New College criticised in first Ofsted report since merger

Following the first full inspection since the education facility merged with Swindon College in 2020, New College is now rated Requires Improvement overall.

A monitoring visit occurred shortly after the Queens Drive and North Star campuses came under the same management, and had encouraging results.

But the new report highlights low attendance and achievement among 16-to-18-year-olds and students with high needs, inconsistent quality of the curriculum being taught to students, a limited contribution by the college to meeting skills needs, ineffective training plans for apprenticeships, and some safeguarding referrals being dealt with too slowly.

It said: "Managers have not improved attendance quickly enough. This means that valuable opportunities to learn are missed. Too few students aged 16 to 18 and adults stay to complete and achieve their qualifications.

"Too few students aged 16 to 18 know enough about how to stay physically and mentally healthy. They do not receive enough guidance on maintaining their own mental well-being.

"The quality of education is too variable. Too few students and apprentices receive a high-quality learning experience.

"Assessors’ communication with employers is ineffective, and progress reviews do not always identify the behaviours that apprentices need.

"Leaders and managers have not added enough staff to the safeguarding team to meet the increased number of referrals."

Overall, though, safeguarding is generally considered to be effective, and an extra staff member has since joined that team.

Plus, the college received praise for its respectful and inclusive learning culture, teachers planning courses and techniques well, and its work with business bodies to respond to priority skills needs. 

The report added: "Leaders and managers have successfully secured support from most staff in developing a one-college ethos since its merger.

"They have bridged the gap between the two predecessor colleges effectively. This has led to new teams of staff sharing their knowledge and skills to collaboratively plan the curriculum.

"Students and apprentices feel safe when at college.

"Leaders and managers have overseen a significant investment in resources that benefit students across the college.

"They have successfully built the infrastructure required to give students good opportunities to learn skills using high-quality, industry-relevant resources.

"Managers and teachers of community-based programmes provide adults with effective support to improve their lives."

Principal Carole Kitching said: "We accept all the findings and are working hard to bring about improvements. We are Swindon's college, so it's important that people continue to have confidence in us.

"Despite the progress seen, we are frustrated by the pace in achieving what we know needs to be done to reach our initial goal of ‘Good’.

"The pandemic and its lingering impact contributed to the college not having travelled as far as we had initially anticipated.

"There's a complicated picture for attendance and we want parents to support us in improving that, it's a stubborn issue with no one magic bullet.

"With external challenges now beginning to abate, there is belief and expectation, that the improvement task is realistic and achievable in good time.

"The college has already reviewed and revised its plans following the inspection to ensure that immediate action is being taken which prioritises aspects in the report that shape students’ experience and success this academic year.

"Progress will be closely monitored to ensure that results are seen quickly. This is in parallel to more significant changes planned for next September.

"The college is fully focussed on overcoming these challenges. We are collaborating with colleagues from successful providers in the sector to support our efforts."