ESOL standards 'have to improve'

Friday, October 03, 2008

Much more needs to be done to improve the standards of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) training, according to an Ofsted report.

Although it said the number of colleges providing ESOL that have less than satisfactory standards has gone down from one in five to one in sixteen between 2001 and 2005, Ofsted found that just 50 per cent of the ESOL provided by colleges and a 20 per cent by adult and community learning providers was ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.

Ofsted recommended that the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills should closely monitor the impact of major changes in ESOL fee policy, and the Learning and Skills Council should develop business cases that will help to persuade employers of the value of offering ESOL learning to their employees.

At the same time, providers should take action to increase success rates in accredited Skills for Life qualifications and improve the planning of individual learning and the attention given to individual needs in learning sessions. And they should develop more effective ways of following up the destinations of leavers and ensure learners on employability programmes receive adequate work experience.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert said: "Good English speaking skills are critical to millions of people, and open up a world of opportunities and benefits to learners, such as developing skills for the workplace and integrating further with the community.

"While it’s encouraging to see a general picture of improvement, it is time that standards were raised so that the overwhelming majority of English for Speakers of Other Languages provision is good or better. We must equip learners with the very best English skills to help them have the confidence to make a positive contribution to the community."