Barking and Dagenham College

Overview: Barking and Dagenham College is a general further education college that provides a good quality of education and training to its learners. The college has improved significantly since the previous inspection, with leaders and governors making improvements to the quality of education and training. Learners appreciate the calm and supportive environment created by staff, and they feel safe and supported.

Strengths:

• Learners appreciate the calm and supportive environment created by staff.
• Learners feel safe and can easily identify staff who will help them if they need it.
• Tutors plan and sequence curriculum content logically, helping learners and apprentices to build on their knowledge, skills and behaviours over time.
• Tutors provide helpful and developmental feedback to adults and young learners, identifying clearly how learners can improve their work.

Areas to improve:

• Improve the support for apprentices on electrical and plumbing standards to enable a high proportion to complete and achieve their apprenticeship.
• Improve attendance in areas including English, mathematics and ESOL for young learners.
• Identify the reasons why too few learners and apprentices achieve merits and distinction and take action to improve this.
• Provide opportunities for young learners on level 2 courses to participate actively in work experience to support the development and application of their knowledge and skills.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.