Chesterfield College

Overview

Chesterfield College is rated as ‘Good’ across all inspection categories, having successfully addressed previous areas for improvement. The report highlights a ‘strong contribution to meeting skills needs’ through effective employer partnerships and a curriculum focused on progression and employment. Leaders and managers are praised for their ‘well-considered range of approaches’ to evaluate and improve provision, ensuring students receive high-quality support.

Strengths

• Students ‘highly value the support and encouragement’ from staff, particularly ‘LEAP mentors’ who help manage physical and mental health.
• The college makes a ‘strong contribution to meeting skills needs’ via partnerships that led to a ‘digital skills academy’ and ‘construction hub’.
• Teachers are ‘suitably qualified and experienced’, using industry insights to ‘enhance the curriculum’ and prepare apprentices for assessments.
• ‘Classrooms are calm and productive environments’ where students ‘collaborate confidently’ and demonstrate good behaviour.
• Safeguarding arrangements are ‘effective’, with staff receiving ‘comprehensive annual safeguarding training’.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure young people attend GCSE English and mathematics classes well and support teachers to provide consistent feedback on written work.
• Leaders should support teachers who do not use lesson time effectively to improve their planning and assessment approaches.
• Leaders should ensure all students on entry-level pathway courses benefit from appropriate work-related activities and that adults develop a secure understanding of British values.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’, noting that staff receive comprehensive training and work well with local agencies to support students.