LTE Group

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings

This is a good provider Leaders have an ambitious strategy for the college that they align carefully to the needs of the Manchester city region. They plan a highly effective curriculum offer. Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have overseen improvements in the quality of education they provide.

A large majority of students demonstrate good behaviour and develop good social, personal and employability skills. Teachers support students very effectively. As a result, many of those who have struggled previously in education achieve well.

Almost all students, including a high proportion of those who have high needs, benefit from effective work-related learning and high-q...uality work experience activities. A high proportion of students achieve their vocational qualifications. A high proportion of students on study programmes and a very high proportion of adult students achieve their functional skills qualifications.

Most current students make good progress from their starting points, with a small minority making better than expected progress. Too few students consistently attend their lessons as expected. A small minority of students do not arrive at their lessons on time.

Teachers do not use information about students who have high needs well enough when they plan and deliver learning. As a result, these students do not develop the skills for adult life of which they are capable. The proportion of students who improve their grade in GCSE English and mathematics and achieve a grade 4 or above is too low.

The small number of students on study programmes following A-level courses do not make the progress expected of them from their starting points.

Information about the provider

Learning Training and Employment (LTE) Group is the parent group for The Manchester College. The group also includes a university centre, an offender learning provider, a corporate training and development company, and a training provider specialising in apprenticeship training.

Since the previous inspection, The Manchester College has stopped delivering apprenticeships. As a result, there were no apprenticeships in scope for this inspection. The Manchester College operates over nine sites in the city of Manchester.

It is the largest provider of further education in the Manchester city region. As well as offering further education courses in a wide range of subject areas, the college also delivers employer training and higher education. Compared with the rest of the country, Manchester is an area of high social deprivation.

As of September 2018, the rate of unemployment is higher in Manchester than in the rest of the North West, and higher than the rate for England. A lower proportion of the population is qualified at level 2 and above than in other regions of England, and 11% of the population have no qualifications. In 2017/18, the proportion of pupils in the local authority who achieved GCSEs at grade 5 or above in English and mathematics was lower than the national average.