Bolton College hit with 'requires improvement' Ofsted report

This comes after an Ofsted report ruled that the Deane Road based college “requires improvement” overall, a sharp decline on its previous rating of “good.”

The report is especially critical of high staff turnover, empty teaching posts and a workload that many teachers felt had become “unmanageable.”

Bolton College Principal Bill Webster said: “We are disappointed with the overall rating from Ofsted, and we are committed to addressing the challenges identified in the report.

“We are in a good position to tackle these challenges.

“For instance, our partnership with the University of Bolton is actively contributing to the recruitment of new teaching staff. “  

The area around Bolton College (Image: Bolton College) 

The inspection, carried out between November 28 and December 1, found that Bolton College needed to improve its quality of education, behaviour and attitudes and leadership and attitudes.

The report was released on Tuesday.

Its education programmes for young people, apprenticeships and provisions for learners with high needs also required improvement.

Only its adult learning programmes were deemed to be “good”, though the report noted that most students and apprentices across ages groups enjoyed their courses.

Mr Webster said: “Whilst we recognise the need for improvements, we are encouraged that our adult learning programmes were rated as good.

“Our students describe our college environment as ‘safe, welcoming and inclusive’ and we are pleased that the positive impact of aligning our curriculum with local skills and employment needs has been acknowledged.

“Our students achieve in line with national rates and go on to good quality destinations such as higher-level courses and employment opportunities.  

“Despite this setback, we remain dedicated to ensuring that all of our students benefit from a positive college experience, equipping them with the tools to excel in their next steps, whatever those may be.”

The report, by lead inspector Ruth Stammers and her colleagues found a particular problem with 16- to 18-year-old GCSE maths and English students’ attendance.

It said: “Leaders have identified areas of poor attendance and have introduced more stringent attendance monitoring systems.

“However, these measures have not yet had the desired impact.

“In a few cases, students’ punctuality is poor, which causes low-level disruption to lessons.

“In contrast, most apprentices attend regularly and on time.”

But the inspectors also took issue with how apprenticeship programmes were planned.

Their report said: “In a few cases, apprentices do not receive regular, planned learning from work-based tutors.”

It added: “Teachers and support staff work closely together in the best interests of students and apprentices.

“However, staff morale is low, and too often the education that 16 to 18-year-old students and a few apprentices experience is poor.

“Many staff feel that their workload is unmanageable.

“This has a negative impact on their well-being.

“Students and staff report high levels of disruption due to staff turnover and absence, vacant teaching posts and the use of temporary staff.”

But there were also positives, most notably where adult learners were concerned where the inspectors found that most teachers used “effective strategies” and learners enjoyed their time.

The report said: “Adult students speak highly of the college, they enjoy their learning, and most progress to further learning or employment when they complete their courses.”

It added: “Adult students on community interpreting courses come from a wide range of countries and cultures.

“They speak many languages and work collaboratively together with other students from diverse backgrounds.

“This helps them to support their communities and secure employment.”

A teacher working at Bolton College said he and his colleagues had not been surprised by the watchdog’s findings, given the issues some have raised about pay and workloads in the past.

Teachers at the college successfully campaigned for a pay rise last year.

The teacher, who did not wish to be named, also said that staff where aware about the problems with younger student attendance.

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He said: “There were problems with attendance because we’ve got what we call the Covid generation where they’ve missed those vital years.”

He added: “I think there’s also the inclusion issue, we’ve got to look at every student and make sure they’re given a chance and I think sometimes Ofsted miss that.”

The inspectors ruled that to improve, Bolton College needed to support staff to make sure they could manage their workloads and to “stabilise” its teaching teams.

It needed to focus on the quality of teaching, ensure that all staff are trained to teach all aspects of the curriculum and to ensure that teachers took targets for high needs learners into account.

Finally, the inspectors said that the college needed to improve attendance, especially for 16- to 18-year-olds studying GCSE English and maths.