North Lincolnshire Council

North Lincolnshire Council Reinspection monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Sarah Lonsdale, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Address:

Ashby Community Hub Ashby High Street Scunthorpe DN16 2UT Monitoring visit: North Lincolnshire Council, 23–24 June 2021

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Context and focus of visit

This is the second reinspection monitoring visit to North Lincolnshire Council following publication of the inspection report on 31 July 2019, which found the provider to be inadequate overall.

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Context and focus of visit

North Lincolnshire Council adult education and community learning service provides courses to support disadvantaged families and community regeneration in the local area. The service provides a range of programmes for adult learners, including community and family learning courses. At the time of the visit, there were approximately 767 enrolments on accredited adult learning programmes and 294 enrolments on community learning courses, mainly in family learning.

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Context and focus of visit

The impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) has been taken into account in the findings and progress judgements below.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers work successfully with local stakeholders to plan and develop adult learning programmes. They carefully plan the curriculum to provide learners with appropriate progression opportunities, and have acted quickly to respond to challenges that have arisen because of the pandemic. Managers have expanded the family learning offer to support disadvantaged families, such as new parents who are suffering the effects of social isolation.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers provide helpful training and mentoring for staff to develop their teaching skills. They use the outcomes of appraisals and other quality assurance processes effectively to plan individual training activities. Staff benefit from working closely with their peers to improve their practice. For example, staff have been trained by experienced colleagues on useful assessment methods, such as the use of professional discussion.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors provide helpful feedback to learners to develop their English skills. They advise learners on the use of sentences and appropriate grammar to help improve their work. Tutors encourage the use of referencing as they know that this prepares learners well for further learning.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors on the children and young people’s mental health course design effective training materials and practical activities. They teach strategies that learners use Monitoring visit: North Lincolnshire Council, 23–24 June 2021 successfully when working with children. For example, tutors share techniques such as worry boxes and the use of lavender modelling clay to help alleviate children’s anxiety.

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Reasonable progress

Family learning tutors effectively recap previous learning to test learners’ understanding, and use questioning well to encourage learners to recall what they have learned. For example, learners can confidently explain the types of oil that the NHS recommends are safe to use when massaging babies.

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Reasonable progress

Learners improve their knowledge, develop new skills and are well prepared for their chosen next steps. Learners on family learning courses use their massage skills to teach their partners techniques to use with their baby. They also develop new friendships through their interaction with other new parents.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors on online distance learning courses do not use information about learners’ existing knowledge well enough to plan training activities. They do not test learners’ understanding of key concepts sufficiently before asking them to apply their knowledge in assessments. This slows the progress of a few learners as they have to revisit their assignments to correct misunderstandings.

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Reasonable progress

Managers have successfully developed the ESOL curriculum to provide greater opportunities for learners to follow courses that enable them to gain qualifications. Learners who need a qualification to enable them to progress to their next steps are able to do so, and a high proportion progress to positive destinations.

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Reasonable progress

Managers have a clear rationale for courses that do not lead to qualifications to meet the needs of learners whose English skills are at a very basic level. They work in close partnership with local stakeholders to design and deliver courses for unemployed adults to develop their skills for their daily lives or for work.

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Reasonable progress

Managers and staff carefully structure and logically sequence the content of level 1 and level 2 ESOL courses that lead to qualifications. They focus on verb tenses and parts of speech first, as these are aspects in which learners identify that they need the most help. Tutors provide frequent opportunities for learners to recap their learning throughout the programme. As learners develop their knowledge and skills, they are able to give short talks to the group on a topic of interest to consolidate and apply their learning.

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Reasonable progress

Learners on courses that lead to qualifications enjoy their learning and value highly the tuition, support and feedback that they receive from tutors. They articulate confidently the benefits of their learning and are very clear about their next steps. Monitoring visit: North Lincolnshire Council, 23–24 June 2021 For example, learners who can read and write in English fluently but need to improve their speaking and listening skills receive specific support to prepare them to progress to degree-level courses.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors on the small number of courses that do not lead to qualifications do not challenge learners sufficiently to develop their basic English skills. They provide a narrow curriculum that focuses too heavily on spelling and vocabulary. Consequently, learners do not develop their skills and confidence in using accurate basic language that they need in their daily lives and in preparation for work. Monitoring visit: North Lincolnshire Council, 23–24 June 2021 regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council

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Reasonable progress

children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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