HOW GOOD ARE WE NOW?

HOW GOOD IS OUR COLLEGE?

HOW GOOD CAN WE BE?

Guernsey College of Further

Education,
Self-Evaluation Report (SER).

College Context, Ethos and Vision

Summary of College Judgements

An evaluation can be arrived at in a range of contexts. We need to bear in mind that awarding
levels using a quality scale will always be more of a professional skill than a technical process.
However, the following general guidelines should be consistently applied. Illustrations
provided should be used to make against each specific area.
Excellent

Outstanding or sector leading

An evaluation of excellent applies to provision which is sector leading.

Learners experiences and achievements are of a very high quality. An
evaluation of excellent represents an outstanding standard of provision which
exemplifies very best practice and is worth disseminating beyond the College.
It implies that very high levels of performance are sustainable and will be
maintained.
Major strengths

Very Good
5

Good
4

Satisfacto
ry
3

Weak
2

Unsatisfac
tory

An evaluation of very good applies to provision characterised by major

strengths. There are very few areas for improvement and any that do exist do
not significantly diminish learners experiences. Whilst an evaluation of very
good represents a high standard of provision, it is a standard that should be
achievable by all. It implies that it is fully appropriate to continue to make
provision without significant adjustment. However, there is an expectation
that the College will take opportunities to improve and strive to raise
performance to excellent.
Important strengths with areas for improvement
An evaluation of good applies to provision characterised by important
strengths which, taken together, clearly outweigh any areas for improvement.
An evaluation of good represents a standard of provision in which the
strengths have a significantly positive impact. However, the quality of
learners experiences is diminished in some way by aspects in which
improvement is required. It implies that the College should seek to improve
further the areas of important strength, but take action to address the areas
for improvement.
Strengths just outweigh weaknesses
An evaluation of satisfactory applies to provision characterised by strengths
which just outweigh weaknesses. An evaluation of adequate indicates that
learners have access to a basic level of provision. It represents a standard
where the strengths have a positive impact on learners experiences.
However, while the weaknesses are not important enough to have a
substantially adverse impact, they do constrain the overall quality of learners
experiences. It implies that the College should take action to address areas of
weakness by building on its strengths.
Important weaknesses
An evaluation of weak applies to provision which has some strengths, but
where there are important weaknesses. In general, an evaluation of weak may
be arrived at in a number of circumstances. While there may be some
strength, important weaknesses will, either individually or collectively, be
sufficient to diminish learners experiences in substantial ways. It implies the
need for prompt, structured and planned action on the part of the College.
Major Weaknesses
An evaluation of unsatisfactory applies when there are major weaknesses in
provision requiring immediate remedial action. Learners experiences are at

No.
6.1
1
6.2
1.1

6.3
1.2

1.3
6.4

2.1
7.1

7.2
2.2
7.3

2.3
7.4

Policy, development and planning

Quality
Themes
How effective are
Strategic planning
Indicator
College planning

respects.
Operational
risk in significant
In planning
almost all cases, staff responsible for provision
Key performance
outcomes
processes?
How well evaluated
does the
as unsatisfactory
will
from senior managers in
Team planning
Progress
on keyrequire
aims andsupport
objectives
College
perform
How effective
is action
planning
and carrying
out the necessary
actions
to effect improvement. This
Achievement
Communication
of plansand
and
associated
of targets
key
performance
to achieve
aims,
against
its
may
involve working
alongside
other
staff
or
agencies
in or beyond the
indicators
action and targets
objectives and
targets
educational
aims,
College.
Identification and agreement of standards for
of plans? and
objectives
achievement of actions
targets?
Management of the implementation of
How effective is the
Retention
and attainment over a three-year
actions
College at achieving
period
Howmaintaining
well does the
and
high
Review and to
development
of policies
and
Progression
further learning
or
College
levels
ofrecognise
retention,and
procedures across
functions
employment
over aCollege
three-year
period
respond to changes in
attainment and
Review and development of portfolio of
its environments?
progression?
programmes
How well does the
Relevant
Responselegislation
to changing operating conditions,
College adhere to its

Relevant
directives
anddirectives
regulations
legislation, duties and
statutory principles
Requirements
and duties?
Managing risk of statutory bodies
HowImpact
well doeson
thelearners and
other users
of College services
Approach
to innovation
College plan for and
Identifying
and responding
to needs
Communication
with learners,
staff and other
manage change?
Arrangements
to
support
learners
and
How accessible,
stakeholders
flexible and inclusive
learning
Monitoring and reviewing progress and
are College
effectiveness
Range and flexibility
of delivery and
of new developments
programmes
and
assessment
Management
and support
of stafmodes
services?
How relevant and
Promoting
learning
Relevance and
and targeting
currency of
staff
current are staff
opportunities
qualifications, skills and experience
qualifications, skills
Range
andwith
levels
of programmes
Staff links
current
practice in subject
and experience?
areas to which entry and exit points assist
Extent
How productive are
transition
Among staff
the working
How
well do

Learner
Betweenengagement
staff and learners
relationships and
among
programmes

Preparation
forstakeholders
employment and further
staff,
learners
and
With
external
services meet learner
external stakeholders?
learning
needs?
How effective is the
Embedding
Internal andof
external
and
ethos ofrecruitment
equality and
diversity
College in recruiting,
selection of sustainability

Embedding
selecting and
Sufficiency
of staff
retaining staff?
Learner
satisfaction
How well do learners
make progress, attain
qualifications
How effective and
is
achieve
more
widely?
workforce
planning?

7.5
3.1

3.2

Impact on staf
How well does the
College motivate staff
and
their
Howsecure
effective
is the
College in developing
engagement
in
its staff?and achieving
setting
College targets?
How well do staff
reflect on, and
participate in,
professional
discussion to enhance
learning, teaching and
other services?

Clarity and
relevance
of staffand
remits
Progress
from
prior learning
attainment
Arrangements
to
avoid
discrimination
and
Attainment of qualifications
promote equality
Success in award schemes and competitions
Occupational health arrangements
Achievement of essential skills including
Identification
current and
future skills
core,
personal,oflearning,
employability,
requirements
citizenship
Deployment
of individuals and teams to meet
Learner
satisfaction
business needs
Balance
of skills,of
styles
and behaviours
Staff
knowledge
and action
to achievewithin
teams
College
aims and objectives
Professional
development
of staff to meet
Communication
arrangements
business
needs in planning
Staff
involvement
Professional review of staff to meet business
needs
Evaluation of learning and teaching and other
Professional development of new staff and
services
those
Identifying good practice
undertaking new roles
Sharing and adopting good practice
Arrangements to avoid discrimination and
promote equality

Partnership and resources

8.1
3.3

8.2

1 2 3 4 5 6

Staffing
arrangements within cross-College
How well
do staff
work
extensive
and
Strategic links
teams
together
own
effective in
aretheir
College
Collaborative arrangements to promote
teams
and more
partnerships
with
Information sharing within and among teams
access
widely
in the College?
communities,
other
Collaborative
working
and inclusion
learning
Impactproviders,
on employers and the community
Responsiveness to requirements of other
employers and other
Links and partnerships with employers and
agencies and equality duties
agencies?
industry bodies
Involvement of external agencies
Use
of labour market information and
How well does the
environmental
Planning, deployment
and monitoring of
demographics

Evidence for self-evaluation

Successes and Achievements
How well are learners progressing and achieving relevant high quality
outcomes?
How well do we meet the needs of our College and
community?

Work and Life of College

How efective are the Colleges learning and teaching processes?
How well is the College led, and how well is it enhancing the quality of its
services for learners and other stakeholders?

Vision and Leadership

How good is our leadership and governance?

What is our capacity for improvement?

Evidence for self-evaluation

Quantitative Data
There is a range of quantitative data which you can use to help you reach an evaluation. This list
is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive:
examination results
levels of attainment
value-added measures of performance
learners progress from prior levels of attainment
learners progress in meeting targets
overall progress towards set targets
data collected nationally or locally
analysis of other key performance data, such as:
Finance, learner attendance, learner retention, learner attainment, success rates,
progression rates and leavers destinations
Peoples Views
You can ask people what they think. This list provides some suggestions for you:
individual interviews with members of staff
individual interviews with parents/carers/employers
group discussions
discussions with members of the learner forum
focus groups
working parties
questionnaires and surveys to gauge satisfaction and to elicit suggestions for improving
effectiveness
written responses and detailed comments
team meetings at all levels
Direct Observation
You can engage in direct observation of learning and teaching. For example:
shadow individual learners
follow a class
observe lessons
video record your own teaching
exchange classes
observe each other in pairs
work alongside other lecturers
You can engage in direct observation of a range of documents. For example:
learners work
reports to parents
profiling of learners responses to tasks
diaries or records of work
programmes of study or schemes of work
lecturers planning
progress reports on the development plan
course materials across the ability range
policies and guidelines
minutes of meetings

Successes and Achievements

How well are learners progressing and

achieving relevant high quality

outcomes?
Overall Judgement

Key Strengths

Key Areas for Development

Evidence

Successes and Achievements

Overall Judgement

Key Strengths

Key Areas for Development

How well do we meet the needs of our

College and community?
1

Evidence

Work and Life of College

Overall Judgement

Key Strengths

How efective are the Colleges

learning and teaching processes?
1

Evidence

Key Areas for Development

Work and Life of College

Overall Judgement

Key Strengths

How well is the College led, and how

well is it enhancing the quality of its
services for learners and other
stakeholders?
1

Evidence

Key Areas for Development

Vision and Leadership

Overall Judgement

Key Strengths

How good is our leadership and

governance?
1

Evidence

Key Areas for Development

What is our capacity for improvement?

Overall Judgement

Key Strengths

Evidence

Key Areas for Development

What are we going to do?

The College Development Plan

The College is free to design their own College Development Planning template; however, it
should be sufficiently detailed and as such may include the following:
Objective: What are the specific improvements needed in order to address the overall priorities
identified?
Actions: What needs to be done:
- Have all key actions that need to be taken to achieve the objective and increase the pace
of improvement and change been identified?
- Are actions in clearly defined small steps?
- Will the actions lead to recognisable outcomes (e.g. improving learner learning and
progression)?
Personnel/responsibility: Who will carry out the action (who is responsible for ensuring the
action takes place and who else is involved)? Within the plan this section should make it clear
who is to be held to account (and by whom) for the successful completion of the identified
action.
Timescale: When will the action take place? This should be a specific date within a short time
frame, for example, 23 April not April or spring term. Key questions to ask when setting
timescales:
- Are timescales realistic but still communicating urgency?
- Is the overall timeline for execution of the plan clear?
Milestones: Any action that will take a long time should be broken down into a series of smaller
actions, each of which could be achieved within a week or two, thus creating a series of
milestones that can be monitored.
- Are key dates specifically identified for monitoring, evaluating and subsequently reporting
on activity and progress?
- Do they follow the correct sequence in time?
Outcomes: What will success look like when the action has been successfully completed? This is
particularly important for evaluation as it should provide a focus on whether or not the action
has produced the desired outcome, not the extent to which the action has been completed or
not. For example, if writing schemes of work for Year 9 is the action, then the outcome is not
simply that they are written, but rather that they are completed to the required standard and,
more importantly, are having an impact on classroom practice.
Monitoring: How will change be monitored (how, by whom and how often)? The monitoring
process is essential for checking that the planned actions have taken place and on time.
- Are all monitoring activities clearly stated in the plan?
- Is it clear who is responsible for each monitoring activity?

Is it clear when monitoring will take place at least every fortnight by the SLT?
How will the outcomes of monitoring be used?
Are those carrying out the monitoring able to make accurate judgments?

Evaluation: How will change be evaluated (by whom, when and how)? Evaluation is about
assessing the impact of the planned actions on standards in the College and so has a clear and
separate definition and purpose to monitoring.
- Are names/groups clearly stated?
- How will results and outcomes from all monitoring activity be communicated to those
carrying out the evaluation?
- Are procedures and responsibilities for evaluating and reporting on test and examination
results clear?
- Are those carrying out the evaluation sufficiently skilled to make accurate judgments?
- Is there a clear area to RAG rate the effectiveness and impact of the action?
Resources: Are all required resources stated (in particular staffing, funding, CPD time and SLE
Team or Education Services additional allocated time)? This is particularly important as it must
be very clear what resources are requested and what their impact will be to ensure value for
money.

Appendix 1
College Data and Outcomes for
Learners