The new Ofsted report has revealed that ACL Essex is ‘Good’ in all areas.
Ofsted has rated adult education provider, ACL Essex, ‘Good’ in all areas once again.
The latest inspection took place over four days in December 2023, with the report being published last week. ACL Essex was last inspected by Ofsted and rated ‘Good’ in 2018.
Ofsted observed several lessons. These included learners on accredited courses, community learning courses, and apprentices. They recognised that ACL Essex has ‘designed an ambitious, responsive curriculum that meets the needs of the local community’. Tutors also ‘plan courses effectively’ to help all learners build knowledge and skills, and use ‘a wide range of effective teaching strategies’.
Councillor Tony Ball, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability, said: “It’s such a brilliant achievement for ACL Essex to remain ‘Good’ in all areas.
“ACL Essex aims to make their course offer varied and inclusive. Post-pandemic, they adapted services, creating hybrid classrooms and a new digital hub. This guarantees that all learners have access to technology and have the best possible learning experience. It’s great that ACL Essex staff are being recognised for all their hard work.”
According to the Ofsted report, ACL Essex also provides a ‘caring and supportive environment’ for learners. While studying at ACL Essex, learners ‘become more resilient’. They ‘are highly motivated to achieve high grades’ and ‘demonstrate positive attitudes towards their studies’.
Ofsted also recognised that leaders and managers help staff with their professional development. They support tutors to keep their technical skills up to date by completing training.
Lisa Jarentowski, ACL Essex Principal, said: “We are delighted to be graded ‘Good’ from Ofsted. We always aim to create a welcoming and warm environment here at ACL, for our learners, employers, partners and staff. We want everybody to feel like they can achieve the career that they desire. We’re always looking to support tutors and staff members to develop, and now that has been reflected by the Ofsted report. It’s an amazing achievement, and I’m so proud everyone who is part of our community.”
The report also identified the areas for ACL Essex to work on. But, Ofsted noted that leaders have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation. They also recognised that leaders are already making improvements in some of these areas.
