Wolverhampton council praised for 'outstanding' adult education

The service was given the top tier rating by the watchdog in January following an inspection the previous month, with outcomes for learners, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the effectiveness of leadership and management all highly praised.

This week chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw highlighted the achievements of the service and used it as a case study in his annual report.

In his report, Sir Michael wrote: "The management of staff performance was particularly effective in assuring a very high standard of teaching and learning.

"Tutors and support staff had realistically high expectations for all learners. They were particularly skilled at developing imaginative and interactive learning activities that maintained learners' concentration and inspired them to reach their full potential and produce very high-quality work.

"Strategic leadership was impressive. Service leaders had developed a very effective strategy to cope with reduced funding and yet maximise the number of learners who progressed to further education or into jobs.

"They frequently conducted very thorough research on the local economy, business profile and business opportunities and used this information well to adapt the range and content of their learning programmes to align them with the employability needs of the local community.

"The large English for Speakers of Other Languages programme acted as a very successful gateway for learners to access wider educational opportunities or to enter local employment. A high proportion of learners gained full-or part-time employment or became volunteers."

Service head Sue Knottenbelt said: "I am delighted that the adult education service has received this recognition and has been highlighted as an example of best practice.

"I'd like to thank our staff and students for their hard work which has made this possible - it is great news for the service, for the council and for Wolverhampton."

Wolverhampton council's education chief, Councillor Claire Darke, said: "Our adult education service is one of only a small number of adult skills and employment services in the country to be rated outstanding and I am proud that its success has been shared with a national audience in this way."

The service delivers a wide range of courses, including arts and crafts, creative studies, languages, English, maths, ICT, teaching and care, from more than 50 venues around the city.

For information visit www.aes.wolverhampton.gov.uk or call 01902 558180.