Wilberforce College

Overview

Wilberforce Sixth Form College provides an ambitious curriculum for students, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, with staff maintaining high expectations to build confidence and resilience. The report highlights that students demonstrate positive attitudes, behave well, and feel safe, while leaders effectively partner with local stakeholders to meet regional skills needs.

Strengths

• Staff support students well, helping them develop "confidence and resilience" and preparing them to "recognise and call out unacceptable behaviour" regarding healthy relationships.
• Teachers "plan and sequence the curriculum effectively," using their sector expertise to provide students with "deep insights" into their chosen careers.
• The college offers an extensive programme of enrichment activities, including an ‘upskilling’ programme, which a "high proportion of students participate in."
• Provision for learners with high needs is particularly strong, with effective individual support enabling them to "progress rapidly" and achieve qualifications in line with peers.
• Leaders have developed a "high-quality supported internship programme" that helps the vast majority of students with high needs successfully gain employment.

Areas to improve

• Ensure that all teachers check that students have fully understood content and provide consistently helpful feedback.
• Improve attendance in subjects where it remains too low, such as health and social care and GCSE mathematics.
• Maintain the strong emphasis on improving achievement outcomes for students studying GCSE mathematics.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.