Setting

REINSPECTION REPORT RE_PART 01/11/2006 00:00:00

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01 November 2006

14/11/2006 11:12:48 14/11/2006 11:12:48 HULL ADULT AND COMMUNITY LEARNING REINSPECTION

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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

• work-based learning for all people aged over 16 • provision in further education colleges for people aged 19 and over • learndirect 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 ( nextstep ).

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Adult Learning Inspectorate

Inspections are carried out in accordance with the Common Inspection Framework 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.

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Grading

Inspectors use a four-point scale to summarise their judgements about the quality of provision in occupational/curriculum areas and Jobcentre Plus programmes, as well as to summarise their judgements about the quality of learning sessions. The same scale is used to describe the quality of leadership and management, which includes equality of opportunity and quality assurance. The descriptors for the four grades are:

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Grading

• grade 1 - outstanding • grade 2 - good • grade 3 - satisfactory • grade 4 - inadequate

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Summary

Description of the provider 1 1.00 Grades 1 1.00 About the reinspection 3 1.00 Leisure, travel and tourism 4 HULL ADULT AND COMMUNITY LEARNING REINSPECTION

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

1. Hull Adult and Community Learning (HACL) is a medium-sized provider of adult education, providing learning programmes for families and adults of all ages. HACL works on behalf of Hull City Council within the skills and employability service area. It uses five main adult learning centres, and 100 subsidiary community and outreach venues. The provision ranges from entry level to level 4 and access to higher education. HACL receives funding from Humberside Learning and Skills Council.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

2. HACL has delivered adult learning provision to residents of Hull since the establishment of Hull City Council as a unitary authority in 1996. There is a long tradition of formal and informal adult education in the city.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

3. HACL has carried out significant resource development and organisational restructuring in the past three years. This has included a programme of investment to improve the quality of the learning environment for adult learners. Capital grants have been used for general repairs and maintenance, and to ensure that buildings and resources comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Further major investments have been made in improving the main adult education centre.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

4. A restructuring of skills and employability senior management was completed in February 2006. The provision is delivered through curriculum teams. There are six curriculum managers, nine development officers, 17 lead tutors and 82 tutors are responsible for developing and delivering the curriculum.

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GRADES

grade 1 = outstanding, grade 2 = good, grade 3 = satisfactory, grade 4 = inadequate Grades awarded at previous inspection

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Leadership and management 3

Contributory grades: Equality of opportunity 3 Quality improvement 4

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Health, public services and care 3 Health, public services and care

Contributory areas: Number of learners Contributory grade Social care 3 Adult and community learning 115 3

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Health, public services and care 3 Health, public services and care

1 © 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE HULL ADULT AND COMMUNITY LEARNING REINSPECTION

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Information and communications technology 2 Information and communications technology

Contributory areas: Number of learners Contributory grade ICT for users 2 Adult and community learning 1,034 2

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Leisure, travel and tourism 4 Leisure, travel and tourism

Contributory areas: Number of learners Contributory grade Sport, leisure and recreation 4 Adult and community learning 466 4

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Arts, media and publishing 3 Arts, media and publishing

Contributory areas: Number of learners Contributory grade Dance Adult and community learning 187 3 Music Adult and community learning 240 3 Fine arts Adult and community learning 899 3 Crafts Adult and community learning 354 3

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Languages, literature and culture 3 Languages, literature and culture

Contributory areas: Number of learners Contributory grade Other languages, literature and culture 3 Adult and community learning 337 3

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Education and training 3 Education and training

Contributory areas: Number of learners Contributory grade Direct learning support 3 Adult and community learning 86 3

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Preparation for life and work 3 Preparation for life and work

Contributory areas: Number of learners Contributory grade ESOL 3 Adult and community learning 281 3 Literacy and numeracy 3 Adult and community learning 800 3 Independent living and leisure skills 3 Adult and community learning 173 3

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Preparation for life and work 3 Preparation for life and work

2 © 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE HULL ADULT AND COMMUNITY LEARNING REINSPECTION

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Family learning 3 Family learning

Contributory areas: Number of learners Contributory grade Adult and community learning 3 Adult and community learning 1,383 3

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Leisure, travel and tourism 2 Leisure, travel and tourism

Contributory areas: Number of learners Contributory grade Sport, leisure and recreation 2 Adult and community learning 199 2

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ABOUT THE REINSPECTION

5. Only leisure, travel and tourism was reinspected and graded. At the October 2005 inspection, leadership and management of HACL’s provision were satisfactory, as were the arrangements for equality of opportunity. Quality improvement was inadequate. The provision in information and communications technology was good. The provisions in health, public services and care, arts, media and publishing, languages, literature and culture, education and training, preparation for life and work, and family learning were all satisfactory. Leisure, travel and tourism was inadequate. At the end of the reinspection, the provision in leisure, travel and tourism was judged to be good. The overall effectiveness of the provision remains satisfactory.

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ABOUT THE REINSPECTION

Number of inspectors 2 Number of inspection days 10 Number of learners interviewed 8 Number of staff interviewed 24 Number of locations/sites/learning centres visited 3 Number of visits 3

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ABOUT THE REINSPECTION

3 © 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE HULL ADULT AND COMMUNITY LEARNING REINSPECTION

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Leisure, travel and tourism Grade 2

Number of learners Contributory areas: Contributory grade Sport, leisure and recreation 2 Adult and community learning 199 2

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Leisure, travel and tourism Grade 2

6. HACL currently provides 23 classes is this area of learning. One hundred and eighty-five learners are enrolled on yoga and tai chi classes, all of which are non-accredited. Most classes are for mixed-ability learners. Courses last for 37 weeks and most sessions are two hours long. Courses take place during the day and in the evening at six learning centres. Eighty-eight per cent of the learners are women, 2 per cent are from minority ethnic backgrounds and 5 per cent have identified a physical or learning disability. All learners contribute to the cost of the programme, but some receive fee remissions. A personal and community learning manager has overall responsibility for the non-accredited provision. He is supported by four tutors who are on permanent contracts, two of whom are lead tutors.

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Leisure, travel and tourism Grade 2

7. Fourteen learners are in the third week of a newly developed community sports leaders’ award which is accredited to level 2. Learners are teaching assistants and play workers who wish to enhance their employability skills. A lifelong workforce development manager has overall responsibility for the accredited provision. He is supported by a lead sports teacher for coaching.

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Sport, leisure and recreation

Strengths significant health and social benefits for learners 00 • good planning of individual learning 00 • very good standards of teaching and learning in some lessons 00 • good leadership 00 • Weaknesses inadequate collection and use of data for management information 00 •

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Achievement and standards

8. Classes provide significant health and social benefits for learners. Most learners have significant health problems when they begin programmes, and make good improvements to their physical and psychological health, fitness levels and confidence. In yoga classes, learners demonstrate good levels of body and breathing control. In tai chi classes, learners demonstrate good memory and good balance. Older learners achieve greater mobility and co-ordination to help them carry out daily tasks that were previously too difficult, and maintain their independence. Learners enrolling on courses have a variety of personal objectives and are able to identify their own progress. They learn about the

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Achievement and standards

4 © 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE HULL ADULT AND COMMUNITY LEARNING REINSPECTION

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Achievement and standards

philosophy of their chosen disciplines and anatomy and physiology.

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Achievement and standards

9. Learners value the strong social element to all the courses. For many learners, the courses give them the opportunity to socialise with others in a secure environment and to try out new activities. All the tutors have successfully overcome significant health problems, and through participation in adult and community classes, have become qualified tutors. Learners develop good relationships with their tutors which help them overcome barriers to learning. Tutors have good interpersonal skills and motivate the learners well.

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Achievement and standards

10. HACL does not have sufficient, reliable data. Informed judgements cannot be made about the levels of retention and achievement among learners.

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The quality of provision

11. The planning of individual learning is good, and has improved a great deal since the previous inspection. Programmes have been extended from 10 to 37 weeks, and learners can develop and maintain good fitness levels. They now enrol once each year, and spend more time in class and less time duplicating form-filling. Tutors plan logically and effectively to increase participants’ fitness levels during the year. Learners’ skill levels and experience are now identified more effectively. The first lesson of each programme is free and is used for initial assessment. Learners complete a health and exercise checklist and the tutor observes them participating in gentle warm-up exercises to assess their abilities. During the first few weeks of the programme, tutors sensitively help learners to identify detailed personal learning goals. Personal learning goals are recorded on a visually effective and easy-to-use form. Information is summarised in very useful group profiles.

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The quality of provision

Tutors make good use of all this information to modify and develop schemes of work and lesson plans to meet individual needs. Comprehensive notes about individual learners’ progress in each lesson are used to plan further lessons.

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The quality of provision

12. Standards of teaching and learning are good and some are very good. Learners enjoy their classes. Lessons are well planned and well managed to accommodate individual needs. Tutors skilfully ensure that learners are challenged, and are able to work at their own level. Alternative exercises are offered consistently. More experienced learners support less experienced learners effectively. Tutors move around the groups well, and observe, correct, and improve learners’ techniques. Tutors ensure that learners can see their demonstrations clearly. In tai chi, tutors make good use of staggered breaks to coach learners of different abilities. Learners are encouraged to exercise at home. Tutors clearly identify and discuss the aims and objectives of each lesson with the learners, and recapitulate what has been learnt at the end of the lesson. Particular themes form the basis of good planning of each lesson, such as improving digestion or improving memory.

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The quality of provision

Tutors produce good-quality handouts to support learning.

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The quality of provision

13. Good, pre-course information has been developed for all programmes. It explains clearly what sort of person might benefit from the programme, the background of the subject, the materials needed and costs, useful books and websites, what to expect, and assessment and progression routes. Learners are informed at induction about the specialist literacy and numeracy support that is available.

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The quality of provision

14. Progress made by learners against their personal goals is assessed by the tutor and the

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The quality of provision

5 © 2006 ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE HULL ADULT AND COMMUNITY LEARNING REINSPECTION

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The quality of provision

learner throughout the programme. Tutors give learners good feedback about their progress and keep written records of the feedback. However, the new system for measuring and recording progress has not yet been through a full cycle, and it is too soon to tell how effective it is.

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The quality of provision

15. Facilities and resources are satisfactory. The provider’s focus on safe working practices is satisfactory and has improved since the previous inspection. Risk assessments are completed for all outreach venues. Improvements have been made to the floor surface of one learning centre. Class sizes are restricted to ensure that learners can exercise safely. Tutors are aware of safe working practices in the classroom and implement and manage them accordingly. Regular spot checks and useful health and safety training sessions support the tutors.

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Leadership and management

16. Leadership is good and has improved since the previous inspection. The new, smaller team, is very committed to improving the provision. All staff are involved purposefully in decisions and the aims and objectives of the health-related fitness, and accredited sports provision. Communications are very good and good practice is shared frequently. All members of the staff team help to further improvements. The promotion of equality of opportunity is good. Learning is individualised to meet the wide range of learners’ needs.

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Leadership and management

17. All tutors are very knowledgeable and qualified appropriately. Appraisals and continued professional development are satisfactory. A new appraisal system has been established, but it is too soon to judge how effective it will be. Before this system was implemented, all staff received continued professional development training that met the needs of the provider and the individual well.

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Leadership and management

18. A lot of action has been taken to improve the quality of the provision. Planning, and the response to the previous inspection, has been good. All the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection have been resolved satisfactorily and some have become strengths. Information contained in the quality improvement plans and minutes of meetings indicates that the motivation and commitment exists to make the provision. HACL’s quality improvement unit is scrutinising many aspects of teaching and learning. The observation of teaching and learning is fully accepted by tutors in the area of learning, who are now trained specialists. Guidance given by external consultants on how to observe, and records are exemplary.

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Leadership and management

19. The draft self-assessment report for 2005-06 contains a lot of useful information. This was the first report produced by the area of learning. The format has improved a lot from the previous report and provides the basis to improve quality of provision. The process for collecting information is clear, but has not been implemented in full. The report does not have pertinent key judgement statements to substantiate the grade. However, tutors have a good awareness of the provision’s strengths and weaknesses.

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Leadership and management

20. Weak curriculum management was a weakness at the previous inspection. Management has improved, but the collection and use of data for management decision-making is still inadequate. Some data has errors and some is unclear. Data cannot be used to compare the performances of different courses, and is not used to set targets. Staff have identified this weakness.

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