Ofsted Inspection Report.pdf - College Documents - Loughborough ...

Inspection report: Loughborough College, 25 February–1 March 2013 5 of 18experience of the care sector to provide stimulating and varied learning, which develop learners’knowledge and skills securely.• Teachers develop learners’ understanding and their attitudes towards working closely with oftenvulnerable people very well. This includes supporting learners to be successful in a wide rangeof additional qualifications, such as in mental health awareness. Teachers and learners regularlywork closely to set and monitor challenging short and long-term targets, which improve thempersonally, socially and academically.• Teachers plan learning well to meet learners’ individual needs using a wide range of interactivestrategies, outside speakers and educational visits, for example a trip to a Forest School.Learners enjoy and learn well from highly active learning tasks particularly working withdifferent people in small group-work. Teachers check learning regularly and they encourage selfassessmentand reflective learning.• Teachers make good use of regular work experience to improve learners’ studies. They explorework scenarios and link these well to lesson topics. Teachers link theory to practice verycoherently. They make sure that learners, particularly more able, are challenged to research,think deeply and fully justify their findings including identifying any implications for professionalpractice.• Advanced level health and social care learners respond well to challenging case studies,illustrating the above point. For example, they researched the roles and responsibilities ofchildcare professionals in a safeguarding context and held a mock case conference for acomplex and sensitive situation. Learners worked maturely and they identified the factsobjectively including how to offer the family support.• Assessment is accurate, well planned and timely. Teachers set appropriately challengingassignments. Learners value the very detailed verbal feedback they receive, but writtenfeedback does not always contain sufficient information to assist learners to reflect on what theyhave done well. Teachers do not consistently correct spelling and grammar.• Learners’ work is good and often uses appropriate academic language. Teachers promotelearners’ confident use of information and learning technology and their good research andproblem solving skills well. Learners reference their work and use a bibliography correctly.However, they do not always record the date on which they accessed a website.• Teachers develop learners’ English skills well. Learners prepare and present visual informationwell including in a range of formats to meet the audience needs. Teachers developmathematical skills less widely, but adequately, for example by calculating percentages tounderstand the findings of a research project more fully.• Staff provide very good personal and academic support for learners. Learning support assistantswork effectively with teachers. Staff have close partnerships with parents and carers, whichensures that the resolving of issues is quick and effective. Good working relationships exist withwider college support arrangements and with employers and local schools.• A high number of learners progress to relevant employment, but far fewer progress to the nextlevel of study. Progression to higher education is highest for health and social care learners, butis not yet a strong feature.• Staff promote equality, diversity and safeguarding very well. Teachers’ good learning resourcesand their attitudes reinforce the importance of respect and the need to value individualdifferences. Teachers are positive role models ensuring learners’ work reflects a diverse society.Learners feel safe and adopt safe working practices consistently.