Annual Report focus on adult learning and skills

There has been a trend of improvement in colleges of further education over the last inspection cycle; more colleges are now outstanding and fewer are inadequate than was the case four years ago.

The proportion of good or outstanding colleges inspected this year is 63%, compared with 72% in 2007/08. Ofsted carried out far lower numbers of short inspections for colleges that were judged to be good or outstanding at their previous inspection. This needs to be taken into account when making year-on -year comparisons. In 2008/09 the proportion of colleges inspected and judged inadequate is lower this year than in 2007/08. A third of colleges inspected are satisfactory; in nearly half of these, performance has not improved since the last inspection and their capacity to improve is no better than satisfactory.

Ofsted inspects provision in a wide range of settings in the learning and skills sector. In each year, over four million people of all ages attend government-funded courses in further education colleges and centres of adult and community learning, or participate in apprenticeships or other training in the workplace. In addition, Ofsted inspects education and training in secure settings, and welfare to work provision, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The skills sector is complex and funding streams are changing. Providers are increasingly required to fulfil the roles of national experts, local community resources and collaborators with local partners as well as competitors for resources. Nevertheless, the sector has a good track record of responding to changing needs, circumstances, funding and partnership arrangements. There has never been a better time to capitalise on the new and varied learning routes and the need of the population to learn.

The key findings from the report are:

Relatively few offenders under supervision in the community are being required to undertake basic skills education but where they are participating, much of the provision is good.

Colleges
In 2008/09, inspections were carried out in 59 of 234 general further education or tertiary colleges, 27 of 93 sixth form colleges and three of 20 specialist further education colleges in England. High-performing colleges have received ‘light touch’ inspections lasting only two days. A more intensive approach is used for those colleges previously judged satisfactory or inadequate.

In the colleges visited, over half the provision was judged good or outstanding in health, public services and care; languages, literature and culture; retail and commercial enterprise; and arts, media and publishing. Poorer areas included construction; leisure, travel and tourism; preparation for life and work; and information and communication technology, in which less than a third of the provision was good.

Colleges are generally effective in forming productive partnerships with schools, employers and the community. Employers’ needs continue to be met well by most colleges and many have productive and flexible links to support the local economy. In the best cases, employers are involved actively in the design of programmes to suit their specific needs.

Social care is inspected at least once every three years in those colleges, including independent specialist colleges, in which there is residential provision for learners. In 2008/09, social care was inspected in 17 further education colleges, of which five provide outstanding residential support for young people, while in 12 support is good.

Sixth form colleges
Generally, sixth form colleges remain effective institutions. This year, 19 of the 27 inspected are good or outstanding, and none is inadequate. However, the proportion of satisfactory sixth form colleges has risen this year to just under a third.

In good and outstanding sixth form colleges, the extensive range of advanced level courses on offer is increasingly being enhanced by the addition of vocational options. There is challenging teaching and a culture of high expectations for learners.

Key features of sixth form colleges are their highly effective pastoral and academic support and their approach to educational and social inclusion. Initial assessment is effective, and the follow-up provision of additional support to help learners to succeed is often excellent. A common area for improvement in less effective sixth form colleges is the use of work experience opportunities for learners.

Work-based learning
This is a diverse sector which includes providers of apprenticeships, Train to Gain programmes and Entry to Employment.

Train to Gain is a major government initiative to meet the skills needs of employers by providing a tailored advice and brokerage service and funded training for employees, mainly those without level 2 or level 3 qualifications. Entry to Employment programmes are designed for young people aged 16 to 18 that face a number of challenges and require specific and tailored support to help them progress to further learning, an apprenticeship or employment.

Only 42% of work-based learning providers inspected this year were good or better compared with 60% last year. Only 5% of providers were outstanding and the level of inadequate provision has risen from 6% to 8%. Growth in Train to Gain has meant a large number of new providers being inspected.

Success rates in work-based learning are good or outstanding in just over half of the provision inspected. Although there have been encouraging improvements in success rates for apprenticeships, they still remain too low with over a third still not achieving their full programme. Success rates for Train to Gain are 64% but many do not complete their qualification within the expected time frame.

There are marked differences in the quality of provision between different subject areas. The highest proportion of good or outstanding provision is to be found in engineering and construction, whereas inadequate provision is most common in business administration and leisure, travel and tourism. Of the largest subject areas inspected in work-based learning, only engineering has no inadequate provision.

The better providers go to considerable lengths to devise flexible arrangements for training and assessment, taking account of shift patterns and work demands. However, guidance and personal support for learners are not as strong, being good or outstanding overall in just 44% of provision and satisfactory in a further 53%.

Adult and community learning
Adult and community learning is education and training provided in the community for those aged over 16. Learning takes place in a wide range of locations and at times to suit learners, including evenings and weekends. Many follow courses provided by local authority adult learning services and various private, voluntary and public sector providers are also involved.

The overall volume of adult and community learning provision is falling. Of the curriculum areas most frequently inspected, health and social care performs best: 13 out of the 16 providers inspected are good or outstanding and none is inadequate. The quality of provision in preparation for life and work, primarily literacy, numeracy and English for speakers of other languages, poses the biggest challenge: only 37 of the 72 programmes inspected are good or outstanding and one is inadequate. In these subject areas, there are difficulties in recruiting specialist staff.

Although there are many examples of good teaching, overall too much is no better than satisfactory. Safeguarding arrangements are inadequate in 10 out of 68 providers inspected. Some providers have been too slow to implement the correct procedures for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.

New Deal and Programme Centres
New Deal is an employability programme funded by the Department for Work and Pensions that includes advice on searching for jobs and opportunities for work-related training.

Compared with previous years, an increasing number of providers offer a range of additional qualifications, including literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology.

Six of the 33 New Deal contractors inspected are inadequate, a higher proportion than last year.

Workstep
The Workstep programme supports adults with complex disabilities to build independence, learn everyday coping skills and develop the confidence to reach their potential. Many achieve useful vocational qualifications as part of their programmes. However, the final step of progression into unsupported employment continues to be in need of improvement in too many providers.

Adult prisons and young offender institutions
Learning and skills provision in adult prisons and young offender institutions is inspected by Ofsted in partnership with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons. In 2008/09, there has been a higher proportion of prisons judged satisfactory or better for overall effectiveness in education and training than in previous years.

Of the establishments inspected this year, 31 out of 33 are satisfactory or better, including the first outstanding adult prison. Teaching and learning are good in 17, satisfactory in 15 and inadequate in one of the prisons inspected.

Generally, there has been an increase in the availability of education, training and pre-release programmes providing preparation for work skills and information, advice and guidance. There has also been greater integration of the support for offenders from entry to release. However, for many, resettlement programmes start too close to the end of their sentences to be of much benefit.

Probation areas
Every year the probation service supervises some 175,000 new offenders. For the second year, Ofsted has worked jointly with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation in 11 probation areas to inspect education, training and employment arrangements for offenders under supervision in the community.

A high proportion of offenders are identified as having poor literacy and numeracy skills and benefit from learning and skills training. Offenders work on a wide range of community service activities and charitable projects, through which many develop a good level of skills and pride in their work. Advisers work with offenders to help reduce their likelihood of re-offending and advise them on local training and employment opportunities.

Information, advice and guidance services have improved as have partnerships between probation areas, training providers and local authorities. Too often, however, unpaid work is not used well to provide opportunities for offenders to gain recognised qualifications and records of the skills they gain to support job applications remain poor.

Immigration removal centres
Immigration removal centres have to provide a secure environment for people subject to immigration control. Education and training in immigration removal centres are inspected by Ofsted in partnership with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons.

Most educational arrangements which include literacy and numeracy, English for speakers of other languages, computing and arts and crafts, cater satisfactorily for short-term detainees, who are resident for a month or less

Although initial assessment is satisfactory and the monitoring of individuals’ learning is effective, provision for longer-term detainees and those with higher skill levels does not meet their needs and is insufficiently challenging. The limited range of purposeful activities available is unsatisfactory overall and work-related activities are insufficiently planned. And opportunities for detainees to work have increased but remain menial and low-skilled. Recreational activities in most centres are good and facilities for sports and games are at least adequate.

Initial teacher education
In September 2008 a new framework was introduced for the inspection of initial teacher education.

The majority (88%) of initial teacher education providers inspected in 2008/09 are good or outstanding in their overall effectiveness. By the end of their training, most trainees meet the professional standards at a level which is at least good. However, trainees’ use of assessment is the least well-developed of their competencies and this is critical for achieving good progress for pupils.

Trainees’ understanding of how to teach learners from different faith, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and to cater for the needs of those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is satisfactory overall but too variable.

Military training
In a continuing cycle of inspections commissioned by the Ministry of Defence, Ofsted has inspected the effectiveness of the welfare and duty of care arrangements in Armed Forces training and recruitment.

Arrangements are satisfactory overall. In the majority of establishments visited, welfare and duty of care arrangements are integral to training. Most recruits reported they feel safe and well supported. However, some findings echo those of previous reports. There is still a need to improve the consistency of recruiting practice, reduce the large backlog of Criminal Records Bureau checks and ensure that instructors’ workloads at all the Army training establishments is not too high.

More details are in The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 2008/09, which can be found on the Ofsted website at: www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Annual-Report-2008-09

The Learning and skills summary can be found on the Ofsted website at: www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Annual-Report-2008-09/Learning-and-skills-summary

The Skills for employment summary can be found on the Ofsted website at: www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Annual-Report-2008-09/Skills-for-employment-summary

The Main summary of the Annual Report 2008/09 can be found on the Ofsted website at: www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Annual-Report-2008-09/Main-summary

 

 

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