Craven College Celebrates Excellent Ofsted Report

Craven College is celebrating the publication of its latest Ofsted report, which has recognised the College’s excellence across a number of key areas under the inspectorate’s new education inspection framework.

The College achieved an impressive four ‘Strong’ judgements, recognising the quality of its education, student experience and employer-focused approach. Underpinned by expert teaching and industry-standard facilities and resources, these grades demonstrate the College is delivering excellent and consistently effective provision that is making a difference to students’ lives.

At the time of the published report, Craven College currently holds the second strongest report in the country and is the number one college in the north and Yorkshire & Humber.

The report found that ‘leaders have very successfully established an inclusive culture, where the needs of learners and apprentices are put first’, creating a ‘culture of openness and honesty’ and highlights that students and apprentices can ‘progress and flourish’ and that they ‘feel respected and valued as individuals.’ It found that the College’s staff are ‘highly skilled educators’ and are ‘caring and foster an inclusive, welcoming environment’ and that leaders have ‘swiftly reset the College’s vision and values through the mantra ‘One College, One team.’

The report found that Safeguarding standards were met, commenting that the College has ‘established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility’ and as a result ‘learners are made safer and feel safe.’

In response to meeting skills needs of the region, the report found the College to effectively engage with a broad range of employers and that the College provided a ‘responsive curriculum offer that is linked to local and regional skills needs.’

Since the previous inspection, the report commented, ‘Learners and apprentices experience the same high standard of teaching and training’ across all College campuses and that they ‘have a consistently positive learning experience.’

The report found 11 other areas met the ‘Expected’ standard, which is regarded as a high benchmark, and key takeaways from the report include:

Young People

• Learners, including those with special education needs and/or disabilities, develop knowledge and skills that help them to prepare for their next steps.
• Leaders have a clear overview of the quality and performance of the curriculums. They conduct suitable quality assurance activities and take appropriate actions for improvement.
• Learners’ achievement in English and mathematics has improved markedly over the past three years.
• Teachers know their learners well and make appropriate adaptations to ensure learners can build confidence and make progress.

Apprenticeships

• Apprentices follow a relevant, purposeful and highly tailored curriculum, matched closely to job roles and individual employers’ and apprentices’ needs.
• Apprentices are taught skilfully by industry experts who bring current, real-life experience and up-to-date knowledge of the sector.
• Apprentices develop strong, secure knowledge and apply it with increasing confidence, accuracy and independence at work.
• Apprentices are well prepared for their next stage in employment or further training. They are eager to progress. They take on increased responsibility and become more confident.
• Staff work very closely with employers to plan and implement on- and off-the-job training effectively

Students with High Needs

• Leaders have developed a high-quality curriculum that very effectively meets learners’ needs.
• Curriculum pathways are ambitious and individualised to each learner
• High quality teaching ensures that learners with high needs excel and develop very well
• Learners attend very high-quality work experience placements where they develop valuable work-related skills.
• Learners benefit from a highly tailored programme of wider opportunities that extend their experience and very effectively develop their confidence, communication skills and independence

Adults

• Learners develop valuable skills, improve their life chances and make positive contributions to their community.
• Learners make effective progress and achieve qualifications or personal goals that reflect their individual starting points. Almost all go on to further education or employment.
• Leaders provide adult learning programmes that meet the skills priorities in the area, alongside the needs of employers.
• Learners from different backgrounds and cultures recognise and value each other’s opinions, learn together and thrive.
• College leaders work closely with employers to deliver learning in the workplace that supports employees to develop sector-specific skills and develop in their roles.

Principal and CEO of Craven College, Anita Lall comments, “We are delighted that this report recognises the strength of our inclusive culture and the high-quality experience we provide for our learners and apprentices. At Craven College, we are committed to ensuring that every student feels supported, valued and able to achieve their full potential.”

“I am particularly proud of the dedication of our staff, whose expertise, care and ambition enable our learners to thrive, gain confidence and progress successfully into employment, apprenticeships or further study. This report reflects the collective effort of our whole college community and is a testament to the passion and commitment of our staff and the success of our learners.”

Alison Birkinshaw, Chair of the Board of Craven College said, “We are delighted with our positive Ofsted report which recognises the excellent progress we have made over the last few years.  Of course, all the staff at Craven College and our wonderful students should be thanked and congratulated for their work, which is reflected in the great comments made by Ofsted.  We want to reassure parents and the wider community that we remain firmly focused on the future. We are ambitious for our College and students and are committed to building on this success – continuing to improve and ensuring all our students achieve their full potential.”

Wesley McGlinchey, Assistant Principal of Curriculum & Student Experience added, “I am delighted that the inspection report identifies, and rightly recognises, the excellent student learning experience where our staff ensure the student is at the heart of everything we do. The inspection team acknowledged the dedication and commitment of the staff and the achievements of our students. I would like to thank all our students and staff for the contributions they make in making Craven College such a wonderful place to study and work.”

This positive report reinforces Craven College’s vision to be exceptional in everything that it does and its mission to proudly serve its communities by delivering high quality education and training.