College celebrates after another successful inspection

Leading members of a city college have praised staff and students after a positive rating from an inspection.

The good rating is the third in a row for Wolverhampton College

Wolverhampton College has maintained its ‘Good’ Ofsted rating following the inspection in January, its third good rating in a role following inspections in 2014 and 2017.

A team of 14 inspectors carried out a rigorous four-day full assessment of all areas of the college, with the organisation being given the second highest possible grading that Ofsted can award for overall effectiveness.

In the report, inspectors rated a range of types of provision as ‘Good’, including education programmes for young people, adult learning programmes and provision for learners with high needs, as well as quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

Malcolm Cowgill, principal and chief executive of the college said, "We are delighted with the latest Ofsted rating which endorses our position as one of the leading education providers in the region.

"Students and apprentices are at the heart of everything we do and everyone at the college works tirelessly to ensure they develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for the next stage of their career journey.

"Our Good rating shows that Ofsted formally recognises this and the positive impact the college is having on individual lives, as well as meeting the skills needs of local businesses and contributing to economic regeneration across the region."

Louise Fall (centre) said the result was down to the hard work of staff and their efforts to put students first

Deputy principal Louise Fall said the college had worked really hard to make sure students and apprentices got the quality of education that they deserved and said it had been great to see the hard work rubber-stamped by Ofsted.

She said: "We set high standards and learners have responded positively to those expectations we set as we're not just preparing them to be good students, we're also preparing them for the next steps to be employable, to have careers and going to university.

"It's really enthused everyone and people haven't put their feet up and thought 'that's it for another five years', more that as a whole college, we've come together to see what we can do next and how we can further improve, and we've love the next inspection to say outstanding.

"I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who contributed to the good result as it's all about the students and apprentices and everything we do is to make sure that they can succeed in their futures."

The report highlights a number of key strengths, including the provision of a broad curriculum which meets the needs of the local economy and how the college engages with employers and stakeholders to ensure that curriculum content aligns with current industry trends and practices.

It also highlighted the work with implementing courses to meet local skills needs in construction, electric vehicle maintenance, rail track safety and social care.

The inspection team praised tutors for planning lessons effectively, using a range of teaching and learning strategies to engage and enthuse students, using complex tasks to assess students' knowledge and understanding, and supporting all students and apprentices to achieve their qualification and progress to their next level of education, training or employment.

Inspectors also praised students' and apprentices' positive attitudes to learning, how they respond positively to the challenging learning set by tutors and high expectations of staff, and how they take pride in their work and are ambitious for their futures.