Ada National College for Digital Skills

Overview

The report describes Ada National College for Digital Skills as a specialist technical college with an overall effectiveness of 'Good'. It highlights an 'exceptional enrichment programme' and 'Outstanding' behaviour and attitudes, noting that students learn in a 'positive and supportive' environment with strong employer links.

Strengths

• Leaders have created an 'exceptional enrichment programme' offering activities such as chess, art, and teaching computing to primary school children.
• Students benefit from an 'excellent coaching programme' providing one-to-one guidance from industry professionals on career goals.
• The curriculum is closely aligned with employer needs, with students working on 'industry projects' that develop 'highly valued' skills.
• Staff foster a 'strong sense of community' and are 'respectful of the identities and individual differences' of students.
• The college makes a 'strong contribution to meeting skills needs' through active engagement with regional stakeholders and employers.

Areas to improve

• Ensure that the quality of feedback given to students and apprentices is of a 'consistently high quality', as there is currently too much variation.
• Ensure that the quality of teachers’ questions to check learning and challenge students is 'consistently high across all programmes', as some discussions lack depth.
• Address the impact of recent staff changes on the quality of students’ experience in the sixth form, though it is 'too early... to assess the full impact' of current strategies.

Safeguarding

The report states that 'the arrangements for safeguarding are effective', with suitably qualified leads, strict recruitment practices, and clear processes for keeping students safe.