Tyne Coast College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Information about this provider

Tyne Coast College is a general further education college in north-east England.

It has two campuses, Tyne Metropolitan College to the north of the Tyne river and South Tyneside College, which also houses the South Shields Marine School. At the time of inspection, there were 1,530 learners on education programmes for young people including 42 learners on A-level programmes, 1,839 adult learners, 335 apprentices and 305 learners with high needs. Tyne Coast College partners with local elite sports organisations to provide coaching for learners on specialist sports programmes.

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

Learners and apprentices benefit ...from consistently high-quality teaching and value the support that they receive from staff throughout the college. Achievement across all provision types is high, with recent significant improvement for learners on education programmes for young people and adult learning programmes. Learners and apprentices grow in resilience and confidence during their programmes and are prepared well to take the next steps in their education and careers.

Most learners and apprentices demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning. Teachers create calm, purposeful environments throughout the college, and learners and apprentices demonstrate courtesy and respect. Learners and apprentices participate readily in lessons and are keen to listen and learn from their teachers and each other.

Learners on education programmes for young people gain substantial new knowledge and develop important vocational and academic skills that prepare them well for their careers. They complete valuable work experience and work-related activities. For example, learners in hairdressing work with clients in realistic salons, and learners in the Marine School train on state-of-the-art simulators.

Learners on A-level programmes benefit from high-quality academic teaching and valuable support to help prepare them for their next steps, which for most is a place at university.

Adult learners make good progress on their courses and achieve highly. They value the support of passionate teachers who believe in them, and they strive to meet their teachers' high expectations.

Programmes are designed with a clear purpose and with future employment in mind. For example, many learners on courses in English for speakers of other languages study towards a qualification in information and communication technology alongside developing their English skills, to enable them to gain additional skills for employment.

Apprentices develop substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours on their programmes, which enables them to make valuable contributions in their workplaces.

They grow in confidence, using specialist terminology fluently. For example, teaching assistant apprentices demonstrate their understanding in assessments without relying on their notes. In the previous year, a significant number of apprentices left their programmes early, mainly due to being offered higher salaries for their skills.

However, most apprentices who completed their programmes achieved.

Learners with high needs make at least expected progress and gain useful qualifications where appropriate. Learners on specialist programmes develop important skills such as learning to cook and travelling independently, and skills to help them in the home, like using a drill.

Learners on vocational programmes achieve in line with their peers, benefiting from the same opportunities, including listening to guest speakers and carrying out work experience. However, learners on supported internships and a few learners on specialist high needs programmes do not benefit from sufficient encounters with workplaces that are relevant to their individual aspirations.

Learners and apprentices benefit from a well-planned wider curriculum which prepares them to be active and safe in modern Britain.

Staff provide informative sessions on topics such as healthy relationships, substance abuse and drink spiking. 'Ten-minute takeovers', where expert staff briefly join teaching sessions to discuss specific topics, are used effectively to provide topical sessions, such as in response to news stories about misogyny and sexual harassment.

Learners on education programmes for young people participate in a wide range of enrichment activities such as a film club, social sewing and a choir.

Adult learners and apprentices are aware of these opportuntities but rarely take part in them. Learners in hairdressing take part in competitions, and some were winners and runners up in World Skills UK competitions. Other learners are involved in social action projects, including learners in construction making 'buddy benches' for local primary schools to reduce social isolation.

Contribution to meeting skills needs

The college makes a reasonable contribution to meeting skills needs.

Leaders engage well with stakeholders and have a secure understanding of the needs of the local and regional skills priorities, both north and south of the Tyne. Their curriculum strategy broadly aligns with the local labour market information, including taking strategic decisions not to run specific programmes when they would duplicate those of other providers nearby.

Since the appointment of several new senior leaders in the last two years, there has been an increase in the engagement with stakeholders. This includes reinvigorated advisory boards for curriculum development and a sharper focus on gathering information about skills needed in the region. Leaders have prioritised aligning their curriculum primarily with key areas of growth, such as in automotive.

They have further plans for other areas which have not yet been fully implemented, such as the visitor economy.

Leaders ensure that stakeholders are involved in all areas of the curriculum. Where this is well established, such as in hairdressing and sport, stakeholders have a strong voice.

They help staff to understand the skills that learners and apprentices need to be successfully employed in that industry and contribute in a variety of ways throughout the programmes. However, in a few subject areas, the relationships with stakeholders are still in their early stages.

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

In the last two years, leaders have taken decisive action to tackle the significant challenges which the college faced, many resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They appointed several senior leaders, established new ways of working and revised their curriculum offer. Now, beyond this time of turbulence, the senior leadership team have steered the college on a steadier course, which has had a positive impact, including improved learner and apprentice achievement.

Leaders have established a range of procedures to improve oversight of the provision across the college and use accurate data effectively to drive improvements.

For example, managers carry out weekly reviews of learners' and apprentices' attendance, punctuality and progress on their programmes. Where needed, managers swiftly put actions in place to help individuals attend and achieve.

Leaders implement effective arrangements for evaluating the quality of teaching, including visiting lessons with a clear focus on reviewing teaching and assessment.

Teachers receive helpful, specific actions for improvement about their teaching practice, including carrying out relevant professional development activities.

Leaders thoroughly monitor the quality of the provision delivered through subcontracts with their elite sports partners. College staff liaise with staff from the partners frequently, conduct site visits and learner focus groups, and visit coaching sessions.

Leaders confidently assure themselves that learners benefit from high-quality coaching in a safe environment.

Leaders are considerate of staff well-being and workload. Most staff are positive about leaders and appreciate their support and visibility in the college.

Staff have access to a range of benefits and resources to support their well-being, including a well-being day and being able to take their annual leave when they wish.

Knowledgeable and experienced governors provide effective support and challenge for leaders. They receive comprehensive information about the college's performance and understand its strengths and where it needs to improve.

Governors have been key in the recent changes in the college, providing guidance and constancy during times of change, and are now supporting leaders well to achieve their targets.

Leaders and managers have a clear rationale and vision for the programmes that they provide for learners and apprentices. They align most of their curriculum offer with the needs of the local and regional area.

Leaders took the decision to cease offering A levels due to strong competition in the region. They have committed to ensuring that the remaining students successfully complete their A levels although, initially, this was not communicated clearly enough when announcing the closure.

Well-qualified teachers plan the curriculum well, ensuring that learners and apprentices, including those who require additional support, develop knowledge, skills and behaviours effectively over time.

For example, in computer science, teachers weave computational thinking throughout the curriculum to provide opportunities for learners to practise this key skill. Learners and apprentices build their skills gradually through their programmes and demonstrate their new knowledge and skills confidently.Teachers consider learners' and apprentices' starting points and use them to plan learning effectively.

In specialist provision for learners with high needs, staff accurately assess their learners and create individual learning plans with strategies to help learners overcome barriers. This helps learners with high needs make secure progress.

Teachers use a range of effective techniques to teach their subjects.

These include skilful questioning, breaking learning into its component parts and using repetition to help embed knowledge in long-term memory. For example, in performing engineering operations, learners repeat their use of basic tool skills with increasingly complex pieces, which helps them to develop muscle memory and extend their metal-cutting and fitting skills.

Most teachers use assessment frequently to check learners' and apprentices' understanding and identify gaps in learning, and they use this to adapt their teaching.

Teachers provide helpful feedback which learners and apprentices use to improve. In construction, apprentices measuring components of stud walls receive verbal feedback as they work to help them correct their practice immediately and recognise when they are doing well.

Learners and apprentices produce work of a good standard which demonstrates their developing knowledge and skills.

Learners in maritime engineering operations learn how to make complex metal components for a variety of uses to a high degree of precision. Apprentices in plastering routinely work to industrial standards when applying plaster finishes to a variety of backgrounds.

Teachers integrate the development of English and mathematics successfully into their programmes.

For example, learners in some vocational areas who arrive late to a lesson are asked to calculate the impact of lateness on a typical salary. On apprenticeships, teachers highlight action verbs like 'comprehend' and 'identify' to help apprentices understand what is expected in their end-point assessment. Learners who need to take English and mathematics qualifications receive effective teaching and support to help them improve their grades.

Learners and apprentices make steady progress on their programmes and develop the knowledge, skills and behaviour which enables them to progress to their intended next steps. For example, almost all learners on maritime studies continue to the full merchant navy cadet programme. The vast majority of learners on level 3 computer science and software progress into higher education.

Most learners and apprentices understand the breadth of future careers which their studies make possible and plan their next step towards achieving their goals. Teachers provide valuable sector-specific careers advice on their programmes. For example, apprentices in electrical installation and maintenance complete a media wall which includes different occupations in the construction industry.

Learners on study programmes, including those with high needs, benefit from specialist careers advisers who provide useful information, arrange careers-related events and carry out one-to-one careers interviews.Leaders have focused on improving attendance and punctuality over the last two years, and the positive impact can be seen in a three-year upward trend, particularly on education programmes for young people, including those sitting English and mathematics qualifications. Although attendance is still below the college's target, learners and apprentices are attending more frequently than they did, which is having a positive influence on their progress and achievement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the provider need to do to improve?

• Maintain the momentum of rapid improvements to continue increasing attendance and improving achievement. ? Ensure that learners with high needs, particularly those on supported internships, have meaningful work experience which is related to their individual career aspirations.

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