East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Further Education and Skills inspection report Date published: June 2014 Inspection Number: 429243 URN: 51653 East Riding of Yorkshire Coun cil

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Summary of key findings for learners

 Success rates for learners on community courses that have nationally recognised qualifications have improved since the previous inspection but are still not high enough.  Learners’ progress and achievements on courses not offering nationally recognised qualifications are not comprehensively monitored and recorded.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement.  Learners’ English, mathematics and functional skills are not always effectively developed.  Equality and diversity are not promoted effectively in teaching and learning activities.  Leaders and managers have not improved the provision quickly enough. Curriculum and performance management have yet to raise standards sufficiently for all learners.

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Summary of key findings for learners

 Learners and tutors treat each other with mutual respect and work well together to provide a safe and enjoyable learning environment.  A good proportion of learners move to higher-accredited levels and from non-accredited to accredited programmes. The rate of learners moving to an accredited programme from introductory information and communication technology (ICT) programmes is high.  Learners receive good advice, guidance and pre-course materials that ensure they are on the right course and know how to obtain further help. Tutors provide learners with good support.  Senior officers and managers have established and effectively communicated a clear strategic direction. They use strong working relationships with a range of external partners to meet learners’ needs. Inspection dates 28 April–2 May 2014

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This inspection: Requires improvement-3

Previous inspection: Requires improvement-3 Outcomes for learners Requires improvement-3 Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement-3 Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement-3

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Significantly increase the pace of improvement in outcomes for learners and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring all tutors plan lessons that promote individual learning and include inspiring activities to challenge all learners to succeed, supported by rigorous progress monitoring and assessment. Ensure quality improvement arrangements respond quickly to correct identified tutor or learner performance shortfalls.  Provide a reliable process to monitor learners’ progress in non-accredited learning through the immediate implementation of comprehensive arrangements for recognising and recording progress and achievement (RARPA) that links to demanding performance management and the achievement of high standards.  Enhance the effectiveness of leaders and managers through the better use of data to inform planning, monitoring and review that leads to timely improvements. Set and monitor ambitious

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

targets whose quick and successful delivery secures high standards for learners.  Improve the English, mathematics and functional skills of learners through the identification and planned use of activities that improve skill levels for all.  Systematically raise learners’ awareness of different cultures and beliefs through a planned and monitored programme of activities within taught sessions that also supports tutors to promote understanding as relevant topics arise during lessons.

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Inspection judgements

Outcomes for learners Requires improvement  Overall success rates for accredited community learning programmes have risen since the previous inspection but require further improvement. Success rates for the three subject areas graded at inspection represent over two thirds of the provision and are not yet high enough.  Effective RARPA arrangements for learners in non-accredited learning have recently been introduced but are not yet fully established. The data available during inspection were not sufficiently reliable or comprehensive to allow meaningful judgements to be made.  Learners make adequate or better progress. Learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities following visual arts programmes are making particularly good progress compared to their starting point. Learners participating in introductory ICT sessions often have little or no prior experience of computers but quickly acquire useful skills and knowledge that they adeptly apply

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Inspection judgements

to internet-based project work. However, on other programmes learners are not always achieving at a pace that is sufficiently demanding. Progress is slowed in foundation English and mathematics sessions due to erratic attendance patterns, though this is not reflected in other subject areas. Overall retention of learners is improving significantly and is high for the current year.  The standard of learners’ work is satisfactory or better. The completed items produced by learners using fabric patchwork techniques are of a particularly high standard. In addition, these learners make good use of their newly acquired sewing and cutting skills to help family and friends develop and complete their own soft furnishings. Learners following foundation English and mathematics programmes often report enhanced self-esteem, motivation and communication skills that support their employability. Learners on ICT programmes develop

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Inspection judgements

useful familiarity with the internet and software packages that allows them to use more effectively the communication and information potential of their home computer.  The development of learners’ English and mathematics skills is not consistently effective for all learners. In visual arts, learners develop a good appreciation and application of technical terminology that increase their effectiveness in discussions. Across all subject areas, mathematics skills are appropriately developed where learners routinely apply their knowledge to practical tasks such as calculating volumes and surface areas. However, not all learners’ skill levels are sufficiently raised, particularly where tasks are not challenging or related to real-life tasks.  The achievement gap between different groups is narrowing but needs further improvement. In accredited community learning, success rates for the relatively low number of 16 to 18-year-olds

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Inspection judgements

are good though the comparable rates for adults require improvement. This trend is repeated for learners with a declared disability. The provider recruited too few minority ethnic learners to make meaningful comparisons. Strategies to encourage the uptake of apprenticeships by minority ethnic groups have been unsuccessful and numbers remain very low.  Learners are usually able to follow appropriate progression routes, with a good proportion moving from a lower- to higher-accredited level and from non-accredited to accredited programmes. A high percentage of learners participating in introductory ICT programmes subsequently join a more challenging accredited programme. However, progression routes in visual arts are limited and information and advice is not comprehensive enough.

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Inspection judgements

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement  Teaching, learning and assessment require improvement, reflecting learners’ outcomes. The quality of teaching and learning has improved since the previous inspection but too many sessions have insufficient planning to meet individual needs and good or better target-setting to support learners’ progress.  Teaching and learning sessions require improvements to the pace of learning, progress and provision of challenge for all learners. In ICT, most learners’ progress in lessons is no better than satisfactory. In visual arts, planning for learning does not meets the needs of all in the group. Learners do not develop sufficient functional skills through the application of theory to practical activities in foundation English and mathematics.  Where sessions are effective, structured activities meet a variety of individual learning objectives

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Inspection judgements

that support effective learning and progress. For example, in an ‘everyday mathematics’ session, the tutor used different measuring activities to develop learners’ skills at a range of levels in estimating and calculating ratios. In another session, the tutor involved learners in the use of visual presentations and information and learning technology (ILT) to assist their development of foreign language vocabulary and sentence structure.  The use of the virtual learning environment (VLE) has improved significantly since the previous inspection but remains under-exploited to support learning. Where used well, the VLE helps learners develop independent learning skills. For example, in language sessions, learners routinely upload computer files to support homework and further independent study. In ICT sessions, tutors use ILT to support learners’ development of independent research and critical analysis skills.

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Inspection judgements

 Assessment of learning requires improvement as its application is not sufficiently consistent across all subject areas. Not all tutors give sufficient attention to planning structured assessments in non-accredited courses and ensuring learning journals indicate what learners have achieved beyond the task completed. Session and individual learning plans do not focus enough on assessment activities or routinely include incremental steps to achievement that aid tutors’ and learners’ progress monitoring.  Initial assessments of literacy, numeracy and ICT are comprehensive. However, in visual arts, insufficient use is made of subject initial assessment to plan meaningful individual learning. Tutors do not always use test results to plan specific learning activities in all foundation English and mathematics courses. Where initial assessment results are used well, tutors plan specific learning outcomes to meet individual abilities. For example, in one session each learner

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Inspection judgements

developed an appropriate level of knowledge of proportion through experimental activity in mixing fluids.  The quality of target-setting varies across subject areas and is not consistently of a high standard. Targets often place too much emphasis on overall qualification achievement, rather than stepped learning and personal goals. The quality of tutors’ written feedback requires further improvement, as it often lacks clarity, although verbal feedback is generally good.  Learners’ development of English, mathematics and functional skills is not consistently effective across all subject areas and requires improvement. In some sessions it is done well, for example through the use of activities in measuring fabrics in visual arts, recording written results from mathematical experiments and learning technical vocabulary. However, as identified at the previous inspection, tutors do not always extend learners’ level of English and mathematics

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Inspection judgements

beyond the qualifications requirements.  Learners receive good advice, guidance and pre-course materials that ensure they follow appropriate courses and have good knowledge of where to seek further help. Staff providing advice and guidance make good use of appropriate partners providing specialist careers support. Advice and guidance are available to all learners and are focused on targeted priority groups to offer effective support to help them gain employment. Induction provides learners with a satisfactory understanding of their rights and responsibilities.  Support for learners from tutors is good and ensures taught sessions provide a positive environment conducive to learning where relationships are respectful of differences. Learning mentors provide a good standard of learning support.  The promotion of equality and diversity across subject areas requires improvement as too few tutors use teaching materials and activities effectively to promote learners’ wider understanding.

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Inspection judgements

Tutors often do not use opportunities that arise during the teaching session to deal with topics that reflect diversity in society.

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Community learning

 Teaching, learning and assessment require improvement, which reflects the success rates for accredited courses, around half of the provision, that also require improvement. Reliable data were unavailable for the levels of success of learners on non-accredited programmes.  The best lessons are characterised by tutors who motivate and inspire learners effectively through the rigorous setting and monitoring of challenging but achievable targets. The pace of these lessons is good and tailored to individual needs to remove barriers to achievement. Tutors place emphasis on successfully encouraging independent learning through, for example, the use of ILT and internet research projects that allow learners to develop a wide range of skills and knowledge that includes use of new software packages.  Tutors rigorously monitor the standard of learners’ work during lessons and offer assistance where appropriate. All tutors are careful to put learners at their ease to ensure that they feel

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Community learning

comfortable enough to ask questions when needed. Learners note that the lessons are relaxed, friendly and encourage mutually helpful discussion between learners that promotes progress and activities outside of the classroom. For example, a learner with no prior experience of using a computer was able to send simple emails after a short time on his course that allowed him to communicate better with his grandchildren.  Less successful taught sessions do not include effective targets for learners that help them to monitor and take responsibility for their own learning. Tutors select targets for learners attending the ICT drop-in sessions from a generic list and individualised goals are not recorded. On longer courses learning goals are often too broad to be useful or measurable and are not sufficiently individualised to support rapid progress. Written feedback to learners is too often ineffective, as it praises learners for work completed but fails to identify what the learner needs

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Community learning

to improve and how.  The use of RARPA to recognise and record the achievement of non-accredited outcomes is effective for only a minority of learners. Personal learning goals and improvements in learners’ self-esteem, confidence and other generic employability skills are routinely left unrecorded. Learning journals often record only tasks that the learner has completed rather than skills learnt.  Learners’ English and mathematics skills are assessed effectively but the tests’ outcomes are not always effectively used to plan sessions that fully take into account individual needs. Good use is made of learning mentors to assist learners who need extra support to help them complete their course. Tutors routinely ensure that learners proofread their work to improve their spelling rather than relying solely on the computer’s ‘spellchecker’. However, the setting and use of planned strategies in taught sessions designed to raise the standard of English and mathematics

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Community learning

is too variable and not effective across all ICT programmes.  Learners participate in appropriate information and advice arrangements that include one or more interviews with a qualified adviser. In addition, learners value the help they receive from their knowledgeable tutors about opportunities to study higher-level qualifications available within and outside of the provider’s offer.  Learners’ understanding of equality and diversity are not effectively promoted in all lessons and requires improvement. In a minority of cases tutors do this well. For example, in one lesson learners were able to practise and extend their knowledge of the internet whilst researching the origins of the Easter egg. Tutors have received appropriate training on how to incorporate equality and diversity within lessons but this has not yet led to significant improvements.

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Community learning

 The overall quality of teaching, learning and assessment for the non-accredited programmes, which represents the vast majority of the provision, is not consistently high enough, and correlates with the outcomes that require improvement.  In the better-taught sessions, learners engage in appropriately demanding tasks that include effective reference to and use of inspiring examples of work, which motivate them to achieve good standards. Tutors have high expectations of their learners and set challenging activities to ensure all attain their full potential in acquiring technical and creative skills. Learners respond well to encouraging tutors who clearly explain and demonstrate complex techniques and creative processes. For example, learners in a patchwork class were able to make an intricate three-dimensional dodecahedron patchwork using 60 diamond shaped fabric pieces, while other learners used the prairie point technique to improve their needlework skills.

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Community learning

 In the weaker sessions tutors do not consistently plan and record the progress of individual learning effectively, which results in learners not always being clear about what they are doing or why they are doing it. Too often tutors provide insufficient challenge to promote learners’ understanding. They use a limited range of teaching techniques which do not meet all individual needs and this slows progress. Tutors make insufficient use of available resources such as ILT to engage all learners and provide a demanding learning environment, particularly for the more able.  Personal support is good and promotes learners’ confidence, which helps them participate actively in lessons. Tutors are sensitive to the needs of their learners and create a supportive and inclusive learning environment. They work hard to remove any barriers to learning and provide dedicated support where needed. For example, in a pottery class, a learner with a

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Community learning

hearing impairment was very well support by a specialist worker to ensure that he could participate fully in session activities.  The use of RARPA is not consistently effective. Not all tutors use the results of learners’ literacy, numeracy and subject assessments to plan sessions appropriately and set individual targets that excite and stimulate learners to succeed. Learners find the recent improvements to individual learning plans, including the use of photographic records and pictorial prompts, help them to understand more effectively their progress to date. However, the plans are not yet in widespread use. In the better lessons, teachers provide detailed and frequent verbal and written feedback that helps learners to improve their work.  Learners’ English and mathematics skills are effectively developed through participation in practical tasks. For example, in pottery classes, learners’ measurement skills were well

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Community learning

developed as part of an exercise to build supports for Egyptian paste beads that are kiln fired while suspended. In patchwork classes, complex shape cutting required the use of geometry to ensure cut fabric fitted correctly. Learners also gain the appropriate language skills to describe their work and are able to apply this to written and spoken activities such as reflecting on their learning following art exhibition visits.  Information, advice and guidance are good. Pre-course information is effective, giving learners an understanding of the requirements of their programmes. However, learners are not always clear about how to progress to higher-level courses at other providers.  Promotion of equality and diversity in taught sessions requires improvement. Most tutors miss naturally occurring opportunities within lessons to promote learners’ understanding of equality and diversity or to incorporate them into planned projects. Learners are respectful of each other

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Community learning

and possess an appropriate appreciation of their rights and responsibilities. Taught sessions place a strong focus on learners’ use of safe working practices.

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Community learning

 Teaching, learning and assessment require improvement. This is reflected in the success rates for qualifications in foundation English and mathematics that, although improving, require further improvement.  All tutors are enthusiastic and good at helping adults to overcome any initial fears they may have about returning to study. Tutors quickly establish sound working relationships with learners, who gain the confidence to ask questions and to work effectively within sessions.  Learners who regularly attend taught sessions generally enjoy their lessons and develop a useful range of new skills. They make appropriate or better progress in relation to their starting point. However, low and erratic session attendance impedes learners’ development of qualification and personal skills as opportunities to practise alongside others, for example through participation in paired and small-group work, is limited.

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Community learning

 In the best lessons, tutors provide learners with good individual support and differentiated learning activities that appropriately targets barriers to English or mathematics skill development. This is effective in engaging and building the confidence of adult learners, most of whom enter the provision with weak skills in English or mathematics and few or no qualifications. Learners benefit from good use of real-life situations to help them improve and apply their skills within a context they may encounter. For example, in one lesson, learners developed their speaking, listening and employability skills well through preparing for and taking part in a mock job interview.  Tutors usually explain concepts clearly and make good use of directed questions to check and develop learners’ understanding of their work. In the most successful lessons, tutors break activities into more easily understood steps that they then progressively combine to allow

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Community learning

learners to tackle significantly more complex practical problems. For example, in a mathematics session, learners developed a good understanding of measurement that they were subsequently able to apply when addressing a complex task involving the calculation of the resources needed to decorate a room.  In the less-effective sessions, learners are uninterested and bored as they routinely spend too many lessons completing uninspiring paper-based activities and practise test papers. Tutors make insufficient use of initial assessment results to plan and deliver detailed individualised learning. Sessions do not take into account learners’ preferred learning style, with little or no use of other teaching strategies, including those using practical learning resources or ILT to re- engage and motivate learners.  Tutors appropriately use initial and diagnostic assessment to identify learners’ starting points;

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Community learning

however, individual target-setting is not consistently effective. In a minority of cases, tutors and learners make skilful use of specific targets, which support teaching and learning well. However, too often tutors do not use challenging targets and individual learning plans effectively enough to promote learners’ progress. The time taken to finalise reviews and record progress is often too long and does not help learners succeed. Tutors use of RARPA is not effective and does not support learners’ success sufficiently by focusing on what they have achieved.  Tutors do not adequately promote equality and diversity within the majority of taught sessions. The planning of activities to raise learners’ understanding requires improvement. All learners have an adequate appreciation of their rights and responsibilities but tutors do not actively explore and develop these aspects as part of teaching and learning. All learners receive effective

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Community learning

encouragement from tutors to help them succeed and aspire to further or higher education and/or employment

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Senior officers and managers provide clear strategic direction and have agreed plans to merge the adult education and employment and skills services within the economic development directorate to meet better the strategic objectives of the authority. Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have delivered many effective service developments but the pace of improvement in outcomes for learners and the quality of provision has been too slow. The new early intervention strategy to provide additional support for those learners at risk of leaving their training early is having a positive impact. The provider’s data for the current academic year show good improvements in retention rates.  Managers have successfully improved the quality of aspects of teaching since the previous inspection, but not enough teaching, learning and assessment are good or better. They have prioritised the introduction of robust quality assurance and improvement arrangements through

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

direct observation of taught sessions. This has highlighted many of the performance shortfalls found at inspection, but curriculum management has yet to resolve them across all of the provision.  Arrangements to identify and promote examples of best practice are not fully effective. Staff make insufficient use of the VLE to share best practice and guarantee that the latest versions of documents are used.  A range of management information is collected but analysis and use of data are insufficient to ensure rapid service improvement through comprehensive performance management. Managers use too few summary reports that focus on key aspects of the provision to monitor adequately compliance with agreed working procedures or progress in completing quality improvement targets. Staff performance reviews help identify areas for further personal and professional development, although a few staff have not received a recent appraisal of their performance.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

The current management information system fails to record accurately and summarise the attendance of all learners.  The current self-assessment report accurately identifies most of the areas for improvement that are leading to insufficiently high standards in learning, for example the effectiveness of RARPA arrangements. The accompanying quality improvement plan contains adequate targets to assess the impact of most improvement actions, but progress reports are not routinely supported by effective data analysis. Senior managers have been successful in improving crucial areas for development identified at the previous inspection; however, significant issues still remain.  Managers have strong working relationships with a range of external partners including two local enterprise partnerships, further education colleges, community groups and employers, which it uses very well to define clear strategic objectives for the newly merged service. A very strong

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

focus is placed on supporting local projects that improve access to education and training for populations in isolated rural locations. Use of partnerships has ensured that the range of provision is adequate to meet the needs of current and future learners, although progression routes in visual arts are limited.  Promotion and reinforcement of equality and diversity are not consistently effective. Marketing materials in a few localities are produced in appropriate languages to target recent arrivals from Eastern European countries. However, actions to recruit learners from minority ethnic groups across the whole area are ineffective. Managers have been unsuccessful in swiftly closing achievement gaps between different groups of learners.  The service meets its statutory requirements for safeguarding learners. Staff place a high priority on the safety of learners and provide a caring, supportive environment for those who are

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

most vulnerable. Incidents and concerns are taken seriously, investigated thoroughly and recorded in confidential learner records. However, managers do not always give sufficient attention to promoting ‘e-safety’. In addition, the monitoring of the effectiveness of support for learners whose circumstances have made them vulnerable requires further improvement.

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The East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Inspection grades are based on a provider’s performance:

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The East Riding of Yorkshire Council

1: Outstanding 2: Good 3: Requires improvement 4: Inadequate Overall 14-16 part-time provision 14-16 full-time provision 16-19 study programmes Traineeships 19+ Learning programmes Apprenticeships Employability Community learning

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The East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Overall effectiveness 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 3

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The East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Outcomes for learners 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 3

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The East Riding of Yorkshire Council

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 3

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The East Riding of Yorkshire Council

The effectiveness of leadership and management 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 3

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full contract year

Learning and Skills Manager Mr Paul Bell Date of previous inspection November 2012 Website address www.eastriding.gov.uk/adulted

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programme level

Level 1 or below Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 and above

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Apprenticeship level and age

Intermediate Advanced Higher 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 23 31 3 42 N/A N/A Number of traineeships 16-19 19+ Total N/A N/A N/A

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Number of learners aged 14-16

Full-time N/A Part-time 2 Number of community learners 2,495 Number of employability learners 247 Funding received from Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency

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Contextual information

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council (East Riding) is one of the largest unitary councils by area in England and Wales, covering 930 square miles. East Riding is approximately 71% rural; over 50% of its population live in rural communities, some of which are geographically isolated with poor transport links. The proportion of retired people aged 65 and over in East Riding is higher than the national average in England and Wales. Some areas in Bridlington, Goole and Beverley are amongst the most deprived 20% of the country. East Riding has seen a significant increase in the number of migrants who speak English as an additional language. The proportion of people from minority ethnic groups is around 4%.

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Information about this inspection

Two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and four additional inspectors, assisted by the Adult Education Officer as nominee, carried out the inspection with short notice. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors also used data on learners’ achievements to help them make judgements. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners and employers; these views are reflected throughout the report. They observed learning sessions in both graded and ungraded sector areas, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider. Inspectors looked at the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across all of the provision and graded the sector subject areas listed in the report.

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Grade Judgement

Detailed grade characteristics can be viewed in the Handbook for the inspection of further education and skills 2012, Part 2:

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Grade Judgement

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/handbook-for-inspection-of-further-education-and-skills- september-2012

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Grade Judgement

guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Grade Judgement

Learner View is a website where learners can tell Ofsted what they think about their college or provider. They can also see what other learners think about them too.

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Grade Judgement

To find out more go to www.learnerview.ofsted.gov.uk

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Grade Judgement

Employer View is a new website where employers can tell Ofsted what they think about their employees’ college or provider. They can also see what other employers think about them too.

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Grade Judgement

To find out more go to www.employerview.ofsted.gov.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Grade Judgement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and provider inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Grade Judgement

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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