Horizons College has made 'significant progress' in the wake of critical Ofsted report

By Ben Fitzgerald - 15 July 2019

Education

Horizons College has made ‘significant progress’ in addressing issues highlighted by Ofsted inspectors following their inspection in May last year which judged the independent special educational needs provider as ‘requiring improvement’.

Following a monitoring visit on June 12, inspectors looked at the progress made by leaders and managers in improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and noted significant improvement. Ofsted noted that action taken by managers had rapidly improved the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. They further highlighted how monitoring was ‘closely aligned to the actions identified in the improvement action plan’, with managers now accurately observing and evaluating teaching and support.

Students’ functional skills in English and mathematics were also found to have made ‘significant progress’ with staff using a variety of assessment methods to identify learners’ knowledge of the subjects on entry to the college which is used effectively for target setting. And managers and staff were found to have raised their aspirations for learners, were setting clear targets and regularly monitoring progress of students.

Inspectors also found that ‘reasonable’ progress had been made in securing and developing staffing to meet student requirements, with many new staff (including those with specialist qualifications and expertise) having been recruited since the May inspection.

Inspectors made their first visit to the college, part of Uplands Educational Trust, on May 1-3 last year - visiting both sites at the Segal Centre in Stratton Road and the Headlands Vocational Centre on the Headlands Trading Estate.

Horizons College is part of Uplands Educational Trust, a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, located in Swindon, Wiltshire. The college has two main sites. The college was registered as an approved provider in 2014. It provides specialist education and support for young people aged between 16 and 25 who have a wide range of learning difficulties and/or disabilities, ranging from those with a high level of need and those for whom employment is a possible outcome. At the time of the inspection, 57 students attended the college.

A full pdf of the report can be downloaded by clicking this link

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