Setting

10 May 2006

Inspectors use a four-point scale to summarise their judgements about the quality of learning sessions. The descriptors for the four grades are: • grade 1 - outstanding • grade 2 - good • grade 3 - satisfactory • grade 4 - inadequate

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10 May 2006

Inspectors use a five-point scale to summarise their judgements about the quality of provision in occupational/curriculum areas. The same scale is used to describe the quality of leadership and management, which includes quality assurance and equality of opportunity. The descriptors for the five grades are: • grade 1 - outstanding • grade 2 - good • grade 3 - satisfactory • grade 4 - unsatisfactory • grade 5 - very weak.

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Adult Learning Inspectorate

The Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) was established under the provisions of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 to bring the inspection of all aspects of adult learning and work-based learning within the remit of a single inspectorate. The ALI is responsible for inspecting a wide range of government-funded learning, including:

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Adult Learning Inspectorate

Inspections are carried out in accordance with the by teams of full-time inspectors and part-time associate inspectors who have knowledge of, and experience in, the work which they inspect. All providers are invited to nominate a senior member of their staff to participate in the inspection as a team member. Common Inspection Framework • work-based learning for all people over 16 • provision in further education colleges for people aged 19 and over • provision • Adult and Community Learning • training funded by Jobcentre Plus • education and training in prisons, at the invitation of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons. • adult information, advice and guidance services ( )

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Contents

Description of the provider 1 Scope of provision 1 About the reinspection 2 Overall judgement 2 Hospitality, sport, leisure & travel 8 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

1. Gloucestershire Local Education Authority (the LEA) provides adult and community learning programmes in partnership with 22 subcontracting organisations throughout the county. Many of the partnerships have been established since 2000 and support the LEA’s strategy to widen the participation of learners from under-represented groups. Providers bid to the LEA to put on programmes and courses which are then approved through the LEA’s adult education department but contracted to the provider for delivery. Courses are offered at over 200 venues around the county. Programmes at the time of the previous inspection comprised science and mathematics, land-based, construction, engineering, technology and manufacturing, business administration, management and professional, retailing, customer service and transportation, hairdressing and beauty therapy and humanities. The main areas of the provision during the

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

reinspection period were health and social care, information and communications technology (ICT), sport, leisure and recreation, crafts, creative arts and design languages, and foundation programmes. Courses are available during the day, evenings and weekends. This reinspection only covers the old hospitality, sport, leisure and travel provision. All the provision is sport and health-related activities. The provision is contracted out, with over 90 per cent split between Cirencester College, Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology, Royal Forest of Dean College and Stroud College. Small specialist providers deliver the remaining programmes. All provision delivered through Stroud College was inspected during the College’s inspection in October 2005.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

2. Gloucestershire Adult Education is part of the recently formed community and adult care directorate. The head of adult learning reports through the head of lifelong learning to the director of community and adult care. The head of quality assurance and management information, the head of learning programmes and the head of external relations support the head of adult learning. Six part-time curriculum support staff provide subject specialist links with tutors and providers.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

3. Gloucestershire has a population of approximately 567,000, of whom 2 per cent are from minority ethnic groups. Currently, the strongest employment growth sectors in Gloucestershire are distribution, hotels and restaurants at 26 per cent, and banking, finance and insurance at 17 per cent. Employment in manufacturing has declined slightly and is now at 17 per cent. Currently 17.5 per cent of the population are over 65 years old.

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Hospitality, sport, leisure & travel

4. At the previous inspection in February 2005, Gloucestershire Adult Education offered 430 hospitality, sports, leisure and travel courses to over 7,000 enrolments, equating to 3,983 learners, in conjunction with six major subcontractors at venues across the county.

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Hospitality, sport, leisure & travel

© 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 1 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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Hospitality, sport, leisure & travel

During the year of the reinspection there were 270 courses, with 4,310 enrolments and 2,505 learners. Eighty-five per cent are female learners and 74 per cent of learners are over 50 years of age, of which 32 per cent are over 70 years old. Numbers of learners enrolled on the sports provision make up 24 per cent of the LEA’s overall provision. Changes to the definition of the area of learning account for the large drop in learners. The current 270 courses are delivered by eight partner providers, with tutors operating from village and church halls, schools, adult learning centres, and community and leisure centres. In addition, four colleges use their own facilities to provide some provision, which is strategically aimed to fill gaps in the provision left by other providers. The largest single element of the provision, 29 per cent, is aimed at learners over 50 years old, with 27 per cent of them participating in yoga. Programmes do not lead to national

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Hospitality, sport, leisure & travel

qualifications. Courses are organised on a termly basis, usually over 11 to 12 weeks. Most sessions last between one and two hours and are offered in mornings, afternoons and evenings from Monday to Friday. Some provision is offered at weekends. Specialist fitness classes for older learners wishing to develop and maintain their mobility are run in small villages. Specialist targeted programmes are offered to learners with disabilities. Most of the 59 part-time tutors in fitness, health and leisure teach more than one course, working between two and 10 hours. At the time of the reinspection, 7 per cent of sports learners declared themselves as from minority ethnic groups. However, across the LEA as a whole, the participation of people from minority ethnic groups is 11 per cent. Nine per cent of sport learners declared a disability, but the general figure across the LEA’s enrolments is 13 per cent.

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OVERALL JUDGEMENT

5. At the previous inspection in February 2005, Gloucestershire Adult Education’s provision was good in visual and performing arts and media, and health, social care and public services. It was satisfactory in ICT, English, languages and communications, and foundation programmes. Hospitality, sport and leisure were judged to be unsatisfactory. Leadership and management were satisfactory, as were the organisation’s arrangements for equality of opportunity. However, quality assurance was graded as unsatisfactory. At the end of the reinspection process all aspects of the provision were found to be satisfactory.

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ABOUT THE REINSPECTION

Number of inspectors 2 Number of inspection days 7 Number of learners interviewed 24 Number of staff interviewed 18 Number of subcontractors interviewed 3 Number of locations/sites/learning centres visited 5 Number of visits 2

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ABOUT THE REINSPECTION

© 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 2 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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ABOUT THE REINSPECTION

grade 1= outstanding, grade 2 = good, grade 3 = satisfactory, grade 4 = unsatisfactory, grade 5 = very weak Grades awarded at previous inspection

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Information & communications technology 3

Contributory areas: Contributory grade Number of learners Using IT 564 Adult and community learning 3 -

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Hospitality, sport, leisure & travel 4

Contributory areas: Contributory grade Number of learners Hospitality and catering 164 Adult and community learning 3 - Leisure, sport and recreation 1694 Adult and community learning 4 -

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Health, social care & public services 2

Contributory areas: Contributory grade Number of learners Early years 305 Adult and community learning 2 -

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Visual & performing arts & media 2

Contributory areas: Contributory grade Number of learners Arts 2227 Adult and community learning 2 -

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English, languages & communications 3

Contributory areas: Contributory grade Number of learners Languages 1174 Adult and community learning 3 -

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Foundation programmes 3

Contributory areas: Contributory grade Number of learners Independent living and leisure skills 79 Adult and community learning 3 -

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Foundation programmes 3

© 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 3 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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Hospitality, sport, leisure & travel 3

Contributory areas: Contributory grade Number of learners Leisure, sport and recreation 2505 Adult and community learning 3 -

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Family learning 3

Contributory areas: Contributory grade Number of learners Adult and community learning 32 Adult and community learning 3 -

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Family learning 3

© 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 4 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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Language of the Adult and Community Learning Sector

Terminology varies across the range of education and training settings covered by the Common Inspection Framework. The table below indicates the terms appropriate to

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Relating the term to Adult and Community Learning

Provider Any organisation providing opportunities for adults to meet personal or collective goals through the experience of learning. Providers include local authorities, specialist designated institutions, voluntary and community sector organisations, regeneration partnerships and further education colleges

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Provider

Learner Includes those learning by participating in community projects, as well as those on courses. Learning, however, will be planned, with intended outcomes.

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trainer

Person teaching adult learners or guiding or facilitating their learning.

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trainer

Person providing individual, additional support, guidance and advice to learners to help them achieve their learning goals.

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goals

Intended gains in skills, knowledge or understanding. Gains may be reflected in the achievement of nationally recognised qualifications. Or they may be reflected in the ability of learners to apply learning in contexts outside the learning situation, e.g. in the family, community, or workplace. Learners’ main goal/s should be recorded on an individual or, in some cases, group learning plan. Plans should be revised as progress is made and new goals emerge.

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goals

These may include planned-for gains in self-confidence, and inter-personal skills. These should also be included in learning plans where appropriate.

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learning skills

These include being able to study independently, willingness to collaborate with others, and readiness to take up another opportunity for education or training.

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learning goals

© 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 5 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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outcome

Adults often experience unanticipated gains as a result of being involved in learning. These include improved self-esteem, greater self-confidence and a growing sense of belonging to a community. Gains of this kind should be acknowledged and recorded in any record of achievement.

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programme

A programme organised around a body of knowledge, e.g. the structure and usage of the French language or ceramic glazing techniques. Students could be expected to progress from one aspect of the subject to another, to grasp increasingly complex concepts or analyses or to develop greater levels of skill or to apply skills to a new area of work.

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programme

A programme that is based on the concerns, interests and aspirations of particular groups, for example members of a Sikh Gurdwara wanting to address inter-faith relations in their town, or parents worried about the incidence of drug abuse in their locality. Issue-based learning tends to be associated with geographically defined communities, but the increasing use of electronic means of communication means that this need no longer be the case. Progress is defined in terms of the group's increasing ability to analyse its situation, to access new information and skills which will help it resolve its difficulties and generate solutions and its growing confidence in dealing with others to implement those solutions.

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provision

Provision established in a community setting in addition to provision made at an organisation's main site(s). Outreach programmes may be similar to courses at the main site(s) or be designed to meet the specific requirements of that community.

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based work

The provider’s staff have a long-term presence in a local community with a specific remit to understand the concerns of the local residents and develop learning activities to meet local needs and interests.

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regeneration

The process of improving the quality of life in communities by investing in their infrastructure and facilities, creating opportunities for training and employment and tackling poor health and educational under-achievement. Community regeneration requires the active participation of local residents in decision-making. Changes and improvements are often achieved either directly or indirectly as a result of the adult learning activities which arise from this.

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regeneration

© 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 6 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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building

The process of enabling local people to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to take advantage of opportunities for employment, training and further education and to become selfmanaging, sustainable communities.

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citizenship

The process whereby people recognise the power they have to improve the quality of life for others and make a conscious effort to do so: the process whereby people recognise the power of organisations and institutions to act in the interests of the common good and exercise their influence to ensure that they do so. Adult learning contributes to active citizenship.

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Relating the term to Adult and Community Learning

© 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 7 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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Hospitality, sport, leisure & travel 3

Contributory areas: Contributory grade Number of learners Leisure, sport and recreation 2505 Adult and community learning 3 -

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Leisure, sport and recreation

Strengths good development of skills and well-being ! clear strategy to develop and improve the provision ! purposeful programmes to develop capacity and widen the participation of learners from under-represented groups !

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Leisure, sport and recreation

Weaknesses incomplete quality assurance systems !

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Achievement and standards

6. Learners in sports and fitness classes develop good skills, fitness and healthier lifestyles through activities that also increase their personal confidence. Benefits include increased mobility, greater flexibility, increased cardiovascular stamina and strength, and better muscle tone. Many older learners explained that the exercises in yoga, Pilates and general fitness classes help them to gain significant relief from ailments such as arthritis, osteoporosis and back conditions, and that they are able to cope better with stress and their medical conditions. Some courses, including tennis, have provided a good skills background for new learners who have been able to progress onto club level. Overall learners’ achievements are satisfactory. Retention rates are high at mostly over 95 per cent. However, Gloucestershire Adult Education has yet to develop an approach for measuring successful outcomes or determining what success might mean. Other than

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Achievement and standards

positive responses recorded on a students’ questionnaire, Gloucestershire Adult Education does not know how individuals or groups of learners actually progress in relation to their prior knowledge and understanding. However, the recent introduction of recognition and recording of progress and achievement (RARPA) in most classes may help this. Learners enjoy their lessons and overall attendance, at around 83 per cent, is satisfactory. Courses specifically designed for adults with specific learning difficulties and disabilities are particularly effective in engaging learners. For example, a swimming class run specifically for learners with disabilities enabled full-group participation, with different rates of progression and achievement.

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Achievement and standards

© 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 8 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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Quality of education and training

7. The quality of teaching and learning in leisure travel and tourism is satisfactory. No lessons were graded inadequate during the reinspection. Fifty per cent of classes were graded as good or better and 50 per cent were satisfactory. Planning for individual learning is effective. Tutors are enthusiastic, and learners are effectively challenged and engaged in learning. Tutors accommodate the individual needs of their learners in the planning and delivery of their lessons. One swimming tutor sets individual targets for learners at different levels in the development of water confidence, swimming skills and fitness. The tutor uses goals that the learners identify, in addition to group goals in lessons. Some tutors are imaginative in the range of activities they use to promote learning and use appropriate technical language to extend learning very well. The use of demonstration is effective. Tutors’ instruction and guidance are effective in promoting

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Quality of education and training

learning and encouraging learners in classes. Effective correction of techniques and coaching of poor performance is a feature of most teaching. In the less effective lessons, learners have to provide their own mats, and activities do not challenge the more able learners. One learner spent a good deal of time chatting with an attendant because he was not given clear instructions about what to do by the tutor. Tutors moved well around their groups and corrected inaccurate performance in such a way that helps learners to improve and avoid the development of poor practices. In all classes, tutors have established excellent working relationships and trust with their learners. All learners complete a health screening questionnaire in preparation for their programmes. Use of the information gathered by tutors on the health screening questionnaire is generally satisfactory. However, the LEA does not know what has been collected or how it has

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Quality of education and training

been used, as it does not monitor this information. In the better lessons, tutors use the information to structure lesson activities to accommodate the particular needs of their groups. In weaker lessons, the information gathered in the health screening was not always used effectively. The LEA is still not adequately monitoring the application and use of health checks. They take place but vary in the level of depth. Some tutors are not using the results of the responses to structure their sessions.

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Quality of education and training

8. The tutors’ monitoring and assessment of progress are good. One tutor in Pilates operates an extensive RARPA system. Learners identify their personal goals at the start of the programme and record these in a log book. The tutor then uses digital camera images to monitor learners’ progress against the personal learning goals. Learners in swimming classes have individual learning plans that are used well to record goals and monitor progress. One tutor of learners with particular needs had prepared laminated photographs of a learner in a booklet to help him overcome his anxiety about swimming. This was used by his carer each week to help the learner remember the progress he made and the enjoyment he experienced. The information in the booklet was successful in helping him overcome his lack of confidence in swimming. Additional support needs are generally well met and learners with particular needs in swimming

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Quality of education and training

have carers working with them in the water. The tutor had a support volunteer working with her in teaching. In a number of situations, supporting staff were not given clear instructions about what to do or how to best help learners. Support for literacy, numeracy and language is rarely offered to learners on sports and well-being courses. Gloucestershire Adult Education does not monitor attendance rates and only collects

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Quality of education and training

© 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 9 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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Quality of education and training

9. The range of provision is satisfactory. The service offers provision in exercise for the over 50s, golf, yoga, swimming, tennis, Pilates, tai chi and exercise for arthritis across the county at a range of venues. The strategy has been to move away from discrete sports programmes to move to healthy living, with links to healthy lifestyles and general well- being courses, including exercise for arthritis, low-impact exercise for over 50s, gentle exercise through the Extend programme and health for the over 60s. Courses take place during the daytime and in the evenings and some courses are at weekends. There are taster courses in a number of new activities. There is no provision during holiday periods or through the summer, for older learners, or those in rural areas and this is a significant disadvantage. Some provision is targeted at particular groups, including men, those from particular minority ethnic groups and the retired. Progression opportunities exist in only

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Quality of education and training

a few courses. Almost 29 per cent of provision at the time of inspection was for the over 50s. Seventy-four per cent of learners in training are over 50 years old. Fifteen per cent of participants are men. Information and guidance are satisfactory. Learners are able to access information about their courses through the prospectuses of the partner providers. Information leaflets are available in a number of different languages.

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Leadership and management

10. Significant changes to the management team have taken place since the previous inspection. A clear and effective business plan focusing on improving the provision for the learner, links activities in adult education to the rest of the LEA’s provision. An appropriate and very effective strategy was adopted early to manage weaknesses identified at the previous inspection. The focused action plan with targets and outcomes is monitored monthly and used well to promote and manage changes in staffing, structure and curriculum delivery. Targets are set, with appropriate milestones and regular progress reports for each activity. Improvements around the management of the curriculum have been effective in improving decision-making and action-planning. Targets include providing courses for priority groups, capacity building, and in developing an integrated approach to adopting RARPA among tutors. Purposeful management of

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Leadership and management

the curriculum has focused on key priorities, including improving teaching and learning while also providing a suitable support network for tutors. A curriculum specialist now works directly to support tutors. A new observation of teaching and learning programme has been introduced and effectively managed to improve teaching and learning for the smaller subcontractors. The colleges use their own systems, but these appear ineffective and are not followed up effectively by the LEA. Tutor manuals provide clear direction to contractors and staff. Training for tutors has been well attended, especially by those from the smaller contractors. An appropriate programme of future training events is well publicised to all subcontractors.

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Leadership and management

11. Relationships with subcontractors are good and monitored thoroughly through surveys and direct communication. New and small providers are particularly well supported, with the LEA providing good management and ongoing support through appropriate agreements and contracts. Partners are clear about changes in strategy towards older learners, disability and hard-to-reach groups. Communications are

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Leadership and management

© 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 10 GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEA REINSPECTION

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Leadership and management

satisfactory and have improved since the employment of development officers.

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Leadership and management

12. Systems to enable the LEA to be assured of the quality of the delivery are incomplete. For example, attendance is not monitored and does not contribute to retention rates, which are only analysed at the end of term. Health and safety checks made early in the year are not sufficiently followed up to ensure work has been done to fix issues. The LEA is unaware of the teaching qualifications of all tutors. Reporting procedures for complaints or equality and diversity are unclear for providers.

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Leadership and management

13. Equality and diversity data is captured from enrolment forms and Gloucestershire Adult Education uses this well to provide an end-of-programme analysis and promote new initiatives. The wide range of partnerships, representing many hard-to-reach groups, has promoted participation to a wide range of people. Several development programmes are piloting work to promote activities to under-represented groups. A capacity-building project to break down barriers for Bangladeshi women identified the need to promote healthy living. An appropriate and safe environment was established to teach 30 women to swim. The confidence gained from the activity has encouraged them to participate in further learning, including training for some to become tutors. A group of men followed the lead established by the women and are now training to become swimming tutors. Close working with the primary healthcare trust and general

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Leadership and management

practitioners’ referral scheme ’Widening Participation’ has been a key policy objective with some very focused targeted provision. Rural venues are appropriately used to target local populations. Gloucestershire Adult Education does not routinely collect and monitor subcontractors’ equality and diversity policies and it does not give support to smaller providers who do not have equality and diversity policies. Support for literacy, numeracy and language is available for learners through the LEA, but there are no examples of staff identifying such a need for a learner.

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