Vacancies put pressure on Luton's adult learning staff as recruitment gets harder

Empty posts within the curriculum support team have impacted negatively on staff as well, including teachers and managers coping with a reduced amount of help, said the report, which acknowledged staff recruitment has been “difficult for some years”.

It explained: “There are persistently high levels of economic inactivity in Luton above those of similar local authorities and the national average, particularly for people from ethnic and migrant backgrounds, women and anyone physically or mentally impaired.

“The priority areas of activity in 2023/24 were determined by national policy and local need. The strategic goal that the service was set by the council was to contribute to its Luton 2040 vision by:

• ensuring residents take advantage of their Level two and three entitlement;
• better equipping residents of all ages to get jobs;
• working effectively with partner groups to ensure that the town’s most vulnerable residents are safe and supported;
• cooperating efficiently with partner educational organisations to ensure that learners have a seamless skills pathway;
• and supporting residents health and wellbeing.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson stated in a letter to the workforce in July that the sector is under severe financial pressure, added the report.

“Workloads, which had risen already, have become progressively higher and vacancy rates are climbing. The number of empty teaching posts has more than doubled in the last three years.

“Luton is significantly more ethnically diverse than the English average, with large Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, African and Caribbean communities. The adult learning service aims to use LBC’s education and skills funding agency grant and other funds to have the greatest positive impact on the life chances of Luton citizens.

“This is in the context of economic deprivation, low skills, poor mental health and a large number of non-English speakers. By targeting areas of deprivation, the service works alongside the economic growth team to tackle poverty, aligning to the 2040 vision.

“It’s developed a ‘bottom-up’ learner and employer responsive curriculum model, which offers a rich variety of learning and training programmes.

“These adult skills courses include English for speakers of other languages, Maths, English, apprenticeships, vocational courses and community learning.

“The service aims to engage adults in learning which helps address skills shortages, improves job opportunities and progression, or supports career change.”

Adult skills delivery manager for Luton adult learning Merielle James told the board: “This self-assessment report is something which mirrors the education inspection framework that Ofsted uses to inspect education organisations.

“To maintain quality across the system, they expect education providers to use that template to self-assess the previous academic year,” she said. “So this covers 2023/24.

“We were inspected by Ofsted in April 2023 and we achieved a ‘good’ grading, with only a few small areas for development. Ofsted said we were close to ‘outstanding’, which is what we’re aiming towards.” LBC executive has to endorse the report before its submission to Ofsted.