City College Birmingham - Study in the UK

City College BirminghamReinspection monitoring visit reportUnique reference number: 130465Name of lead inspector:Paul Joyce HMILast day of inspection: 26 May 2011Type of provider:Address:General further education collegeFordrough Campus300 Bordesley GreenBirminghamB9 5NATelephone number: 0121 204 0000Published date 01 July 2011Inspection Number 366994

Reinspection monitoring visit City College Birmingham, 26 May 2011 1 of 4REINSPECTION MONITORING VISIT: MAIN FINDINGSContext and focus of visitCity College Birmingham was established in 1998. The college operates from anumber of sites around the city. Its main site is at the Fordrough campus. Thecollege recruits a high proportion of its students from areas of significant deprivation.Competition to attract school leavers to post-16 education in Birmingham is intense.Courses are available in most subject areas, although provision is small in severalareas.The college was last inspected in November 2010 and inspectors judged provisionoverall to be satisfactory. Outcomes for learners, the quality of provision andleadership and management were all satisfactory and the college had a satisfactorycapacity to improve. Of the five sector subject areas inspected, English for speakersof other languages (ESOL) was good, motor vehicle, information and communicationtechnology (ICT) and hairdressing and beauty therapy were satisfactory and literacyand numeracy was inadequate. The themes explored during this visit arise from theareas for improvement identified at the last inspection.ThemesSelf-assessment and improvement planningWhat progress has the college made in strengthening theeffectiveness of quality assurance and quality improvementarrangements, including the use of data and targets toimprove the accountability of middle managers?SignificantprogressQuality assurance and quality improvement arrangements have strengthenedsubstantially. The college has clearly defined targets for key areas of performance.Senior managers monitor these much more closely. The availability and accessibilityof data has much improved. The use of timely and accurate information is now moreeffective to hold managers to account for the performance of their areas ofresponsibility. Senior managers check subject area performance more frequentlythan at the last inspection. Reviews are more thorough with performance monitoredagainst clearly defined key indicators that focus on the quality of teaching andlearning and students’ success.Managers and staff are set targets to achieve as part of the college’s staffperformance and development review process. These targets are becoming clearerand most now link closely to the college’s key performance targets. Senior managersmonitor the completion of appraisals closely and the appraisal process now considersa wider range of performance than previously. The college has taken appropriateaction to deal with underperformance and senior managers use competence, supportand disciplinary procedures appropriately to ensure managers and staff are held toaccount for their performance.

Reinspection monitoring visit City College Birmingham, 26 May 2011 2 of 4Outcomes for learnersWhat progress has the college made in improving themonitoring of students’ attendance and progress since thelast inspection?ReasonableprogressManagers and staff now monitor and review attendance and retention more closely.Attendance rates continue to increase overall although significant variation inattendance rates on different courses remains. The college has introduced a numberof measures in an attempt to further improve attendance. The college in-yearattendance rate at the time of the visit was 84%, slightly under the college overalltarget of 85%, but an increase of two percentage points on the previous year. Theoverall in-year retention rate at the time of the visit was 91% and this is similar tothe retention rate at the same point in the previous year.The tracking and monitoring of students’ progress has improved since the lastinspection. Managers and staff now monitor and report more frequently on theirprogress. Tracking sheets for each course show the extent of each student’sprogress. Staff are required to predict whether each student will successfully achievetheir qualification and record this information on the college’s progress and studentsuccess database. Information from the database indicates that achievement ratesare likely to increase this year when compared with last year.Quality of provisionWhat progress has the college made in developing theinternal lesson observation process to ensure more realisticgrading of lessons and to improve the quality of teaching andlearning?ReasonableprogressThe internal lesson observation process continues to develop. Since the lastinspection, internal observers have focused more on the extent of students’ learningand progress to inform their grading of a lesson rather than on the performance ofthe teacher. Observation records are now more judgemental and the text betterreflects the grade awarded than at the last inspection. However, variability remainswith a minority of records not as clear and convincing as others and in a fewinstances highlighting good practice without sufficient supporting evidence.The observation team now meets more frequently and moderates a higherproportion of lesson observation grades than at the last inspection. More joint lessonobservations take place during this academic year than previously. Managers useinformation from lesson observations to target professional development for staff.Attendance for staff development events for teaching and learning is high. It is tooearly to judge the impact of these activities on the quality of teaching and learning asattendees have yet to be re-observed. The profile of grades awarded by the lesson

Reinspection monitoring visit City College Birmingham, 26 May 2011 3 of 4observation team now provides a more realistic picture of the quality of teaching andlearning in the college.What progress has the college made in improving links withemployers to develop employer responsive provision and toimprove students’ opportunities for work experience andemployment?ReasonableprogressAt the last inspection, links with employers were underdeveloped and too manystudents did not have access to appropriate work experience opportunities todevelop both their employability skills and their employment prospects.Since the inspection, the college has given links with employers a high priority andthese are developing well. In the short time since being established, the employmentservices unit has engaged with many local, and some national, employers. A highproportion of these links have resulted in opportunities for apprenticeships and thecollege is actively recruiting for these. Employers that responded to the monitoringvisit survey, although few in number, were very positive about the service providedby the college. Employer responsive provision is expanding at a controlled rate andthe college has established systems and procedures to manage this appropriately.Opportunities for work experience in subject areas are developing steadily, as areother employer links such as external visits and visiting speakers. Programmes andsupport to prepare students for employment, including a pre-apprenticeshipprogramme, are developing well. The college recognise the need to further developand strengthen this important area of work.What progress has the college made in improving provisionin literacy and numeracy, which was inadequate at the lastinspection?ReasonableprogressAt the last inspection, provision for literacy and numeracy was inadequate. Successrates were low, students made insufficient progress, teaching did not meet individualneeds, target setting was poor and managers had not been successful in securingimprovements.Since then the college has carried out substantial staff development with a particularfocus on target setting and meeting the differing needs of students. Mentors workclosely with each teacher to observe their performance, establish developmenttargets and to help them to improve their teaching. Teachers value the support anddevelopment they have received. They are beginning to make use of their improvedknowledge and skills in the classroom, some with more confidence than others do.Students acknowledge the improvements in teaching, saying that teachers are betterprepared and that they enjoy their lessons. Staff share schemes of work. Lessonplans and assessment activities have been standardised. Teachers now set moreindividual, timely and useful targets for students and monitor progress moreeffectively. Students are aware of their individual targets and the progress they are

Reinspection monitoring visit City College Birmingham, 26 May 2011 4 of 4making. In-year retention, attendance and punctuality have improved. It is too earlyto judge the full impact of these changes, as students’ success rates are not yetknown.Leadership and managementWhat progress the college made in improving the clarity andtimeliness of reports to the governing body to enablegovernors to scrutinise more effectively and challenge theacademic and financial performance of the college?ReasonableprogressGovernors now receive more detailed reports and they are better informed about thecollege’s academic performance and financial position than they were at the lastinspection. Managers have completed a well-considered financial appraisal andgovernors understand well its implications for the college. Carefully consideredstrategic and financial planning, together with much improved financial managementand control of internal budgets, continues to reduce operating costs although thefinancial position remains weak.Governors have reconstituted a Quality Committee to have a clearer focus on qualityof teaching and learning and outcomes for learners. They receive reports on thequality of teaching and learning, students’ attendance and retention, which enablesthem to monitor more closely the key performance indicators for these areas.Governors have a developing understanding of the issues influencing the academicperformance of the college. They are now starting to challenge and support seniormanagers more effectively. The principal has identified that governors, together withsenior managers, need to be more engaged in the leadership of learning and hasrecently proposed the introduction of arrangements to enable governors to link withcurriculum areas to improve further their knowledge and understanding.

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