Ofsted: Council's Adult And Community Learning Service 'Good' And 'Outstanding'

The Adult and Community Learning (ACL) service run by the Isle of Wight Council has received ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ grades by inspectors.

Ofsted gave the ACL ‘good’ ratings for its overall effectiveness and four other categories: quality of education, personal development, leadership and management and adult learning programmes.

The ACL, which provides learning programmes at its centre off Brading Road and in various community venues across the Isle of Wight, was also rated ‘outstanding’ for behaviour and attitudes.

Its courses cover subjects such as English, mathematics, digital skills, health and well-being and family learning.

Ofsted’s report, compiled after a May 14 – 16 inspection, says:

“Learners value highly the positive, nurturing and friendly learning environments that staff create very successfully.

“This enables learners, who often lack confidence in what they are studying, to have a go, make mistakes and learn from them. In this way, learners enhance their self-belief and resilience, including in subjects that they previously feared, such as mathematics.”

Identifying areas where the ACL could improve, inspectors said it should continue to increase the proportion of learners completing their programme and passing final assessments and provide a ‘well-planned and structured programme of personal development activities for all learners’.

In addition, Ofsted added that the service should ‘record what learners move on to’ after completing programmes to help evaluate the effectiveness of its provision.

Rob Brindley, manager of the ACL, said:

“We are incredibly proud of this Ofsted report. It reflects the hard work and dedication of our staff and the determination of our learners.

“Our mission is to help people rediscover their confidence and potential, and it’s heartening to see that recognised.

"We’ll continue to build on this success and ensure our programmes remain inclusive, inspiring, and impactful.”

Cllr Paul Brading, chair of the children’s services, education and skills committee, said:

“The Adult and Community Learning service plays an important role in supporting learners across the Island, and this report reflects the commitment of its staff and leadership.”