Peter Symonds’ CollegeThe College and its Mission 1 Peter Symonds’ College in Winchester, Hampshire, was established as a sixth form college in 1974. It is voluntary-controlled

R E P O RT FROM THE INSPECTORATE

1999-00

Peter Symonds’College

THEFURTHEREDUCATIONFUNDINGCOUNCIL

THE FURTHER EDUCATION FUNDING COUNCIL

The Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) has a legal duty to makesure further education in England is properly assessed. The FEFC’sinspectorate inspects and reports on each college of further educationaccording to a four-year cycle. It also inspects other further educationprovision funded by the FEFC. In fulfilling its work programme, theinspectorate assesses and reports nationally on the curriculum,disseminates good practice and advises the FEFC’s quality assessmentcommittee.

College inspections are carried out in accordance with the framework andguidelines described in Council Circulars 97/12, 97/13 and 97/22.Inspections seek to validate the data and judgements provided by collegesin self-assessment reports. They involve full-time inspectors andregistered part-time inspectors who have knowledge of, and experience in,the work they inspect. A member of the Council’s audit service works withinspectors in assessing aspects of governance and management. Allcolleges are invited to nominate a senior member of their staff toparticipate in the inspection as a team member.

Cheylesmore HouseQuinton RoadCoventry CV1 2WTTelephone 024 7686 3000Fax 024 7686 3100Website www.fefc.ac.uk

© FEFC 1999 You may photocopy this report and use extracts inpromotional or other material provided quotes areaccurate, and the findings are not misrepresented.

Paragraph

Summary

Context

The college and its mission 1

The inspection 7

Curriculum areas

Mathematics 10

Business 17

Performing arts 23

Modern foreign languages 28

Basic education 34

Cross-college provision

Support for students 40

General resources 48

Quality assurance 53

Governance 59

Management 68

Conclusions 76

College statistics

Peter Symonds’ College

Contents

Grade DescriptorsInspectors assess the strengths and weaknessesof each aspect of provision they inspect. Theirassessments are set out in the report. They usea five-point scale to summarise the balancebetween strengths and weaknesses.

The descriptors for the grades are:

• grade 1 – outstanding provision which hasmany strengths and few weaknesses

• grade 2 – good provision in which thestrengths clearly outweigh the weaknesses

• grade 3 – satisfactory provision withstrengths but also some weaknesses

• grade 4 – less than satisfactory provisionin which the weaknesses clearly outweighthe strengths

• grade 5 – poor provision which has fewstrengths and many weaknesses.

Audit conclusions are expressed as good,adequate or weak.

Aggregated grades for aspects of cross-collegeprovision and curriculum areas, for collegesinspected during 1998-99, are shown in thefollowing table.

Grade

1 2 3 4 5% % % % %

Curriculumareas 10 53 30 7 –

Cross-college provision 14 54 23 7 2

Source: Quality and Standards in Further Educationin England 1998-99: Chief inspector’s annual reportSample size: 104 college inspections

Student AchievementsWhere data on student achievements appear intables, levels of achievement are shown in threeways:

• as number of starters, which is the numberof enrolments on qualifications where thestudent was expecting to complete thequalification that college year. Forexample, a student on a two-yearprogramme who began their programme in October 1995, would appear in theresults for 1996-97 because this is theyear in which they expected to completetheir qualification

• as a retention rate, which is thepercentage of qualifications which studentshave completed as expected or where theyare continuing their studies beyond theexpected end date of the qualification. Forprogrammes of study of two years or more,retention is calculated across the wholeprogramme, that is, from the start to theend of the qualification

• as an achievement rate, which is thenumber of qualifications students havefully achieved as a percentage ofcompleted qualifications with a knownoutcome. Partial achievements are notincluded.

Peter Symonds’ College

South East RegionInspected October 1999

Peter Symonds’ College is a sixth form college inWinchester, Hampshire. The college offerscourses in nine of the 10 FEFC’s programmeareas. The inspection covered provision in fiveof these. There is a wide range of courses bothfor local school-leavers and adults, and anextensive extra-curricular ‘activities programme’for students aged 16 to 19 which broadens theirinterests and helps their personal development.The college has produced annual self-assessment reports for four years. Thelatest report, used for the inspection, wascomprehensive and drew upon existing qualityassurance procedures. The report containeduseful action plans. The self-assessment processinvolved all staff. External validation wasprovided by another college and a consultant.The corporation approved the report.Inspectors agreed with many of the college’sjudgements. They also identified someweaknesses that the college had overlooked.

Standards of teaching and learning are high andstudents’ achievements in many subjects areconsistently good. Provision in performing artsis outstanding. Support for students is alsooutstanding. Students are highly appreciative ofthe sustained help they receive from their tutorsand teachers. Students who board at the collegeare well served. The college has made severalimprovements in its accommodation since thelast inspection. It has also strengthened quality

assurance arrangements, though some of thenewer procedures have not yet been fully tested.Governors are actively involved in establishingthe strategic direction of the college andscrutinise carefully the college’s performance.The management style is open andcommunication throughout the college is good.The college’s financial management remainsstrong. In order to build on its strengths andimprove a few areas of weakness, the collegeshould: redouble efforts to improve some poorerpass rates, particularly on vocational courses;review timetabling arrangements in areas wherestudents learn in accommodation which is toosmall; evaluate the effectiveness of additionallearner support; continue to review the physicalaccess to some parts of the older buildings;address failings in the quality assurancemechanisms for some adult vocational coursesand the shortcomings in teaching and learningidentified through the college’s observation oflessons; clarify terms of reference and scope ofmembership for some corporation committeesand establish a formal process for nominatingpotential members for the corporation; andstrengthen arrangements for conducting andmonitoring formal health and safety inspectionsin faculties and subject areas.

The grades awarded as a result of the inspectionare given below.

Peter Symonds’ College1

Summary

Curriculum area Grade

Mathematics 2

Business 2

Performing arts 1

Modern foreign languages 2

Basic education 2

Cross-college provision Grade

Support for students 1

General resources 2

Quality assurance 2

Governance 2

Management 2

The College and its Mission

1 Peter Symonds’ College in Winchester,Hampshire, was established as a sixth formcollege in 1974. It is voluntary-controlled by‘The Christes Hospitall School Foundation’. It isone of only two maintained sixth form collegesto offer boarding accommodation for some of itsstudents, and provides sixth form education forthe Falkland Islands.

2 The main college campus is close to thecentre of Winchester; the college’s adulteducation centre is three-quarters of a mileaway in Weeke. The college serves a large areaof central Hampshire. It attracts students frommore than 140 schools and a significant numberof students travel from Southampton,Basingstoke and Andover. Approximately 20%of students come from independent schools.

3 Winchester is a cathedral city within easyreach of London and has a population ofapproximately 30,000. The city’s largestemployers include: the local county council; thearmy; educational institutions which include twocolleges of higher education; service industries;and a large multinational and other ‘high-technology’ firms. Hampshire has anunemployment rate of 2.7%; Winchester has alower unemployment rate of only 1.6%.

4 The majority of students at the college’smain site are full time and aged between 16 and19 years old. Most other students are enrolledon part-time programmes in the college’s adultcontinuing education division. The number ofstudents at the college has grown steadily sincethe 1970s and there has been a significantincrease in enrolments since incorporation.

5 The college offers a wide range of generalcertificate of education advanced level (GCE Alevel) courses, general certificate of secondaryeducation (GCSE) courses and courses leading togeneral national vocational qualifications atadvanced, intermediate and foundation levels.The college’s extensive adult continuingeducation provision includes 31 programmes in

basic education. Many cultural and sportingactivities are available to students. In the lasttwo years, students were selected for a varietyof national teams, including the under-21women’s England hockey squad, the under-19national women’s hockey tournament, nationalbasketball championships, and the youth matchsailing world championships for 2000.

6 The college’s mission statement is ‘PeterSymonds’ College values individuals, responds tolearning needs, seeks quality’. Its longstandingmotto is ‘counting in ones’ and staff seek to putthe maxim into practice through their care forand interest in students as individuals.

The Inspection

7 The college was inspected in October 1999.Inspectors had previously evaluated the college’sself-assessment report and information on thecollege held by other directorates of the FurtherEducation Funding Council (FEFC). In August1999, the college transferred it’s managementinformation system to a new company’ssoftware. The information system was not fullyoperational at the start of the academic year andthe college was unable to provide data onstudents’ achievements for 1999 in a format thatcould be used for the inspection. Therefore,data for 1996, 1997 and 1998 were used, takenfrom the individualised student record (ISR).The inspection was carried out by nineinspectors and an auditor working for a total of41 days. They observed 62 lessons, includingthree tutorials, evaluated students’ work andexamined college documents. Meetings wereheld with students, governors, managers,teachers and support staff.

8 The following table shows the grades givento the lessons inspected and the national profilefor all colleges inspected in 1998-99. Of thelessons observed, 73% were rated good oroutstanding. None was less than satisfactory.These percentages were higher than theaverages of 65% and 6%, respectively, for alllessons observed during 1998-99.


Context

Programme Grade Totals1 2 3 4 5

GCE AS/A level 15 14 10 0 0 39

GCSE 0 1 1 0 0 2

Other vocational 0 5 3 0 0 8

Other* 3 7 3 0 0 13

Total (No.) 18 27 17 0 0 62

Total (%) 29 44 27 0 0 100

National average, all inspected colleges 1998-99 (%) 20 45 29 6 0 100

9 The following table shows the attendancerates in the lessons observed and the nationalaverage for all colleges inspected in 1998-99.Attendance ranged from 72% in adult basiceducation to 96% in performing arts.


Context

Lessons: inspection grades by programme of study

Source for national average: Quality and Standards in Further Education in England 1998-99: Chief inspector’s annual report*includes tutorials and adult basic education

Average Averagenumber of students attendance (%)

Peter Symonds’ College 14.0 92

National average, all inspected colleges 1998-99 11.2 78

Attendance rates in lessons observed

Source for national average: Quality and Standards in Further Education in England 1998-99: Chief inspector’s annual report

Curriculum Areas


Mathematics

Grade 210 Inspectors observed 14 lessons in GCE Alevel and GCSE mathematics. The self-assessment report is comprehensive.Inspectors agreed with the strengths andweaknesses identified. By the time of theinspection significant progress had beenmade in addressing many of the weaknesses.

Key strengths

• well-planned lessons and much high-quality teaching

• efficient monitoring of students’ progress

• the effective mathematics supportworkshop

• high pass rates in GCE A level furthermathematics

• effective use of information technology (IT)

• successful teamwork and sharing ofspecialist expertise

Weaknesses

• poor learning opportunities in GCSElessons

• under-performance of some GCE A levelmathematics students

• some accommodation too small for classsizes

11 The college provides courses in GCE Alevel mathematics and further mathematics,GCSE mathematics at advanced, intermediateand foundation level and the certificate inapplication of number. The department is wellmanaged. Teachers work well as a team. Theyshare resources, outcomes from lessonobservations and their expertise, though theadult education tutor is not included in thispractice.

12 Courses are well designed and wellmanaged. Schemes of work are structuredcarefully and lessons are well planned. Alllessons observed were satisfactory and manywere outstanding. The work was demandingand frequently made students use their abilitiesto the full. For example, students in a GCE Alevel further mathematics lesson used computersto model various functions and try to generatetheir inverse. Individuals were asked todescribe the performance of their model. Theywere repeatedly asked to explain clearly thechanges of pattern they were observing.Students questioned confidently the teacher’sown assumptions about the model. Animatedexchanges followed in which the teachermanaged skilfully to highlight key principles.Students produced summaries of their findingswith minimal intervention from the teacher.

13 All GCE A level mathematics students aretested to identify their mathematical skills. Thisis followed up with support sessions forindividual students, materials for students to usewhen studying by themselves, and subsequentre-testing. The process ensures that studentsenrol on appropriate courses, that teachers areaware of the varying levels of ability in a class,and that good study disciplines are instilled asearly as possible. In GCSE lessons, teachersfailed to provide good learning opportunities forstudents either because of poorly-managedteaching or because small rooms preventedthem from attending to the individual needs ofall students. Students studying application ofnumber or foundation GCSE are taught well in asmall group but because of timetable constraintssome of these students are placedinappropriately in the large GCSE intermediatelevel classes.

14 Inspectors agreed with the self-assessmentreport that every student’s progress is monitoredrigorously. The outcomes from students’assessments and reviews are recorded on adepartmental database. Students’ predictedGCE A level grades are based on their GCSE

Type of qualification Level Numbers and Completion year

outcome 1996 1997 1998

GCSE mathematics (students 2 Number of starters 161 123 87aged 16 to 18 years) Retention (%) 80 86 78

Achievement (%) 44 41 37

GCSE mathematics (students 2 Number of starters 34 22 44aged 19 years and over) Retention (%) 71 68 68


GCE A level mathematics 3 Number of starters 175 211 259Retention (%) 96 85 80Achievement (%) 80 74 86

GCE A level further 3 Number of starters 24 49 40mathematics Retention (%) 100 76 72


Source: ISR

A summary of retention and achievementrates in mathematics, 1996 to 1998

Curriculum Areas


point scores and used to monitor their progress.The department organises specific learningsupport for students on both GCE A level andGCSE courses in the mathematics supportworkshop which is available at lunchtimes.Unusually, both teachers and able second-yearstudents provide support. Use of the workshopis recorded and used to monitor students’progress.

15 Students’ achievements in GCE A levelmathematics are at or close to the nationalaverage for sixth form colleges; those in GCE Alevel further mathematics have been outstandingfor the last three years. The college’svalue-added analysis suggests that a significantnumber of the weaker GCE A level mathematicsstudents are performing below their potentialability, given their GCSE point scores. Thisconcern is recognised in the self-assessmentreport and though action has been taken it istoo early to judge its efficacy. Pass rates inGCSE courses for students aged 16 to 18 yearsdeclined to 33% over the three-year period to

1998. Pass rates improved to 48% in 1999, justabove the national average for sixth formcolleges. The achievements of adults on GCSEcourses are significantly better than those of theyounger students, though retention rates arelow.

16 The mathematics teaching rooms,workshop and staff room are located closetogether. This proximity provides cohesion forthe work of the department. Some rooms aretoo small for the large groups using them.Computing resources are particularly good. IT applications are integrated with all aspects ofmathematics teaching, and all GCE A levelstudents routinely use graphical calculators.The department has a good range of equipmentfor experimental work in mechanics andstatistics. Teachers are well qualified.

Curriculum Areas


Business

Grade 217 Inspectors observed 15 lessons coveringGCE A level business studies and a range ofbusiness skills courses offered both at thecollege’s main site and at its adult continuingeducation centre. Inspectors broadly agreedwith the strengths and weaknesses identifiedin the college’s self-assessment report.

Key strengths

• good pass rates in GCE A level business

• up-to-date business knowledge of staff

• effective course management and planning

• good learning support for students

• regular review of students’ progress

• good IT facilities at the adult continuingeducation centre

Weaknesses

• low pass rates in some single subjects

• failure of some teachers to check students’learning

18 Business courses are provided at the maincollege site where there is a wide range ofprovision for 16 to 18 year olds and at the adultcontinuing education centre which offers arange of mainly IT programmes for adults.Since the previous inspection there has been asignificant increase in the range of provision.For example, law-related administrative andsecretarial courses, medical skills courses andinformation and communications technologycourses have been introduced. The introductionof the ‘fast track’ GCE A level business, enablingstudents to complete the course in one year, hasbeen successful. At the adult continuingeducation centre, adults can study a widevariety of topics during the day and in theevenings. The adult continuing education centrealso offers computer-based on-line training sothat students can study at any time from anylocation with appropriate facilities.

19 Inspectors agreed with the self-assessmentreport that courses are effectively managed.There are well-developed policies andprocedures and detailed schemes of work.There is good support for students. Theirattendance is checked rigorously and theirprogress is monitored effectively to ensure thatthey meet their learning targets. Goodmanagement use is made of course and studentreports. Staff roles and responsibilities are clearand firmly established. Meetings are heldregularly and outcomes are well documentedand resultant actions monitored. The outcomesof surveys of students’ views are used toimprove teaching and learning.

20 Most lessons are well planned. The lessonaims and objectives are explained to students atthe outset. Most teachers use an appropriaterange of teaching methods. In the betterlessons, teachers specify clearly the length oftime students have for each activity and theoutcomes that they are expected to achieve. For example, students were given 20 minutes tocarry out an examination of a number ofnewspaper advertisements they had collected toproduce a list of five unique selling points forthe product and their reasons for considering aparticular advertisement to be good. In otherlessons, teachers demonstrated up-to-dateknowledge of the latest business merger andtake-over bids. Discussions includedconsideration of mergers and take-over bidsamongst banks and retail businesses. Livelydiscussions followed as students drew fromrecent newspaper articles or television andradio news items. In some lessons, studentsworked effectively in groups where they weregiven clear roles and responsibilities, andpresented their conclusions confidently to therest of the class. A few lessons were not wellplanned. There were also instances whereteachers did not check fully whether studentswere learning what was intended.

21 Teachers mark assignments rigorously andprovide students with constructive comments tohelp them improve their performance.Inspectors agreed with the self-assessmentreport that thorough assessment procedures andhigh pass rates on the GCE A level businesscourse for students aged 16 to 18 years werestrengths. A significant number of studentsprogress to a business-related degree course.There have been pass rates of 100% in somesingle subject courses but low pass rates inothers.

22 Teachers attend a range of external coursesto keep them up to date with, for example, latestrequirements of awarding bodies. All businesscourses are managed within the same faculty,enabling staff from the adult continuingeducation centre and the main site to shareexpertise to good effect. Teachers exchangeideas and practice and produce students’assignments as a team effort to ensureconsistency. Recent investment in IT hasenabled students to have access to the Internet,

a range of multimedia programmes and up-to-date software. The college intranetenables students to access materials producedspecifically for their learning programmes.There are particularly good IT facilities forstudents at the adult continuing educationcentre. Inspectors agreed with the college’sassessment that these arrangements arestrengths.


outcome 1996 1997 1998

Single subjects in office and 1 and 2 Number of starters 319 417 378technology skills Retention (%) 93 89 85


IT grouped awards 1 and 2 Number of starters 95 152 279Retention (%) 88 80 91Achievement (%) 55 76 91

GCE A level business 3 Number of starters 149 162 161(students aged 16 to Retention (%) 86 85 8818 years) Achievement (%) 89 77 93

GCE A level business 3 Number of starters 14 12 15(students aged 19 years Retention (%) 71 83 53and over) Achievement (%) 78 40 88

Source: ISR

A summary of retention and achievementrates in business, 1996 to 1998

Curriculum Areas


Curriculum Areas


Performing Arts

Grade 123 Inspectors observed 11 lessons coveringGCE A level in performing arts and music.The college’s self-assessment report iscomprehensive and inspectors agreed withmost of the strengths and weaknessesidentified. However, they considered thatsome of the strengths cited in the report wer eno more than normal professional pre-requisites.

Key strengths

• wide range of music and drama activities

• consistently good and often inspiringteaching

• outstanding students’ achievements

• good specialist resources for music

• rigorous attention to students’ performance throughout the curriculum

Weaknesses

• some overcrowded teaching rooms andpressure on resources

24 Music studies provision at the collegeincludes the double GCE A level theory andpractical music course, the single GCE A levelmusic course and GCE A level performing arts.As identified in the self-assessment report, thereis good individual instrumental tuition given byexternal professionals for both first and secondstudy instruments. There is a wide range ofmusical activity, including string quartets,Barber Shop unaccompanied singing and jazz.Additional activities are arranged for students tofurther their study and understanding, includingvisits to theatres.

25 Teaching is consistently good and much isoutstanding. Equal weight is given to practicaland theoretical work and students are expectedto demonstrate their abilities. Inspectors agreed

with the self-assessment report that the regularand extensive opportunities students have topresent their work to public audiences both inthe college and elsewhere are strengths. Inlessons, teachers demand that full attention ispaid to the topic being taught and distractionsare not tolerated. There is swift action toremedy absence. Teachers meet regularly. Theuse of a wide range of teaching methods andlearning activities ensures that all studentsparticipate fully in the work. These include theuse of group reporting, plenary discussions andquestioning directed at specific students.Students are expected to analyse rather thandescribe works, during both theory and practicallessons, and teachers’ analysis is informativeand demanding. Students’ practice is checkedcontinually, though the location of some of theaccommodation sometimes makes monitoring ofchamber music practice groups difficult.

26 Assignments are set at an appropriatelevel. They are also designed to encouragestudents to learn on their own and to developdiplomatic skills for directing peers’performances and evaluating the result.Teachers insist that students are correctlydressed for practical lessons and properlyprepared for written work. The workingrelationship between teachers and students isgood and students speak highly of teachers’ careand attention. Inspectors agreed with thecollege’s self-assessment report that pass ratesare outstanding in all the GCE A level subjects.They are consistently above the national averagefor sixth form colleges; there is often a 100%pass rate and a particularly high proportion ofstudents achieve grades A to C. In 1998, astudent on the GCE A level performing artscourse was nominated by the examining body asthe student of the year for having the highestmarks nationally, and in 1999 a music studentreached the semi-final of the BBC YoungMusician of the Year competition. Animpressively high number of students go on tohigher education courses and the majority gain

places and scholarships at highly competitivespecialist music or drama colleges anduniversities. Much of the work performed bystudents is of a sophisticated standard andincludes highly imaginative productions, such asthe theatre of Bertold Brecht.

27 Teachers are well qualified and updatetheir skills through relevant staff developmentactivities. The range of teaching methods usedis extended by recent graduates bringing acontemporary view to classroom activity.Part-time teachers who provide individualinstrumental tuition bring a realistic view fromthe music professions. The performing arts areadoes not have a sprung floor, as mentioned inthe self-assessment report, though improvedcarpeting has helped to alleviate the problem.There are essential lighting and sound facilitiesfor performances but no technician to assistteachers during productions. In the performingarts area, students have nowhere to do writtenwork and have to lie on the floor when takingnotes. Musical activity is located mainly inseparate specialist accommodation that isdouble glazed to contain sound, and there arepurpose-built recital and practice rooms.

Students have access to a library of scores,reference books and compact disks to use whenstudying on their own. There is insufficientclerical support to monitor properly andadminister the provision for instrumentaltuition. Increased numbers of students has ledto overcrowding in many rooms andconsiderable pressure on learning resources.


outcome 1996 1997 1998

GCE A level performing arts 3 Number of starters 46 61 44Retention (%) 96 84 80Achievement (%) 100 100 100

GCE A level music (double 3 Number of starters 11 12 12award) Retention (%) 91 100 92


GCE A level music (single 3 Number of starters 11 12 29award) Retention (%) 100 91 83


Source: ISR

A summary of retention and achievementrates in performing arts, 1996 to 1998

Curriculum Areas


Curriculum Areas


Modern Foreign Languages

Grade 228 Inspectors observed 11 lessons coveringFrench, German, Italian and Spanish. Thecollege’s self-assessment report identifiedmost of the key strengths in the provision inmodern languages courses. Someweaknesses, particularly in vocationalcourses, were not identified and the separateself-assessment report on vocational courseswas not provided until after the inspectionhad begun.

Key strengths

• well-planned lessons containing a variety of teaching methods

• extensive use of the language being learned in many lessons

• good students’ achievements on many GCE A level and GCSE courses

• excellent learning support for students onacademic courses

• rigorous course evaluation on academiccourses

Weaknesses

• inadequate schemes of work for vocational courses

• poor students’ achievements on somevocational courses

• insufficient sharing of good practicebetween teachers of academic andvocational courses

29 The college offers GCE A level courses inFrench, German, Italian and Spanish and GCSEcourses in Italian and Spanish for 16 to 19 yearolds, predominantly on its main site. It alsooffers a range of vocational courses for adults inall four languages at levels 1 and 2 at the adultcontinuing education centre. Two modernlanguage modules are available on the GNVQ

advanced course in leisure and tourism, andwordprocessing in modern foreign languages isavailable for students on business courses. Thislatter provision was not mentioned in the self-assessment report.

30 The modern languages section for 16 to 19year olds forms part of the faculty of languagesand IT, and there is a head of subject for eachlanguage. Management of this area is good.There are clear schemes of work which areshared with students, although those in Spanishneed further development, as identified in thecollege’s self-assessment report. The vocationalcourses are taught and managed separately.Some weaknesses in vocational provision werenot identified in the self-assessment report.Schemes of work in this provision areunsatisfactory. Some have not been completed,and even the better ones are not fully developed.The college quality review system is appliedconscientiously in GCE A level and GCSEcourses. However, no fully effective evaluationsystem has yet been applied to the vocationalcourses and there is no opportunity for goodpractice to be shared among the differentteachers of academic and vocational courses.

31 Teaching in most lessons was good andsome was outstanding. The language beinglearned is used as the principal medium ofcommunication, but in some classes studentsattempt only simple responses. Inspectorsagreed with the college’s assessment thatlessons are well planned and teaching materialsare of high quality. In the better lessons,teachers’ expectations of students are high.Teachers use a range of appropriate teachingmethods to stimulate students’ interest andstudents are often asked to work in groups or inpairs. For example, in a GCE A level Frenchlesson the teacher asked students in Frenchabout holidays in Tunisia. Then, to prepare forrole-play exercises the following day, studentswere required to write down four usefulexpressions, which were quickly shared amongthe class. Students were divided into pairs and

Curriculum Areas


asked to adopt the roles of different familymembers. They were given clear instructionsabout the task for the following day. Teacherschecked students’ understanding making equaluse of both French and English.

32 The college’s self-assessment reportidentified some high pass rates in many GCE Alevel and GCSE courses as a strength andinspectors agreed. The proportion of studentsachieving grades A to C in GCE A level Frenchin 1997 and 1998, and in Spanish in 1996 and1997, was well above the national average forsixth form colleges. There were pass rates of100% in GCSE Italian in 1997 and 1998, and inSpanish in 1998. The pass rates in GCE A levelItalian fluctuated between 1996 and 1998.Student retention rates on most courses are nowgood, having been below the national averagefor sixth form colleges in GCE A level Italian andSpanish in 1996. However, students’achievements on vocational courses were poor,particularly in 1998 when the pass rate for allcourses was only 30%. This weakness wasidentified in the self-assessment report andsome changes have been made to address it, butthe considerable fluctuation in student retentionrates over the three years was notacknowledged.

33 Teachers are well qualified. Students’written work is marked carefully and returnedto them with helpful comments. Teachers at themain site have devised commendable‘independent study programmes’ for studentsworking on their own and each student’sindependent work is monitored closely.Students have access to a language laboratory,the library, the college’s intranet and a weekly‘drop-in’ languages workshop. Languageassistants work with second-year GCE A levelstudents in small groups to prepare them for theoral component of the examination. Regularvisits are organised for students to France,Germany, Italy and Spain. Students have accessto video recorders and computers both withinthe languages department and in the library.

There is a satisfactory range of books and verygood provision of current magazines in foreignlanguages in the library. Inspectors agreed thatthe range of learning support activitiesconstitutes a strength. Part-time teachers ofvocational courses and students at the adultcontinuing education centre do not have readyaccess to the same range of resources. Theclassrooms used for GCSE Spanish and GCSEItalian are too small.

Curriculum Areas



outcome 1996 1997 1998

All vocational courses 1 and 2 Number of starters 145 179 149Retention (%) 68 68 86Achievement (%) 64 98 30

GCSE (French, Italian and 2 Number of starters 81 70 51Spanish) Retention (%) 84 86 71


GCE A level French 3 Number of starters 115 128 106Retention (%) 94 94 83Achievement (%) 86 98 92

GCE A level German 3 Number of starters 37 38 50Retention (%) 95 87 84Achievement (%) 100 97 90

GCE A level Italian* 3 Number of starters 18 20 20Retention (%) 89 100 100Achievement (%) 75 95 90

GCE A level Spanish* 3 Number of starters 28 26 37Retention (%) 89 88 92Achievement (%) 84 91 91

Source: ISR*combined data for one-year and two-year courses

A summary of retention and achievementrates in modern foreign languages, 1996 to 1998

Curriculum Areas


Basic Education

Grade 234 Inspectors observed eight lessons inadult basic education. They judged that theself-assessment report overemphasisedstrengths in some areas and omitted severalimportant weaknesses. Some assertions wer enot effectively supported by quantifiable data.The action plan was not comprehensive.

Key strengths

• a high level of personal support forstudents

• a good standard of teaching

• the positive contribution made by volunteer tutors to students’ learning

• good access to adult education teachertraining for volunteer tutors and part-timeteachers

Weaknesses

• insufficient use of materials and activitiesto help students develop critical thinking

• underdeveloped system for monitoringstudents’ progress

• no systematic review of courses

35 Adult basic education is based at thecollege’s adult continuing education centre.There are 22 programmes a week and studentscan study on more than one programme. Mosttake place at the adult continuing educationcentre, but eight programmes are provided incommunity bases on council housing estates.One pre-GCSE mathematics course is offered.Otherwise, courses are designed for people withvarious levels of difficulty with literacy andnumeracy and students follow individualprogrammes within a group. The section is ledby a basic education organiser who isresponsible to the assistant principal, adultcontinuing education. There are two full-timeequivalent teachers in the basic education areaand 60 volunteer tutors.

36 Inspectors agreed with the college’sassessment that there are satisfactory formaland informal arrangements for managing adultbasic education provision. There are fortnightlymeetings for teachers and some, less extensive,support for volunteers. The provision meets arange of educational needs, but the number ofstudents in the groups is small and there is ahigh turnover of students. The college has hadsome success in running basic skills summerschools and a family literacy initiative. It hasplans to develop learning through informationand communications technology. There are noagreed measurable indicators against whichquality and performance can be monitored, andthere is no comprehensive action plan toimprove quality or a development plan. Theseweaknesses are not acknowledged in the self-assessment report.

37 Teachers provide a high level of personalsupport for students and display sensitivity totheir personal histories. Inspectors agreed withthe self-assessment report that the standard ofteaching is good. Teachers plan lessons withindividual students’ needs in mind. They makeeffective use of real-life resources to helpstudents develop skills relevant to home, thefamily and the workplace. Students workpurposefully. They are clear that what theyhave learned has made a difference to theirquality of life and can cite examples of ways inwhich they have benefited from their studies.Some use is made of modern technology forwordprocessing and for computer games inliteracy. Insufficient use is made of materialsand activities which stimulate debate amongstudents and help them develop the ability tothink critically. Inspectors agreed with thecollege’s self-assessment report that volunteertutors play a valuable role in the lessons,providing well-judged assistance andencouragement for students.

38 There are some good students’achievements. In 1998-99, 13 studentsachieved the entry level award in Wordpower,five achieved the level 1 and one achieved the

Curriculum Areas

level 2 award. Some students progress toemployment or to higher level courses. Thenumber of achievements is too small to report inany further detail. Students have manyopportunities to participate in setting theirlearning goals and reviewing their progress.Teachers help them to establish long-term aimsand short-term objectives. However, this is notalways done effectively and mechanisms toreview students’ progress are not fullydeveloped. Students have difficulty with thepaperwork associated with evaluating theirprogress and planning their learning. Studentsare involved in quality review through dialoguewith their teachers. They also complete surveyseach term. However, they are not helpedsufficiently to distinguish between what theyhave learned and how they feel about theirlearning experiences. The self-assessmentreport overrated the strength in this area.

39 Teachers and volunteers have a range ofrelevant professional qualifications. Those whohave not yet done so have regular opportunitiesto undertake study for both part one and parttwo of the further and adult education teachers’certificate. The ability and suitability ofpotential volunteer tutors are consideredcarefully and people who are selected arerequired to undertake a teacher training coursein basic skills. Inspectors agreed that trainingopportunities constitute a strength. The basiceducation organiser observes lessons given bynew teachers and provides them with thoughtfulfeedback. There is no dedicated base room inwhich teachers can create interesting walldisplays, or an area in which they can developand store materials. The resources in some ofthe community bases are poor.


Cross-college Provision


Support for Students

Grade 140 Inspectors agreed with the judgements inthe self-assessment report. Issues identifiedin the previous inspection have beenaddressed.

Key strengths

• thorough advice and guidance for allstudents

• strong support for students from tutors

• rigorous monitoring of students’ attendance and progress

• good student services

• high-quality careers education andguidance

• successful extra-curricular ‘activitiesprogramme’

Weaknesses

• insufficient evaluation of the impact ofadditional learner support

41 Since the last inspection the college hasextended the range of support services forstudents. Organisation and management ofthese services is appropriately divided betweenthe college’s main site and its adult continuingeducation centre, and caters effectively forstudents of different ages. Inspectors agreedwith the college’s self-assessment report thatprospective students receive impartial courseinformation and guidance. Publicity materialsare informative and address appropriately thedifferent ages of prospective students. Eventssuch as careers fairs, open evenings and the‘induction day’ are highly regarded by students.There is a separate open day for studentsinterested in access to higher education courses,and part-time students can use the all-yeartelephone enquiry line at the adult continuingeducation centre. Each full-time student is given

an individual guidance interview. There aredetailed training materials for the large team ofinterviewers and they are fully briefed eachyear. Enrolment procedures are thorough.

42 Personal and subject tutors give notableindividual support to students, a strengthidentified in the self-assessment report.Procedures are adapted to meet the particularneeds of different groups of students, includingspecial arrangements made to help studentswho live some distance away and who are aboutto become boarders at the college, to receiveappropriate advice over the telephone beforejoining the college. The attendance of full-timestudents at college is monitored rigorously andthere are effective procedures for dealing withunexplained absences. Students’ progressagainst their predicted grades is reviewedregularly and realistic learning action plans aredevised jointly by tutors and students. Thisprocess results in increased student motivation.Teams of tutors are led effectively by lead tutorsand heads of faculty. There are frequentmeetings which ensure that concerns aboutstudents are dealt with promptly.

43 There is an hour a week for tutors to meetstudents individually. A second hour which isallocated to tutorials for groups of studentsincludes careers advice, activities related togeneral studies and a programme to helpstudents develop their study skills. There hasbeen regular evaluation of these tutorials andconsequent revision of their content. However,not all tutorials are effectively managed.Students perceive some activities as lackingvariety, interest and purpose, and tutors find itdifficult to retain students’ interest. This is notacknowledged in the self-assessment report.Observation of group tutorials has begun but theprocess is not yet sufficiently developed to be aneffective tool for quality improvement.

44 The college has carefully consideredarrangements to provide additional learningsupport for students identified as needing it.



Additional learning support is provided throughindividual sessions, small group work andduring lessons as well as through a ‘drop-in’facility. Appropriate support is provided forstudents with physical disabilities whose needsare assessed before they join the college. Morethan 350 students of all ages are currentlyreceiving learning support. Each student has anindividual learning plan and progress madeagainst plans is reviewed regularly. There isinsufficient information about the impact thatlearning support makes on students’performance. As noted in the self-assessmentreport, there was poor attendance at some ofthe learning support sessions last year. Thecollege has implemented remedial action but itis too soon to measure its effectiveness.

45 Inspectors agreed with the college’sassessment that its high-quality careerseducation and guidance constitute a strength.There are strong links with the local careersservice and careers advisers contributeeffectively to group tutorials, parents eveningsand other events as well as conducting regularindividual interviews with students. The well-resourced careers library is usedextensively by students. There is a broadprogramme of events to support studentsapplying to higher education institutions. Thecollege has successfully improved the level ofsupport for students seeking employment.

46 The college provides good student services;a strength included in the self-assessmentreport. The local youth advisory serviceprovides an effective and well-used counsellingservice and students can see the counsellor incollege or at the ‘Face-to-Face’ offices close tothe college. Student services staff run a series ofevents on, for example, health issues andcommunity activities for students. The studentunion is energetic. It effectively promotesstudents’ concerns and arranges social andfund-raising events. The executive members arewell supported by the welfare officer.

47 There is a successful and varied extra-curricular ‘activities programme’ whichoffers opportunities for full-time students todevelop skills and interests outside their mainstudies. It includes over 50 different activities.Attendance on these non-accreditedprogrammes is high.

General Resources

Grade 248 The college’s self-assessment report iscomprehensive though it categorises asstrengths many features that are standar dpractice. Considerable improvements havebeen achieved since the last inspection andinspectors agreed with the college’ sassessment of its general resources.

Key strengths

• well-equipped resource centre

• comprehensive range of IT facilities

• good standard of most teachingaccommodation

• new, well-equipped science laboratories

• continuous adaptation and development of accommodation to meet changingeducational requirements

Weaknesses

• insufficient social and dining space for students at common break times

• older buildings have poor access for wheelchair users

49 The main college site comprises 19different buildings, three tennis courts, threefootball pitches, two hockey pitches and acricket square. The accommodation includesmany adapted Victorian buildings as well asother buildings erected at various times over thelast century. A new science block, student socialand dining centre and boarding house have


been built since 1995. As acknowledged in theself-assessment report, most buildings are wellmaintained and have been much adapted tomeet changing needs. The college has housesfor students who board. The newest oneprovides excellent single and twin rooms withen-suite facilities. The college acknowledgesthat the accommodation in the other twoboarding houses requires updating. Thecollege’s adult education centre is located in aformer infant school on a separate site less thana mile away and is used heavily for six days aweek. Teaching accommodation on the mainsite is used intensively during the college day.Some rooms are too small for the size of groupsusing them. There is poor access for peoplewith restricted mobility to the upper floors ofmost of the older buildings despite ramps havingbeen installed wherever possible.

50 Social and dining facilities for studentshave been much improved since the lastinspection and the new student centre wasopened in 1998. It provides 220 seats in thedining room and 210 in the student commonroom. Although it is an improvement, theseating capacity is inadequate for the number ofstudents needing seats at break times. The self-assessment report recognises thesedeficiencies as well as the lack of indoorsporting facilities and synthetic pitches. Thedemand for student car parking exceeds thesupply and the college limits parking by issuingpermits on payment of a fee only to studentswho live some distance outside Winchester.The proceeds are used to support studentrecreational activities.

51 The resource centre in the original collegebuilding has been modified and extended toaccommodate increasing demands. It includes acareers library, a media editing suite,audiovisual facilities and computers on openaccess for students to use. It has 256workplaces and, during September 1999, was inheavy demand by 1,044 users each day. Thelibrary budget has been increased considerably

for 1999-2000 and is now £15 for each full-timeequivalent student. There is a good stock ofresources including 16,500 books, 330 videos, agood supply of readily accessible audiovisualand IT equipment, and a satellite receiver forEuropean language channels. The computers allhave access to the Internet, the college intranetand 40 networked CD-ROMs. Some of the booksare out of date. The intranet has beendeveloped by enthusiasts in the college,managed by a nominated member of staff, andteachers in some subject areas have writtenexcellent interactive learning materials whichare used extensively by students. The library isopen for the use of boarding students for twohours on four evenings a week. There is nolibrary facility in the adult continuing educationcentre but adult students can use the library onthe main site and the networked IT facilities atvarious adult education centres.

52 Inspectors agreed with the college’sassessment that there has been considerableinvestment in IT which has resulted in a goodrange of modern IT equipment. This includes236 networked computers in classrooms acrossboth sites and 56 computers on open access inthe library and other student study areas aroundthe college. There are 19 computers in thethree boarding houses. The ratio of computersto full-time equivalent students is 1:7. Allcomputers on open access and in classrooms arenetworked and have high speed access to theInternet. There is up-to-date software on allcomputers. Teachers have access to 25computers for their use and a further 40 areused primarily for college administration.

Quality Assurance

Grade 253 Inspectors agreed with the strengthsidentified in the self-assessment report. Theyagreed with the weaknesses recognised in thereport and found others that the college hadnot identified.




Key strengths

• clearly-documented quality assuranceprocedures

• a continually developing commitment toquality assurance

• prompt action in response to students’views

• extensive setting of targets

• thorough process for course reviews

Weaknesses

• insufficient action to address weaknessesidentified in lesson observations

• inadequate quality assurance proceduresfor some adult education provision

54 The college has a clear quality assurancepolicy. It is communicated effectively throughoutthe college and responsibilities are clearlyunderstood. A necessary reorganisation ofresponsibilities since the last inspection delayeddevelopments and some of the expectedoutcomes of the system have yet to be proved.The system is managed by one of the vice-principals and the adult education qualityand training manager. Quality assuranceprocedures are comprehensive. Individualresponsibility for assuring and improving qualityis continuing to develop. Quality improvementis a standing agenda item at weeklymanagement meetings. Two teachers have beenspecifically assigned tasks to improve quality.This is leading to improvements. For example,the outcomes of one of the tasks has helpedteachers to examine critically students’performance data in order to improve coursedesign and teaching. The college operates fromtwo centres, one for full-time 16 to 19 year oldstudents and one dedicated to adult educationand training. The main quality assurancesystem has been amended to take account of theneeds of adults. Though regular audits ofquality assurance procedures are undertaken by

quality managers, the procedures used in adulteducation provision are not sufficientlythorough.

55 Inspectors agreed with the self-assessmentreport that the college has an expectation ofcontinuous improvement. Four key aspects ofcollege performance are reviewed to helpachieve this aim: student attendance; retentionrates; achievements; and measurement of thevalue added to students’ performance duringtheir studies. Full-time students aged 16 to 19years achieve good pass rates but achievementsof students on some part-time adult courses areless good. Comparisons are made with nationalbenchmarking data produced by the FEFC foreach course and targets for improvement set.Teachers present a review of their courses andstudents’ individual progress to senior managersat the principal’s annual review meeting.Remedial action is required when performancefalls below college targets. Performance isreviewed at weekly faculty and seniormanagement meetings. Quality standards for allaspects of the college’s work are set out aschecklists for heads of faculty, heads of subjectand lead tutors. Teachers review students’progress annually and outcomes areincorporated into faculty operational planswhich inform the college plan.

56 Students’ views are sought throughquestionnaires, focus groups, more generaldiscussions with students and course reviews.The results are discussed with students andinform action plans to address weaknesses. Forexample, the procedures for reviewing students’progress on GNVQ courses were modified inresponse to students’ views, and more effectivestudy techniques have been introduced at thestart of some courses. Many action plans aredisplayed in classrooms. The college charter isreviewed annually by staff and students andamendments made in response to concerns.However, the commitments in the charter arenot formally monitored. This weakness was notidentified in the self-assessment report. Manystudents are not aware of the college’s



complaints procedure, but students areconfident that tutors and teachers dealeffectively with concerns and complaints.

57 Lesson observations are well established.Examples of good teaching practice aredisseminated through team and faculty meetingsand sometimes at full staff meetings. Thecollege has analysed the strengths andweaknesses identified through classroomobservations but has not produced strategies toaddress weaknesses. This omission was notidentified in the self-assessment report. Thecollege participates in an external quality reviewsystem which involves teachers from othercolleges assessing lessons. The college has awell-established staff development policy andstrategy. Training needs are identified byindividuals and through the annual appraisalprocess. Staff development activities are alignedto strategic priorities. Managers are given everyopportunity to update or develop theirmanagement skills. The college achieved re-accreditation for the Investor in People statusin 1999. There is no mechanism for assessingthe effectiveness of staff development activities.This shortcoming was not identified in the self-assessment report. The college recognisesin its self-assessment report that targets for theappraisal of part-time teachers of adults havenot been met.

58 Inspectors agreed with the self-assessmentreport that the college’s self-assessment processis comprehensive. It involves all staff and drawson the outcomes from lesson observations,course reviews and other quality assuranceprocesses. Governors conducted their own self-assessment. All sections of the report werevalidated by a ‘grading panel’, includingrepresentatives from a partner college, aconsultant, and governors, to obtain an objectiveview of its judgements. Inspectors consideredthat some of the judgements made by the collegewere generous. The college has recentlyreorganised its planning and review cycles andthese are being synchronised with the self-assessment cycle to achieve a more coherentand efficient set of operations.

Governance

Grade 259 Inspectors agreed with most of thestrengths and weaknesses identified in thecollege’s self-assessment report. They alsoidentified some weaknesses which had beenmissed by the college.

Key strengths

• governors’ strong commitment to thecollege

• thorough and extensive review of strategicpriorities and targets

• governors’ clear understanding of thedistinction between governance andmanagement

• full and rigorous consideration of students’achievements and retention rates

• clear committee structure, reflectingstatutory and good practice requirements

• detailed consideration of the financialimplications of all college proposals

Weaknesses

• unclear terms of reference and number ofmembers for some committees

• out-of-date code of conduct and incompleteguidance on registration of interests

60 The FEFC’s audit service concludes that,within the scope of its assessment, thegovernance of the college is good. Thecorporation substantially conducts its businessin accordance with the instrument and articlesof government. It also substantially fulfils itsresponsibilities under the financialmemorandum with the FEFC.

61 Inspectors agreed with the college’sself-assessment report that governors have akeen and active role in strategic planning. Theyestablish annual strategic targets, which formthe basis of the college’s extensive operationalplanning review, and monitor regularly thecollege’s progress in meeting them. In 1998, a

working party, consisting of governors and thesenior management team, carried out asubstantial review of the content and format ofthe college’s strategic objectives and the newformat for the strategic plan aligns it with theFEFC’s criteria for inspection.

62 As the college’s self-assessment reportidentifies, governors have substantialcommercial experience and understand clearlythe distinction between their role and that ofmanagers. Attendance at corporation meetingsis consistently good. The corporation has adetermined membership of 20. There are threevacancies, which it has chosen not to fill duringimplementation of the revised instrument andarticles of government. The corporation hasapproved the categories of governors requiredfor the revised corporation, but has not yetestablished a formal process for allocatingexisting governors to these. The corporationhas not yet determined the arrangements bywhich nominations for membership are to bemade. There is an established governor trainingprogramme, but arrangements for the inductionof new governors have yet to be formalised.

63 The corporation’s committee structure isappropriate. The number of members of somecommittees is unclear and the terms ofreference of the policy and resources committeeand the personnel committee are inconsistentwith their operation. The personnel committeeand the premises committee report to the policyand resources committee. This is done toensure that the full financial implications ofproposals are properly evaluated beforerecommendations are referred to thecorporation for approval.

64 There are appropriate workingrelationships between senior managers andgovernors. The chairman of the corporationmaintains good contact with the principal.Chairs of the various committees liaise closelywith appropriate senior managers who oftenattend corporation committee meetings.Procedures for the regular appraisal of seniorpostholders are clear.

65 Corporation business is conductedefficiently and there are detailed minutes ofmeetings. The corporation receives clearreports. The college has implemented standingorders which determine the conduct ofcorporation and committee business. However,the code of conduct is out of date. Guidance forcompleting the register of interests does notreflect the new statutory requirements or bestpractice and the register is not systematicallyupdated each year. The clerk to the corporationhas been appointed from outside the college.The current approved job description does notreflect relevant guidance for the appointment ofclerks. Governors reconfirm formally theireligibility for membership of the corporationeach year. A ‘whistleblowing’ policy has beenestablished.

66 Financial aspects of all corporation andcommittee business are evaluated by the policyand resources committee, which normally meetsevery other month. The college’s financialposition is carefully monitored by this committeeprior to the assessment of the financial positionbeing reported to the corporation. The contentof the financial reports has been agreed both bythe policy and resources committee and thecorporation. However, governors have chosennot to receive management accounts eachmonth. As a result, although the financedepartment produces detailed information, onlya summary is presented to governors. While itcontains the current cash position and a year-end forecast, it omits detailed cashflows for the 12 months ahead.

67 The curriculum and quality assurancecommittee of the corporation, formerly thecurriculum committee, has monitored students’achievements for several years. The committeeconsiders thoroughly students’ achievementsand retention rates and other curriculummatters. It monitors performance against arange of targets in the college’s operational plan.The college’s self-assessment report records thiscareful scrutiny as a strength and inspectorsagreed. Governors recognise that they have not





yet developed the same degree of understandingand monitoring of some of the college’s work inadult and continuing education. Somegovernors have taken an agreed ‘specialinterest’ in the work of particular subject areasand this closer interest is much appreciated byteachers. The chairman has attended a range ofcollege meetings involving staff at all levels.

Management

Grade 268 Inspectors agreed with most of thejudgements in the college’s self-assessmentreport. They identified additional weaknesseswhich were not included in the self-assessment report.

Key strengths

• good leadership and open managementstyle

• clear, well-understood managementarrangements

• good communication

• good financial management

• effective strategic and operational planning

• extensive links with communityorganisations

Weaknesses

• the temporary fault in the managementinformation system

• failure to monitor adequately somemanagement decisions and actions

69 The college’s organisational structure wasrevised in 1998. Management arrangementsare clear and understood by staff. Teaching andpastoral support for 16 to 19 year old studentsare managed in six faculties, to which groups ofteachers belong. Inspectors agreed with thecollege’s self-assessment report that meetingsare held according to a clear timescale, linkedeffectively to the timing for strategic planning

and review. The senior management teamconsists of the principal, the two vice-principals,the assistant principal and the bursar. Thesenior management team works closely together.Members provide strong leadership and operatean open style of management. Staff are wellinformed about college activities anddevelopments. Some clear monitoring bymanagers of the impact of organisationalchanges may be required.

70 The managing group consists of the seniormanagement team, heads of faculty and themanagement information system manager andconcerns itself with quality in teaching, learningand guidance and the services which supportthese. The curriculum and guidance group,made up of the principal, vice-principals andheads of faculty, addresses aspects of themanaging group’s work related particularly tostudents aged 16 to 19 years. Faculty teamsmeet regularly. Minutes of all meetings arerecorded, but they do not always indicatenominated responsibilities or timescales foraction. This weakness was not identified in theself-assessment report. Faculties and teachingteams are well managed. Faculties are ofsimilar size, but some consist of unusualcombinations of subjects. Inspectors foundexamples where staff in different parts of thecollege did not liaise as closely as they mightwith colleagues having similar interests andresponsibilities. Inspectors agreed with thecollege’s self-assessment report that deploymentof staff is managed carefully. The college’saverage class size for 16 to 19 year old students,at around 18, is high, although the average forpart-time adult students is lower.

71 The FEFC’s audit service concludes that,within the scope of its review, the college’sfinancial management is good. Members of thefinance team are appropriately skilled andexperienced. Financial forecasts are integratedwith the strategic plan. Management accountsare produced and considered every other monthto coincide with meetings of the corporation’spolicy and resources committee. Budget holders

receive clear reports, produced to the sametimescale. Individual budgets are monitored bythe finance manager and the seniormanagement team. Financial regulations andprocedures are updated annually in line with therecommendations of the college’s internal andexternal auditors. They do not includesufficiently detailed instructions or a timetablefor producing the annual budget or proceduresto be followed in the event of irregularity orfraud. The internal and external auditors havenot identified any significant weaknesses in thecollege’s systems of internal control.

72 The college’s strategic objectives arereviewed annually. The college’s self-assessmentreport identifies appropriately that managers atall levels are effectively involved in operationalplanning. Staff understand the college’sstrategic objectives and have contributed to theirarea plans. The college aims to synchronise thetiming of operational planning and the self-assessment process. Operational plansinclude a wide range of quantifiable targets, andthe plans are reviewed in detail.

73 The senior management team shares theresponsibility for marketing. The college drawswell on labour market information. Extensivelinks with the local and wider communityprovide significant additional information tohelp the college’s market research, includingmembership of the Hampshire ‘on-line trainingpartnership’, growing contacts with localcommunity care organisations, productiveworking relationships with the Hampshire sixthform colleges, external curriculum supportgroups, the Winchester 14 to 18 educationconsortium and a range of local businesses. The college consistently achieves its targets forgrowth.

74 The college has made recent changes to itsmanagement information system in order tocope with the growing demand for data. Thecollege was able to produce reliable reports andhas a good record of timely and accurate returnsto the FEFC. The new system does not yet meetthe college’s requirements. In particular, the

college was unable to provide for the inspectionstudents’ achievements and retention data for1999 in a comparable format to previous years.Inspectors agreed with the college’sself-assessment report that managers makegood use of the data available to informplanning and review performance.

75 The college has an up-to-date health andsafety policy. It is contained in the ‘staff file’which all staff read and sign. The fire, upkeep,safety and security committee and its safetysubcommittee are responsible for monitoring theimplementation of the policy. The collegecommissions periodic external health and safetyaudits, which complement the work of the twocommittees. The most recent of these audits inAugust 1999 indicates that the college’sarrangements for monitoring formal health andsafety inspections are inadequate, particularlywith regard to inspection of faculty and subjectareas. The college’s equal opportunities policystatement was recently revised by thecorporation. There is a supportingimplementation strategy. The equalopportunities review group meets regularly andproduces an annual report for the seniormanagement team.

Conclusions76 The inspection team found that thecollege’s self-assessment report provided auseful basis for planning and carrying out theinspection. In several areas, by the time of theinspection, progress had been made inaddressing weaknesses identified during thecollege’s self-assessment. Inspectors agreedwith the strengths and weaknesses identified bythe college but considered that someweaknesses had been missed. In five areas, thecollege awarded itself a grade higher thaninspectors did.

77 Strengths and weaknesses identifiedduring the inspection are listed under eachsection of this report. The main strengths andweaknesses are identified in the summary.



College Statistics


Student numbers by age (July 1999)

Age %

Under 16 1

16-18 years 37

19-24 years 5

25+ years 49

Not known 8

Total 100

Source: college data

Student numbers by level of study (July 1999)

Level of study %

Level 1 (foundation) 9

Level 2 (intermediate) 5

Level 3 (advanced) 47

Level 4/5 (higher) 0

Non-schedule 2 39

Total 100


Student numbers by mode of attendance andcurriculum area (July 1999)

Programme Full Part Total area time time provision

%

Science 587 312 16

Agriculture 0 24 1

Engineering 0 13 0

Business 173 550 13

Hotel and catering 49 612 12

Health andcommunity care 32 83 2

Art and design 238 910 21

Humanities 942 791 31

Basic education 10 208 4

Total 2,031 3,503 100


Widening participation

Based on a postcode analysis of 1995-96 ISRdata, the college recruited 1% of students fromdisadvantaged areas defined in relation to theDepartment of the Environment Index of LocalConditions.

Staff expressed as full-time equivalents(July 1999)

Perm- Fixed Casual Totalanent term

Direct learning contact 107 12 4 123

Supporting direct learning contact 12 0 0 12

Other support 40 0 2 42

Total 159 12 6 177

Source: college data, rounded to nearest full-time equivalent


College Statistics

Three-year T rends

Financial data

1997 1998 1999

Income £6,351,000 £6,587,000 £6,840,000

Average level of funding (ALF) £18.44 £16.71 £16.54

Payroll as a proportion of income 69% 66% 65%

Achievement of funding target 116% 105% 106%

Diversity of income 19% 24% 22%

Operating surplus £49,000 £396,988 £125,000

Sources: Income - Council Circular 98/43 (1997), FEFC audited accounts (1998), college (1999)ALF - Funding Allocations 1997-98 (1997 and 1998), Funding Allocations, 1998-99 (1999)Payroll - Council Circular 98/43 (1997), FEFC audited accounts (1998), college (1999)Achievement of funding target - Performance Indicators 1997-98 (1997 and 1998), college (1999)Diversity of income - Council Circular 98/43 (1997), FEFC audited accounts (1998), college (1999)Operating surplus - Council Circular 98/43 (1997), FEFC audited accounts (1998), college (1999)

Students’ achievements data

Level Retention Students aged 16 to 18 Students aged 19 or overand pass 1996 1997 1998 1996 1997 1998

1 Number of starters 181 294 236 366 383 487

Retention (%) 90 88 84 72 66 82

Achievement (%) 87 95 91 77 94 62

2 Number of starters 700 486 668 195 196 173

Retention (%) 82 86 72 78 73 81

Achievement (%) 83 90 66 79 96 53

3 Number of starters 2,644 3,561 3,655 178 75 98

Retention (%) 90 85 86 56 76 63

Achievement (%) 87 87 89 68 76 51

4 or 5 Number of starters 0 0 0 37 15 0

Retention (%) n/a n/a n/a 95 100 n/a

Achievement (%) n/a n/a n/a 46 100 n/a

Short Number of starters 225 243 201 450 524 1,690

courses Retention (%) 28 97 85 92 83 95

Achievement (%) 82 75 78 94 100 86

Unknown/ Number of starters 266 166 27 65 115 144

unclassified Retention (%) 91 94 52 92 85 62

Achievement (%) 96 99 78 66 100 50

Source: ISRn/a not applicable

R E P O RT FROM THE INSPECTORATE

1999-00

THEFURTHEREDUCATION

Published by theFurther Education Funding Council

Website www.fefc.ac.uk© FEFC December 1999

FEFC Inspection Report 11/00

Documents

Peter Symonds’ CollegeThe College and its Mission 1 Peter Symonds’ College in Winchester, Hampshire, was established as a sixth form college in 1974. It is voluntary-controlled