The College was inspected in February 1999.South Cheshire College is a highly successful tertiary college in Crewe. It provides a broad range of provision for school-leavers and for mature students who wish to return to study. The college produced a comprehensive self-assessment report in preparation for the inspection. The report covered all aspects of the college and drew upon the self-assessment reviews produced by curriculum and service areas. It was evaluative and identified strengths, weaknesses and actions for improvement. Inspectors agreed with most of the judgements in the report which were based upon the outcomes of quality assurance and self-assessment processes which had been developed and refined since the last inspection. College staff had been fully involved in the preparation of the report. Judgements were internally moderated and had been informed by an inspection undertaken by staff from another college.The college offers provision in nine of the FEFC's 10 programme areas and a large adult education programme. Provision in six of these areas was inspected together with aspects of cross-college provision. The wide range of provision has been developed to meet the needs of the local community. The college has succeeded in its aim to provide high standards of teaching and learning in all subject areas. It has productive links with local schools, the TEC and employers. Governors take an active interest in the work of the college and conduct their business openly. The college is particularly well managed. It benefits from strong leadership which encourages staff individually and through an extensive network of teams to take responsibility for meeting the needs of students. A wide range of information to support management is available to staff on the college intranet. There is a comprehensive range of support services for students. Tutorial arrangements are especially good and give due attention to the needs of the individual student. Arrangements for quality assurance are robust and give priority to improving teaching and learning. Students' achievements are generally good and some are outstanding. Teaching accommodation is maintained to a high standard. There is a wide range of recreation and sports facilities. The college should: develop further the analysis it undertakes of students' achievements to identity specific areas where improvement could be made; improve the service provided by the college refectory; and integrate more effectively the development of students' key skills with course work in some curriculum areas. |
