MUST do better – poor standards of teaching have been highlighted in an Ofsted report on the Heart of Worcestershire College (HoW) which has a campus on Peakman Street in Redditch.
The education watchdog said the college ‘Requires Improvement’ in a report published on Wednesday (April 20).
They found the college needs improvement across the board, from its quality of teaching, learning and assessment to outcomes for learners and personal development, behaviour and welfare.
It was the first inspection of the site under its new moniker of Heart of Worcestershire College, since the merger of both Worcester College of Technology and North East Worcestershire College in August 2014.
In their report inspectors drew attention to maths and English classes in particular, stating learners ‘do not succeed well or develop the skills needed to achieve all their learning goals’.
They also branded attendance rates as too low, particularly in maths and English and said the actions of leaders and managers to improve teaching, learning and assessment had ‘not yet led to consistently good teaching across subjects, provision types and levels’.
The watchdog also said ‘teachers do not challenge learners sufficiently to achieve of their best, especially the most able, and not enough teaching is good or better’.
However, Ofsted did praise HoW’s provision for its learners with high needs, rating its overall effectiveness as ‘Good’.
Inspectors found those with high and very specific needs benefit from ‘good and innovative specialist provision’ along with praising the work placements matched to learners on study programmes and the college’s ‘strong strategic partnerships’ with employers and stakeholders.
In a statement, Stuart Laverick, principal and chief executive at HoW, said while the team was disappointed with the overall judgment made by Ofsted, they were still very much at the start of their journey as a newly formed organisation. He added: “We have a clear vision for the college, which Ofsted recognised. The inspectors acknowledged the many strengths of the college, including the ambition of both senior leaders and governors to drive forward a clear vision which will support the improvements needed.”
