Sunderland City Council's further education provision 'inadequate'

Sunderland City Council said it was taking steps to address Ofsted's concerns

Sunderland City Council's provision of further education and skills training has been judged inadequate with education inspectors warning of risks around "radicalisation and extremism".

Ofsted looked at provisions for about 3,000 students on apprenticeship, employability and adult learning courses.

It concluded leaders had also been "too slow" to hold managers to account for a drop in apprentices' achievements.

The council said it was "disappointed".

Among its key findings, the watchdog found the council had not ensured staff were well prepared to discuss the risks around extremism meaning the "majority of learners and apprentices do not understand how to stay safe".

Not 'robust'

The report highlights failures by the Tyne and Wear Care Alliance, which provided the council's apprenticeship service through subcontractors.

Contract management for apprenticeship provision was said to not be "robust enough to identify and arrest the deterioration in quality".

Tutors and assessors "do not ensure learners and apprentices receive sufficiently challenging targets" and many students leave their apprenticeships before completion.

In a statement, the council said: "We're naturally very disappointed about the findings of this report.

"We have already put an improvement plan in place and are addressing the major issues raised around [the government's anti-radicalisation programme] Prevent and British values.

"Inspectors acknowledged the majority of learners complete their courses and achieve their qualifications and that the curriculum has been developed to serve both local employment and community needs well."