GoLearn! (Leicestershire County Council’s Adult Learning Service) received a full Ofsted inspection in January 2025 and are graded as ‘GOOD’ across all areas of inspection. Our current grading is consistent with previous inspections in 2018, and 2015.
Click here to view our Ofsted inspection report from January 2025
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Ofsted is the common name for the ‘Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills’. They have a responsibility to inspect services providing education and skills for all formal education providers; including Adult and Community education providers like GoLearn.
Inspections are usually conducted over a week with a team of inspectors, who are education specialists in their own right, visiting classes and working with service leaders to understand how the service delivered good quality education. Our last inspection was conducted between the 14th and 17th January 2025, with a team of five inspectors. The key areas of focus for the inspection were: Skills for Life, Tailored Learning and Apprenticeships.
The results of Ofsted inspections are broken down into six separate areas, with a final ‘Overall effectiveness’ grade acting as a summary. The breakdown of our results from January 2025 are as follows:
Overall effectiveness |
Good |
| The quality of education | Good |
| Behaviour and attitudes | Good |
| Personal development | Good |
| Leadership and management | Good |
| Adult learning programmes | Good |
| Apprenticeships | Good |
| Overall effectiveness at previous inspection | Good |
The full report include comments from the inspectorate giving a detailed feedback of what the service does well, and what areas of improvement are needed. The report organises these comments under five key questions to answer, one of which is the question ‘What is it like to be a learner with this provider?’. The inspectorate had the following answer:
“Due to the friendly and inclusive environment, learners and apprentices feel welcomed and valued. Learners are very positive about the sense of belonging that they experience, which makes them feel part of a supportive learning community. Apprentices benefit from tutors who provide the individualised help that they need to thrive.
Most learners and apprentices gain new knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours that enable them to progress to the next stage of their personal journey or future careers. Learners with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) on the learning for independence course develop the confidence and social skills for living independently. Most apprentices understand their study topics well and can confidently apply their new knowledge at work.
Learners build their confidence by engaging in community activities such as exhibiting their work at local museums and creating a video guide for the local museum to help visitors with neurodiversity prepare for their visit. Tutors design and plan the apprenticeship curriculum with employers to ensure that payroll administrator apprentices develop the skills to use complex payroll systems.
Learners and apprentices feel safe and comfortable reporting safeguarding or welfare concerns. They are confident that staff will take their concerns seriously and provide appropriate support.”
– Ofsted (2025) ‘Inspection of Leicestershire County Council’ report, published 20th February 2025.
To read more of the inspectors feedback, including recommendations for improvement, you can view the full Ofsted inspection report online. A complete history of our Ofsted inspection reports from 2004 onwards is also available to view online. (N.B. For the purpose of formal inspections our service is simply referred to as ‘Leicestershire County Council’ as opposed to ‘GoLearn!’. The reports linked previously relate to the adult learning provision of the Council only.)