Ofsted praises colleges for 'significant progress'

Brighton Metropolitan College (Brighton MET) and Northbrook College have both been praised for making significant progress, following a recent Ofsted monitoring visit. 

The colleges – then known collectively as Greater Brighton Metropolitan College – were previously rated as ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted in November 2019.  
 
Since then, a significant amount of work and dedication has been put in by staff – prior to and since the colleges’ merger with Chichester College Group in August 2022. That development has been reflected in the findings made by inspectors during their two-day visit in February 2024. 
 
The report found ‘significant progress’ had been made in all areas – including the quality of apprenticeship provision, support for learners with high needs, completion of meaningful work placement opportunities for students, staff development and leadership & management. 
 
The report stated: “Staff are now empowered to understand the needs of their students. They plan and implement appropriate support strategies such as increasing or tapering support in response to learner needs. As a results, students are enabled to engage in college life and progress in their learning.” 
 
It went on to reveal that: “Lecturers set consistently demanding goals for students, which contribute to them exceeding their planned outcomes. Students gain valuable knowledge and skills for future learning and employment, such as confidence and resilience, teamwork and communication.” 
 
Vicki Illingworth, Executive Principal for Chichester College Group, said: “We are very pleased with the findings of our recent Ofsted monitoring visit to our Brighton MET and Northbrook Colleges. 
 
“For inspectors to find that we have made significant progress is a fantastic recognition for the passionate and dedicated staff who work across our colleges and who are rightly proud of what they do. 
 
“We are on a journey, post-merger, and these are significant moments of celebration and validation that reflects on what we all come to work to achieve – our group purpose, ‘Changing Lives Through Learning’ 
 
“This is at our core and that is reflected in the inspectors’ monitoring report, which was incredibly positive about the work being done to support our students. 
 
“This is the result of nearly five years of hard work and dedication from the teams at Brighton and Northbrook – work that, it is important to note, started before our merger in 2022. That transformative work has continued and evolved post-merger.” 
 
Read the Ofsted Monitoring Report here:  https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50244918