The Bournemouth and Poole College

Overview

The Bournemouth and Poole College is judged as ‘Good’ across all inspection categories, including the quality of education, behaviour, and leadership. Leaders have established an ‘inclusive culture’ where staff feel empowered, and curriculums are ‘well designed and sequenced’ to help learners build knowledge incrementally. The provider makes a ‘reasonable contribution to meeting skills needs’ through strong collaboration with local employers and stakeholders.

Strengths

• Students and apprentices ‘enjoy their learning’ and are taught by ‘subject experts’ who use industry knowledge to enrich teaching.
• Teachers ‘skilfully enable students and apprentices to develop substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours’, resulting in most achieving their qualifications.
• Students with high needs feel ‘included and well supported’, with teachers using effective communication strategies to ensure access to the full curriculum.
• Governors provide ‘strong strategic oversight’ and ‘challenge leaders effectively to make improvements’.
• Apprenticeships are designed in collaboration with employers, enabling learners to ‘make valuable contributions to their employers from an early stage’.

Areas to improve

• Increase the proportion of students achieving GCSE mathematics with the grades needed to progress to higher levels of education and training.
• Increase participation in meaningful work experience for students on education programmes for young people and students with high needs.
• Improve students’ and apprentices’ understanding of personal development topics relevant to their study and personal lives, particularly regarding safety from radicalisation.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’.