Adult Learning In The Community – Adroddiad Blynyddol | Annual Report
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Adult Learning In The Community

Early Insights 2024-2025

Teaching and learning

Learners make sound progress and enjoy their learning. Tutors generally respond to learners’ needs well although occasionally do not adapt their approaches to suit individual learners.

Whats’ going well

  • Learners generally make sound progress from their starting points.
  • Learners have positive attitudes to learning, enjoy coming to classes, and have respectful and productive relationships with tutors and fellow learners.
  • Tutors know their learners well and most adjust their teaching to meet the needs of their learners well.
  • Most teaching is effective and help learners improve the literacy, numeracy, digital, English language or other skills.
  • Tutors give useful verbal and written feedback and learners know what they need to improve.
  • Learners in naturally bilingual areas use Welsh as part of their learning.

What needs to improve

  • Very few learners, even in naturally bilingual areas, complete assessments through the medium of Welsh.
  • In the few cases where teaching is less effective, it is where tutors over-rely on work-sheet activities or do not adapt their teaching to meet the needs of individual learners enough.

Well-being, care, support and guidance

Participation in learning gives learners a boost in confidence, outlook and social interaction. Although partnerships have made improvements to their websites, it’s not always easy for learners to find the full partnership’s offer.

What’s going well

  • Learners strongly value the well-being effects of learning; for many learners, a lack of confidence is their biggest barrier to re-engaging with learning – learners frequently report boosts to their confidence, outlook and socialisation through taking part in learning.
  • Many learners access personalised guidance and informal support from tutors, including signposting to further learning, careers advice and links with external agencies.
  • In many cases, structured support mechanisms such as individual learning plans, digital learning plans, and additional support tracking tools are used effectively to monitor progress and support learners’ development.

What needs to improve

  • Although partnerships have made improvements to their websites, they are not always clear to navigate and do not always show or link to all partners’ provision.
  • A few learners find digital only information and application processes a barrier to engaging.
  • In less effective partnerships, learners are frequently not aware of the range of course options available to them to progress or continue their learning.
  • In less effective partnerships, tutors do not ensure that learners know what they need to do to improve in the short term, and learners are often unclear about their medium- and long-term targets.

Leading and improving

Partnership arrangements are improving, and a minority of partnerships are beginning to evaluate learners’ progression using their own data. One partnership is in a position of ‘reset’ after a period without effective partnership working between providers.

What’s going well

  • Across the sector, improved use of formal partnership agreements is helping to clarify roles and responsibilities between providers.
  • A minority of partnerships are beginning to evaluate their own data about the way learners progress into, within and beyond their provision.
  • Self-evaluation is generally conducted in a spirit of candour and honesty, although occasionally strengths are overstated.
  • There is good use of community venues for provision.

 

What needs to improve

  • One partnership is in a position of ‘reset’ after a period without effective partnership working between providers.
  • Where partnership working is not effective, provision planning, self-evaluation and advice and guidance for learners are under-developed.
  • Across the whole sector, the majority of partnerships are not evaluating learners’ progress into, within and beyond their provision.

Overview of recommendations from inspections

We have carried out two core inspections of ALC partnerships and one core inspection of the further education college for adult learning in Wales. Of these three core inspections, one resulted in a partnership being placed in follow-up. We left a total of ten recommendations. We have also carried out a thematic review relating to the sector, Literacy, numeracy and digital skills in adult learning in the community.

Two providers (67%) had a recommendation in relation to teaching and learning:

  • Both providers had a recommendation relating to planning provision to meet the needs of learners and offering pathways for progression

All providers had at least one recommendation relating to well-being, care, support and guidance. Two of those were for the provider in follow-up.

  • Two providers received a recommendation to implement effective systems across the partnership for recording and communicating learners’ individual needs and providing the support needed

All providers were given at least one recommendation relating to leading and improving. Two of those were for the provider in follow-up.

  • Two had a recommendation to improve partnership working
  • One provider had a recommendation to improve the accuracy of self-evaluation

Effective practice identified during inspection

We were pleased to note examples of effective practice in the following inspections:

 

Gwynedd and Mon Community Learning Partnership

Inspection report: Gwynedd and Mon Community Learning Partnership

  • Developing Welsh language skills on a teaching assistants’ course
  • A recipe for well-being: learners supporting their community
  • Tŷ Cyfle learning centres, widening access and repurposing urban community space

Adult Learning Wales

Inspection report: Adult Learning Wales

  • Music for communication for learners with profound learning difficulties
  • Men’s cooking course
  • Using data to analyse rates of progression

Merthyr Tydfil ACL Partnership

Inspection report: Merthyr Tydfil ACL Partnership

  • Multiply numeracy in Welsh