East Durham College is proud to be Graded as GOOD by Ofsted, with an outstanding rating for behaviour and attitudes. The college was last inspected in September 2021, when Ofsted inspectors carried out a full inspection.
Suzanne Duncan, Principal and Chief Executive, said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the judgement and the glowing inspection report we have received from Ofsted,” remarked Suzanne.
“It goes without saying, the last 20-months have been extremely challenging and unprecedented times in the education sector. We’ve all adapted and worked incredibly hard to ensure our students receive the very best education and experience during their time at East Durham College; on behalf of the governors and myself, we’d sincerely like to thank all our staff and students for their dedication, resilience and determination to excel and this shines through in this report.
“We look forward to continuing our journey of improvement and further developing the high-quality experience we strive to provide to all our students.”
The inspectors’ report opens by saying: ‘Learners thoroughly enjoy attending and learning at the college’ and ‘behaviour and attitudes to learning are exceptional’ in a ‘Safe and nurturing environment… taught by enthusiastic and knowledgeable teachers and trainer coaches who are subject specialists.’
It went on to say: ‘Learners and apprentices of all ages study on programmes appropriate to their starting points that provide the opportunity for them to progress to higher levels of study, gain employment or move into alternative jobs’ and ‘achieve their learning goals and career aspirations.’
This was the fourth GOOD grading in a row for EDC, following Ofsted inspections in 2008, 2014, 2018 and 2021; the third since Suzanne Duncan joined the college as Principal and Chief Executive in 2012.
Official Ofsted ratings:
The quality of education Good
Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding
Personal development Good
Leadership and management Good
Education programmes for young people Good
Adult learning programmes Good
Apprenticeships Good
Provision for learners with high needs Good
OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS GOOD
September 2021 Inspection Report
To see the full report, please visit the East Durham College section of the Ofsted website.