Sir George Monoux College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Information about this provider

Sir George Monoux College is based in Waltham Forest in London. The college offers a range of academic and vocational qualifications at levels 2 and 3. The vast majority of their 1665 students study vocational qualifications, with their greatest numbers in health and social care and business.

The college also offers 24 A-level subjects.

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

Students benefit from studying in an environment in which they feel confident to work hard and be themselves. Students are courteous, motivated and positive.

They treat one another with respect and value the fact that the college is a place in which they feel safe. ...They have absolute confidence that they can raise any concerns they might have with staff, and that staff would take effective actions to ensure that they are safe and well.

Staff encourage all students to develop the skills to study independently.

In designated timetabled sessions, students benefit from access to the college's independent learning centre which includes a well-resourced library, a silent study area and access to computers on which to complete their work. Students work well in this space, using the high-quality resources provided for them by their teachers.

Students enjoy a broad and enriching curriculum outside of their core subjects.

For instance, all vocational students take part in work experience that is linked to their specialist subject and attend one-to-one sessions with specialist advisors who help them to make successful applications to universities and apprenticeships.

Students benefit from high-quality support in relation to their physical and mental wellbeing. Every student has a mentor assigned to them who frequently speaks to them and provides them with advice about any challenges they may face in their studies or their personal lives.

Students value this support hugely. Staff encourage students to stay physically fit and healthy through their access to the gym and group sports, and through their canteen, which serves healthy meals every day.

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

Leaders have established a culture in which staff have high expectations of students.

Staff demonstrate these through the standards they set for students' behaviour and the high-quality support they put in place for individuals. Leaders have demonstrated their commitment to educating the hardest to reach students, including those who have experienced significant behavioural challenges in the past, through the successful introduction of their Reach Up programme.

Leaders have made notable improvements to the college since their most recent inspection, and they have done so by providing their staff with effective training and development.

As a result, the college now has a strong middle leadership team, whose members have put in place an effective curriculum for students. Staff feel very well supported by the college's senior leaders and are rightly proud of the work that they do.

Teachers assess students at the start of their courses and use the information they gain effectively in order to tailor their curriculum to the needs of students.

Teachers plan the content and the order of what they teach carefully and logically. For example, in GCSE mathematics, teachers first teach key topics such as fractions, percentages and ratios, to ensure that students have plenty of opportunities to put into practice this knowledge throughout their course. As a result of this approach, students retain well what they have been taught, and a high proportion of students go on to achieve their qualifications.

In most subjects, teachers use a range of effective strategies to teach students new knowledge. For instance, teachers skilfully question their students to find out what they have learned, and to identify any misconceptions. They encourage students to think about any questions that arise and discuss these with their peers.

As a result, students engage with thinking about and understanding the new knowledge being taught. Leaders recognise that in a few subjects there are still areas for improvement in the quality of teaching.

Leaders have put in place an appropriate curriculum for students with high needs, which includes access to programmes which lead to qualifications.

Through effective actions taken by staff, students with high needs make notable strides in developing their self-confidence and communication skills. Leaders have also put in place highly effective support sessions and resources for students with specific additional learning needs. For example, teachers provide support such as scribes and assistive technology to students with dyslexia.

Students with high and additional needs achieve similar outcomes to their peers and progress to positive destinations, including university and apprenticeships.

Leaders recognise that in too many subjects, teachers do not consistently provide students with feedback on their work which tells them what they have done well and how they can improve. As a result, students repeat the same misconceptions in future pieces of work, and gaps in their knowledge remain.

Teachers do not routinely check students' work for errors in grammar or punctuation, or teach students how to put these right.

Teachers place a great emphasis on supporting students to develop their employability skills. For instance, in level 3 health and social care, staff teach students about health and safety in the workplace by teaching lessons in a mock hospital room.

Leaders have also set up valuable partnerships to help students to prepare for their future. For example, staff work with recruitment specialists from the National Health Service to provide mock interviews for jobs and university places in medicine and the healthcare sector.

Leaders take appropriate steps to teach students vital knowledge about topics such as healthy relationships, sexual health and democracy.

They have put in place a series of high-quality interactive assemblies to ensure students can engage with these topics in depth. Leaders recognise that more can be done to frequently revisit these topics through their lessons and their enrichment activities to ensure that all students are able to recall what they have been taught. Staff encourage students to take on positions of responsibility, such as becoming a student governor, and to give back to their community, for instance by supporting their local food bank.

Leaders set and maintain very high standards for the behaviour of students, and they have taken effective actions to improve the attendance and punctuality of students, which in most cases is now good. Leaders recognise that this continues to be an area of challenge, and they are committed to continuously increasing the proportion of students who are in lessons, on time, every day.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have provided appropriate training for their staff, which includes regular updates, for instance in the radicalisation and extremism risks that students may face in their local area. Leaders have put in place appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures which are well understood and followed by staff. Where safeguarding concerns do arise, leaders respond to these swiftly and effectively.

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Leaders should continue to improve students' attendance and punctuality to ensure that a higher proportion of students attend their lessons, on time, every day. ? Leaders should improve the quality of feedback that teachers provide to students, to ensure that students on all courses know how to improve their work or correct misconceptions. ? Leaders should further improve the quality of teaching in those areas where it is not yet good to ensure that students receive an equally high quality of education in all subjects.