Outstanding Ofsted Report
Outstanding Merrist Wood Scores Five out of Five!
Putting the welfare and experiences of students at the heart of its organisation has scored Merrist Wood College not just one, but five outstanding grades at a recent Ofsted inspection.
The Ofsted report, published at the end of March, rated Merrist Wood College’s residential provision as “outstanding” in all five areas inspected: Overall Effectiveness of the Provision, Outcomes for Young People, Quality of Service, Leadership and Management and Safeguarding.
Ofsted described the College as “a thriving and purposeful environment. It is a very enabling and nurturing place where students' emotional well-being, past experiences of study and anxieties around learning are all supported. Support services for students are unquestionable. The extent of individualised and group support enables students to thrive and do well. Students are flourishing as the result of the individualised support services they receive.”
They also stated that “the vast majority of residential students are exceeding expectations and thriving as a result of the additional and consistent support they receive. In particular, residential students are achieving exceedingly high marks academically.”
Director of Student Services, Tim Bevans who lead the inspection on behalf of the College, commented “We are very pleased with this outcome, which is testament to the excellent support that our students receive from all of our staff at Merrist Wood, whether they are residential or not. Our staff place learners at the heart of everything we do and this is evident throughout the report.”
Dr David Collins, Guildford College Group’s Principal, said: "We are delighted with the outcome of this report, which recognises the great strides the team has taken in raising the profile of our residential provision. In doing so we have increased student numbers and there is a greater emphasis in promoting positive behaviours and student empowerment. We aim to build on this success and continue with our relentless pursuit of improvements for our students."