The Kingswood Partnership's Ofsted Survey Inspection January 2009 Feedback

Ofsted survey inspection programme – 14-19 reforms

Thank you very much for the hospitality and co-operation extended to the inspection team by all those in the Kingswood Partnership during our recent visit as part of our survey on 14-19 developments in the local area. We appreciated being able to visit all of the schools and the college, and I am particularly grateful to Colin Money and his central team for arranging such a comprehensive and helpful programme.

Overall, the partnership is making outstanding progress in implementing the 14-19 reforms. We recognise that it is too early, at this stage, to make judgements about the impact of plans for some aspects of provision and on students’ achievement, but progress so far in introducing the Diplomas is good. I outline the main findings as bullet points below.

Achievement participation and retention

The main strengths are:

• high rates of progression into education and training at age 16
• low proportions of young people not in education, employment or training post-16
• good levels of recruitment onto the higher and foundation level Diploma programmes.

The quality of teaching/training and learning is good

• much well planned work in principal learning across all the Diploma lines, with students actively involved in interesting and challenging assignments
• effective integration of theory and practice in most Diploma lines, making good use of visits and input from employers
• access for students to a wide range of specialist expertise and resources through the partnership arrangements
• good development of functional skills in English, mathematics and ICT lessons, where students apply their learning in realistic situations.

Curriculum range, access and development are outstanding

The main strengths are:

• an extremely wide curriculum offer for post-16 students, with extensive academic and vocational course at level 3 and, for school sixth formers, an unusually broad range of options at levels 1 and 2.
• access for Key Stage 4 students, through the partnership arrangements, to all five Diploma lines, to young apprenticeships and to a wide range of level 1 vocational options, as well as to the normal choice of GCSE courses
• tailored provision through, for example, the Work2Learn programme and blocked work experience for students at danger of disengagement from education
• clear progression pathways for students from age 14 through to 19 and beyond
• well developed curriculum planning for principal learning in the Diplomas
• the availability of realistic specialised options, as part of the additional and specialist learning, for each Diploma line
• the establishment of important organisational arrangements to support the collaborative provision, including a common partnership timetable, blocked days for shared options, a common pattern to the school day and the employment of a full-time offsite support manager for the partnership
• planning to develop continuity of learning styles from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4.    

• a comprehensive entitlement to information, advice and guidance (IAG) which is agreed across the partnership
• a good programme of events, particularly in Year 9 and Year 11, co-ordinated across the institutions
• effective collaboration between staff responsible for IAG in the partner institutions
• very effective transfer of information about students between home and host schools, including assessment data
• an impressive system of key workers in each school who provide support for students working away from their home school, taking responsibility for attendance, transport arrangements and individual care. As a consequence, students are confident to move between sites in the partnership.

• a very mature and highly effective partnership, characterised by trust, confidence and commitment in all the partner institutions
• a high level of collaborative working that is now so well established that it is accepted as the norm by all those involved
• a strong sense of vision and innovation which is driving further development within the partnership
• unusually comprehensive and wide-ranging partnership management systems and structures, which operate very effectively
• clear roles and responsibilities within the partnership, including a strong central management team which makes a major contribution to efficiency and consistency
• well established systems for monitoring and sharing information about the performance of learners, which are being enhanced by the new Partnership Exchange system
• transparent, agreed financial arrangements for shared provision
• collaborative arrangements for staff development, with common professional development days, which are particularly helpful in enabling Diploma teachers to standardise their approaches to assessment
• clear partnership arrangements for management of the new Diploma lines of learning, with designated leads for each line and regular team meetings for all the staff involved
• a very well developed and comprehensive quality assurance system, which focuses on all the major aspects of the work of the partnership, takes account of the student voice, and leads to consistency, confidence in what is provided, and a sharing of good practice

 

Ofsted recognises the success of the Kingswood Partnership's centres

All schools in the Partnership have been inspected by Ofsted recently and in each report they were praised for their contribution to Post 16 education in Kingswood.

“The management of the links with partner institutions is good and ensures a broad curriculum... “
The Grange School Ofsted report.

“Practice across the Kingswood Partnership is consistent and students are given regular feedback about how well they are doing... ”
Kingsfield School Ofsted report.

“The Sixth Form curriculum is outstanding. A very wide choice of academic and vocational courses and subjects is offered through its proficiently organised partnership with other schools and colleges ...“
Downend School Ofsted report

“The Sixth Form is good and has outstanding features: teachers' experience and expertise are key strengths.  Students receive outstanding support and guidance, which contribute much to their enjoyment and development of their personal qualities... “
Hanham High School Ofsted report.

“Pupils have good access to impartial advice when making option choices at the end of Year 11, including options in the Kingswood Partnership ... “
Sir Bernard Lovell School Ofsted report.

“The school’s membership of a wider consortium of sixth form providers means that students have access to a remarkably wide range of opportunities and learning styles...“
Mangotsfield School Ofsted report.