City of Glasgow College 11 March 2016 A report by HM Inspectors On behalf of the Scottish Funding Council Summary Report The external review process HM Inspectors undertake an independent review of the quality of provision in Scotland’s colleges on behalf of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC) under a service level agreement between the council and Education Scotland. External review teams include HM Inspectors, associate assessors and a student team member. During external reviews, members of the review teams observe learning and teaching and hold discussions with learners, staff and stakeholders. They consider information on learner attainment and evaluate learner progress and outcomes. They meet with members of the Board of Management and obtain feedback from community groups, partners and employers who work with the college. The purpose of this report is to convey the main outcomes arising from the external review, to acknowledge the college’s strengths and to provide a clear agenda for future action to improve and enhance quality. This external review results in judgements of effective or limited effectiveness or not effective that express the external review team’s overall evaluation of high quality learning, learner engagement and quality culture. The report also uses the following terms to describe numbers and proportions: almost all most majority less than half few over 90% 75-90% 50-74% 15-49% up to 15% This report is Crown Copyright. You may re-use this publication (not including agency logos) free of charge in any format for research, private study or internal circulation within an organisation. You must re-use it accurately and not use it in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown Copyright and you must give the title of the source document/publication. For any other use of this material please apply for a Click-Use Licence for core material at: www.hmso.gov.uk/copyright/licences/click-use-home.htm or by writing to: HMSO Licensing, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich, NR3 1BQ Fax: 01603 723000 E-mail: hmsolicensing@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk Contents Page 1. Introduction 1 The external review 1 2. The college and its context 2 3. 3 Outcomes of external review Judgement of Effectiveness Section A: Section B: Section C: Section D: Section E: Overarching judgement Supporting statements Areas of positive practice Areas for development Main points for action 3 3 4 5 5 4. Signposting excellent practice 6 5. What is an overarching judgement? 10 6. What happens next? 11 7. What happens next? 12 8. How can you contact us? 13 Appendices 14 Glossary of terms The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework 14 15 1. Introduction The external review The external review by Education Scotland took place during the week beginning 11 January 2016. We examined learning and teaching and other important activities that impact on the quality of the learner experience. We evaluated these against the three key principles of high quality learning, learner engagement and quality culture, using the 13 reference quality indicators outlined in External quality arrangements for Scotland’s colleges, updated August 2013. We also included QIs 1.3 Adherence to statutory principles and 2.2 Relevance of programmes and services to learner needs, to support our evaluations. We used information from previous visits to the college to decide the scope of the review. We found examples of excellence which we describe in this report on page 19. The external review team talked with learners, staff at all levels in the college, members of the Board of Management, employers, external agencies and other users of the college. 1 2. The college and its context In carrying out the external review of City of Glasgow College, Education Scotland took the following college context fully into account. City of Glasgow College was established in 2010 as a result of merger of Central College Glasgow, Glasgow Metropolitan College and Glasgow College of Nautical Studies. Located within the city centre, the college currently operates from nine delivery locations that are a mix of new modern facilities and existing legacy campuses. Phase one of its on-going estates re-development strategy, Riverside Campus, opened in August 2015. Another new, larger campus is also under construction on Cathedral Street in the city and will open in August 2016, replacing all other existing locations. The college is the largest of three assigned colleges in the Glasgow region along with Glasgow Clyde College and Glasgow Kelvin College and is contracted by the Glasgow Regional Board to deliver the Glasgow Regional Outcome Agreement (ROA) 2014-17. City of Glasgow College works in partnership to deliver the ROA priority of increasing the number of learners who achieve qualifications to access further study and, or work within the city. Forty-five percent of City of Glasgow College learners live in Glasgow. The remaining fifty-five percent travel to study from across Scotland with a number travelling significant distances to access specialist provision. The college attracts around 300 international learners a year, most of whom study programmes within the nautical studies faculty. A significant number of residents in Glasgow have low levels of qualifications or no formal qualifications. Approximately one third of the learner population is from the most deprived SIMD datazones. The college offers programmes from level 2 to level 11 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) and these are aligned to Glasgow’s key growth sectors. Subjects are grouped into six curriculum faculties. The college also delivers a range of Modern Apprenticeship programmes and a range of part-time provision for school pupils including the new Foundation Apprenticeship in Engineering. In academic year 2014-15, City of Glasgow College enrolled around 12,500 learners on SFC-funded programmes with just over 8,000 studying full-time and accounting for 80% of wSUM activity. In academic year 2015-16, the college is contracted to deliver a target of 162,868 credits, which is 43% of the regional target within the ROA. Currently, City of Glasgow College employs a total of 1,200 members of staff. Total SFC grant income represents 60% of the college’s total income. 2 3. Outcomes of External Review Judgement of Effectiveness Section A: Overarching judgement City of Glasgow College has in place effective arrangements to maintain and enhance the quality of its provision and outcomes for learners and other stakeholders. This judgement means that, in relation to quality assurance and enhancement, the college is led well, has sufficiently robust arrangements to address any identified minor weaknesses, and is likely to continue to improve the quality of its services for learners and other stakeholders. Section B: Supporting statements Learner progress and outcomes The number of learners who successfully complete their programme has improved significantly at all levels and modes of delivery over the last three years. However, in a few subject areas, too many part-time further education (FE) learners leave early or do not achieve their qualification. College safeguarding arrangements for young people and vulnerable groups are comprehensive and robust. The college offers a wide range of programmes from SCQF levels 2-11 that meet the needs of the college’s learners, employers and communities well. The college engages proactively with secondary schools across Glasgow and neighbouring regions to offer programmes which meet the needs of young people in the senior phase of curriculum for excellence. Most learners make good progress and attain the qualifications. Staff ensure that the majority of learners are provided with a broad range of opportunities to achieve more widely and develop skills for learning, life and work. Learning and teaching processes The college promotes equality and diversity well within programmes. In classes, learners interact well with each other and with their class tutors which creates a positive and supportive climate for learning. Most teaching staff have recent and relevant industrial experience and plan lessons effectively to incorporate an emphasis on developing industry standards and employability skills. However, the majority of teaching staff use too narrow a range of teaching approaches to engage all learners sufficiently. The college has a clear commitment to incorporating essential skills development into all programmes. However, not all teaching staff, particularly guidance tutors, understand their role in supporting learners to develop the full range of essential skills within their programmes. High quality support services are effective in supporting learners. Almost all staff have a strong focus on the performance of their programmes and have a clear understanding of where improvement in performance is required. However, the majority of teaching staff do not reflect routinely or systematically on their classroom practice. 3 Learner engagement The college has a clearly expressed commitment to learner engagement. The majority of learners are actively engaged in enhancing their own learning. Learners regularly contribute their views through questionnaires, focus groups, ‘you are the expert’ meetings and class representation. Almost all full-time and many part-time programmes have appointed class representatives. Class representatives are well supported and enabled to undertake their role effectively. The majority of class representatives have not yet received formal training, however plans are in place for this to take place soon. Many learners are unaware of feedback provided on actions taken arising from cross-college surveys. Learners of all backgrounds and circumstances are supported well to integrate into college life. Equality and diversity is celebrated and promoted well to learners. Learners are well represented on key college committees. Learners engage enthusiastically in a wide range of activities which benefit the wider community. However, many learners are not aware of how the work of the Student Association and student engagement team complement each other. Leadership and Quality Culture The Principal and senior team work effectively together and with external partners. Clear and comprehensive operational planning arrangements align well with strategic aims and objectives. There is a strong culture of ownership and pride in the college’s purpose and way. The Principal and senior managers provide strong strategic direction for the curriculum and faculty directors are empowered to lead and manage their teams. Current arrangements for reflection on learning and teaching do not focus sufficiently on teaching practice. Support managers lead their areas effectively. Support staff work well together and are enthusiastic and flexible in their approach to supporting learners. There is a positive culture of performance and quality improvement which is shared by all staff. Staff engage well in self-evaluation and performance review. However, arrangements for selfevaluation do no support staff to reflect sufficiently on learning and teaching approaches. The college has an extensive and effective range of regional, national and international partnerships. Section C: Areas of positive practice The number of learners who successfully complete their programme has improved over the last three years and is now well above the sector performance level. Almost all successful learners, whose destination is known, progress directly to further learning, apprenticeships, or employment. Equality and diversity is embedded across college functions and is promoted well to learners. Staff ensure that the majority of learners are provided with a broad range of opportunities to achieve more widely and develop skills for learning, life and work. Staff in many programme teams demonstrate creativity and flexibility in adapting programmes to meet the needs of specific groups of learners. Where learning activities are engaging, almost all learners are well-motivated and participate productively during lessons. 4 Almost all learners use the college Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), MyCity, proficiently to access learning resources during classes and in their own time. Most teaching staff plan lessons well, often with an emphasis on developing vocational and employability skills. Almost all staff have a strong focus on the performance of their programmes and have a clear understanding of where improvement in performance is required. Almost all learners describe a sense of pride in being part of the college and enjoy mutual respectful and productive relationships with college staff. The Principal and senior managers provide strong strategic direction for the curriculum and leadership to enhance learning and teaching. Support staff work very effectively together in teams and with colleagues in teaching faculties to review and improve services to meet learner needs. There is a positive culture of performance and quality improvement in the college and a clear commitment to improving the learner experience by all staff. Section D: In a few classes, teaching staff miss opportunities to promote equality and diversity when naturally occurring opportunities arise. Not all teaching staff, particularly guidance tutors, fully understand their role in supporting learners to develop the full range of essential skills. However, where learning activities are not sufficiently stimulating, some learners are passive and become disengaged in learning. In the majority of lessons, the late arrival of some learners disrupts teaching activities which reduces the learning experience for other learners. Most staff do not take action to challenge learners’ poor timekeeping. Arrangements for personal development planning are not used effectively by staff The majority of teaching staff do not reflect routinely or systematically on their classroom practice as individuals or in teams. Section E: Areas for development Main point for action College managers should ensure that teaching staff reflect on their practice to ensure that an appropriate range of teaching approaches are used within lessons. 5 4. Signposting excellent practice During the Education Scotland external review, the college submitted examples of what it considered to be excellent practice and the review team also identified examples worthy of dissemination. 4.1 Supporting Learner Skills for Employability Through Effective Employer Engagement In line with the requirements of Developing The Young Workforce, City of Glasgow College is committed to helping learners to develop skills for employment which help them to ‘get a job, keep a job, and get a better job’. Through the development of a number of ‘industry academies’ across the curriculum, college staff engage directly with a wide range of local and national employers to collaborate, identify skills gaps, and provide learners with real-life work experiences. Learners are supported well to become work ready in their chosen vocational area through involvement in a range of activities such as work experience, work placements, cross-curricular initiatives and live projects set by employers. In turn, staff keep up-to-date with current developments within their specialist field and benefit from opportunities to work directly with employers, to jointly problem solve and address skills gaps. Companies have direct access to current learners and newly-qualified graduates, many of whom go on to employment as a result of prior engagement with their employer. To date, the Industry Academy model has significantly improved the range of opportunities for learners. It has increased the number of work placement and work experience opportunities, guaranteed interviews, range of industry-based projects and apprenticeship opportunities. 4.2 Improving Learner Attainment and Work Readiness Through The Use of Technology: Online Navigation Tool Maritime Studies Learners on maritime studies programmes, who have limited or no experience of life at sea, find it difficult to comprehend the complex international regulations for the prevention of collision at sea and associated buoyage systems. Previously, classroom-based learning activities did not provide sufficient ‘real-life’ experiences for learners. As a result, many learners required additional time to understand the complex systems and were unable to practise the buoyage and collision rules outwith the classroom. Staff recognised the need to support ongoing assessment and provide learners with realistic opportunities to practice these skills at a time and place which suits their needs. They worked to develop a mobile application that split the complex topic into bite-sized chunks of learning. This online tool allows learners to view the theoretical content, and test their understanding through the use of quizzes. Learners are enabled effectively to reinforce learning and study at a pace that suits their needs. Further developments support learners to navigate safely within a virtual channel of buoys and develop vital knowledge for the role of deck officer. As a result of the use of the mobile application, learner motivation has increased and attainment has improved at both unit level and in final exams. Learners now achieve more widely through greater awareness of safety issues at sea, and are more confident and ‘work ready’. 6 4.3 Championing Vocational Skills and Improving Quality Through Engagement in WorldSkills City of Glasgow College has established a very effective ‘WorldSkills’ academy as a platform to celebrate industry standard skills and inspire learners to achieve. The academy provides learners with a range of opportunities to develop work-relevant experiential skills at each stage of their learner journey. Learners work with industry standard and very experienced trainers and coaches to learn and develop the high level of skills and compete internationally with fellow learners from all over the world. They experience on-going exposure to excellence and strive to develop as learners and skilled vocational practitioners. Staff have aligned the curriculum to WorldSkills standards which meet the needs of employers industrial practices. On-going, systematic consultation with industry ensures that the standards and resulting competitions are consistent with current global best practice and technology. The use of WorldSkills standards helps the college to keep subject curriculum vocationally current and in line with employers' needs. By fostering a culture and ethos of high performance and outstanding achievement, young people are provided with high quality experiences to improve their life chances and prepare for employment. The college has had significant success in recent competitions and is now ranked number one in the WorldSkills UK league table with similarly high success at WorldSkills International. Learners value these experiences highly. 4.4 Supporting Learners to Succeed: Improving Retention and Attainment Through Co-ordinated Intervention City of Glasgow College recognises the vital role that support services play in helping learners to access, sustain, and successfully complete their chosen programme. In line with the college-wide focus on improving the learner experience, support services took collective ownership of their role in supporting learners to succeed. In response to high rates of learner withdrawal and low numbers of learners successfully completing their programme, support staff undertook a co-ordinated performance review of learner support services using an equality impact assessment tool. All aspects of the learner journey from the point of application to programme completion were systematically reviewed. The review took account of learner and staff views and detailed analysis of admissions and recruitment data. As a result of the review, changes were implemented at every stage of the learner journey. These include improved admissions arrangements, and systems for maintaining communication with applicants prior to enrolment. Arrangements were put in place to deliver activities to help new learners settle in, provide focussed advice and guidance to assist with finance issues and improve access to services for learners with additional needs. The student engagement team developed and delivered a range of helpful workshops to improve retention and attainment. These workshops were arranged in close partnership between support staff and teaching faculties and were designed to meet the needs of individual learner groups. As a result of these focussed and co-ordinated approaches. The number of learners who apply and proceed to enrolment has increased, learner withdrawals have reduced, and attainment has improved significantly. 7 10. What is an overarching judgement? Education Scotland uses an overarching judgement of Effectiveness to express the findings of the review team. The judgement of effectiveness takes into account all the evidence gathered through the external review. Such judgements express outcomes as: effective; limited effectiveness; or not effective. This judgement is further detailed by supporting statements which substantiate the judgement of effectiveness. Education Scotland evaluates and reports according to the three key principles. In this report, the principles and supporting statements relate to: Key principle 1 – High quality learning (supporting statements numbers 1 and 2) Key principle 2 – Learner engagement (supporting statement number 3) Key principle 3 – Quality culture (supporting statement number 4) Judgements of effectiveness and supporting statements provide stakeholders with assurances, or otherwise, about the quality of a college’s provision. These judgements are based on trends and track record of a college, the findings at the time of the external review, and the college’s capacity to continue improving. A judgement of effective indicates that the college has in place effective arrangements to maintain and enhance the quality of its provision and outcomes for learners and other stakeholders. This judgement means that, in relation to quality assurance and enhancement, the college is led well, has sufficiently robust arrangements to address any minor weakness, and is likely to continue to improve the quality of its services for learners and other stakeholders. A judgement of limited effectiveness indicates that the effectiveness of the college’s arrangements to maintain and enhance the quality of its provision and outcomes for learners and other stakeholders is limited. This judgement means that there are some strengths in the college’s arrangements for quality enhancement. However, there are weaknesses in arrangements for high quality learning and/or learner engagement and/or quality culture. If not addressed, the importance of these weaknesses will continue to limit the effectiveness of the college’s arrangements. A judgement of not effective indicates that the college’s arrangements to maintain and enhance the quality of its provision and outcomes for learners and other stakeholders are not effective. This judgement means that there are significant weaknesses in the arrangements for high quality learning and/or learner engagement and/or quality culture. There is a high probability that, without significant and comprehensive action, with external monitoring and support, the college will fail to improve current low-quality provision and outcomes to an acceptable level. Education Scotland does not have evidence that the college has the capacity and commitment to identify and implement effective and comprehensive action. 8 Scottish Funding Council response to judgements If the overarching judgement is effective, the Council will expect the college to engage with Education Scotland in follow-up activity, as appropriate, and, one year after the publication of the review reports, to provide a report, endorsed by its governing body (see Council guidance to colleges on quality from August 2012, paragraphs 62-66 SFC/13/2012 setting out its response to the review.) If the overarching judgement is of limited effectiveness or is not effective, the Council will require the institution to prepare and fulfil an action plan to address the shortcomings identified (see paragraph 67 of guidance). Education Scotland will provide advice to SFC on the adequacy of the action plan and on how it is being implemented. SFC, taking into account any advice from Education Scotland, will normally require a formal follow-up review at an appropriate time, usually within no more than two years. 9 11. What happens next? Education Scotland will continue to monitor progress during annual engagement visits to the college. There will be feedback to the learners at the college. One year on from this report, the college will produce a report setting out what it has done to address the main points for action and/or areas for development in the report and other quality assurance and enhancement activities. There will be a link to this report from Education Scotland’s website. Gill Ritchie HM Inspector 10 12. Further information The review and judgements relate to the college as a whole and do not provide information about individual programmes of study or subjects. For further information on these or any other queries, contact the college or look on its website http://www.cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk/ For further information about Education Scotland, the external review methodologies, or other information about reviews, see www.educationscotland.gov.uk For further information about the Scottish Funding Council, see – www.sfc.ac.uk 11 13 How can you contact us? This report has been produced as a web-only publication and is available on our website at http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/inspectionandreview/reports/othersectors/college reviews/CityofGlasgowCollegeGlasgow.asp If you would like to receive this report in a different format, for example, in a translation please contact the administration team on 0131 244 5684. If you want to give us feedback or make a complaint about our work, please contact us by telephone on 0131 244 4330, or e-mail: complaints@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to us addressing your letter to The Complaints Manager, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Livingston, EH54 6GA. Readability Survey Alternatively if you are reading this report in hard copy please type the following address into your web browser. http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/FEReadabilitysurvey130612_tcm4719342.doc Crown Copyright 2016. Education Scotland 12 Appendix 1 Glossary of terms CADMs CPD FE HE ICT PVG ROA SCQF SDS SFC VLE WRAP Course Action and Development Meetings Career Professional Development Further education Higher education Information and Communications Technology Protection Vulnerable Groups Regional Outcome Agreement Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Skills Development Scotland Scottish Funding Council Virtual Learning Environment Workshop to Raise Awareness of PREVENT 13 Appendix 2 15