SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT 2019-20 1 Contents GRADING 3 CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION 3 OUR PROVISION AND BREAKDOWN OF LEAVERS 3 WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A LEARNER AT WALTHAM FOREST COLLEGE? 6 SUMMARY OF SELF ASSESSMENT JUDGEMENTS 7 SUMMARY OF OVERALL EFECTIVENESS 7 SAFEGUARDING 8 LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT 10 QUALITY OF EDUCATION 12 BEHAVIOUR AND ATTITUDES 16 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT 18 EDUCATION PROGRAMMES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 20 ADULT LEARNING 23 APPRENTICESHIPS 25 HIGH NEEDS FUNDED LEARNERS 28 SUMMARY OF KEY PERFORMANCE DATA 31 2 GRADING CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION Waltham Forest College is a medium-sized general further education college in East London. The College provides education programmes for young people, adult learning programmes, apprenticeships and provision for learners who have high needs. There are approximately 1,547 learners aged 16 to 18 following full-time study programmes. Of these, around two thirds were studying courses up to level 2, and the remainder at level 3. Some 5,895 adult learners were attending the college, most of whom were on part-time courses. In addition, by the end of July there were 466 learners on apprenticeships. The college receives high needs funding for 141 learners who are in a bespoke area or are located across the curriculum. The borough of Waltham Forest is diverse, both ethnically and socially, with 97 languages spoken by learners at the college, the top five languages spoken locally other than English are Urdu, Polish, Romanian, Turkish and Lithuanian. The borough is home to an estimated 271,200 residents and about half the local residents are from a minority ethnic background, with the top five countries of origin being Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Jamaica and India. The significant majority of businesses in the area (93%) are micro-businesses, employing fewer than 10 people. The average salary in the borough is lower than the London average, at £30,900. Waltham Forest is currently ranked 35th most deprived borough nationally according to the 2015 Index of Multiple Deprivation. The proportion of pupils at local schools who achieve five GCSEs with high grades is below the national rate, and below the average for schools in London. The significant majority of learners who attend Waltham Forest College have not yet achieved high grades in GCSE English and maths. OUR PROVISION AND BREAKDOWN OF LEAVERS We offer study programmes across all curriculum areas at Waltham Forest College as well as a range of adult programmes and apprenticeships. The following table shows the number of leavers in 2018/19, including maths and English, in each provision type. Table A: Number of leavers in 2018/19, including Maths and English, in each provision type Study programmes 3,537 Apprenticeships 345 Adult learning 6,828 High needs learners 141 3 Leavers by Age The chart below indicates the percentage of leavers by age. Chart 1: Percentage of leavers by age 16-18 38% 19+ 62% Leavers by Level Chart 2: Leavers by Level 4398 2610 2132 1198 36 68 ENTRY LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 LEVEL 4 OTHER 4 Leavers by Qualification Type Chart 3: Leavers by Qualification Type 2.0 1.5 17.0 36.2 13.0 6.1 7.8 16.5 Access to HE Basic Skills Maths and English Diploma GCSE Maths and English Award Certificate ESOL Other Non-reg 5 WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A LEARNER AT WALTHAM FOREST COLLEGE? Learners feel part of a supportive community at the college, feel safe, and have a good understanding of how to stay safe through a myriad of awareness raising activities and community events. A strong team of support staff work closely with curriculum so that young learners feel well supported, respected and valued. Learners on education programmes for young people, including those with High Needs, benefit from high-quality teaching, enrichment and work experience activities, which motivates them to achieve their qualifications and vastly improves their employability skills. For example, Travel and Tourism, Business and IT learners undertook placements in Portugal. As a result, they developed the skills and knowledge sought by employers, as well as developing their understanding of different cultures. Adult learners, many of whom are from the most disadvantaged and hard-to-reach groups, benefit from inclusive and highly personalised programmes. They gain confidence from the high-quality provision which enables them to improve their life chances and develop personal and social skills, such as helping their children with schoolwork. For many, their experiences are life-changing and enable them to gain or return to employment. Learners and apprentices feel well supported and develop their confidence, team working skills and self-belief with the support of staff. Teachers and assessors know and care about their learners and work very effectively with support staff need to deal with barriers to learning. For example, this was especially important during lockdown with a marked increase in safeguarding referrals of almost 8% in comparison to the previous year. As a result, learners feel more secure and gain the self-confidence they need to make progress even when dealing with COVID-19. Most apprentices have suitable access to high-quality, industry standard equipment and facilities. This ensures that apprentices are quick to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to use within the work they do with their employers. Consequently, they successfully complete their apprenticeship within the agreed timeframe and improve their future employment or promotion prospects. The vast majority of learners develop aspirational plans that staff support them to achieve, which is demonstrated by the marked 10% increase in study programme progression rates in 2019-20. Learners with high needs achieve well and make good progress and participate in work placement opportunities such as with Organic Lea (a nursery) and the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation Pathway to Employment programme, which prepares them well for their next steps. Most learners and apprentices experience very good teaching and support. They develop new knowledge, skills and behaviours that prepare them well for further study or employment. The good and ever improving links that staff have with local employers and higher education providers, such as London Metropolitan University, mean that students gain good exposure to the workplace. Learners feel valued. They appreciate the excellent support and guidance they receive from staff and good resources that help them learn and progress. The vast majority of learners on Education Programmes for Young People have clear career aims, demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and behave well. 6 SUMMARY OF SELF ASSESSMENT JUDGEMENTS KEY JUDGEMENTS Overall Effectiveness Good The Quality of Education Good Behaviour and Attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and Management Good PROVISION TYPES Education Programmes for Young People Good Adult Learning Programmes Good Apprenticeships Good Provision for Learners with High Needs Good Overall Effectiveness at Previous Inspection Good SUMMARY OF OVERALL EFECTIVENESS The College has self-assessed the overall effectiveness of education to be good. The College is good because: • Leaders and managers use their effective partnerships to shape and plan the college curriculum to meet the needs of the local and regional economy well • Arrangements with community providers and local agencies are particularly successful in engaging hard to reach groups from within local communities including the unemployed and those at risk of becoming NEET • The quality of teaching, learning and assessment overall is good, with a clear focus on skills development and building confidence, enabling the majority of learners to achieve their qualifications and develop employability skills in order to enhance their progression and employment opportunities • Effective quality improvement processes have led to significant improvements in key focus areas including achievement rates for 16-18 vocational learning (increased by 5.3% compared to 2018/19); and increased achievement rates for level 2 provision by 6.4% and level 3 provision by 5.1%. • A highly inclusive and supportive environment supports social cohesion and builds confidence enabling learners from widely differing backgrounds and abilities to succeed, including those with high needs • Behaviour and conduct of learners is excellent within a safe and inclusive environment 7 The College is not yet outstanding because: • Achievement rates require improvement particularly in entry level and level 1 functional skills and ESOL. These areas were most impacted by Covid-19 and the lockdown • Continue to improve the overall quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that it is consistently high across all curriculum areas. • Continue to improve attendance and in particular attendance of 16–18 year olds to English and maths classes which whilst improving is lower than vocational classes and requires further improvement SAFEGUARDING The arrangements for safeguarding are effective and our Ofsted Safeguarding Monitoring Visit in February 2020 demonstrated that the College had made reasonable progress. Leaders and managers have established a suitable culture for safeguarding. There are appropriate policies, procedures and risk assessments, including in relation to the ‘Prevent’ duty. Leaders have created effective safeguarding roles within the college, referred to as the ‘BeSafe’ team. Learners have a good awareness of this team and its purpose. Governors have a secure overview of safeguarding. They receive sufficiently