Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills

Members were informed that Skills and Employability focused on a range of education and training opportunities to fulfil statutory duties, meet the needs of learners, the economy and the wider community and supports delivery of the LEP Skills Strategy.  The portfolio of work covered included Community Learning, Intermediate and Advanced Apprenticeships and adult classroom based learning.  The Select Committee considered the quality and performance of the learning and skills delivered as part of the service. 

The Self-Assessment Report was a fundamental tool that Ofsted Inspectors used to judge the quality and effectiveness of an organisation in providing education opportunities to young people and adults. Members also scrutinised the quality assurance and performance of the portfolio of learning and skills provision commissioned by the Skills and Employability Team, in order to further improve quality, outcomes for learners and in remaining a good FE and Skills provider.

The Self-Assessment Report 2015/2016 had assessed the Council as “good” in all areas except “outcomes for learners” for Apprenticeships, where the service has assessed itself a “requiring improvement”.  Members received a presentation which provided an overview of the findings of the report, and a video which showed some of the work being undertaken at Moreton Farm, and the impact which this had on learners’ lives.

The Skills and Employability Service commissions and direct delivers learning and skills through 32 providers, directly through its Direct Delivery Unit and through four main strands of delivery (2016/2017 academic year):

·       Community Learning

·       Community Learning Trust Responsiveness Fund

·       Apprenticeships

·       Classroom based learning (including Direct Delivery)

Members were informed that the service had undergone a transformation, in that in 2014 60% of the provision had related to leisure learning and 40% to disadvantaged learners, this had now changed to 35% leisure and 65% disadvantaged learners.  However it was acknowledged that leisure courses were important in their own right, a fact evidenced by the personal experience of one of the Select Committee co-opted members.

With regard to the breakdown in funding over the last three years, members requested that this be provided on a District basis.  Members were also interested to know what had happened to apprentices following their training, and requested details of the destination surveys which were done six months after their apprenticeship was completed. 

In relation to statistics on the Learner Enrolments by district in 2015/2016 it was queried why Tamworth had the second lowest number of enrolments but was the biggest centre of population and highest levels of deprivation, with a similar situation in Newcastle under Lyme.  Members were informed that a number of factors affected the figures, from opportunities to access provision from over the borders of Staffordshire, commissioning priorities, and difficulties in securing providers in some instances.

RESOLVED – That:

a)    the quality assurance and performance of the learning and skills service within the Skills and Employability team be noted; and

the findings of the Skills and Employability 2015-2016 Report for Learning and Skills provision, in order to further improve quality and performance in preparation of achieving a good outcome in a FE and Skills Ofsted Inspection, be noted.