Ofsted Inspection Finds Bolton Community College Fit as a Fiddle in Health

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Following a recent glowing report from Ofsted, Bolton Community College is now the top performing college in the region for “Health, Social Care and Early Years.”

Ofsted inspectors rated the facilities for the area, which includes childcare, play work and counselling, “outstanding”, and awarded them the highest possible grade. Bolton Community College offers full-time and part-time Health, Social Care and Early Years courses from Level 1 to Level 4, including NVQs, first and national diplomas, and a foundation degree, run in partnership with the University of Bolton.

Delight at Excelling

Meriel Tootell, the Programme Manager, welcomed the report, saying she was “delighted.” She went on to say: “It’s a great team achievement that can be attributed to the hard work and dedication of tutors and learners alike.”

Ofsted inspectors identified a number of areas in which the courses particularly excelled. These included the very high success rates and standard of students” work, the high levels of attendance, the support offered for learners, and the strong links with employers.

Ms. Tootell acknowledged that the college offers “a unique and complete learning experience. The course tutors are experts in their particular fields, many possessing both teaching and occupational qualifications; such as health visitors, social workers, nursery/primary school teachers, nursery nurses and Registered General Nurses.”

Responsive to Employers

The report also identified the significant benefits to the College from links with the local community and employers, in both the private and public sectors. Last year, this helped 35% of students were helped to secure employment. Ms. Tootell said that the key to the programmes success was staying “responsive to employer needs.”

“This has recently meant offering professional development courses to Play Worker employees (who must now be qualified) and preparing apprenticeships in Play Work and Early Years. We will be offering new Health Care Awards in September, following a successful bid to become a Centre of Vocational Excellence for Health Care,” she said.

Most impressive was the rate of student success, which saw 100% of students completing their full-time courses. Many of these went on into higher education or directly into employment. Popular career choices included Teaching Assistants, Care Workers, Youth Workers and Counsellors.

Jess Brammar

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