Scarborough Sixth Form College Celebrates Ofsted Report

Thursday, 18 May 2023 16:07

By Matthew Pells

Scarborough Sixth Form College has been awarded an overall grade of Good following an Ofsted inspection in March.

The college's provision for learners with high needs was awarded Outstanding.

Ofsted praised the college’s positive culture and high expectations which results in students’ strong achievements and progression onto university, apprenticeships, or employment. They commented that students are

“highly motivated to do their best, display positive attitudes to their learning, and are attentive in lessons.”

In particular, they highlighted the college’s inclusive curriculum which aligns with local economic and skills priorities and liked the college’s work with employers and business professionals to develop content for vocational courses such as live briefs.

The Ofsted ratings for the college are:

Overall effectiveness - Good
The quality of education - Good
Behaviour and attitudes -Good
Personal development - Good
Leadership and management - Good
Education programmes for young people -Good
Provision for learners with high needs - Outstanding
Overall effectiveness at previous inspection - Good

They also praised the quality of teaching, highlighting that teachers skilfully develop students’ creative skills, knowledge and behaviours to help them produce work that is of an excellent standard. They went on to state that teachers are supportive and give useful critical feedback to help students understand how they can improve.

Phil Rumsey, Principal of Scarborough Sixth Form College said:

"We are delighted that the team of inspectors identified many of our strengths, recognised the excellent opportunities that our students have at the college and the fantastic progress they make here. They rightly praised the hard work and dedication of our teachers and the impact this has on our students, especially those with high needs. I was particularly pleased that the lead inspector took the time to praise the conduct of our students, saying how impressed she was with their friendly and polite manner alongside their excellent attitudes to learning.

As a college community, we never stand still and are always looking for ways of improving further. The introduction of iPads for all new students from September is exciting and will further ensure all our students are well prepared for the digital world they will be working in, in years to come."

The report did highlight a small number of areas for improvement focusing mainly on attendance. Inspectors said:

"Students do not attend consistently well in all subject areas. Staff have strategies in place to enable students to catch up on missed work, such as timetabling intervention sessions, accessing content online and additional support sessions during lunchtime and after college. Leaders and managers have recently employed additional staff to focus on improving attendance further. However, it is too soon to see the impact of this"