City of Bath College has received its highest inspection rating in an overwhelmingly positive Ofsted report with the innovative approach to preparing students for employment receiving praise from inspectors.
The College has been given an overall grade of 2 (Good) for the first time ever having moved up through the Ofsted grading system over the last six years.
Inspectors concluded the College was Good-Level 2 in all three inspection areas; Outcome for learners, Quality of teaching, Learning and assessment and Effectiveness of leadership and management.
The Art and Design department once again achieved a grade of 1 (outstanding) for the fourth consecutive inspection, making it one of the best Art and Design departments in the country.
Hair and Beauty, Business and Sport were graded 2 (good).
The College was praised for helping students to develop the valuable employability skills that prepare them for their future careers to ease their progression into further study or employment.
Inspectors also highlighted the high quality of teaching, the continuing professional development of students and the ‘harmonious and purposeful environment.’
College Principal Matt Atkinson said he was very happy with the outcome of the report and thanked everyone involved for all their hard work.
He said: “We have an Ofsted report that shows that we are firmly a good college with outstanding features and our report states that the majority of teaching and learning at the College is good or outstanding.
“This shows just how much the College has improved and developed over the years and I am particularly pleased that inspectors recognised just how hard we are working to strengthen the employability skills of our students.
“This report recognises the efforts of everyone at the College and I would like to thank them for the significant contribution they have made.”
A team of nine inspectors spent four days at the College in January and highlighted:
- The College’s thorough development of industry-standard skills, reporting: ‘The importance the College places on employability skills is particularly evident in the high standards of students’ practical work in real-work environments in the college.’
- The successful implementation of a vocational curriculum to meet students’ needs and local employment priorities, in particular partnerships with the Bath Educational Trust and Bath and North East Somerset Council.
- Students learn quickly and are motivated to succeed as lessons are well-planned with individual abilities and characteristics taken into account.
- Information and learning technology, including tablet computers and smart phones, enhances the learning of students. Progress is also monitored online and social media used to communicate.
- Teachers get professional and constructive feedback and all have appropriate targets to improve their teaching.
- The work of the senior leadership group, with the valuable support of the governors, to raise standards and outcomes through a very successful quality improvement strategy.
However more work needs to be done to improve Health, Social Care and Early Years and Foundation English, which were rated as grade 3 (requires improvement).
The Avon Street College was previously in severe financial difficulties and was placed in official recovery in March 2006. At Ofsted inspections in 2007 and 2010, the College was graded 3 (satisfactory) by the inspectorate.
When Matt joined the College in 2007, he vowed to turn things around and was quoted in his first media interview saying he wanted to give the city a thriving College.
Having now achieved that, he said: “The hard work doesn’t stop here. We have done great things at the College but our inspection report shows that we have more work to do to make all areas of the College truly outstanding.”
