RUN OF THE MILL - Ruskin Mill Trust

Ruskin Mill College
Run of the Mill ~ Summer 2010
Ruskin Mill College is now officially ‘Outstanding’!
Ofsted 2010
Michael Frosch, Principal, Outlines the College’s Achievement
“Under their highly consultative leadership, the college has been transformed into an outstanding learning community.” Ofsted 2010
5
Ruskin Mill College received a full Ofsted inspection at the
end of May 2010. The outcome for the inspection is a
Grade 1 – Outstanding.
The college has been actively preparing for this inspection
over the past four years since our last full inspection where
we were graded 2 – Good. Over the past 9 months staff
have worked with focus and a strong vision to implement
the key improvements that we identified in our Self
Assessment for 2008-09.
The inspection team, lead by Diane Stacey HMI,
demonstrated a genuine interest and understanding of the
work being carried out at Ruskin Mill College. The team
tirelessly visited workshops, met with a wide range of staff
and students and rigorously gathered the evidence they
needed to make judgments about student achievement,
quality of teaching & learning, the college’s provision, and
the effectiveness of leadership and management. During the
inspection all staff and students clearly demonstrated their
enthusiasm and commitment to achieving excellence in their
area of activity. This shone through and made the difference
between a good and an outstanding college! As a result
inspectors could see for themselves that the college offers
an excellent practical skills therapeutic education provision
and high quality teaching and learning that makes a real
difference to the young people that attend the college.
Staff on the lawn at Horsley Mill celebrating their achievement
Outstanding is a fantastic result and is a tribute to a whole
college effort that involved all staff and students pulling
in one direction with a clear focus and commitment to
integrating quality improvement across the college’s
operations.
Here are some quotes from the Ofsted report
Outcomes for Students
“Students enjoy their time at college and make outstanding progress
in developing practical craft skills.”
“Students demonstrate significant development of social competencies,
communication skills and self-confidence and much increased ability
to manage their own behaviour.”
The Quality of Provision
“Teaching focuses strongly on each student’s choices and interests
and engages their attention exceptionally well through real practical
tasks.”
“Care, guidance and support are outstanding.”
Leadership and Management
“Everything that happens has the students’ educational progress and
holistic development at its core”
The feedback sessions from individual inspectors covering
the key aspects of the common inspection framework were
very helpful and have identified some areas for further
quality improvement. The Trustees were acknowledged
for their dedicated support of the college. Many thanks to
Elisabeth Johnson for a great job as the college Nominee
during the inspection week.
The full report is available at:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxcare_providers/list
Newly elected Stroud MP, Neil Carmichael, has a taste of Green Woodwork
on a recent visit in June watched by Assistant Principal, Elisabeth Johnson,
left, student Richard, and tutor David Flower, right.