Cirencester College

Overview

Cirencester College is a sixth-form college where learners’ behaviour and attitudes are rated as good, with staff fostering a "respectful and positive learning culture." However, the overall effectiveness and quality of education require improvement, particularly regarding curriculum planning, assessment rigour, and outcomes for young learners and those with high needs. Adult learning and apprenticeship programmes are judged to be good, with effective support and high completion rates.

Strengths

• Learners and apprentices behave maturely, with bullying and harassment being "rare" and staff establishing "positive relationships."
• Adult learners benefit from a "supportive and respectful environment," gaining confidence in subjects like ESOL and GCSE English.
• Apprenticeships are well-managed, with most apprentices completing their qualifications and employers valuing their "positive contribution."
• Teachers are "well qualified" and use expertise to plan engaging activities, such as using industry-relevant technology in creative media courses.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with learners feeling safe and confident that concerns will be "taken seriously."

Areas to improve

• Leaders must improve initial advice and guidance so learners choose suitable courses, as too many are currently studying programmes that are "too challenging" or lack relevance.
• Assessment of learners’ prior knowledge is "rudimentary" and lacks rigour, preventing teachers from accurately identifying gaps or challenging learners appropriately.
• The college needs to increase participation in meaningful work experience and improve attendance for GCSE classes and tutorials to better prepare learners for their next steps.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective."