Cornwall Adult Education Service, part of Cornwall Council, has been praised in a positive report from Ofsted, with the service now classed as 'good', from a previous judgement of 'requiring improvement'.

A team of eight inspectors spent five days in Cornwall in November inspecting the range of courses delivered in five main centres across Cornwall, including 110 community venues and 19 ‘link into learning’ centres.

More than 6,500 adults took courses run by Cornwall Adult Education Service last year, including both those leading to qualifications and those taken for personal development.

The final report praises the improvements which have been made since the inspection in 2013 with inspectors concluding that the service has now moved from the previous judgement of “requiring improvement “ to “good”.

Particular praise is given to the good progress made by learners, the quality of learning support and the strong leadership and management of the service.

Councillor Julian German, the chair of governors for Cornwall Adult Education Service, said “This judgement is testament to the hard work of all involved in adult education in Cornwall and our desire to provide the best possible learning and outcomes for learners.

“I would like to congratulate everyone who has worked so hard over the past two years to help deliver these improvements to Cornwall Adult Education Service.”

The report praises the good quality outcomes for learners, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the effectiveness of leadership and management.

The report identifies areas where further work is needed for the service to become an “outstanding” provider, including improving the success rate for formal qualifications in a small proportion of courses; using feedback more effectively in some areas to help learners understand how to improve and updating safeguarding policies to reflect good practice.

Head of Cornwall Learning and Achievement, Jane Black, said: "It is always a joy to see professionals who are passionately dedicated to achieving the very best outcomes for their learners and that dedication is nowhere more evident than in the Cornwall Adult Education team. A wonderful result for tutors and learners with so much to celebrate on the road to outstanding."

Rob Sweetzer-Sturt, principal of Cornwall Adult Education Service, said “I am particularly pleased about this because we made a big improvement at the same time as maintaining our county-wide local presence and adjusting to reductions in funding. None of us wanted to compromise on our mission for Cornwall and I think that gave us great unity in moving forwards.”

The five major hubs are Helston; Falmouth; Bude/Camelford/Launceston; Liskeard; Newquay/Bodmin. There are also Link into Learning (English and maths) centres in Helston; Falmouth; Bude/Camelford/Launceston; Liskeard; Newquay/Bodmin , Callington, Saltash, Torpoint, St Austell, St Dennis, Truro, Penryn, Hayle, Redruth/Illogan, Penzance.

Information on courses can be found on www.cornwall.gov.uk/adultlearning or by telephoning 0300 123 1117