20 years of 'outstanding education for Nelson and Colne College Group

Nelson and Colne College Group has been graded by Ofsted as outstanding once again, following its inspection in December 2024.

The grading of outstanding is the highest possible achievement and means Nelson and Colne College Group provides exceptional education which goes above and beyond.

Nelson and Colne College Group has achieved this for two decades through numerous inspections, while also bringing other organisations into its group who had been experiencing challenges.

The result comes on top of Lancashire Adult Learning, part of the Nelson and Colne College Group, being the number one college in the country for adult learning, and the group being the number two college in the country for overall achievement.

The group’s breakdown for overall effectiveness is:

• The quality of education: Outstanding
• Behaviour and attitudes: Outstanding
• Personal development: Outstanding
• Leadership and management: Outstanding
• Education programmes for young people: Outstanding
• Adult learning programmes: Outstanding
• Apprenticeships: Good
• Provision for learners with high needs: Outstanding
• Overall effectiveness at previous inspection: Outstanding

Feedback from the report and during the inspection included that:

• Students achieve extremely well and achieve highly aspirational destinations
• Leaders provide an ambitious curriculum for adults, often for those who are furthest away from learning, and barriers to learning are removed
• Teachers support learners very effectively and as a result this leads to rapid progress.

Lisa O’Loughlin, principal and CEO at Nelson and Colne College Group, said: “I am so proud of this achievement and that the inspectors witnessed what I see every day, that we are an amazing college group which is 100 per cent focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for our learners.

“For the inspection team to note how we are powered by English and Maths and that our learners achieve their goals and grades, while also feeling part of a big family which supports them, is testament to us being an outstanding organisation.

“It was an absolute privilege to be able to show the inspectors just how unique our college group is and how phenomenal staff and students are, and extend our time as the country’s highest performing further education college.”

Ofsted’s report included the following findings:

• Learners are highly successful in achieving their individual goals and qualifications 
• Staff work closely to provide exceptional support
• Leaders collaborate exceptionally well with a wide range of employers and stakeholders
• Governance of the college is extremely effective
• Learners feel the college is an environment where they can grow and prepare for their future careers

During feedback sessions with Ofsted inspectors, employers described:

“The college is the best in Lancashire for responding to our needs”
“Wrap around support is provided for every learner by all staff with constant reviews to identify successes and what may need tweaking”
“We love working with the college as they are really professional and always go the extra mile.”

Lisa added: “The report truly highlights how ambitious we are to ensure our learners can achieve their goals and how we push them, with love, to progress, all within our exceptionally positive culture.

“I am delighted with the recognition we’ve received for how we work alongside employers to tailor our curriculum so that our learners and apprentices gain they knowledge they need to find routes into their chosen, high-quality careers.

“As one teacher said during the inspection, we’re just an outstanding college doing outstanding things.”

The full Ofsted inspection report can be read online on their website.

It comes after Lancashire Business View reported about the group launching its first Industry Innovation Hub at a special breakfast event to strengthen links between businesses and education.

The focus of the engineering event was to create greater collaboration between schools, colleges and industry to build opportunities for the region’s future workforce.

Representatives from BAE Systems, Safran and Fort Vale and other engineering firms joined local schools to listen to how the initiative is aimed at creating a new generation of engineers.