This blog is part of our Quality Times series, inviting professionals working with young people with SEND / ALN in further education to speak about their work developing quality provision.
Kelly Swindells is Principal at Valley College.
Valley College is an independent specialist college based in Haslingden, Lancashire. The college also has a satellite centre in Blackpool. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sea View Trust. The college opened in 2019 and provides education and support for young people aged 18 to 25 with severe learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties and/or autism spectrum disorder. The college offers three learning pathways in independence, employability and employment. All learners have an education, health and care (EHC) plan.
Valley College was inspected in September 2023. At this time, inspectors judged the overall effectiveness of the provision to require improvement. Whilst personal development and behaviour and attitudes were graded good, leadership and management and quality of education were graded requires improvement.
There were four themes identified as areas for improvement during the full inspection, and the one which will be focussed on for this article is: ‘To ensure tutors receive specialist, comprehensive special educational needs and disability training’.
Following the full inspection a post Ofsted action plan was created, which focussed heavily around the four areas for improvement and bespoke consultancy support was arranged through Natspec. Due to the areas for improvement falling significantly within quality of education, CPD was based around changes that needed to be implemented, and included both whole college CPD and individualised CPD. We developed systems to track CPD that was planned and delivered which started three working days following the full inspection. This point is crucial as this was used during our monitoring visit to evidence that leaders and managers had swiftly implemented specialised specific training for staff and made significant progress.
The system we created referenced date, staff, focus, links to the post-Ofsted action plan and most importantly the impact of the CPD. Whole college CPD was focussed on a wide range of effective and purposeful training and development. Training was delivered by a wide range of professionals including experts from across Sea View Trust and Natspec. For example, Sea View Trust have a regional tutor for Makaton and therefore all staff were trained in this. Natspec Transform associates delivered bespoke in-house RARPA training for all teachers and support staff. Speech and language therapists delivered PECs training and blank level questioning training. The Sea View Trust Executive Head delivered a course named Excellent Teaching in Special Education.
As the college began its journey engaging with Natspec more frequently, individual staff were signposted to courses (free and paid) that were relevant to their role and individual professional development logs were introduced for staff to document all training they had received, reflect, plan and then monitor the impact.
The holistic CPD plan was developed by senior leaders. The intent and implementation of CPD activities was carefully considered and aligned to improvement plans. Members of staff were given individual responsibility for reflecting on what they had learned and thinking about how they could use the learning in their practice. The impact of training and development has been monitored in quality assurance activities. We can evidence the direct positive impact on the quality of education and the learners’ experiences across the provision.
What staff have said about the focus on CPD:
“Since I joined Valley College in September 2024, I have engaged in more relevant and effective continued professional development (CPD) than in my entire 11 years in education. The college values feedback on CPD requests and strives to meet them whenever possible. It is truly rewarding to participate in training that is both relevant and beneficial, aligning with the college’s long-term vision. As a busy teacher with a constantly growing to-do list, it is reassuring to know that all training and CPD provided by the college and the wider trust are appropriate and applicable to my work, my learners and my practice.”
During Ofsted’s monitoring visit in December 2024, inspectors evaluated the progress that leaders and managers had made in resolving the main areas for improvement identified in the full inspection. Inspectors found leaders to have a clear and ambitious vision for providing high quality education for all learners with SEND, and agreed that this was strengthened through the rigorous continued professional development of all staff.
Leaders and managers continue to closely monitor the impact of training through effective strategies such as themed session visits and one to one meetings with staff. Areas for development arising from quality assurance activities are integrated into training plans to ensure the leadership team remain responsive to and focused on upskilling staff.