Heart of Yorkshire Education Group

Overview

The Heart of Yorkshire Education Group is judged as ‘Good’ across all inspection categories, including overall effectiveness, the quality of education, and leadership. The report highlights a ‘calm and inclusive’ learning environment where staff maintain high expectations for behaviour and conduct. Leaders have successfully managed the merger of component colleges, establishing a strategic plan that aligns management systems and culture.

Strengths

• Learners benefit from ‘well qualified’ teachers who use subject expertise to ‘carefully and logically sequence learning’.
• There is a ‘strong contribution to meeting skills needs’ through effective collaboration with employers and civic partners.
• Staff establish ‘high expectations of behaviour’ resulting in positive and respectful relationships among learners.
• Leaders prioritise learner well-being, tailoring personal development programmes to support vulnerable learners.
• An ‘effective careers programme’ helps learners make informed choices about their future pathways.

Areas to improve

• Maintain focus on improving apprenticeship provision, particularly at Selby College, to ensure apprentices develop necessary skills.
• Take action to reduce the number of learners on A-level courses at Wakefield who leave their courses early.
• Ensure all teachers use learners’ and apprentices’ starting points effectively to plan relevant new learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff responding quickly to concerns and learners feeling comfortable voicing issues.