Government inspectors have praised Derbyshire County Council’s Adult Community Education Service (DACES) for their ‘dedicated support’ of learners and their commitment to ensuring apprentices develop the skills they need to be successful at work.
Ofsted Inspectors spent four days earlier this year visiting DACES to review the quality of their education provision and speak to staff and learners. Following that visit Ofsted have upgraded the service from ‘Requires improvement’ to ‘Good’.
The service currently supports over 1800 learners, including more than 100 young learners and 91 apprentices, who are engaged with community learning courses, studying qualification-based courses such as digital skills, English and maths, or undertaking an apprenticeship.
Inspectors reported that most learners and apprentices make good progress on their courses or apprenticeships and ‘feel safe and protected’. They highlighted that learners choose to study at DACES because ‘it feels like a community and staff treat them with respect’.
The report also notes that a significant number of young learners have a history of not attending their previous school or college but that the way courses are structured at DACES encourages them to attend and develop their employability skills.
The inspectors highlighted many areas for praise including:
- Most learners and apprentices develop substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviour
- Learners on community mathematics courses can confidently help their children with homework
- A significant majority of learners and apprentices have a secure understanding of British values and how it applies to them in life and at work
- To promote independence, work coaches purposely reduce their support to learners over time. This helps learners to become more successful both at work and in their daily lives
Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Education and Chair of DACES’ Governance Board, Councillor Alex Dale, said: “It’s wonderful for our Adult Community Education Service to be recognised for their hard work in creating a safe and supportive environment for learners across the county.
“Ofsted particularly highlighted that learners on our community courses improve their mental and physical health and well-being, and that most apprentices develop the skills they need to be successful at work.
“We’re committed to ensuring young people and adults across Derbyshire have access to the courses, support and advice they need to be successful at work or learn new skills.
"I’d like to specifically highlight our brilliant DACES team and the hard work they’ve put in to create the type of learning environment and programmes that give local people the best chance of being successful.”
On what DACES does well, the report also highlights:
- Most learners and apprentices receive effective careers information, advice and guidance from staff. They know the options available to them once they complete their courses.
- Leaders have carefully considered their programmes for young people, adults and apprentices. They are ambitious to provide meaningful learning programmes so that learners and apprentices can improve their future career prospects and their lives.
- Most staff are proud to work at DACES. They appreciate that leaders are considerate of their workloads and well-being. Leaders have trained a significant number of staff to become mental health first aiders.