Joseph Chamberlain College are delighted to have their commitment to excellence publicly recognised, having been rated Outstanding across all areas in their recent Ofsted inspection under a framework that is far more rigorous than previous inspections. The College’s fantastic achievement now places them as the first, and currently the only college in Birmingham and Solihull that Ofsted deems an Outstanding Provider for all learners for post-16 and adults.
A team from the Government’s education watchdog undertook a thorough, full inspection of the College at the end of 2017. The inspection covered all aspects of the College’s provision, including the quality of teaching and learning, outcomes for learners, the effectiveness of leadership and management, students’ personal development, behaviour and welfare, and adult learning programmes.
Ofsted’s commendatory report praises the College’s ‘highly positive atmosphere for learning’ as one which displays ‘inspirational teaching’, in an environment where ‘students make outstanding progress from their different starting points’.
Other key highlights from the report include:
- Students’ conduct in lessons and around the college is impeccable. They feel safe, are highly positive about the quality of their learning, and are polite and respectful towards adults and each other.
- Students make outstanding progress and a very high proportion successfully gain their qualifications.
- Teaching is of consistently high quality across a range of academic and vocational subjects; teachers use their strong knowledge of assessment criteria very effectively to ensure that students are well prepared for external examinations.
- A very high proportion of students successfully progress to higher education and an increasing number gain places at prestigious universities.
- Leaders, managers and staff have successfully generated a culture of high aspiration, harmonious relationships and mutual respect that is highly evident throughout all aspects of the college.
The College’s latest accolade is one they have worked extremely hard towards since their last inspection in 2014, building consistently year upon year with exceptional results, creating an aspirational learning environment for learners and undertaking rigorous professional staff development programmes.
Elly Tobin, Principal at Joseph Chamberlain College, said about the recent Ofsted grading:
“Of course, I am personally delighted with the outcome of the inspection but I am particularly delighted for the staff and students here who are the ones that have made this outstanding grade possible. I am so proud of the staff for all they do to support students. We work here as a real learning community and everyone, support staff and teachers alike are dedicated to the success of our students.”
The College are, as always, striving to build even further on this achievement and are excited about the opportunities it will be able to provide its students in future years.
