The preparation
• A moving towards outstanding checklist for all areas
• Team briefings
• Data preparation
• Schedule planning in particular for sub-contracted provision
• Robust reporting and monitoring of all Key
Performance Indicators
• Staff performance review, appraisals and one-to-ones
• A relentless focus on learning, teaching and assessment standards
• Identification of key roles and responsibilities including link personnel for the inspection team

The week before
• The call
• Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
• Information requests from the lead inspector
• Data preparation and submission
• Self Assessment and Quality Improvement Plan – positioning statement
• Taking control of the situation
• Preparing members of staff, briefings and communication to students, staff and other stakeholders
• Setting up the base room
• Preparing the presentation from the
Principal/Chief Executive

The week before
• Organising domestic arrangements for the inspection team
• Reviewing the inspection team’s CVs and key areas for inspection
• Last minute checks on health and safety and safeguarding arrangements
• Appearing calm, organised and responsive at all times
• Appropriate support and back up in place for the nominee from all key departments and personnel
• Arranging ongoing feedback from the inspection team to keep the nominee abreast of developments

Monday, 7 October 2013
• The inspection team arrival
• First impressions, organisation and communication
• Planning the week and schedules
• Link personnel – preparation, communication and relationship building with the inspection team
• Key meetings
• Observation schedules including paired activity finalised and agreed
• Meetings with students and staff finalised and agreed
• Producing data efficiently, accurately and in a timely manner
• Ask questions

Pressure points and the role of the nominee
• Ensuring the nominee is extremely well supported and organised for the feedback meetings each day
• Be prepared for inspectors working out of scope
• As a leadership team remain calm, responsive and supportive to all staff within the organisation
• Be prepared to challenge and present additional evidence quickly and accurately
• Try to influence activities and point inspectors to additional evidence and areas of good practice
• Provide, clear constructive feedback and actions to key staff after each feedback meeting

Emerging themes and the focus of inspection
• A relentless focus on the standards of learning, teaching and assessment
• Outcomes for learners and analysis of data was completed by lunch time on the Tuesday
• An intense focus on paired observations and matching grades with internal staff
• Maths and English
• Stretch and challenge
• Destination and progression
• Learner progress
• Performance management
• Support for students
• Strategic direction and leadership of the organisation

Emerging themes and the focus of inspection
• Accuracy of the Self Assessment is critical – constant reference to the Self Assessment and grade profile against the Common Inspection Framework
• Promotion of equality and diversity in lessons

The outcome
The college is a good provider because:
• Most learners complete their courses successfully and make good progress. The large majority of apprentices successfully achieve their qualifications and most do so within the planned timescale
• Teaching and learning are mostly good with a significant proportion that is outstanding
• Most learners enjoy being at college, make good progress in lessons and maintain high standards of behaviour

The outcome
• Support for learners is very effective in helping them to achieve their goals
• Particularly good information, advice and guidance ensure learners are on the appropriate programmes
• Senior managers and governors set a clear strategic direction for the college and staff share their ambition and high expectations
• Leaders and managers work well with employers and external agencies to provide a highly responsive curriculum to meet local and regional needs

The outcome
• College leaders are highly successful in ensuring that vocational education is very good and most learners succeed

The outcome
The college is not yet an outstanding provider because:
• In a few lessons, the teaching is dull and uninspiring; in these lessons, learners make insufficient progress
• In a minority of lessons, across all provision, the promotion of equality and diversity, effective target setting and constructive feedback on learners’ written work is inconsistent
• Learners on a minority of courses do not progress sufficiently quickly in improving their
English and mathematics

The outcome
• The reviews of targets for staff, although well linked to other processes, are not sufficiently sharp and do not focus clearly on their individual needs

The final day – Grading and feedback
• Lessons learned o Accuracy of data o Accuracy of Self Assessment and Quality
Improvement Plan o Communication