Agenda item

SBC ran a joint service with Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM); this had been inspected in January 2018. At the previous inspection, all areas had been rated as ‘requires improvement’. In 2018, Ofsted’s overall rating remained at that level but some areas (e.g. personal development, apprenticeships) had risen to ‘good’; in addition, safeguarding was now deemed to be effective.

However, concerns remained over the quality of teaching. Teacher recruitment processes were being altered to rectify this, and would improve the pace of change. In addition, governance and leadership had been enhanced. With development of entrepreneurship and analyses of local skills gaps and customer need, SBC was confident the means of improvement were in place. Combined with other innovations, this meant that the service was prepared to pledge that the next inspection would achieve a ‘good’ rating.

The Panel raised the following points in discussion:

·  It was acknowledged that some of the current roster of teachers struggled with motivating students in English and mathematics. Contracts were due to be reviewed soon, and those not at the requisite level would not be renewed. In addition, new tutors would face a higher bar; SBC would support these improvement efforts with more robust self- inspection to track improvement. It was also recognised that the diverse abilities of students had led to materials being pitched an inappropriate levels. SBC was confident that its teachers would be better suited to the requirements of the role by September 2018.

·  In addition, initial testing of teaching and probation policies would be more thorough to support efforts to raise levels. The recruitment campaign for new tutors had been designed with the express aim of attracting teachers already rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.

·  SBC had always held information on the level of learners but this had not been used as effectively as possible. SBC was emphasising the vital nature of this information to teachers in preparing courses and ensuring they were sufficiently personalised. Tutors would also be trained on tracking students’ progress; in addition, a Continuing Professional Development programme called ‘Journey To Outstanding’ had been designed.

(At this point, Cllr Chahal joined the meeting)

·  SBC was reviewing its policies to allow greater creativity in recruiting teachers (e.g. retired tutors, members of under-represented communities) and would also ensure students had a well-publicised selection of day time, evening and weekend courses from which to choose. External agencies would also support these efforts.

·  With the exception of the basic course (induction levels), all options offered by SBC led to accredited qualifications. However, progression needed to be tracked more effectively and standardisation of this was required.

·  A robust and thorough analysis of local needs would shape the new offer (at present, SBC was following structures based on previous years’ offers). The service also needed to be mindful of the differences between the communities served by SBC and RBWM.

Resolved:  That an item on adult education be added to the agenda for 13^th March 2019.