British Printing Industries Federation Ltd

Published date 30 July 2010 Inspection Number 345864 Unique reference number: 50857

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Name of lead inspector: William Baidoe-Ansah HMI

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

British Printing Industries Federation Unit 2 Villiers Court, Meriden Business Park Copse Drive, Meriden Coventry CV5 9RN Telephone number: 01676 526 030

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Information about the provider

1. The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) is a not–for-profit distribution organisation which describes itself as the principal business support organisation representing the United Kingdom print, printed packaging and graphic communications industry.

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Information about the provider

2. It provides support to over 2,000 printing companies located throughout the United Kingdom ranging in size from large multi-nationals to small companies employing less than 10 people. BPIF provides a range of lobbying, human resource and performance improvement services including publically and commercially funded training and assessment. It provides on-site apprenticeship training to all members regardless of the number of trainees or their location.

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Information about the provider

3. The BPIF’s training, quality and administrative offices are in Meriden and utilise BPIF’s head office in London for group training events. It has seven training co- ordinators based in the regions and works closely with Proskills, the Sector Skills Council, to develop training standards for the industry. The BPIF training organisation contracts with the Skills Funding Agency to deliver its publicly funded training. It currently provides training for 174 apprentices and 65 Train to Gain learners. The printing industry employs all learners. Most training and assessment takes place in the work place where learners work towards national vocational qualifications (NVQs) and in many cases advanced apprenticeships in their chosen specialism.

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Information about the provider

4. The printing industry has experienced significant change because of advancing technology, the impact of the recession, and global overcapacity. This has resulted in reduced employment opportunities and job losses. Over 28,000 jobs have been lost in the last six months and over the past two years, 37 companies with apprentices have either closed or made redundancies.

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Employer provision:

Train to Gain Apprenticeships 49 learners 320 apprentices

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Summary report

Grades: 1 is outstanding; 2 is good; 3 is satisfactory; 4 is inadequate

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Grade

Leadership and management 3 Safeguarding Equality and diversity

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Subject areas Grade

Engineering and manufacturing technologies 3

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Overall effectiveness

5. BPIF’s provision is satisfactory overall. Outcomes for learners are satisfactory with some low apprentice success rates but high Train to Gain success rates. Learners develop good workplace skills and enhance their career prospects. Teaching, training, learning and assessment are satisfactory. The needs and interests of both learners and employers are met well. Support for learners is satisfactory. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. Leaders and managers set a clear direction. Staff are well qualified and experienced and are good champions for the value of training. Safeguarding arrangements and equality and diversity are satisfactory. However, learners’ understanding of equality is not sufficiently reinforced in reviews. Self-assessment is not used effectively to inform quality improvement plans and learners and employers are not sufficiently involved in the process. A virtual learning environment (VLE) is

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Overall effectiveness

in the early stages of development. BPIF demonstrates a satisfactory capacity to improve its provision.

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Main findings

 Outcomes for learners are satisfactory. Both apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships have improved over the past few years but remain below the average and have been adversely affected by employee redundancies. Train to Gain successful completions in the planned time are high.  Learners develop good occupational skills. They confidently work on specialised industry standard machines with minimum or no supervision. Learners contribute effectively as part of a production team. Their written work in portfolios is to the same high standard as their practical work. Train to Gain learners show a good understanding of print operations and gain nationally recognised qualifications at work.  Learners enjoy their learning and talk readily about the progress they are making. Most learners make at least satisfactory progress. They feel safe, and use appropriate personal protective equipment and are able to identify and

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Main findings

discuss in detail, risks associated with their work place activities.  Teaching and learning are satisfactory. One-to-one teaching and learning sessions on the technical certificate are particularly effective. A good range of teaching materials are available. Some learning material is suitably adapted to suit specific learner’s companies.  NVQ assessments on apprenticeship and Train to Gain programmes are very effective. Learners’ portfolios contain a suitable range of evidence. Learners are given clear guidance on future evidence requirements. Assessors visit learners frequently and undertake observations of their work, which helps to further develop their knowledge and skills.  Learner progress reviews are frequent, effective and cover all aspects of training. Assessors set appropriate targets but do not always make the best use of reviews to promote learners’ understanding of equality and diversity

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Main findings

sufficiently.  Key skills arrangements are satisfactory. BPIF has implemented appropriate initiatives to improve the achievement of key skills. However, a few learners are still taking a long time to achieve external literacy and numeracy qualifications.  BPIF meets the needs and interests of users very well. Learner and company training needs are well served by the wide range of print qualifications particularly the small and medium-sized companies prevalent in the print industry. Employers are very positive about BPIF and their staff.  Support for learners is satisfactory. Induction quickly introduces learners to their programme and includes a suitable emphasis on health and safety. BPIF continues to support learners for whom it no longer receives funding and has obtained new placements for some learners made redundant during their training programme.  BPIF has a strategy to ensure that training contributes fully to the industry’s

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Main findings

capacity to respond to future challenges. Leaders and managers are committed to improvement. Staff are well qualified and receive good training.  Safeguarding and equality and diversity are satisfactory. Policies and practices fulfil government requirements and staff have received appropriate training.  Self-assessment is generally accurate but overly descriptive. The quality improvement plan does not sufficiently relate to areas for improvement and is insufficiently specific and measurable. The use of learner and employer views is underdeveloped.

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What does BPIF need to do to improve further?

 continue to work with federation members to ensure that learners are supported through job losses to complete their qualification  continue to improve key skill success rates by ensuring learners have the opportunity to take key skills external assessments earlier in their programme  further improve learner understanding of equality and diversity by using a broader range of questions and discussion topics during the review process  ensure that the self-assessment report and quality improvement plan are sufficiently detailed so that they act as strong drivers for improvement  continue to develop the user engagement strategy so that learners and employers are involved in improvement strategies.

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What learners like:

 enjoying programmes, especially as an older learner  learning a lot from the programme  working with assessors  gaining a good trade qualification  one-to-one learning.

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What learners would like to see improved:

 better guidance on portfolio building  too many changes of assessor  opportunities to meet other learners.

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What employers like:

 apprenticeship extremely beneficial to company and apprentices  swift response to company’s training needs  the help received with the training plan  regular detailed communication on progress.

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What employers would like to see improved:

 clearer information on evidence requirements.

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Capacity to make and sustain improvement Grade 3

6. Leaders and managers are committed to making changes to bring about improvement within the print industry. Success rates have risen slowly over the past few years and are below sector rates. The key challenges identified at the last inspection have been mostly addressed with some improvements evident. Self-assessment is inclusive and generally accurate if overly descriptive. Action points are identified but are not always sufficiently specific or measurable. The quality of training and assessment is satisfactory overall and good practice is adequately shared across the national spread of provision. Staff are well qualified and have a very good knowledge of the industry.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

7. Learners develop good occupational skills. They confidently work on specialised industry standard machines, working with minimum or no supervision. Learners contribute effectively as part of a production team and capably replace workers on leave or absent. Employers state that learners make good progress on their programmes and confirm their effective contribution as part of a team. Some learners complete additional qualifications. For example, one learner had been trained as a qualified first aider within his company. Learners’ written work in portfolios is at the same high standard as their practical work. Train to Gain learners show a good understanding of print operations and gain nationally recognised qualifications at work.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

8. Overall success rates for apprentices and advanced apprentices have improved over the last few years but remain below the national rate. They have been badly affected by the considerable number of learner redundancies. Success rates for apprentices have improved the most since the last inspection and have continued to improve in the current year, but are still below the sector average. Advanced apprenticeships have only improved marginally since the last inspection and are well below the average. Successes in the planned time for Train to Gain learners are very high, having been substantially below the average over the last two years.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

9. Learners enjoy their learning and are pleased with the progress they make. Most learners make at least satisfactory progress. Many learners have progressed from apprenticeships to the advanced programme accompanied by an appropriate increase in responsibilities at work.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

10. Learners feel safe. They use appropriate personal protective equipment and are able to identify and discuss in detail risks associated with their work place activities. Learners show a good knowledge of risk assessment processes and safe systems of work relative to their companies working practices.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

11. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. The technical certificate has a suitable mix of delivery patterns with some learners receiving one-to-one tuition and other learners experiencing a mix of one-to-one and group teaching. One-to one teaching and learning sessions are particularly effective. A good range of teaching materials are available in different formats including paper-based, electronic material copied to a CD-ROM, and the company’s VLE, which is accessible from locations convenient to the learner. Some learning material is adapted to suit specific learner companies.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

12. NVQ assessment on apprenticeships and Train to Gain is very thorough and effective. Assessors’ visits to learners are frequent and closely matched to the various shift patterns operated in the printing industry. Learners’ portfolios contain a suitable range of evidence including the good use of photographic evidence.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

13. Assessors carry out a suitable number of observations of learners’ work which helps to develop further learners’ knowledge and skills. BPIF staff have relevant qualifications and a good knowledge of the printing industry. The internal verification procedures are well organised.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

14. Learner progress reviews are effective and frequent, covering most aspects of training. Previously set targets are reviewed carefully and close checks are made on the health and safety of learners. Appropriate progress targets are set relating to the NVQ, the technical certificate and key skills. Suitable actions are identified for learners ‘at risk’ of falling behind on their programme. However, assessors do not always make the best use of reviews to promote learners’ understanding of equality and diversity.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

15. Key skills arrangements are satisfactory. Recent initiatives to improve the achievement of key skills include starting key skills at the start of the learner’s programme, employing a specialist teacher for key skills and closer monitoring of the learner’s progress on key skills. However, some learners are still making slow progress in achieving external literacy and numeracy qualifications.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

16. BPIF meets the needs and interests of users very well. The wide range of print qualifications is closely matched to company and learner needs. Learners can progress from apprenticeships to advanced apprenticeships. BPIF provides apprenticeship training closely matched to the needs of a range of companies but particularly for the small and medium-sized companies prevalent in the print industry. Employers are very positive about BPIF and their staff and many use BPIF for other in-company training such as health and safety and international standards training.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

17. The close partnership between the BPIF and their member companies is used to promote the print industry to a wider audience such as schools leavers. Through their links with member companies BPIF has obtained new placements for some learners made redundant during their training programme.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

18. Support for learners is satisfactory. Induction into the apprenticeships quickly introduces learners to their programme and includes a suitable emphasis on health and safety. Employers are supportive of learners. Additional specialist support for disabilities such as dyslexia is provided through specialist providers local to the learner. BPIF continues to support learners for whom it no longer receives funding.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

19. BPIF has a clear set of strategies and business plans which incorporate a strong focus on training. Recent changes in the management of training have led to a renewed focus on delivering the training business plan. Realistic performance targets are set for individuals, teams and the organisation as a whole. BPIF develops its staff well. An annual programme of staff development ensures staff are kept up to date. Staff are well qualified and most assessors have or are working towards teaching and training qualifications.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

20. BPIF has strong links with the print industry and has good working relationships with employers and the sector skills agency. The chief executive, board, and the training management team have a strong commitment to training and a clear view of how training will contribute to the future shape of the industry. The company is responding to the very challenging industry decline with a realistic strategy to expand its training activities.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

21. BPIF has satisfactory safeguarding arrangements with a new and appropriate policy and a designated safety officer. All staff have had recent updated training in safeguarding. BPIF complies with the requirements to complete Criminal Records Bureau checks on its staff.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

22. The company has appropriate policies in place to cover bullying and harassment and learners have access to a helpline to call on any safeguarding issue. The designated officer has an appropriate network of referrals. BPIF completes a thorough check of employers’ health and safety procedures and practices. Further annual compliance checks are completed by appropriately qualified assessors and result in a risk rating for each company employing apprentices.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

23. Equality and diversity are satisfactory. BPIF has separate and appropriate equality policies and is working towards a single scheme which incorporates them all. BPIF monitors the achievements of different groups of learners but very low numbers of minority ethnic learners and female learners means that little statistical significance can be derived from the data. The company’s staff training has recently covered aspects of equality such as age discrimination, bullying and harassment and disability awareness. Equality and diversity are adequately introduced at induction and are covered as part of the technical certificate. 24. BPIF’s engagement of users is satisfactory. It has a user engagement strategy but no formal user engagement policy. The company annually surveys employers and learners for satisfaction. The completion rate is low and resultant action plans are not specific or measurable. BPIF is piloting the use of

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Leadership and management Grade 3

an on-line survey for learners and has a learner forum within its computer learning system. However, it is too early to gauge the impact of these developments.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

25. BPIF’s self-assessment process involves staff well and has appropriate moderation processes. However, the report is overly descriptive. For instance, it describes the assessment process and the delivery of the technical certificate, but does not include an evaluation of the quality of training and learning. The quality improvement plan is a satisfactory improvement tool but does not relate sufficiently to the findings in the report and targets are not sufficiently specific, measurable, or timely. User surveys inform the quality process but learners and employers are not directly involved through quality meetings or forums. Communication between all staff is frequent and good. Learners’ progress is regularly discussed at meetings to identify any learners at risk of not completing within their planned end date. Standardisation meetings ensure consistency of judgements across staff and regions.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

26. BPIF has satisfactory resources to support learners. The quality of printed materials is good. The company is in the early stages of developing a VLE, to enable learners to access learning resources remotely. Value for money is satisfactory.

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Information about the inspection

27. One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and two additional inspectors, assisted by the provider’s development director, as nominee, carried out the inspection. Inspectors also took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, the previous inspection report, reports from the inspectorate’s quality monitoring inspection, and data on learners and their achievement over the period since the previous inspection.

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Information about the inspection

28. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and emails. They looked at questionnaires learners and employers had recently completed on behalf of the provider. They also observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. Inspectors collected evidence from the main programme the provider offers. Record of Main Findings (RMF)

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British Print Industries Federation

Learning types: 14 – 16: Young apprenticeships; Diplomas; 16-18 Learner responsive: FE full- and part-time courses, Foundation learning tier, including Entry to Employment; 19+ responsive: FE full- and part-time courses; Employer responsive: Train to Gain, apprenticeships

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British Print Industries Federation

Outcomes for learners 3 3 How well do learners achieve and enjoy their learning? 3 How well do learners attain their learning goals? How well do learners progress? How well do learners improve their economic and social well-being through learning and development? How safe do learners feel? 3 Are learners able to make informed choices about their own health and well being?* n/a How well do learners make a positive contribution to the community?* n/a Quality of provision 3 3 How effectively do teaching, training and assessment support learning and development? How effectively does the provision meet the needs and interests of users? 2 How well partnerships with schools, employers, community groups and others lead to benefits for learners? How effective are the care, guidance and support learners receive in helping them to achieve? Leadership and management 3 3 How effectively do leaders and managers raise expectations and promote

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British Print Industries Federation

ambition throughout the organisation? How effectively do governors and supervisory bodies provide leadership, direction and challenge?* How effectively does the provider promote the safeguarding of learners? 3 How effectively does the provider actively promote equality and diversity, tackle discrimination and narrow the achievement gap? How effectively does the provider engage with users to support and promote improvement? How effectively does self-assessment improve the quality of the provision and outcomes for learners? How efficiently and effectively does the provider use its available resources to secure value for money? *where applicable to the type of provision Grades using the 4 point scale 1: Outstanding; 2: Good; 3: Satisfactory; 4: Inadequate Overall Employer responsive Approximate number of enrolled learners Full-time learners Part-time learners Overall effectiveness 3 3 Capacity to improve 3 inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education

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British Print Industries Federation

and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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British Print Industries Federation

If you would like a copy of this report in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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British Print Industries Federation

You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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British Print Industries Federation

Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann’s Square Manchester, M2 7LA

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British Print Industries Federation

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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