Page 21 - ELG2309 Sep Issue 486

THE TOP UK LANGUAGE CENTRES

Strategic and quality management Student administration Academic management safeguarding under 18s

Percentile Score Institution Type Staff management Publicity Premises and facilities Learning resources Academic staff profile Course design Learner management Teaching Care of students Accommodation Leisure opportunities

6.84 Bucksmore Education* PLS:Y SS 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6.84 Cardiff and Vale College* FE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6.84 Celtic English Academy PLS:A 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6.84 Churchill House School of English Language PLS:Y+A 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

6.84 Churchill House Summer Centres PLS:Y SS 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6.84 EF International Eastbourne* PLS:A 1 1 1 -1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6.84 IH London Young Learner Centres PLS:Y 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
TOP 25% 6.84 Itchen Sixth Form College* FE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

6.84 Kent School of English PLS:Y+A 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

6.84 NCG Manchester PLS:A 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6.84 Sheffield College FE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6.84 St. Brelade's College PLS:A 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6.84 St. Edmund's College, Ware PLS:Y BS 1 1 1 1 1 -1 1 -1 1 1 1 1 1

6.84 English Experience (UK) Ltd, The PLS:Y 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6.84 UK Language Courses (UKLC) PLS:Y 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Dramatic increase in dropouts

Why have so many schools dropped from the rankings this year?

ast year, just one accredited centre fell out of the rankings. Full inspections are more
This year, it was 13. accurate in terms of ‘areas of
Is it to do with the new optional compliance inspection? strength’. But such dramatic
L Possibly. Of the 13 dropouts, only two took that option. drops were almost unheard
On a compliance inspection, a school cannot go up because it of when full reports were
cannot be awarded a new area of strength. However, a school can the only option, except in
go down because if half the criteria in a single area is marked as ‘not cases of existing schools
met’, a ‘need for improvement’ is noted and we deduct these from acquired by another owner,
the score. particularly if the new owner
As we summarise on page 16, in a full inspection, schools are is a chain of schools.
awarded an area of strength if over half the criteria is marked as ‘strong’ This may help explain
and no single criterion is marked ‘not met’. That means that a school another mystery; of the 13
only needs to make one mistake to lose an area of strength; they can rise centres which dropped out
up, but can also plummet. of the rankings, 11 of them
Take the case of one former Centre of Excellence which underwent were chain schools. Yet
a full inspection this year; it received two ‘needs for improvement’. If it in the rankings there are
had taken a compliance inspection, it would keep the ‘areas of strength’ more non-chain providers
from the previous score, but because of the ‘needs for Improvement’ than chain schools. Of the non-chains inspected this year, roughly
given, its ranking score would have dropped by two. half chose a compliance inspection and the other half full ones. Two
However, this centre chose a full inspection. It lost two points on its dropped out of the rankings, one of which chose a full inspection, and
score for the ‘needs for improvement’ and didn’t meet all the criteria in the other taking compliance. Neither plummeted.
a further 10. The maximum score it could have received in the ranking Is the dropout problem due to compliance reports or is it all down
was three points. to the chains?
editorial@elgazette.com 21