Shipley College

Overview

The inspection found that Shipley College’s overall effectiveness ‘Requires improvement’, driven by weaknesses in leadership oversight and curriculum ambition for young people. However, the college demonstrates ‘Good’ behaviour, personal development, and provision for adult learners, apprentices, and those with high needs.

Strengths

• Learners benefit from a ‘positive culture’ where they are ‘respectful towards each other, teachers and visitors’.
• Adult learning programmes and apprenticeships are rated ‘Good’, with teachers who are ‘appropriately qualified and skilled’.
• Provision for learners with high needs is ‘Good’, featuring an ‘appropriately ambitious and challenging’ curriculum.
• Staff well-being is prioritised, with leaders managing workloads through ‘well-planned timetables’.
• Most learners receive ‘effective careers information, advice and guidance’ about their next steps.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ‘ensure that all learners on education programmes for young people participate in relevant and high-quality work experience’.
• The college needs to ‘maintain an accurate oversight of all aspects of the provision’ and act faster to address weak teaching.
• Staff should ‘provide all learners with useful feedback to improve their written English’ and reinforce understanding of radicalisation risks.

Safeguarding

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