Construction 12 Engineering 20 Business and management 25 Hospitality and catering 31 Art and design 36 Basic education 42 Cross-college provision Support for students 48 General resources 57 Quality assurance 65 Governance 72 Management 79 Conclusions 89 College statistics Highbury College, Portsmouth 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 Highbury College, Portsmouth organisations. Since the last inspection, the college has revised its mission statement, South East Region reorganised the management structure, and improved considerably its quality assurance Inspected February 1998 arrangements and the support for students. The college is now well led and well governed. Highbury College, Portsmouth is a large general Management structures are clear and further education college in the north of the city. communication is good. The nursery facilities Production of the college’s self-assessment are excellent. Recent improvements in report involved governors and staff at all levels. accommodation have greatly enhanced many The self-assessment process was rigorous, areas. The standard of teaching is generally though some of the judgements about teaching good. Students’ achievements are well above and learning were not fully supported by national averages in most aspects of vocational evidence and the level of students’ achievements areas, but far below them in some others. The was overestimated in some areas. Inspectors quality of provision in catering and hospitality is chose a sample of six of the college’s curriculum outstanding, and it is very good in many aspects areas on which to base their validation of the of basic education. The college should improve: self-assessment report. The sample omitted poor results and low retention in several areas; computing, science, leisure and tourism, health some poor teaching; tutorial support for part- and community care, media and journalism, and time students; the use of and access to humanities. Considerable progress had been management information; room utilisation; and made in implementing the action plans arising access to IT on the various college sites. from the self-assessment report by the time of the inspection. The grades awarded as a result of the inspection are given below. The college specialises in vocational training and offers a wide range of courses from foundation and craft level to postgraduate work. The range includes courses in all of the FEFC’s 10 programme areas. Approximately 80 per cent of the college’s students are part time and over 60 per cent are 25 years or over. The college is pursuing strenuously its aim to widen participation. This involves substantial work in the community. There are good links with employers and a wide range of local Curriculum area Grade Cross-college provision Grade Construction 3 Support for students 2 Engineering 3 General resources 2 Business and management 2 Quality assurance 2 Hospitality and catering 1 Governance 2 Art and design 3 Management 2 Basic education 2 Highbury College, Portsmouth 1 Context The College and its Mission the highest rate of permanent exclusion from school outside London. The college has 1 Established in 1963, Highbury College, established close relationships with nearly 40 Portsmouth is one of the largest further local schools and has been working with other education colleges in the south of England. Its providers to develop programmes to increase main 14 acre campus is situated in Cosham to skills, motivation and personal aspirations the north of the city; construction-related amongst disaffected young people. training takes place at the Unicorn Centre, in the city centre. The college owns a former 5 The college specialises in vocational house at Cosham and uses this and other rented training across many subject areas from craft up sites to accommodate its adult and basic to degree and postgraduate level. It provides education provision. Within a 13-mile radius customised training and consultancy services to there are three other general further education business. Individual students’ needs are met colleges, three sixth form colleges, five through distance learning and flexible study maintained schools with sixth forms and arrangements, when conventional classes are extensive further education provision made by not appropriate. Portsmouth University. 6 The college works closely with local 2 The college serves a population of nearly organisations, colleges and other training 325,000, which has higher than average providers in order to widen participation in the proportions of people in the professional groups Portsmouth area. Current projects include the and in the partly skilled and unskilled groups. provision of non-vocational and basic education The college draws the majority of its full-time for adults, and joint research and marketing to students from the latter group. Unemployment groups of the community which are levels for Portsmouth, whilst falling, still remain unrepresented in training and education. higher at 5.8 per cent than both the county and 7 In 1996-97, the college had 17,089 national averages, with the highest students of whom 3,170 were full time, and concentrations to the south of the city. Nearly 13,919 were part time. There were 2,170 one-third of households have no means of students studying higher education courses. transport and there are significant Of the total, 82 per cent were over the age of 19. concentrations of lone parents. Ninety-eight per The college employs the equivalent of 500 cent of the population is white and there are few full-time members of staff. people from minority ethnic groups. 8 The college’s mission is to be ‘the highest 3 Employment is concentrated in public quality provider of vocational and community administration and defence, business and education in the Solent Region’. It seeks to: property services, hotels and catering and the • improve services to actual and potential manufacturing sector. Projected employment students growth is lower than in the rest of Hampshire • make the college’s curriculum offer more owing to defence cuts, the effects of recession flexible and more accessible and the contracting-out of support services by • increase the effectiveness of college large companies. management systems 4 The number of Portsmouth school-leavers • use all resources efficiently and effectively is expected to rise to 5,469 by the year 2000. • maximise income and increase cost However, currently only 67 per cent remain in effectiveness. education which is lower than the United Kingdom average. In addition, Portsmouth has Highbury College, Portsmouth 2 Context The Inspection in 1996-97, according to Quality and Standards in Further Education in England 1996-97: Chief 9 The college was inspected during the week inspector’s annual report. The average level of beginning 23 February 1998.