Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre, City of London Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Information about this provider

Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre is a 16 to 19 free school based in East Ham in Newham, east London. The sixth form specialises in teaching 12 academic A-level subjects, with a focus on mathematics and the sciences.

All of their 659 learners study three or four A-level subjects. Their largest subject areas are mathematics, with 473 learners; chemistry with 399; and biology with 341. The sixth form has a strategic partnership with University College London.

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

Learners at Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre benefit from studying in an environment dedicated to academic excellence. Learners take a high level o...f responsibility for their own learning and work equally hard to achieve their ambitions during lessons and in their supervised study time.

Learners enjoy the challenge of meeting the high expectations set for them by their teachers.

They benefit from their teachers' high levels of subject expertise which allow them to learn not only the content of their A-level syllabus but also knowledge beyond that required for their examinations. Most learners make good progress and achieve high grades in their examinations.

In lessons, and around the sixth form, learners' behaviour is impeccable.

Learners support their peers in their learning and are respectful to one another. They feel safe and well supported by staff. They are confident that staff will support them should they require any additional help, be that academic or personal.

Learners benefit from leaders' expertise in preparing them to make successful applications to the most competitive universities and apprenticeship pathways. They enjoy attending additional sessions in which they have the opportunity to study undergraduate level content, and develop their skills in independent enquiry, critical thinking and debate. Consequently, learners are well prepared for their future studies.

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

Leaders have a clear and unwavering ambition for their learners to achieve excellent outcomes and progress to the most competitive universities and apprenticeships.

Leaders and teachers have created highly logical plans to teach their learners. For example, in mathematics, teachers begin the year by recapping pertinent knowledge from GCSE-level mathematics.

This ensures that teachers have identified and closed any gaps in learning that have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. They then progress on to A-level knowledge effectively by teaching, for instance, 2x2 matrices in the first year before further mathematicians go on to study 3x3 matrices in Year 13. This approach enables learners to build their knowledge over time so that they can tackle successfully the most challenging topics in the syllabus.

Teachers have created exceptionally high-quality learning resources to support learners in gaining new knowledge. For example, in biology, a series of useful step-by-step instructions and diagrams support learners as they develop their skills in undertaking practical activities. Learners use these resources very well when reinforcing their learning in their supervised study sessions.

Learners benefit from being taught by teachers who are subject experts. For the small minority of teachers who are not subject experts, leaders provide high-quality training in subject content and teaching skills, as well as frequent opportunities to plan teaching with their peers. This highly effective approach enables staff new to teaching their subject to quickly become highly skilled in the classroom.

All staff benefit from a wide range of ongoing training and support to continue to develop their teaching skills and subject knowledge.

In most subjects, teachers use assessment effectively to identify topics that learners have misunderstood. They provide helpful feedback on learners' work and teach lessons in which they identify and correct common misconceptions.

Where learners require additional support, leaders have put in place a highly effective intervention programme to help learners get back on track.

Leaders provide very good support for learners who are identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Learners with identified needs receive appropriate support such as reading pens to help with dyslexia and enlarged text on their tablet computers.

As a result, learners with SEND progress to high-quality destinations equally as well as their peers.

Through their 'super-curricular' sessions, teachers enable learners to stretch their knowledge and interests beyond the boundaries of the A-level syllabus. For example, learners interested in studying chemistry at university can attend lessons in undergraduate topics such as the synthesis of superheavy elements.

This helps learners decide if they would like to study this subject in the future. Increasingly, learners have access to a range of sessions in which they can explore activities for their health, well-being and enjoyment, such as sports and drama clubs.

Leaders have planned a thorough personal, social, health and citizenship education curriculum, through which learners explore a wide range of topics including sexual health.

These sessions are lively and engaging, and learners appreciate the opportunity to engage with current issues and to develop their skills in proposing, debating and critical thinking.

Governors play a valuable role in supporting and challenging the sixth form's senior leadership team. Leaders benefit from governors' individual expertise, in addition to the support and resources provided through their membership of the City of London Academies Trust.

Governors take direct action to test the reports they receive from leaders, for instance through holding focus groups with learners on key topics. The valuable insight they gain from these first-hand experiences allow them to better understand the sixth form, and to more effectively challenge leaders to improve on their areas for development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have created a strong culture of safeguarding which includes a comprehensive range of training for all of their staff and governors. Leaders understand well the importance of building a picture around each learner of any low-level concerns. Leaders can then identify and respond swiftly to more serious concerns that may emerge.

Where concerns do arise, they respond very effectively, engaging where appropriate with external agencies to provide additional support to the learner.

Learners report that they feel safe while at the sixth form. They know that they can speak to any member of staff if they have any concerns.

Learners are confident that leaders would take their concern seriously and provide them with any support that they may need. Learners appreciate the recent addition of an anonymous online reporting tool as an additional route for raising concerns.

Leaders undertake all appropriate actions to ensure that the staff they employ are safe to work with their learners.