College 'misled' by 'inflating' achievement rates

Burney College has been criticised for "inflated" qualification achievement rates that "misled" people about their grades.

The education watchdog Ofsted has now said the further education centre in Lancashire requires improvement after "inaccurate" records were submitted for students on level three vocational and A-level courses.

"This misled key stakeholders, such as learners, parents and the local community about how well learners achieved," its report said.

Burnley College said it was "reviewing its practices" and confirmed the principal, Karen Buchanan, had resigned after being "suspended due to an ongoing investigation", but did not indicate what the investigation related to.

The Ofsted report, following inspections in March and June, said: "Although governors bring extensive professional expertise to the board, they have limited experience of the further education and skills sector.

"For too long, those responsible for leading and governing Burnley College did not question exceptionally high achievement rates or ensure that internal policies and processes were robust enough to manage the risk of inaccurate achievement data.

"Very recently, some leaders and governors in the college proactively reported the issue to the Department for Education and the FE Commissioner."

The college was rated good in five out of eight areas, outstanding for personal development and adult learning programmes and "requires improvement" for its leadership and management.

In a statement, the college said it "continues to be committed to all learners and stakeholders in achieving their goals".

"In relation to the issue of inaccurate individualised learner records... the college acknowledges Ofsted's findings and has already been reviewing its practices to ensure that anomalies are identified and investigated as quickly and effectively as possible and welcomes Ofsted's input on such steps," it said.

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