East Surrey College

Overview

The report judges the college as ‘Good’ across all categories, marking a significant improvement from the previous ‘Requires improvement’ rating. Inspectors found that learners and apprentices enjoy studying in a supportive environment where staff maintain high expectations and foster positive behaviour. The college makes a strong contribution to meeting local skills needs through effective employer partnerships and well-structured curricula.

Strengths

• Learners feel ‘well supported by staff who care about them’ and behave politely in ‘calm and orderly’ environments.
• Staff ‘structure courses well’, ensuring learners build on prior knowledge through clear explanations and engaging activities.
• The college ‘makes a strong contribution to meeting skills needs’ by designing curricula that fill local employment gaps.
• Learners with high needs are well supported with ‘tailored instructions and resources’ that help them overcome barriers to learning.
• Leaders maintain ‘strong and effective oversight’ of subcontractors, ensuring high attendance and achievement in specialist provision.

Areas to improve

• Improve teaching on foundation learning programmes so all learners with high needs make the progress they are capable of.
• Provide feedback that is specific enough to help learners know exactly what they need to do to improve their work.
• Increase the proportion of learners achieving at least a grade 4 in GCSE English and/or mathematics.
• Increase the retention and qualification achievement rates for 16- to 18-year-old learners on level 1 courses.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’, noting that learners feel safe and know how to report concerns.