2C: How is success in teaching, training and learning recognised?

Teaching is very good. Lessons are carefully planned to meet the needs of all clients. Schemes of work are clearly written. Basic skills are particularly well taught. A good variety of teaching methods is used with good individual teaching and group work to reinforce learning where appropriate.

Teaching sessions are highly motivating and inspiring and learners make excellent progress towards their targets. Learners carry out a range of very effective activities that are very successful in developing their team-building, social and communication skills. These activities include well-structured residential outdoor team-building exercises, and social activities such as ten-pin bowling. Learners are involved in the preparation of these activities and develop excellent skills in research and planning. Learners not only benefit from attending these courses but they also benefit from being actively involved in the planning process. Learners develop their literacy, numeracy, speaking and listening skills effectively by costing the visit, reading and understanding timetables and planning routes. This very good integration of basic skills, including speaking and listening, re-engages these learners and provides a very effective learning environment.

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Schemes of work and lesson plans are particularly comprehensive and show in detail how sessions will meet the needs of learners. Tutors have a good understanding of learners' needs. Lesson aims are communicated well and tutors check to ensure that all learners have achieved their planned goal in the sessions. Staff use a wide variety of teaching methods and styles and support individual learners well. Tutors deal effectively with individual learners' needs.

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Volunteers and assistant tutors make a valuable contribution to the teaching and learning process.

Literacy and numeracy tutors effectively integrate ICT into lessons to develop literacy skills.

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Tutors effectively use a wide range of learning materials, such as software packages, which clients can access independently to help them find employment and improve their skills.

There is very good literacy and numeracy development through the use of ICT. There are dedicated computer rooms for each training programme. The computers are of industry standard. Tutors use effectively a variety of appropriate software to successfully develop learners' literacy, numeracy and basic IT skills. Learners with poor computer skills at the start of the training programme make very good progress. They now have a good range of appropriate basic IT skills and make good and effective use of the Internet for jobsearch. They also use their new skills to type and correct letters of application. Learners use these skills to help develop their literacy and numeracy skills effectively.

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[The provider] uses effective and innovative literacy teaching materials with clients. Staff have adapted and produced their own resources to meet clients' needs more closely. These include the use of wipeclean slates for spelling practice. Literacy clients also practise spelling using a computer-based touch-typing programme. This helps them to develop good keyboard skills too. There is a good selection of basic skills reference materials on the classroom walls to allow clients to find basic information easily. Clients whose first language is not English can increase their English vocabulary and improve their pronunciation by using clearly written word lists.

Initial assessment is particularly effective for literacy and numeracy. Learners have an initial interview to discover their needs and interests, followed by a well-managed diagnostic assessment.

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Initial assessment is effective and good use is made of the findings to develop learning plans.

Regular one- or two-weekly progress reviews with clients ensure that they are kept highly motivated and are made aware of their progress. Good short-term action-planning is carried out during progress reviews and clients have a clear understanding of what they have to do to progress. ESOL clients make good progress in developing their language skills.

Learners are highly motivated by the achievements that they have made and progress well. Tutors provide learners with very good, detailed and constructive feedback on their progress and at the completion of each task.

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The review process is thorough, with Connexions staff and youth offending teams actively involved in the process.

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