2C: How is success in teaching, training and learning recognised?
The following extracts from HMIP inspection reports illustrate effective practice in teaching, training and learning.
Standards of teaching and learning in foundation studies are good. Sessions are well planned to provide a good mix of activities. Most learners are enthusiastic and work at an appropriate level. Lessons for those learners for whom English is an additional language are good. Teachers pay attention to the learning styles of learners, and make good use of paired work to practise dialogue, using themes to which learners can easily relate.
There is good teaching on most foundation programmes. Lessons are planned well and cover a range of learning styles. Learners are involved well in most sessions and develop good personal and social skills. Learner progress is recorded clearly and monitored regularly by teaching staff. There is good individual learner support. This is provided by college staff and PGCE students. There are good working relationships between staff and learners.
Learners are making good progress towards the targets in their learning plans. In an observed numeracy session, learners showed a good understanding of how to convert data into graphs. A learner who receives literacy and numeracy outreach support on her wing has won a national prison award as a developing writer. All the teaching was satisfactory or better, and there was some very good teaching in the foundation studies classes. Foundation lessons are well planned and the teaching and learning methods engage and stimulate the learners. Innovative use of national literacy activities and competitions further increases learners’ self-confidence and motivation.
Teaching on most foundation and education programmes is good. Tutors prepare materials that engage the learner, and there is a good mix of practical tasks and background knowledge. Good use is made of real-world examples such as money transactions to increase learners’ confidence and achievement.
There is good integration of key skills with vocational programmes. Instructors have worked closely with key skills tutors to develop occupationally specific activity packs. These packs make good use of practical activities that occur within the target qualification. For example, learners record training activities that they have completed. The record is used by the tutor to generate a discussion, which is used as evidence towards achievement of the communication unit. This helps learners to understand the relevance of key skills to their chosen occupation.
Lessons are well planned and there are comprehensive arrangements for planning learning and recording progress. Course paperwork is good, with schemes of work, lesson plans and records of work. Monitoring of learners and their progress is effective. Course files cross-reference learning activities to the relevant sections of the core curriculum or relevant syllabus. Learners are involved in the setting of learning goals and understand the process and its purpose. They have progress reviews with a tutor every six weeks, when they update learning plans.
Individual learning plans are detailed and progressive. A personal profile of the learner and family is attached to each individual learning plan. Learners meet their tutors to agree long-term learning goals. First they discuss short-term objectives and long-term ambitions. They agree five short-term learning tasks which are reviewed about every four weeks before they agree another five tasks. There is an emphasis on short-term planning because learners are transferred to other prisons so often that longer-term planning is not feasible. The progress review and task setting processes are clearly linked.
All teaching is satisfactory or better. Training sessions are well planned and suit learners’ needs. Training session plans are used by all teaching staff. Teaching staff are well qualified and experienced in working with these learners. Staff use a good variety of teaching methods to make training sessions interesting and to meet the specific learning styles of the learners. Frequent individual support and guidance is given to learners throughout the training sessions. Learners’ completed work shows good progression and understanding. Learners’ work is assessed regularly. A formal review of learners’ progress is carried out every four to six weeks and short-term targets are set and reviewed effectively. Learners are well motivated by their progress and enjoy the training sessions. There is good use of learning resources. A wide range of textbooks, videos and practical resources is used during training sessions. For example, models of furniture were used to help learners understand scale and ratio. Learners are encouraged to visit the library. Some tutors set tasks for learners which involve a visit to the library so that learners can practise their research and reading skills. The library has a range of popular novels that have been adapted to make them easier to read. In addition, there is a good range of factual books and books in other languages and large print. Learners have stated that frequent use of the library improves their reading skills.
Much good groupwork and individual support is given through the use of vocationally relevant structured assignments. Teaching staff in the workshops also take every opportunity to develop literacy and numeracy skills when delivering practical sessions. For example, in the industrial cleaning programme, the teacher reinforced metric measurement and ratios while measuring out quantities of chemicals for cleaning.
Teaching and learning is good on foundation programmes. All lessons observed were satisfactory or better and most were good. Teachers are well qualified, knowledgeable about their subject area and understand their learners’ needs. They use a good range of teaching strategies that engage and motivate learners.
Teachers are generally well qualified and experienced. In many sessions, learners work for substantial periods on tasks individually. During these, teachers move around the classroom, often spending considerable time with each learner and offering useful guidance. They are skilled in identifying when learners require help, or are ready for additional tasks. Teachers quickly build good working relationships with learners, and ensure learners make productive use of part-time programmes often lasting only a few weeks. In the best classes, teachers provide a good balance between individual and whole-class activities to retain learners’ interest and enthusiasm. In literacy and numeracy classes, the use of learning plans is well developed. All learners are assessed when they join the courses to diagnose their needs. Teachers prepare detailed plans for each learner, which clearly identify targets.
Additional training in basic skills is often given in the workshops on an individual basis. All inmates carry out a basic skills initial assessment and general induction, where training opportunities are explained. Learners who have identified additional support needs attend courses to improve their confidence and motivation and work towards qualifications in numeracy and literacy.
The education department has set up a small classroom in one of the light industrial workshops and provides literacy lessons on two mornings a week. Women who would not attend the education centre welcome this initiative, as they feel confident to attend the workshop classroom for basic literacy lessons. Many of the women who attend have a need to improve their basic literacy and can do so in the same area they work in without losing any pay.
Initial assessment is good. The education department works closely with other work areas of the prison to ensure assessments contribute to the learners’ workshop activity and sentence policy. Basic skills assessments in literacy and numeracy are good and take into consideration that many learners do not have English as their first language. Teaching is good and tutors use a variety of teaching methods to engage learners. Tutors take account of the diverse range of ability levels and attitudes to learning. Lessons are well planned and there is effective use of worksheets which are suitable for the needs of individual learners. Many tasks and worksheets take into account the different cultural backgrounds of the learners. There is good use of ICT to support the teaching of basic skills and all learners have access to the computer room. Basic skills provision has been extended to the workshop areas of the prison and learners are able to access literacy and numeracy in the adjacent learning hub of one of the production workshops. This is particularly effective in integrating basic skills with other areas of the prison and providing for reluctant learners.
The standard of teaching in foundation is good. Half of the sessions were good or better. Groups are small and classrooms are well managed. In observed sessions learners were encouraged to take part in discussions and to answer questions to demonstrate learning. Learners were interested in the subjects and were engaged in learning.
The teaching and learning on foundation courses is good. A variety of teaching styles ensures the communication of learning objectives and the outcomes are reviewed at the end of most lessons. Lessons are well planned to maintain learners’ interest. In the best lessons, learners are challenged and encouraged to develop independent working skills. Good teaching is also taking place with learners who do not attend the education block but receive either individual or small group sessions or a mixture of both. These learners have jobs within the prison and are able to improve their literacy, numeracy and language skills during the workshop activities. Initial assessment is comprehensive and effective.
Standards of teaching and learning are good on literacy, numeracy and language courses. Lessons are well planned and generally make effective use of lesson plans and schemes of work, although some lesson plans are too generalised. Tutors give appropriate attention to individual learners, who have a wide range of needs. Good use is made of a variety of teaching methods to meet different learning styles.
There is good teaching. Tutors have appropriate experience and knowledge. Teaching staff in education are well qualified and appropriately experienced and work well with learners on an individual basis.
There is good teaching on foundation programmes which meets the needs of individual learners. Teachers are well prepared and knowledgeable about their subject area and the learners they teach. They plan sessions carefully and set individual learning targets for learners within sessions. There is a wide range of programmes, with good enrichment activities.
There is much good teaching in literacy and numeracy classes. A good variety of teaching methods is used. Sessions are well planned and interesting, and relevant topic work is used effectively. A good use is made of materials to promote equality of opportunity in a practical way. There is a strong focus on widening access to learning, with classes taking place in workshops, the kitchen and on the wings. Computers are used effectively both in education classrooms and during outreach work. Excellent ICT equipment is used in wing sessions. Learners use open and flexible learning materials for independent study in their cells. In the education department there is interesting use of wall displays, such as using African-Caribbean hairstyles to illustrate tessellation.
Teaching and learning in literacy, numeracy and language is good. Teachers carefully plan teaching and learning sessions, and skilfully develop learners’ speaking, listening, reading and writing. Literacy sessions give learners opportunities to learn through activities and participate in whole class discussions. Tutors give good individual coaching and carefully explain and reinforce concepts and skills. There are good progression opportunities for learners, enabling them to move from entry level to GCSE or its equivalent.
'How is success in teaching, training and learning recognised?' in other guides:
- Adult and Community Learning
- E-learning
- Embedded Learning
- Family Learning
- Further Education Colleges
- Jobcentre Plus Programmes
- Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities
- The Juvenile Secure Estate for Young People Aged 15-17
- Voluntary and Community Sector
- Work-based Learning
- Young Offender Institutions for Young People Aged 18-21
