West Berkshire Council

West Berkshire Council

Address: Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5LD Unique reference number (URN): 55307

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, learners are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect providers for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The provider has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The provider has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders work effectively with carefully selected subcontractors to provide accessible, supportive and welcoming learning environments. They make extensive use of easily accessible subcontractors' premises and community venues to provide learning, where it is most needed. Leaders use their understanding of the local area to tailor programmes that closely reflect community needs. This enables learners, who often face significant challenges, to access learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff accurately identify learners’ needs at the beginning of their programme and put in place appropriate, timely support. They work with agencies, such as adult social care, to understand and meet the significant challenges that learners face. Where appropriate, staff work with specialists, such as occupational therapists, to help learners with emotional and mental health needs to develop self-support strategies, enabling them to become more resilient and independent. Leaders provide helpful training, such as autism awareness, which help staff to understand and meet learners’ needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff are ambitious for learners. They keep support under review, adjusting it as necessary. As learners acquire new knowledge and skills and become more confident, staff reduce support accordingly. Staff skilfully balance aspiration and support to enable learners to grow, develop and achieve their learning goals.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders know what they do well and act, where improvement is needed. They visit lessons and give feedback that helps staff improve their practice. Leaders analyse data, identifying where standards dip. For example, they identified that too few learners were achieving their functional skills qualifications. To resolve this, leaders worked with subcontractor staff to improve the use of online resources, leading to more learners passing their final assessments.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders receive appropriate support and challenge from suitably informed line managers, council committees and an external consultant. They worked collaboratively with other stakeholders to refine the English for speakers of other languages provision to help learners access learning and progress from introductory to accredited courses more easily. Leaders have recently made necessary changes to strengthen further arrangements for oversight of the provision, but it is too soon to assess the impact of this intervention.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders work with subcontractors to provide a programme of professional learning that is generally well planned and implemented. A well-attended forum brings together staff from across the provision to consider important topics, such as inclusion, learning from external experts and sharing of good practice.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff across the provision feel valued and supported by leaders. They report that their workloads are generally appropriate. Overall, staff enjoy working at the provider. Leaders carefully select the subcontractors that they work with. They take sensible, proportionate steps to monitor the quality of the teaching that they provide. This gives leaders a generally accurate understanding of what is working well and enables them to act, where improvement is needed.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners are typically successful in their learning. They complete their programmes, achieve their personal targets and, where relevant, pass their final assessments. The many learners with multiple barriers to their learning achieve well and in line with their peers.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners generally make appropriate progress in developing their knowledge and skills, growing in confidence and producing work to the standard expected. On courses in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), learners use direct and indirect questions to ask about taxi fares. In family learning classes, parents and carers of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder learn how to end children’s screen time without confrontation.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners are usually ready for their next steps in learning or work and most move on successfully. Staff support learners in furniture making to adopt workplace expectations successfully, such as good timekeeping and high standards of personal presentation. In ESOL, learners progress from informal, café-style conversation classes to more structured, qualification-based programmes.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders work collaboratively with stakeholders and subcontractors to provide learning programmes that are well aligned to local skills needs. Specialist subcontractors, often based in local communities, allow leaders to provide learning to hard-to-reach communities. Leaders take sensible improvement actions. They have ensured that learners’ progress is tracked consistently, but rightly recognise that further refinement is required to improve the quality of recording of learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff skilfully plan learning so that learners securely build new knowledge and skills on what they already know and can do. Staff use a range of effective strategies and resources to help learners understand and remember important information. On courses in English for speakers of other languages, staff use 'word walls' to help learners recall important vocabulary. Staff provide ample opportunities for learners to become confident applying what they have learned. In family learning classes, parents and carers reflect on how they have applied previous learning in their home lives.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff know learners well. They use their understanding of learners’ needs and the challenges that they face to provide support that helps learners to overcome the barriers that they face and participate in learning successfully.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff check learning carefully and sensitively. Where learners face complex barriers to their learning, staff work alongside them, completing practical tasks, such as gardening, to understand what learners can do. Staff generally provide feedback that helps learners to improve the standard of their future work. In English functional skills, staff highlight grammatical and spelling errors, so that learners do not make the same mistakes in the future.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders provide learners with wider development experiences that are carefully tailored to their needs. Staff arrange walking and football clubs, reducing the risk of social isolation and helping learners feel part of their community. They help learners maintain their physical and emotional wellbeing, providing advice on creating simple healthy meals and practising mindfulness techniques.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Learners generally attend their lessons well. They are keen to learn and work hard. Where learners encounter barriers to attending their lessons, staff make sensible adjustments that allow learners to rejoin learning and catch up successfully.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Staff create inclusive, respectful learning environments, where difference is celebrated and equality is embraced. Learners confidently explain sensible group rules, such as turn-taking when speaking, listening, respecting the views of others and confidentiality.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Learners receive carefully tailored advice and guidance, helping them make well-informed choices about their future. For instance, learners hoping to grow and develop their business learn about important expectations, such as taxation.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Learners greatly value the welcoming, supportive and safe learning environments that staff create. They know how to keep safe, including while online, and who to talk to if they have concerns. Staff talk to learners about the risks of radicalisation and extremism and while learners can generally recall what they have been told, this is not yet consistent.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners greatly appreciate accessing learning at community locations that are convenient to them and reflect their needs and aspirations. Learners who are parents or carers benefit from participating in family learning at their child’s school. Those who have previously had a negative experience of education appreciate attending learning in familiar settings, such as libraries or community centres, where they feel more at ease. This helps learners overcome the often multiple barriers that they face to learning. Learners gain useful knowledge and essential skills during their learning, enhancing their prospects and enabling them to play a fuller role in their community. Learners who experience social anxiety become more confident when talking to unfamiliar people, enabling them to become volunteers. Learners aspiring to grow their small business, by creating or developing their concept, often increase their customer base and sales. Learners

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

also develop their English, mathematical and digital skills through their chosen courses. For instance, woodwork learners measure and cut timber precisely, while other learners develop their digital skills using QR codes to access and update their learning plans. This contributes to learners achieving their goals, passing their assessments and being well prepared for their future.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners appreciate the support and care that they receive from staff, who understand their needs well and put in place timely, effective support. They value the inclusive environments that staff create, where they can be themselves and share their experiences. For example, parents and carers attending family learning classes find talking openly with others about caring for a child with special educational needs and/or disabilities transformational.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners feel safe while in learning and enjoy their studies. They understand how to protect themselves from possible harm and how to get help, if needed. They value highly the supportive social networks that they form, which often continue after learning has ended. Learners frequently become more confident, resilient and independent because of their learning.

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Next steps

Leaders should continue to strengthen the recording of learners' progress on non- accredited courses, helping learners and staff to understand fully what has been achieved and identify any gaps that need to be closed in learners’ understanding. Leaders should continue to implement their plans to strengthen further the oversight of the provision, so that they and those responsible for oversight can more easily monitor its quality. Leaders should make sure that learners can consistently recall the information that they receive on the risks from radicalisation and extremism.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with leaders, provider and subcontractor staff, those responsible for oversight and learners during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the provider:

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Team inspectors:

Emma Leavey, His Majesty's Inspector Viki Faulkner, His Majesty's Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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Percentage of learning aims successfully achieved

West Berkshire Council is a local authority that provides adult learning programmes across the council area. Learning takes place in a wide range of community venues and subcontractor buildings. Learners mostly study programmes tailored to their needs, with a small number studying qualification-based programmes. At the time of the inspection, there were 75 adult learners enrolled on a wide variety of tailored learning and accredited programmes.

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Percentage of learning aims successfully achieved

Leaders work with 14 subcontractors, who teach most of the provision. The largest subcontractors by funding are Creative Communities, Rebel Business School, West Berkshire Mencap – Link Up, Newbury Community Resource Centre, Parenting Special Children, Read Easy, Recovery in Mind, WBTC, CCB and GRAFT.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other providers can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The provider reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The provider is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The provider needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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

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