Melton Vale Sixth Form College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Information about this provider

Melton Vale Sixth Form College (MV16) is a 16 to 19 academy that opened in 2017. The college was previously part of the Belvoir and Melton Academy Trust, offering 11 to 19 provision until its closure in 2017.

Following this, the college became part of the Nova Education Trust.

At the time of the inspection, there were 398 students studying full-time education programmes for young people. About two thirds of these study A levels.

The remainder study a mixture of A levels and vocational courses at level 3. Five students study foundation art in year 14.

The college has seen a significant rise in students with special educational needs (SEN) during this academi...c year.

The number of SEN students enrolled at MV16 has more than doubled to 41 compared to the previous academic year.

What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Students are proud to study at MV16. They rightly value the calm and purposeful atmosphere at the college and enjoy the freedoms that the sixth-form experience offers.

They feel, and are, safe.

Students enjoy their subjects. They are motivated to achieve well, and many aspire to study further.

They are conscientious in lessons, where they attend well and on time, and they apply themselves effectively to the challenges teachers set for them.

Students' attitudes towards their learning are exceptional. They demonstrate high levels of commitment to developing their skills and knowledge.

Students take ownership of their learning by completing a range of independent activities outside of the classroom. This helps them develop their knowledge and understanding beyond the requirements of their course.

Students appreciate how effectively staff oversee and support their well-being.

They rightly appreciate the high-quality well-being spaces and learning environments created by staff. As a result, students, including those with additional learning needs, develop high levels of confidence and resilience.

Students feel, and inspectors agree, that their opinions are listened to.

They rightly value a range of student voice opportunities. For example, weekly polls help prioritise what students want to learn in personal development sessions.

What does the provider do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders and governors ensure that students benefit from a well-informed and up-to-date curriculum.

They work extensively with key stakeholders to plan a curriculum offer that meets local and regional employment needs exceptionally well. Recent additions include A-level politics, which aligns closely with the knowledge required for university, and engineering, to support progression on to degree apprenticeships.

Leaders and teachers foster a culture of ambition for all students.

They focus on academic success. Teachers provide an excellent education that enables students to progress on to high-quality destinations. As a result, most students pass their qualifications and attain high grades, including those with additional learning needs.

Those who choose to go to university secure places on their first-choice course. Students who elect not to go to university, successfully progress to apprenticeships or employment.

Teachers are highly skilled practitioners.

They have extensive levels of subject knowledge, which they use well. Teachers' structure lessons carefully and thoughtfully. They consider the links between topics in their own subject and those of the different courses so that lessons complement each other.

For example, A- level business studies and A-level economics teachers work together to harness the synergy of the two subjects to enhance students' understanding.

Leaders have responded swiftly to the increasing demand of support required for students who are identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They implement clear procedures to identify students' needs and work with them well, to produce highly effective support plans.

Teachers of students who have SEND understand their additional needs well. They carefully adjust the classroom environment and modify teaching materials to ensure that these students make as much progress as their peers.

Teachers are passionate about their subjects and use highly effective teaching techniques to present information clearly.

They use, for example, frequent testing, comprehension and problem-solving activities to address misconceptions and deepen students' learning. As a result, a large majority of students develop a high level of expertise and skill in the subjects they study and produce work of an excellent standard.

Leaders have developed a broad and varied personal development curriculum.

Students have access to a very wide range of enrichment activities, including trips, visits and external speakers related to their progression aims. For example, students visit Oxbridge colleges and attend master classes on degree apprenticeship programmes at a local university.

Quality assurance arrangements are purposeful and focus on driving continual improvements.

Leaders review and analyse a broad range of indicators well, such as data, student feedback, assessment outcomes and lesson visits. They recognise areas of underperformance and swiftly implement focused action plans. For example, after identifying issues in students' comprehension within A-level English, leaders' actions led to most students exceeding their target grades.

Leaders are skilful in utilising alumni to provide impartial careers advice and guidance to students. They play an increasingly impactful role in students' career choices. Alumni attend careers events at the college, where they present their experience of higher education and employment, discuss the complexities of the employment market, and mentor individual students.

All students receive highly effective personalised careers information and guidance. An increasing number of students choose to follow degree apprenticeships at prestigious companies as a result of the guidance they receive.

Leaders have established effective governance arrangements.

Governors work closely with leaders and share their high aspirations for students and take an active role in college life. They visit the college frequently, conduct collaborative quality assurance activities, meet with students, and review feedback from staff focus groups. The valuable insight they gain from these first-hand experiences allows them to better understand the college, and to be effective critical friends.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have implemented appropriate policies and procedures to safeguard all students. Where safeguarding or welfare concerns are raised, actions are timely, detailed notes are taken and appropriate support is put into place.

Those responsible for safeguarding have extensive links with local external agencies and use these well, to ensure that they are well informed about local and regional risks students may face.

Leaders have highly effective processes in place to ensure proper checks are conducted during the recruitment process of all staff, including governors. As a result, students, including those with high needs, feel very safe at college, they know how to report any concerns they have and are confident these will be dealt with swiftly.