Stoke-on-Trent adult and community learning requires improvement, says Ofsted

Ofsted Inspectors have found some improvement in adult and community learning in Stoke-on-Trent since the last inspection of 'inadequate' - but say more needs to be done to improve, according to a report published Thursday 4 November.

The service, which offers language and numeracy training and vocational courses offering a direct route to employment opportunities, was inspected between 28 September and 1 October 2021.

The inspection assessed a number of areas across the whole service including the quality of education; behaviours and attitudes; personal development; educational programmes for young people and adult learning programmes – all of which they considered to be ‘good.’

The report says: “Council leaders understand clearly the educational and skills needs of the region. They work with partners on local skills and education boards. They have also completed their own local skills needs analysis with employers.”

However, inspectors found that further improvements should be made to the overall leadership and management of the service as well as the city’s apprenticeship programme. As a result, the overall rating for the service has been confirmed as ‘requires improvement.’

Councillor Abi Brown, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “While I am obviously disappointed that we didn’t achieve ‘good’ overall for this service, there has clearly been considerable improvement across the board since the service was last inspected with improvements in all areas.

“We’ve got a clear vision and action plan in place with a strong front-line team that is already delivering for people across the city. I am confident that we will be able to address the small number of areas needed in relatively short timescales for the benefit of our learners."

Councillor Janine Bridges, cabinet member for education and economy at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “We have already taken action to start addressing Ofsted’s recent feedback, including preparing a more comprehensive curriculum plan and self-assessment, as well as reviewing our quality assurance arrangements.

"We will agree and monitor a full action plan to drive continued improvement and deliver the best possible service for learners. We will also be looking at those aspects of the service that Ofsted inspectors found to be ‘Good’ to plan how we can make them ‘Outstanding’.

What is The Adult and Community Learning Service?

The Adult and Community Learning Service offers a range of daytime and evening courses across seven venues within the city. The majority of courses are non-accredited although do provide the initial steps for learners on a range of subjects from literacy and numeracy to specifically designed vocational courses. In addition, there is a very small cohort of learners on study programmes, traineeships and apprenticeships.

You can view the full report by clicking here

Hear the latest news from across Staffordshire and Cheshire on the hour, every hour, on 102.6FM, 96.9FM & 96.4FM. You can also listen on DAB, smart speaker, at signal1.co.uk and on the Signal 1 app